Rudra’s involvement in Ambā’s liminal ascetic path

The Ambopakhyana is widely acknowledged as the most renowned case of liminality in the Mahabharata, especially in terms of the narrative agency of female characters. Several scholars have examined it from diverse viewpoints, especially as concerns the Vedic back- ground of the prototypical bond between Rudra and Amba. With respect to such status ▸ quaestionis, this paper mainly focuses on the ambiguities arising from Ambă undertaking the ascetic path, given her status of unmarried woman. However, first and foremost, it in- quires into the details of "how" she managed to be granted a very special boon by Ru- dra/Šiva. Hence, some tentative issues to further reconsider Amba's character as an ascetic will be advanced, mainly via reconsideration of lexical choices in selected sets of slokas in the Ambopakhyana, and through comparison with another recipient of Śiva's boon, i.e. the tapasvini Arundhati.