Amba

Scene 1: Outside Bhishma's chamber. Enter Amba.

Narrator: To catch everyone up, Bhishma captured Amba to serve as one of Vichitravirya's wives and now she is contemplating what to do.

Amba: What should I do? Should I ask him? I wonder if he will listen to my request… No, this isn’t right! I can’t just wait here to be married off to another man when my heart already belongs to someone. I have to plead to Bhishma to let me go.

Scene 2: In Bhishma’s chamber. Enter Bhishma.

Bhishma: What did you want to see me about?

Amba: I cannot go through with this wedding. I am already betrothed to King Shalwa and it would be a dishonor to be married to one man but constantly long for someone else.

Bhishma: I understand; you may leave at once.

Exit Bhishma.

Amba: I can’t believe Bhishma let me go, just like that. I was ready to hurl myself on the floor in a fit of tears until he let me go. I need to hurry out and leave Hastinapura before Bhishma decides to change his mind and abduct me again.

Scene 4: On the road to King Shalwa's palace.

Amba: I’m finally on my way to King Shalwa’s palace! He must have been so worried with me being gone all this time. I can’t wait to see the surprised look on his face when he sees me again.

Narrator: And so she skipped happily on her way to King Shalwa’s palace with no idea of what was about to happen.

Scene 3: Entering King Shalwa's palace. Enter King Shalwa.

Amba: King Shalwa, I have finally returned!

King: Why did you come back? You should have just stayed there and become married off to Vichitravirya.

Amba: I don’t… I don’t understand. I thought you would be happy to see me. I still sincerely love you and have never once strayed from that thought. I am still faithful to you as I have always been.

Narrator: Amba went on expressing her sincere love to the king but he was unmoved. His face was still as night.

King: I can’t take you back. You are not the same innocent Amba I once knew.

Amba: Even though you are turning your back on me, the truth will always be on my side and I know I have never committed a wrong against you.

Exit King Shalwa.

Scene 4: In the forest.

Narrator: Amba dashed out of the palace in tears with nowhere to go. She knew she couldn’t go back to Hastinapura after she already talked about being betrothed to someone else but now she wasn’t anymore. She also couldn’t bring herself to stay at her childhood home after all that had happened. She stayed in the forest and then visited the Ashram for help.

Amba: Where did it all go wrong? Why was I abandoned with nowhere to go?

Narrator: And then a thought struck Amba…

Amba: It was Bhishma! He is the one who abducted me in the first place and the reason that King Shalwa won’t take me back! He is the cause of all of my problems; I have to get revenge and turn my life back around.

Scene 5: Amba and Shiva.

Narrator: Amba did penance and fasted every day eventually growing thinner but she did not care about her looks anymore. After many weeks of constant prayers, Shiva appeared.

Enter Shiva.

Shiva: What wish can I grant you for your dedication to penance all this time?

Amba: I wish to get revenge on Bhishma!

Shiva: That I can do for you; you will destroy Bhishma.

Amba: But how can I get my revenge on him if I’m here in the forest while he is in a palace full of guards?

Shiva: You will be reborn into a fierce and skilled warrior and will one day have the chance to slay Bhishma.

Narrator: Amba was determined to get her revenge no matter what. She prepared a fire and stepped into the fire to end her current tragic state and begin a new life.

Exit Amba.

Author's Note:

This is one of my favorite scenes at the beginning of the Mahabharata because there is so much drama that happens and so much goes on in Amba's life from just this one scene. This scene is also crucial to the story line later on as Amba exacts her revenge. I thought this scene would be perfect to rewrite in the format of a play because of how dramatic it was so I did my best to try to write the scene as if people were acting out the scenes. Since I liked the scene the way it was written, I kept the story line the same and only changed the format of how it was written. I focused in on the specific points in the episode where Amba's character develops. I organized the scenes based on Amba’s major transitions within the episode. Towards the end, I had the narrator summarize Amba’s time in the forest because it wasn’t necessary to go into detail for every single thing she did in the forest. Amba’s thoughts had a major change at the end of her development in the forest but it didn’t constantly change throughout her time in the forest.

Bibliography. "Amba" from Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists: Mahabharata by Sister Nivedita, web source

Amba being reborn with Bhishma's death in sight: Deviant Art