भार्योवाच
यदि ते रोचते राजन् वक्ष्यामि शृणु मे वचः ॥
श्रुत्वेदानीं प्रपद्येथाः स्वकार्यं पृषतात्मज ॥
क्रियताम् अस्य नृपते विधिवद् दारसंग्रहः ॥
सत्यं भवति तद् वाक्यम् इति मे निश्चिता मतिः ॥
भीष्म उवाच
ततस् तौ निश्चयं कृत्वा तस्मिन् कार्ये ऽथ दम्पती ॥
वरयां चक्रतुः कन्यां दशार्णाधिपतेः सुताम् ॥
ततो राजा द्रुपदो राजसिंहः; सर्वान् राज्ञः कुलतः संनिशाम्य ॥
दाशार्णकस्य नृपतेस् तनूजां; शिखण्डिने वरयाम् आस दारान् ॥
हिरण्यवर्मेति नृपो यो ऽसौ दाशार्णकः स्मृतः ॥
स च प्रादान् महीपालः कन्यां तस्मै शिखण्डिने ॥
bhāryovāca
yadi te rocate rājan vakṣyāmi śṛṇu me vacaḥ ||
śrutvedānīṃ prapadyethāḥ svakāryaṃ pṛṣatātmaja ||
kriyatām asya nṛpate vidhivad dārasaṃgrahaḥ ||
satyaṃ bhavati tad vākyam iti me niścitā matiḥ ||
bhīṣma uvāca
tatas tau niścayaṃ kṛtvā tasmin kārye 'tha dampatī ||
varayāṃ cakratuḥ kanyāṃ daśārṇādhipateḥ sutām ||
tato rājā drupado rājasiṃhaḥ; sarvān rājñaḥ kulataḥ saṃniśāmya ||
dāśārṇakasya nṛpates tanūjāṃ; śikhaṇḍine varayām āsa dārān ||
hiraṇyavarmeti nṛpo yo 'sau dāśārṇakaḥ smṛtaḥ ||
sa ca prādān mahīpālaḥ kanyāṃ tasmai śikhaṇḍine ||
The wife said: 'If it pleases you, O king, I will speak; hear my word. Having heard it now, proceed to your own task, O son of Prishata. Let the taking of a wife be arranged for him according to rule, O king. I am firmly convinced that this word shall prove true.' Bhishma said: 'After this the couple made their decision in this matter and betrothed to the girl the daughter of the lord of Dasharna. Then King Drupada, lion among kings, having examined the whole royal lineage, gave Shikhandin in marriage the daughter of the Dasharna king. There was a king named Hiranyavarman, known as the lord of Dasharna. This earthly ruler, O king, gave his daughter to that Shikhandin.'
d2364e607e17 · published Jul 17, 2026, 6:42:05 AM UTC
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This chapter shows how the secret of Shikhandin ceases to be Drupada's private affair and becomes a political threat. Shiva's word remains the foundation for Drupada and his wife, but the human order has not yet caught up with that prophecy: marriage, family honor, and diplomatic obligations collide with the child's undisclosed nature. Drupada acts out of faith in the divine promise, yet that faith passes through fear, concealment, and the risk of war with Dasharna. Thus Amba's destiny continues to work itself out not through a direct miracle but through a chain of decisions, vows, and consequences.