स तद्गृहस्योपरि वर्तमान; आलोकयाम् आस धनाधिगोप्ता ॥
स्थूणस्य यक्षस्य निशाम्य वेश्म; स्वलंकृतं माल्यगुणैर् विचित्रम् ॥
लाजैश् च गन्धैश् च तथा वितानैर्; अभ्यर्चितं धूपनधूपितं च ॥
ध्वजैः पताकाभिर् अलंकृतं च; भक्ष्यान्नपेयामिषदत्तहोमम् ॥
तत् स्थानं तस्य दृष्ट्वा तु सर्वतः समलंकृतम् ॥
अथाब्रवीद् यक्षपतिस् तान् यक्षान् अनुगांस् तदा ॥
स्वलंकृतम् इदं वेश्म स्थूणस्यामितविक्रमाः ॥
नोपसर्पति मां चापि कस्माद् अद्य सुमन्दधीः ॥
यस्माज् जानन् सुमन्दात्मा माम् असौ नोपसर्पति ॥
तस्मात् तस्मै महादण्डो धार्यः स्याद् इति मे मतिः ॥
sa tadgṛhasyopari vartamāna; ālokayām āsa dhanādhigoptā ||
sthūṇasya yakṣasya niśāmya veśma; svalaṃkṛtaṃ mālyaguṇair vicitram ||
lājaiś ca gandhaiś ca tathā vitānair; abhyarcitaṃ dhūpanadhūpitaṃ ca ||
dhvajaiḥ patākābhir alaṃkṛtaṃ ca; bhakṣyānnapeyāmiṣadattahomam ||
tat sthānaṃ tasya dṛṣṭvā tu sarvataḥ samalaṃkṛtam ||
athābravīd yakṣapatis tān yakṣān anugāṃs tadā ||
svalaṃkṛtam idaṃ veśma sthūṇasyāmitavikramāḥ ||
nopasarpati māṃ cāpi kasmād adya sumandadhīḥ ||
yasmāj jānan sumandātmā mām asau nopasarpati ||
tasmāt tasmai mahādaṇḍo dhāryaḥ syād iti me matiḥ ||
The guardian of wealth, hovering above his house, beheld the dwelling of the yaksha Sthuna: beautifully adorned, colorful with garlands, parched grain, fragrances, and canopies, perfumed with incense smoke, decorated with banners and flags, and set with offerings of food, drink, and flesh. Seeing that place, adorned on every side, the lord of the yakshas said to his attendant yakshas: "This dwelling of Sthuna is beautifully arrayed, O you of measureless prowess. Why then does this fool not come to me today? Since this base-minded one, knowing of my arrival, does not come to me, I judge that a severe punishment should be laid upon him."
6ff97f204ff6 · 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.