Shikhandi was a child of King Drupada of Panchala, and so a brother of Draupadi and Dhrishtadyumna. In a past life Shikhandi had been Amba, the eldest princess of Kashi, whose hopes were shattered when Bhishma carried her away from her swayamvara. Amba blamed Bhishma for her sorrow, and through hard penance she received Lord Shiva's promise that she would cause his death. She was reborn as Drupada's daughter, raised as a son, and later, through an exchange with a yaksha named Sthunakarna, became a man. Bhishma knew all this and would never raise his weapons against Shikhandi. So on the tenth day of the war, with Shikhandi in front of Arjuna, the great grandsire was brought down. Shikhandi was killed by Ashwatthama in the night raid after the war.
Amba, the princess of Kashi
Long before the war, the King of Kashi held a swayamvara for his three daughters, Amba, Ambika and Ambalika. Bhishma went there and carried away all three as brides for his young brother Vichitravirya, the king of Hastinapur. The kings who tried to stop him were defeated. King Shalva fought him hard, but Bhishma defeated him too and spared his life.
In Hastinapur, as the wedding was being prepared, Amba, the eldest, came to Bhishma and said, “In my heart I had already chosen King Shalva as my husband, and he had chosen me. My father knew this too. You know dharma; do what is right.” Bhishma consulted the elders and allowed her to go to Shalva, sending trusted old brahmins and her nurse with her.
But Shalva would not accept her. “You were taken away by another man, before my eyes,” he said. “Go back to Bhishma.” Amba pleaded with him, but he did not change his mind. Amba could not go back to her father's home in shame, and Bhishma, bound by his vow never to marry, could not marry her. She felt that her life had been ruined, and above all she blamed Bhishma.
Parashurama's battle and Amba's penance
Amba went to an ashram of ascetics in the forest. There her mother's father, the royal sage Hotravahana, met her and wept at her story. With the help of Akritavrana, a companion of Parashurama, she went to Parashurama himself and asked for justice.
Parashurama, who had once taught Bhishma, called him to Kurukshetra and ordered him to take Amba back. Bhishma bowed to his teacher with respect but said he could not give up his vow. Teacher and pupil then fought a tremendous battle for many days. In the end the gods, the ancestors and Ganga herself stopped the fight, and Parashurama told Amba that he could not defeat Bhishma.
Amba then declared, “I will win Bhishma's death by my own penance.” She performed terrible austerities for years, living on almost nothing. Mother Ganga warned her that her wish was crooked, and the epic says that half of Amba's body became a river in the land of Vatsa, while half remained a maiden still doing penance.
At last Lord Shiva appeared and granted her wish: “You will cause Bhishma's death. You will be born in Drupada's family as a girl, and in time you will become a man and a great warrior. You will remember all of this.” Amba then built a fire on the bank of the Yamuna and entered it, saying that she gave up her life for Bhishma's destruction.
Born in Drupada's palace
At that time King Drupada had no son, and he worshipped Lord Shiva longing for one. Shiva told him, “You will have a child who is born a female and will become a male.” When Drupada's queen gave birth to a beautiful daughter, the king and queen trusted Shiva's words and announced to everyone that a son had been born.
Only the parents knew the secret. They raised the child as a prince and named him Shikhandi. Shikhandi learned writing, the arts and, above all, the science of weapons; the epic says he was a pupil of Drona himself in archery.
Bhishma learned the truth about Shikhandi through his own sources: the words of Narada, the voice from heaven and the story of Amba's penance. He knew that this child of Drupada was Amba reborn.
The marriage crisis with Dasharna
When Shikhandi grew up, the queen advised that he be married, so that no one would suspect anything. A marriage was arranged with the daughter of King Hiranyavarma of Dasharna. But after the wedding, the princess discovered that her husband was a woman. Ashamed and hurt, she told her nurses, and the news reached her father.
King Hiranyavarma was furious at being deceived. He sent a messenger to Drupada saying, “You have insulted me. I will destroy you, your family and your ministers.” He began to gather his army and allies to attack Panchala.
Drupada was afraid. When he asked his queen, she admitted the truth and explained that they had only trusted Lord Shiva's words. Drupada prepared to defend his city and prayed to the gods. Seeing her parents in such danger because of her, Shikhandi felt deep sorrow and went away into a lonely forest, thinking of giving up her life.
The yaksha Sthunakarna and Kubera's curse
In that forest lived a yaksha named Sthunakarna, a follower of Kubera, the lord of wealth. He saw Shikhandi's sorrow and asked what was wrong. When he heard the story, he said kindly, “I will help you. I will give you my manhood for a fixed time, and take your womanhood. When the danger has passed, come back and we will exchange again.” Shikhandi promised to return and went home as a man.
King Hiranyavarma sent trusted women to test the truth, and they reported that Shikhandi was indeed a man. Hiranyavarma was satisfied, scolded his daughter for the trouble, and peace returned between the two kingdoms. Drupada and his queen were overjoyed.
Meanwhile Kubera, travelling across the earth, came to Sthunakarna's home. The yaksha, ashamed of his woman's form, did not come out to greet his lord. When Kubera learned why, he was angry and said, “Let him remain a woman, and let Shikhandi remain a man.” When the other yakshas begged for mercy, Kubera said the curse would end when Shikhandi died.
True to his word, Shikhandi went back to return what he had received. Sthunakarna told him of Kubera's curse and sent him home with his blessing. So Shikhandi lived as a man and a warrior of Panchala.
Bhishma lowers his bow
Before the war began, Bhishma counted the great warriors on both sides for Duryodhana. When he came to Shikhandi, he told the whole story of Amba and said firmly, “I will not fight Shikhandi. I will not raise my weapons against a woman, or one who was once a woman. Even if he comes to kill me, I will not strike him.”
For nine days no one could stop Bhishma. On the ninth night, Yudhishthira and his brothers went to Bhishma's tent and humbly asked how he could be defeated. Bhishma himself told them: place Shikhandi in front of Arjuna, for he would not fight Shikhandi, and then Arjuna could strike him.
On the tenth day Shikhandi rode at the front, with Arjuna behind him, and shot arrow after arrow at Bhishma. Bhishma only smiled and said, “Whether you strike me or not, I will not fight you. You are the same Shikhandini whom the Creator made.” Shikhandi replied that he would kill him all the same. While Bhishma would not answer Shikhandi, Arjuna's arrows covered the grandsire.
Feeling the arrows, Bhishma said, “These are not Shikhandi's arrows. They cut like a thunderbolt. These are Arjuna's.” As the sun was setting, the grandsire fell from his chariot onto a bed of arrows. Amba's long wish was fulfilled.
Shikhandi's end
Shikhandi went on fighting bravely after Bhishma's fall, and led his Panchala warriors through the hard days that followed. He survived all eighteen days of battle.
But on the night after the war ended, Ashwatthama attacked the sleeping Pandava camp. After killing Dhrishtadyumna and many others, he struck down Shikhandi as well. So the long story that began with the princess of Kashi came to its close.
Dhrishtadyumna's charioteer escaped and brought the news to Yudhishthira: the Panchala princes, Shikhandi among them, and Draupadi's five sons had all been killed in their sleep. Yudhishthira fell to the ground in grief, and Draupadi's sorrow knew no bounds.
Did you know?
- Draupadi and Dhrishtadyumna rose from a sacred fire, but their brother Shikhandi was born to Drupada’s queen in the ordinary way.
- Bhishma’s teacher Parashurama fought Bhishma for Amba’s sake, and neither of these two great warriors could defeat the other.
- Shikhandi was one of the seven commanders of the seven divisions of the Pandava army.
- According to the epic, the Yaksha Sthunakarna, who helped Shikhandi, got his manhood back only after Shikhandi’s death.
What we learn from Shikhandi
Shikhandi's story shows how strong determination can carry a person across lifetimes, and how a wrong done without meaning harm can still bring results. It also shows that kindness can save a life: the yaksha Sthunakarna helped a stranger in despair, even at a heavy cost to himself. And it reminds us that people, and their courage, cannot be judged only by outward appearances.
Shikhandi in the story
Read the chapters where Shikhandi plays a part.
