Shikhandi

2021-09-05T13:54:20Z

2405:204:382:FAAD:2346:B70E:3D1B:D019: /* Gender */Why did you add straight word , why are you doing thi lgbt shit it is common sense female will be straight , don't do this lgbt shit and don't normalise this shit

{{short description|Character in the Hindu epic Mahabharata}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2016}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2016}}
{{Infobox character
| info-hdr=Information
| image = Kripa and shikhandi.jpg
| alt = Shikhandi
| caption = Kripa fights with Shikhandi (top right)
| family = [[Drupada]] (father)<br />Prishati (mother)<br />[[Characters in the Mahabharata#Satyajit|Satyajit]]<br />[[Dhristadyumna]] (brothers)<br />[[Draupadi]] (sister)
| spouse = a [[Dasarna Kingdom|Dasarna]] princess
| color = #FFC569
| children = Kshatradeva
| name = Shikhandi
| gender = Female turned male<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m08/m08006.htm |title=The Mahabharata, Book 8: Karna Parva: Section 6 |website=www.sacred-texts.com |access-date=2020-01-22}}</ref>
}}
'''Shikhandi''' ({{lang-sa|शिखण्डी}}, ''{{IAST|Śikhaṇḍī}}'') is an [[Androgyny|androgynous]] character in the [[Hindu]] epic ''[[Mahabharata]]''. He is born as female named '''Shikandini''' to [[Drupada]], the king of [[Panchala Kingdom (Mahabharata)|Panchala]], however later transforms into a male. He is the brother of [[Draupadi]], the female protagonist of the epic and [[Polyandry in India|common wife]] of the [[Pandava|Pandavas]].

Shikhandi is the [[reincarnation]] of [[Amba (Mahabharata)|Amba]], who was scorned by [[Bhishma]]. Shikhandi fought in the [[Kurukshetra war]] for his brothers-in-law, the Pandavas, and was instrumental in the death of Bhishma.

In Javanese [[wayang]] tradition, Shikhandi is known as '''Srikandi''' and is born as a male, however changes into female.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dLDWAAAAMAAJ&q=srikandi|title=Studies in Indo-Asian Art and Culture|date=1980|publisher=International Academy of Indian Culture|pages=283|language=en}}</ref><ref>Hartana, S.S., 2017. Origins, journeys, encounters: a cultural analysis of wayang performances in North America (Doctoral dissertation).page=49[http://dspace.library.uvic.ca/bitstream/handle/1828/8047/Hartana_Sutrisno_PhD_2017.pdf?sequence=4&isAllowed=y]</ref>

== Past Life ==
In the majority of the versions of the Mahabharata,<ref name="Sorabji">Sorabji, Cornelia, and Warwick Goble. Shikhandi: The Maiden-knight and Other Stories. Bombay: Blackie and Son, 1916. Print.</ref> there is the story of Shikhandi being Amba in her previous birth.

Shikhandi had been born in a previous life as a woman named [[Amba (Mahabharata)|Amba]]. Amba was the eldest daughter of the [[Kingdom of Kashi|King of Kashi]]. Along with her sisters [[Ambika (Mahabharata)|Ambika]] and [[Ambalika]], she was abducted from their [[Swayamvara]] by force by [[Bhishma]], as punishment to the [[Kingdom of Kashi]] for not inviting [[Hastinapur]] nobility to the event. After defeating several kings, including [[Salwa Kingdom|Salwa]], the King of [[Salwa Kingdom|Saubala]], Bhishma returned to Hastinapur with the princesses and presented as the potential brides to his younger half-brother, [[Vichitravirya]], the crown prince of Hastinapur.<ref name ="SacredTexts">{{Cite web|url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m01/m01068.htm|title = The Mahabharata, Book 1: Adi Parva: Sambhava Parva: Section LXVII}}</ref>

Vichitravirya married only two sisters because Amba told Bhishma that she had fallen in love with the king of Salwa, and was not ready to marry anyone else. Hearing this from her, Bhishma sent Amba with grandeur to Saubala. But Salwa rejected her as well, in shame of losing the combat against Bhishma. Amba then returned to Bhishma and demanded that he marry her according to [[Kshatriya]] [[dharma]], but Bhishma declined due to his vow of [[celibacy]]. Enraged at her humiliation, she tried to persuade other kings to wage a war with Bhishma and compel him to wed her. None agreed for they were afraid of incurring the wrath of the great warrior. Amba got [[Parashurama]], Bhishma's [[guru]], to champion her cause. However, not even Parashurama could defeat Bhishma.<ref name="SacredTexts"/>

According to the summary by [[C. Rajagopalachari]], she resorted to [[penance]] and received a garland of blue lotuses from [[Kartikeya|Lord Kartikeya]] and it was foretold that anyone wearing the garland would become the cause of Bhishma's death. She went to the [[Panchala Kingdom (Mahabharata)|Panchal]], as they were a mighty empire known for its military prowess. However, no one was willing to champion her cause, fearful of antagonizing Bhishma. Amba, in anger, hung the garland on the gates of King [[Drupada]] and left in agony.<ref>{{cite book |last=Rajagopalachari |first=Raja |date=1951 |title=Mahabharata |url=https://archive.org/details/mahabharta00craj|publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan |page=[https://archive.org/details/mahabharta00craj/page/22 22]}}</ref>

Amba did severe penance to [[Lord Shiva]] for a boon to cause Bhishma's death. Eventually, her prayers were answered. But, being a woman with no military training, she asked Shiva how she would accomplish her task, and he responded that her future incarnation would be the one to actually bring about Bhishma's demise. Eager to bring this about, Amba killed herself; in some versions of the story to explain the time gap between the abduction at Kashi and the [[Kurukshetra war]], Amba keeps on killing herself until she is incarnated into a satisfactory situation.<ref name=" Pattanaik">Pattanaik, Devdutt. Shikhandi and Other Tales They Don't Tell You. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print</ref> Amba was reborn as Shikhandini, the daughter of Drupada.

==Gender==

In early versions of the Mahabharata, Shikhandi is still Amba-reborn, but a female. Because [[Panchala]] doesn't practice [[gender discrimination]], she is trained to become a warrior and fight in the [[Kurukshetra War]] (this being the original reason why Amba kills herself, again and again, wanting to be born to a culture that will allow her to fight Bhishma).
In most versions of the story, Shikhandi is male but born female. When Shikhandini changes her sex, she becomes Shikhandi, but is a [[eunuch]].<ref name="Sorabji"/> According to C. Rajagopalachari's Mahabharata, when Shikhandini was still living as a young woman she discovered the garland of ever-blooming blue lotuses hung on the palace gate. Shikhandini put it around her neck. When [[Drupada]] saw his child wearing the garland, he became fearful of becoming [[Bhishma]]'s enemy and Shikhandini was banished from the kingdom. She performed austerities in the forest and was transformed into a male named Shikhandi.<ref>[http://www.mahabharataonline.com/rajaji/mahabharata_summary_5.php Mahabharata Summary By Rajaji, Mahabharata Stories, Stories and Characters from Mahabharata, Mahabharatam in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Hindi]</ref>

In another version of the story, Drupada desires an heir and wanders the forest to settle his disquieted mind. He comes upon the toddler Shikhandini. When Drupada picks her up, a heavenly voice tells Drupada to raise her as a man. Drupada raised his daughter as a son and had Shikhandini married to a princess of [[Dasharna]]. She complained to her father, [[Hiranyavarna]], that her husband was a woman. When the king sent people to check this fact, Shikhandini panicked and escaped into a forest, where she met a [[Yaksha]] who exchanged his sex with her. The Yaksha King sees the Yaksha as a girl and curses him that he will remain in the form till Shikhandi dies, keeping the sex-swap in place.<ref>[http://www.urday.in/satyavati.htm MAHABHARAT: The king of Kashi's three beautiful daughters, Amba, Ambika and Ambalika] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120812010534/http://www.urday.in/satyavati.htm|date=12 August 2012}}</ref> In many versions of the story, the change results in Shikhandi being a eunuch; in others, it doesn't.<ref>Gāḍīta, Jayanta. Shikhandi. Ahmedabad: Parshwa, 1990. Print.</ref>

In some versions of the story, Amba is simply reborn as a male Shikhandi, sometimes whole and sometimes a eunuch. In even other versions, Shikhandi is a male but transgender, due to Shiva's boon that Amba will remember all the details of her past life.<ref name="Pattanaik"/>

In the Ganguly translation of the Chatahurdi compilation, Shikhandi had a son named Kshatradeva.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m08/m08006.htm|title = The Mahabharata, Book 8: Karna Parva: Section 6}}</ref>

== Battle of Mahabharatha ==
[[File:Bhishma refuses to fight with Shikandi.jpg|thumb|204x204px|Bhishma refuses to fight Shikhandi]]

In the battle of [[Kurukshetra]], [[Bhishma]] recognized him as Amba reborn, and not wanting to fight a "woman" (or an actual woman, depending on the version), avoided battling Shikhandi. On the tenth day, many warriors of [[Kaurava]] Army attacked and wounded Shikhandi and some stopped the [[Pandavas]]. [[Drona]] stopped Arjuna, [[Duryodhana]] stopped [[Bhima]], [[Shalya]] stopped [[Yudhishthira]], [[Characters in the Mahabharata#Vrikaasura|Vrikaasur]] stopped [[Nakula]] and [[Uluka]] stopped [[Sahadeva]]. Firstly, [[Ashwatthama]] attacked Shikhandi but [[Drupada]] took him, then [[Dussasana]] attacked Shikhandi but [[Dhrishtadyumna]] took him and at last [[Shakuni]] attacked and stabbed Shikhandi but [[Virata]] stopped him. Later, wounded Shikhandi rides in [[Arjuna|Arjuna's]] a chariot, and together, they face Bhishma, forcing him to lower his weapons. Knowing that this would happen, [[Arjuna]] hid behind Shikhandi and attacked [[Bhishma]] with a devastating volley of arrows. Thus, Shikhandi was instrumental in Bhishma's death.

Shikhandi was finally killed by [[Ashwatthama]] on the 18th day of battle, killed dazed and confused, Shikhandi is killed in a sword fight with Ashwatthama when Ashwatthama, Kripacharya, and Kritaverma attacked the Pandava camp on the night of the final day of battle.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.urday.in/mafterbattle.htm |title=Archived copy |access-date=2012-06-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120617051445/http://www.urday.in/mafterbattle.htm |archive-date=17 June 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> In some versions of the Mahabharat, Ashwatthama kills Shikhandi's lover (male or female) in front of him; in other versions, it is Shikhandini's partner (male/female) who is butchered.<ref name="Pattanaik"/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commonscat}}
*[http://www.mahabharataonline.com/ Summary and Complete translation of Mahabharata]
*[http://devdutt.com/articles/mahabharata/on-krishnas-chariot-stands-shikhandi.html On Krishna’s chariot stands Shikhandi]
*[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48449482-shikhandini---warrior-princess-of-the-mahabharata On Shikhandini's life], book by Ashwini Shenoy
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=Y4WFnIJIZyEC&printsec=frontcover&dq=mahabharat&hl=en&ei=YAFITfjDN8XSrQfl883CBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDQQ6AEwAA#v=twopage&q=amba&f=false Shikhandini]

{{Mahābhārata}}
{{HinduMythology}}

[[Category:Characters in the Mahabharata]]
[[Category:Androgynous characters in Mahabharata]]

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Shikhandi