नाहम् एनं धनुष्पाणिं युयुत्सुं समुपस्थितम् ॥
मुहूर्तम् अपि पश्येयं प्रहरेयं न चाप्य् उत ॥
व्रतम् एतन् मम सदा पृथिव्याम् अपि विश्रुतम् ॥
स्त्रियां स्त्रीपूर्वके चापि स्त्रीनाम्नि स्त्रीस्वरूपिणि ॥
न मुञ्चेयम् अहं बाणान् इति कौरवनन्दन ॥
न हन्याम् अहम् एतेन कारणेन शिखण्डिनम् ॥
एतत् तत्त्वम् अहं वेद जन्म तात शिखण्डिनः ॥
ततो नैनं हनिष्यामि समरेष्व् आततायिनम् ॥
यदि भीष्मः स्त्रियं हन्याद् धन्याद् आत्मानम् अप्य् उत ॥
नैनं तस्माद् धनिष्यामि दृष्ट्वापि समरे स्थितम् ॥
nāham enaṃ dhanuṣpāṇiṃ yuyutsuṃ samupasthitam ||
muhūrtam api paśyeyaṃ prahareyaṃ na cāpy uta ||
vratam etan mama sadā pṛthivyām api viśrutam ||
striyāṃ strīpūrvake cāpi strīnāmni strīsvarūpiṇi ||
na muñceyam ahaṃ bāṇān iti kauravanandana ||
na hanyām aham etena kāraṇena śikhaṇḍinam ||
etat tattvam ahaṃ veda janma tāta śikhaṇḍinaḥ ||
tato nainaṃ haniṣyāmi samareṣv ātatāyinam ||
yadi bhīṣmaḥ striyaṃ hanyād dhanyād ātmānam apy uta ||
nainaṃ tasmād dhaniṣyāmi dṛṣṭvāpi samare sthitam ||
I could not so much as look at him for a moment, standing before me bow in hand and eager for battle, without striking him. Such is my vow, ever known throughout the earth, O joy of the Kauravas: I do not loose arrows at a woman, at one who was formerly a woman, at one bearing a woman's name, or at one having a woman's form. For this reason I shall not slay Shikhandin. I know the truth about Shikhandin's birth, O dear one; therefore I shall not kill him in battle, even should he attack. If Bhishma were to slay a woman, he would destroy himself as well; therefore I shall not slay him, even seeing him standing in battle.
e24161a1bc3a · 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 favor saves Drupada from war and makes Shikhandin a man, but that favor comes at a price — Kubera punishes Sthuna for the unauthorized breach of order. Bhishma learned all this from his spies, and so sees in Shikhandin not an ordinary warrior but the former Amba, born for his destruction. His refusal to fight one who had been 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.