Shikhandi's Story
Yudhisthira was astonished by the secrets his mother had revealed. He organized a party to attend to
the funereal rites of his vanquished brother Karna. And when the proper ceremonial rituals had been
performed, the Pandavas gathered once again to go to the place where the great Bhishma still lay
impaled on a bed of thousands of arrows.
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| Bhishma impaled. |
They asked him to continue his narrative where he had left off.
Bhishma began:
"Amba had renounced everything and had begun the most severe austerities, living only on fresh water and air. One day, the Lord Shiva, carrying his trident and riding a great
bull, appeared before her. Lord Shiva asked her, “What would you have from
me?” Amba, telling Lord Shiva her story, said, “As a woman, I have no longer
any desire. I am, however, resolved to become a man and revenge myself on Bhiṣma.”
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| "Shiva promised her..." |
Finally, Shiva promised her, “You shall slay him, but not
in this lifetime. You must build a fire and enter into it. In your next life
you will remember all the sorrow that Bhiṣma caused you and you shall be born
as a man. You shall be born as the son of Drupada and become a Maharatha,
expert in the use of weapons. A fierce warrior, skilled in battle you shall
cause the death of Bhiṣma.”
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| "You shall cause the death of Bhishma..." |
AMBA ENTERS THE FIRE
With these words, Shiva, disappeared from before
Amba. Amba, heartened by his promise, and
determined to carry out his orders
built a large funeral pyre on the banks of the Yamuna River.
Setting fire to
the wood, she watched it burn until the flames were hot and high. Calmly, her
veins
filled with the ice water of cold revenge, Amba entered into the heart of
the fire and felt the flames
licking higher and higher until she was consumed.
As her rage burned with the fire, she screamed her
final words as an earthly
woman, “Death to Bhiṣma!”
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| "Death to Bhishma!" |
And so it was that by dint of her great penances and austerities, and through the intercession of Lord
Shiva, Amba was to take birth in a kshatriya family as a great warrior.
Bhiṣma said, “Now When Droṇa had defeated the King of
Panchala with the help of you, his students helped by Arjuna, the Pandavas and Karna and Duryodhana and his brothers, he was overjoyed by his victory. "
At this time it would have been
better for him to have killed his old friend and taken possession of the
kingdom. It was true that Droṇa was a curious mixture of brahmaṇa
culture and kshatriya power. Having conquered the kingdom of his friend, he
rejoiced, but he really wished no injury to Drupada. All he really wanted was to be accepted by his old friend. So, when the Pandavas
brought Drupada before him, bound as a prisoner, Droṇa said to the kneeling
Drupada: “Now we are equals. I take from you half the kingdom. As we share an
equal amount of kingdom, we are now equals and according to your logic, we can
be friends.”
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| "Now we are true equals. Let us join hands in friendship." |
Then cutting his bonds and freeing Drupada, Droṇa said,
“Let us be friends.” He took his hand in friendship. Drupada also extended his
hand in friendship and smiled, but inwardly, he was enraged. As soon as Droṇa
and the Pandavas returned victorious to Hastinapura,
Drupada began planning his
revenge. He prayed for a son who could destroy and humiliate Droṇa. He knew my own downfall was key to the destruction of Drona, so he prayed for a child who would be my death. Later, he would become father to the fire-born Draupadi and Dristadyumna.
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| Drupada swore revenge against Drona and Bhishma |
“And so it was that Drupada went to his wife, the Queen, saying, ‘O goddess,
you shall be blessed. I have undergone great penances and austerities,
worshiping Lord Shiva. Finally he told me that we shall have a child, who,
first being born as a daughter, shall later become a man: A great warrior who
will avenge us by becoming the destruction of Bhishma.
In course of time that lady was with child and soon gave birth in
secret to a daughter of great beauty, Shikhandini.
Drupada kept the secret of his daughters
birth and announced to the court and the kingdom that his wife, the Queen had
given birth to a male child. He dressed the child as a boy and performed all
the proper rituals prescribed for a male son.
