'Neither is there the gentle sunshine..'
'..of love.'
'I stand alone in the forest of anger..'
'..insult and pride.'
'My voice is trapped..'
'..like feet in marshy ground.'
'The story is still far from finished.'
'In truth, what I have narrated so far..'
'..is only the introduction.'
'The story will begin..'
'..and end in Kurukshetra.'
'In truth, this centuries old story..'
'..is the story of those eighteen days.'
'Of course, it is the true that..'
'..these eighteen days are like eighteen centuries.'
'But before we reach Kurukshetra..'
'..it is important for you to know..'
'..the few things that remain to be said.'
'The title of this episode could well be Shikhandi.'
'Shikhandi, who was known as Amba in his previous birth.'
'Amba, the Princess of Kashi..'
'..who was kidnapped by Bhishma for Vichitraviya..'
'..along with her sisters Ambika and Ambalika.'
'I am sure you remember the Amba..'
'..who challenged Bhishma in Hastinapur's court..'
'..that she would take birth after birth..'
'..so as to avenge her insult.'
'Her insulted soul..'
'..has journeyed far.'
'So, let us first go to Shikhandi's camp.'
Brother!
Come youngster!
Why poison the arrow heads?
The brave warrior has many names.
Devavrata! Bhishma! The son of Ganga!
The taint of insult on my forehead.
I will kill him for you, my brother!
- I will kill him. - No!
One must avenge one's own insults.
He is my debtor.
I re-live my insult every moment of the day.
The day of marriage for the Kashi Princesses.
Not a single day has passed after that..
..when I have not re-lived that day.
It is constantly passing by.
I have to merely close my eyes..
..to see the court of Kashi which..
..is tormenting me like the demons.
The demon of my humiliation..
..dances on my chest.
The court was filled with brave warriors.
The arrival of one man..
..wipes off the smiles.
Bhishma, son of Ganga, is on his way!
Bhishma's oath has lost to the Princesses' beauty.
The oath has been left behind.
Beware!
I represent Hastinatpur's king Vichitraviya.
The Princesses of Kashi have always wed the Kurus.
The same will happen today!
I claim the three Princesses for Vichitraviya.
You have insulted Hastinapur by arranging this marriage.
However, I forgive you!
The Princesses have a right to choose a husband.
Not these Princesses!
In any case, there is none worthier than I.
Bhishma! Give rein to your tongue.
I only rein my horses.
Had I not granted you life once before..
..I would have punished you for interrupting me.
I announce in this court..
..that I am taking away the Princesses.
Does anyone dare stop Bhishma?
Allow the Princesses to leave, O King of Kashi.
Bhishma!
Turn the chariot!
Shalvarai! - Yes! I am Shalva!
I have no dearth of arrows, Shalva but..
..I'll not take the life I have granted.
I forgive you once again.
Let's return to Hastinapur.
May I make a request queen mother?
Call me mother, Amba.
My request is to the queen mother.
You may speak!
Before Bhishma came I had, in my mind..
..already chosen Shalva as my husband.
Why didn't you tell me that before?
Fear! I was afraid of you.
Then Vichitraviya cannot marry Amba.
You are right!
Don't worry princess.
You shall be sent to Shalva with honour.
Tell Bhishma, I do not accept charity.
Another thing! Tell him..
..he has insulted me by sending you back.
I have been insulted by Bhishma.
Had he not sent me to Shalva I wouldn't be insulted.
Order Bhishma to honour his warrior code..
..and accept me as his wife.
Victory to the King!
I am bound by my oath, I cannot marry.
Why then did you bring me here?
I had announced in court that..
..I was representing Hastinapur.
My lord, I was kidnapped.
When I was holding the marriage garland.
My sisters accepted you as their husband. I don't.
Now I wish to marry Bhishma.
That's not possible.
Why not?
Because I have sworn bachelorhood.
Learn to fear a wounded tigress, an insulted woman.
You cannot salvage my honour merely because you are..
..bound by an oath!
In this royal court and in the king's presence..
..I, too, swear an oath.
I'll never forgive you for this insult..
..even if I have to take birth again and again.
I will avenge this insult by causing your death.
Amba swallowed her humiliation and..
..reached a hermitage.
After listening to her, the Sages said..
..a woman has two refuges: Father or husband.
Amba said there was no question of refuge.
It was a matter of insult and its penalty.
Amba did not want refuge..
..but sought revenge.
We live in a strange society, my brother.
A man even controls a woman's honour and insult.
She has no personal honour or insult.
But Amba was unwilling to accept this.
She had been insulted.
So, she wanted to take revenge herself.
So, she said to the Sages:
O Sages! I cannot go to Kashi now.
There I'll have to face the ridicule of my colleagues.
I cannot go to Shalva for he has already rejected me.
I have only one option left to me..
..that of penance.
Penance is not easy, Princess.
I know! But I have no other alternative.
So, I have to tread the path which is open to me..
..no matter how difficult it is.
O Sages! penance cannot be..
..more difficult than bearing humiliation.
But my child..
Welcome revered sage Hotravaan!
Please be seated!
The sages seem worried.
It is a serious matter.
This is the Princess of Kashi, Amba.
Listening to Amba's tale..
..Sage Hotravaan was shocked into silence.
And said.. - Dear.
I had renounced the world before your birth.
So, you do not know me. I am your grandfather.
Don't go to your father. Go to Sage Parshuram.
He has an antidote for your sorrow and anger.
Where can I meet him?
On Mount Mahendra.
He is my friend and schoolmate.
May you live long!
Please be seated, O Sage!
This is my grand- daughter, Amba.
I was just suggesting that she meet you..
..because only you have an antidote for her sorrow.
May you live long!
What is your problem?
Bhishma has insulted her.
He kidnapped her and now refuses to accept her.
If that is so, Bhishma must accept her.
That is the code.
My respects! A sage wishes to see you.
My respects - May you live long.
Please be seated!
I have a message from Sage Parshuram.
From my teacher!
What does he order?
He is here on a special mission and..
..wishes that you do something for him.
His wish is my command. What is the task?
He will tell you himself.
When you did not want to marry, why kidnap Amba?
And when you have kidnapped her..
..why have you rejected her?
The result is she is alone and helpless.
It is for this that Shalva rejected her.
With fire as your witness you must accept her.
Honour the code of a warrior.
O Sage! Now I cannot even wed her to my brother.
Amba told me she had accepted Shalva as husband.
I sent her to Shalva with honour and..
..did my duty as a warrior.
Devavrata! If you do not obey me..
..you'll have to fight me.
I do not wish to insult you by trying to explain to you.
No, Bhishma. Go ahead and do that.
O Sage! You are my teacher.
How can you fight your disciple?
It is the teacher's duty to punish an erring disciple.
I repeat: Accept Amba.
That's impossible!
If you really order me to fight you..
..your disciple will respect that command.
I know you have defeated the warriors single handed.
But O greatest of teachers! Even you know that..
..none among the warriors you fought..
..could vanquish your warrior's pride.
Devavrata has been born in this age.
Proceed to the battlefield!
Let me see..
..how well I have taught my disciple.
As you command!
O Teacher! You stand on the ground.
I cannot fight you from this chariot.
Wear an armour and fetch a chariot!
This land is my chariot, the clouds my horses.
The wind my charioteer.
The vedas are my armour.
O Teacher! permit me to fight you!
Bless me with victory!
Your humility has pleased me.
Anyone who desires success must be humble.
In particular, those who fight their elders.
Had you not done this, I would have cursed you.
Go! Fight such a war that..
..your teacher is not shamed.
Beware!
That is the Ashwapatra!
What does it do?
It is a precise weapon.
Only Bhishma knows how to use the weapon.
If he does use it on Sage Parshuram..
..then his defeat is guaranteed.
Wait!
O Bhishma of the Bharat dynasty!
Do not use the Ashwaputra.
It's use will humiliate your teacher. Do not use it.
O best of my disciples! O son of Ganga!
O great warrior Bhishma!
Today, you have defeated your teacher.
No teacher will ever get a disciple like you.
But my child..
..I cannot retreat from the battlefield.
So, either kill me or retreat.
O Teacher! I fought you to obey your order.
If you order me to retreat..
..I shall retreat.
Let's go!
I have seen Bhishma defeat Sage Parshuram.
Then I decided I would have to do everything myself.
I did serve penance. The result was..
..half my body became the river Amba.
The other half became a princess of Matsya.
But this did not serve my purpose.
I did penance once again.
Lord Shiva himself granted me the boon..
..that I would be the cause of Bhishma's death.
Then I said: O Lord!
I am a woman. How can I kill a warrior like Bihshma.
Then the Lord said: You'll achieve manhood.
After obtaining another body you'll remember all this.
You'll be born to Dhrupad and become a warrior.
So, my brother..
..Lord Shiva's boon stands before you.
Brother!
Brother.
"She could not complete her oath."
"Her entire life was spent."
"Amba should be reborn.."
"The past had taken a new form."
I don't want the matter to reach the battlefield.
I don't want to decide on whom to side with.
Guide me O mother! Help me!
My respects mother!
Have I erred?
Why do you run to your mother in every danger?
You swore an oath without asking me.
You gave your word without asking me.
Then learn to face the consequences.
As you command, mother.
I'll not come again, mother.
Now you'll have to come to me.
Victory to the Commander! Sage Drona is here.
My respects, O Sage!
Please be seated.
Looks like even you cannot sleep.
This is a night when..
..none of Hastinapur's well wishers can sleep..
..the child Pandavas..
..the child Pandavas appear in a dream.
And seem to ask:
O Teacher! Will you fight us?
We cannot even escape these dreams.
Young Arjun would come..
..running and embrace me.
Grandsire! Save me from brother Bhim.
I have eaten his porridge.
I would say: Child, I am not your Grandsire.
I am your father's grandfather.
That small child has grown so big.
My old chest will welcome his arrows..
..like it would embrace his childhood.
My old age will be honoured by his arrows.
My old age will be honoured.
This war is his test.
The depth of my wounds from his arrows will tell me..
..how successful a teacher I was.
One day I had told him!
There may come a day when you may have to fight me.
Don't spare me because I am your teacher.
I swear to you. If I see this happening..
..I'll tell him in Kurukshetra..
..You are not worthy of being my disciple.
He will not give you the opportunity to say that.
My dear Arjun will not give you the opportunity.
Draupadi!
Are you surprised to se me?
Yes, why are you here?
We had left you in the palace, Draupadi.
Has Arjun forgotten that..
..this is not the Pandavas' war alone?
This is also my war.
I am the Commander as well as the army.
These unbraided hair are my weapons.
I don't want to trouble powerful Bheem..
..that he bring Dushasan's blood to the palace.
By the time he reaches these the blood will be gone.
Do you want my hair to remain unbraided?
I will wait for Bheem in the Pandava camp.
Besides, you can never tell with Yudhishtir.
God knows when he'll change his mind.
He may say religion is forgiveness.
I will stand between you and this philosophy..
..till I have avenged myself.
"May not the flame of the fiery woman.."
"..even burn down."
"The revenge of the fiery woman.."
"..has given her courage and strength."
"Draupadi is the foundation.."
"..of the Kurukshetra war."
"She is not only the shield.."
"..but also the sword."