Amba (अम्बा) is the Sanskrit word for "mother." **The eldest of three princesses of Kashi abducted by Bhishma for his half-brother Vichitravirya in the Mahabharata**. **Already in love with King Salva, she demanded release but he rejected her as 'damaged goods'**; Bhishma also refused her. **She undertook severe penance to die, be reborn, and avenge herself on Bhishma** — reborn as Princess Shikhandini, transformed into the warrior Shikhandi who **enabled Arjuna to slay Bhishma in the Kurukshetra War**.
Featured throughout the *Udyoga Parva* and *Bhishma Parva* of the Mahabharata.
Amba reduces to nine — the number of Mahabharata avenging princess.