ततः संप्रेषयाम् आस दशार्णाधिपतेर् नृप ॥
पुरुषो ऽयं मम सुतः श्रद्धत्तां मे भवान् इति ॥
अथ दाशार्णको राजा सहसाभ्यागमत् तदा ॥
पाञ्चालराजं द्रुपदं दुःखामर्षसमन्वितः ॥
ततः काम्पिल्यम् आसाद्य दशार्णाधिपतिस् तदा ॥
प्रेषयाम् आस सत्कृत्य दूतं ब्रह्मविदां वरम् ॥
ब्रूहि मद्वचनाद् दूत पाञ्चाल्यं तं नृपाधमम् ॥
यद् वै कन्यां स्वकन्यार्थे वृतवान् असि दुर्मते ॥
फलं तस्यावलेपस्य द्रक्ष्यस्य् अद्य न संशयः ॥
एवम् उक्तस् तु तेनासौ ब्राह्मणो राजसत्तम ॥
दूतः प्रयातो नगरं दाशार्णनृपचोदितः ॥
tataḥ saṃpreṣayām āsa daśārṇādhipater nṛpa ||
puruṣo 'yaṃ mama sutaḥ śraddhattāṃ me bhavān iti ||
atha dāśārṇako rājā sahasābhyāgamat tadā ||
pāñcālarājaṃ drupadaṃ duḥkhāmarṣasamanvitaḥ ||
tataḥ kāmpilyam āsādya daśārṇādhipatis tadā ||
preṣayām āsa satkṛtya dūtaṃ brahmavidāṃ varam ||
brūhi madvacanād dūta pāñcālyaṃ taṃ nṛpādhamam ||
yad vai kanyāṃ svakanyārthe vṛtavān asi durmate ||
phalaṃ tasyāvalepasya drakṣyasy adya na saṃśayaḥ ||
evam uktas tu tenāsau brāhmaṇo rājasattama ||
dūtaḥ prayāto nagaraṃ dāśārṇanṛpacoditaḥ ||
After this, Drupada sent word to the lord of Dashārna, O king, saying: "This is my son, a man; let your majesty trust me." But the king of Dashārna suddenly came then to Drupada, king of Panchala, overcome with grief and wrath. Having reached Kampilya, the lord of Dashārna, with due honor, dispatched as his envoy the foremost of the knowers of the Brahman: "O envoy, tell that base king of Panchala in my words: 'O evil-minded one, since you chose my daughter for the sake of your own daughter, this day without doubt you shall see the fruit of that insolence.'" Thus instructed by him, the brahmin envoy set out for the city, sent forth by the king of Dashārna.
337824a0a2de · published Jul 17, 2026, 6:41:26 AM UTC
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This chapter completes the story of Shikhandin: Amba's fate takes effective form through a temporary exchange of sex with the yaksha Sthuna. The yaksha's grace saves Drupada from war and makes Shikhandin a man, but the grace itself has a price: Kubera punishes Sthuna for willfully breaking the order of things. Bhishma has heard all this from his spies, and so sees in Shikhandin not an ordinary warrior but the former Amba, born for his death. His refusal to fight one who was a woman becomes not weakness but the continuation of his own vow and the boundary of dharma that he does not cross even in battle.