दुर्योधन उवाच
कथं शिखण्डी गाङ्गेय कन्या भूत्वा सती तदा ॥
पुरुषो ऽभवद् युधि श्रेष्ठ तन् मे ब्रूहि पितामह ॥
भीष्म उवाच
भार्या तु तस्य राजेन्द्र द्रुपदस्य महीपतेः ॥
महिषी दयिता ह्य् आसीद् अपुत्रा च विशां पते ॥
एतस्मिन्न् एव काले तु द्रुपदो वै महीपतिः ॥
अपत्यार्थं महाराज तोषयाम् आस शंकरम् ॥
अस्मद्वधार्थं निश्चित्य तपो घोरं समास्थितः ॥
लेभे कन्यां महादेवात् पुत्रो मे स्याद् इति ब्रुवन् ॥
भगवन् पुत्रम् इच्छामि भीष्मं प्रतिचिकीर्षया ॥
इत्य् उक्तो देवदेवेन स्त्रीपुमांस् ते भविष्यति ॥
duryodhana uvāca
kathaṃ śikhaṇḍī gāṅgeya kanyā bhūtvā satī tadā ||
puruṣo 'bhavad yudhi śreṣṭha tan me brūhi pitāmaha ||
bhīṣma uvāca
bhāryā tu tasya rājendra drupadasya mahīpateḥ ||
mahiṣī dayitā hy āsīd aputrā ca viśāṃ pate ||
etasminn eva kāle tu drupado vai mahīpatiḥ ||
apatyārthaṃ mahārāja toṣayām āsa śaṃkaram ||
asmadvadhārthaṃ niścitya tapo ghoraṃ samāsthitaḥ ||
lebhe kanyāṃ mahādevāt putro me syād iti bruvan ||
bhagavan putram icchāmi bhīṣmaṃ praticikīrṣayā ||
ity ukto devadevena strīpumāṃs te bhaviṣyati ||
Duryodhana said: 'O son of Ganga, how did Shikhandin, having been born a girl, then become a man, O best of warriors? Tell me this, grandfather.' Bhishma said: 'O king, the wife of King Drupada, his beloved chief queen, was childless. At that very time, O great king, Drupada, lord of the earth, desiring offspring, propitiated Shankara. Having resolved to undertake a terrible austerity for the sake of my death, he obtained a daughter from Mahadeva, who said: "May I have a son." "O Lord, I desire a son so that I may repay Bhishma," he said; and the God of gods answered him: "You shall have one who will become a man."'
4e64cf2ea427 · published Jul 17, 2026, 6:42:05 AM UTC
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This chapter shows how Amba's vow begins to enter history through the house of Drupada. Shiva does not overturn the world's order by an instant miracle, but grants a destiny that unfolds gradually: the child is born a daughter, yet destined to become a man and the instrument of Bhishma's death. Drupada and his wife act out of faith in the god's word, and so they conceal the child's sex and perform the rites due a son. For Bhishma this is not merely a family secret of the Panchalas: he sees in it the continuation of Amba's austerity and the working of a destiny that no human means can turn aside.