1. Dyau≠ Pitar and His Lost Mythology

3.2 Amb# vows to destroy Bh%≠ma, despite his boon of choosing the moment of his own death, because he has ruined her life. She enlists the help of Para–ur#ma, an incarnation of Visºu, who battles but is unable to defeat Bhīsma. Amb# engages in ascetic practices and visits sacred fords. Bhīsma’s mother, the Ganges river, asks Amb# why she is torturing herself. Amb# repeats her vow and says that her austerities will allow her to be able to kill Bhīsma in her next life. The Ganges curses Amb# to become a river full of crocodiles. Amb# visits more sacred fords, and when she falls half of her body becomes a river full of crocodiles. Her other half remains a woman and goes on to propitiate —iva, who receives her favorably. She asks to be able kill Bhīsma, and —iva promises her that she will be reborn as a man. Eager for rebirth, she builds a funeral pyre and kills herself. [Mbh 5.170-188]