Mahabharata: Vol. 5 (9 page)

‘Duryodhana asked, “O Gangeya! How did the one who had been a maiden earlier become Shikhandi? O grandfather! O foremost among men in a battle! Tell me that.”

‘Bhishma said, “O Indra among kings! O lord of the earth! The beloved wife and queen of King Drupada did not have any sons. O great king! At that time, King Drupada satisfied Shankara for the sake of an offspring. Having determined to bring about our death, he resorted to terrible austerities.
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He said, ‘O illustrious one! I wish to have a son to exact vengeance on Bhishma.’ But he obtained a daughter from Mahadeva, not a son. The god of gods replied, ‘You will have a female child, who will be male. O lord of the earth! Return. It will not be otherwise.’ He returned to the city and told his wife, ‘O queen! I have made endeavours for a son and have performed great austerities. But Shambhu has said that we will have a daughter who will later become a man. When I repeatedly pleaded with him, Shambhu replied, “That is destiny and it cannot be otherwise. It is fated that way.”’ When her season arrived, King Drupada’s spirited wife purified herself and united with Drupada. As had been decreed by destiny, she conceived at the right time, through Parshata.
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O lord of the earth! This is what Narada told me. O descendant of the Kuru lineage! O descendant of the Kuru lineage! When the lotus-eyed queen conceived, out of hope for a son, the mighty-armed King Drupada happily tended to his beloved wife. King Drupada was childless. O lord of men! At the right time, Drupada’s illustrious queen gave birth to a daughter who was supreme in her beauty. O Indra among kings! The king was without a son and had it proclaimed, ‘A son has been born to me.’ O lord of men! King Drupada concealed the facts and had all the rites performed for a son, as if he had a son. Drupada’s
queen protected the secret and made every effort to say that a son had been born. Other than Parshata, no one else in the city knew. Out of respect for the words of the god with extraordinary energy,
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he concealed that it was a daughter and said that it was a son. The king performed all the rites connected with birth and everything else that was decreed, as if it was a male child. He was known as Shikhandi. I alone knew, through a spy, through Narada’s words, through the words of the god
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and through Amba’s austerities.”’

‘Bhishma said, “Drupada took great care about all his relatives. O Indra among kings! Shikhandi
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became supremely skilled in painting and the arts. In the use of arrows and other weapons, she became Drona’s student. O great king! The beautiful
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mother asked the king to find a wife for the daughter, as if she were a son. Parshata saw that his daughter had become mature. Knowing that she was a woman, with his wife, he began to worry. Drupada said, ‘My daughter has become mature and this increases my sorrows. Following the words of the one who wields the trident, I have concealed her. O great queen! That can never turn out to be false. How can the creator of the three worlds utter a falsehood?’ The wife replied, ‘O king! If it pleases you, listen to the words that I have to say. O son of Prishata! Having heard, you should then carry out your own tasks. O king! Let her take a wife in accordance with the prescribed rites. It is my firm view that his
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words will come true.’ Having thus decided on a course of action, the couple chose as a bride
the daughter of the lord of Dasharna. King Drupada, lion among men, asked about all the kings who had pure lineages. As Shikhandi’s wife, he chose the daughter of the king of Dasharna. The king of Dasharna was known as Hiranyavarma. The lord of the earth gave his daughter away to Shikhandi. King Hiranyavarma of Dasharna was an extremely powerful king. He was unassailable and possessed a large army. He was high-minded.

‘“O supreme among kings! When the marriage had been performed, the maiden attained maturity and so did the maiden Shikhandi. Having obtained a wife, Shikhandi returned to Kampilya.
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For some time, the maiden did not know that she
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was a woman. When Hiranyavarma’s daughter got to know this about Shikhandi, she was ashamed and reported to her nurses and friends that Shikhandi, the daughter of the king of Panchala, was a maiden. O tiger among kings! The nurses from Dasharna were supremely distressed and sent messengers
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with the news. All the messengers told the lord of Dasharna about the deception, exactly as it had happened and the king was filled with anger. O great king! At that time, Shikhandi conducted himself like a male in the royal household. Disregarding the fact that he was a woman, he sported himself happily. O bull among the Bharata lineage! O Indra among kings! When Hiranyavarma heard about this a few days later, he was afflicted with anger. The king of Dasharna was overcome with terrible rage. He sent a messenger to Drupada’s abode. Kanchanavarma’s
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messenger went to Drupada. He took him aside and privately said, ‘O king! The king of Dasharna has spoken these words. O unblemished one! He is extremely enraged at having been deceived by you. “O king! I have been insulted by you and your bad counsel, that out of the delusion in your heart, you have sought my daughter for your own daughter. O evil-minded one! You
will now reap the fruits of that deception. Be steady. I will uproot you, with your relatives and your advisers.”’”’

‘Bhishma said, “O king! Thus addressed by the messenger, Drupada was like a thief who had been caught in the act and could not utter a word. He made extreme efforts to pacify his in-law, through messengers who used sweet words to argue this wasn’t the case. But the king
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again ascertained the truth of the matter, that the daughter of Panchala was actually a maiden, and swiftly marched out. In accordance with the words of the nurses, he sent messengers to all his infinitely energetic friends about the deception that had been practised on his daughter. That supreme among kings assembled an army. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! He made up his mind to invade Drupada. O Indra among kings! King Hiranyavarma consulted with his friends about what should be done vis-a-vis the king of Panchala. All the great-souled kings decided, ‘O king! If it is true that Shikhandi is a woman, we will bind the king of Panchala and take him home. We will instate another king as the king of Panchala. We will kill King Drupada, together with Shikhandi.’ Having learnt about their resolution, the lord of men
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again sent his
kshatta
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to Parshata with the words, ‘Be steady. I am going to kill you.’ King Drupada was timid by nature. In addition, the lord of men was guilty. He was overcome by dreadful fright. After having sent the messenger from Dasharna away, Drupada became extremely distressed. The lord of men, the king of Panchala, met his wife in private and spoke these words to Shikhandi’s beloved mother. His heart was overcome by great fear and oppressed with grief. ‘My extremely powerful in-law
is full of anger. King Hiranyavarma will attack me with an army. I am a fool. What will I now do about our daughter? It is suspected that your son Shikhandi is actually a woman. Having determined that this is the truth and thinking that he has been deceived, with his friends, his forces and his followers, he wishes to destroy me. O one with the beautiful hips! O lovely one! Tell me what is true and what is false. O fortunate one! Having heard your words, I will act accordingly. I am in danger and so is the child Shikhandi. O queen! O one with the fair complexion! You also confront a great hardship. I am asking you to tell me everything. O one with the beautiful hips! O one with the beautiful smiles! Do not be frightened about Shikhandi. Knowing the truth, I will make arrangements. O one with the beautiful thighs! I was myself deceived because of the lawful rites that had been performed for a son. Thus I deceived the king of Dasharna, the lord of the earth. O immensely fortunate one! Tell me and I will act for our welfare.’ The lord of men knew, but wished to establish his innocence before others.
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Thus addressed, the queen replied to the lord of the earth in public.”’

‘Bhishma said, “O lord of men! O mighty-armed one! Then Shikhandi’s mother told her husband everything about the maiden Shikhandi. ‘O king! I was without a son and was scared of my co-wives. Though Shikhandi was born as a girl, I reported that she was male. O best of men! O bull among kings! Out of affection towards me, you performed the rites for a son, though those for a daughter should have been performed. O king! Then you got the daughter of the lord of Dasharna as a wife. You remembered the purport of the words the god had spoken earlier. Though born as a girl, she would become a man later. So we overlooked it.’ On hearing this, Drupada
Yajnasena reported the entire truth to his advisers. O king! The king consulted with them, about what should be done to protect the subjects. O Indra among men! Though he had himself deceived the king of Dasharna, he was certain the matrimonial alliance was an appropriate one and was attentive to the consultations. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! The city was naturally protected for times of emergency. O Indra among kings! He fortified it more and adorned it everywhere. O bull among the Bharata lineage! Together with his wife, the king was extremely distressed at this enmity with the lord of Dasharna. Thinking about this great enmity with his in-law in his mind, he began to worship the gods. O king! On seeing him thus devoted to the gods and worshipping them, his wife, the queen, spoke these words. ‘In times of prosperity, the worship of the gods is truly praised by the virtuous. Great worship is recommended for those who are immersed in an ocean of grief. Worship all the gods. Let there be large quantities of donations. Let oblations be offered into the fire, so that Dasharna can be countered. O lord! Think in your mind about how he can be restrained without a fight. Through the grace of the gods, all of this will happen. O one with the large eyes! Have consultations with your ministers, so that the city is not destroyed. O king! Act accordingly. O lord of the earth! Destiny, together with human endeavour, brings great success. But when they act against each other, neither succeeds. Therefore, together with your advisers, take appropriate measures for the city. O lord of the earth! Then worship the gods, as you please.’ The spirited maiden, Shikhandi, was overcome with grief at seeing them converse in this fashion and was filled with shame. She thought, ‘It is because of me that both of them are suffering.’ She made up her mind to kill herself.

‘“Having been overcome by terrible misery, she decided this and left the residence for the deep and deserted forest. O king! This happened to be ruled by a
yaksha
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named Sthunakarna. O lord! Because they were afraid of him, people avoided that forest. Sthuna’s abode was constructed with bricks and was plastered white. It was
full of smoke from parched grain. It had high walls and a gate. O king! Drupada’s daughter, Shikhandi, entered there. She fasted for many days and dried her body out. The yaksha Sthuna had eyes like honey and showed himself to her. ‘Why have you begun to do this? Tell me and I will do it without any delay.’ She replied to the yaksha, ‘This is impossible to accomplish.’ However, the guhyaka
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told her, ‘I will do it. O daughter of a king! I am the follower of the lord of riches.
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I am one who grants boons. I will even give what cannot be granted. Tell me what you wish.’ O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Then Shikhandi told everything, in complete detail, to the foremost of yakshas, Sthunarkarna. ‘O yaksha! My father faces a calamity and will soon be destroyed. In great anger, the lord of Dasharna is invading him. The king with the golden armour
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is great in his strength and great in his energy. O yaksha! Therefore, save me and my father and my mother. You have promised that you will relieve my unhappiness. O yaksha! O unblemished one! Through your favours, make me a man, before that king attacks my city. O great yaksha! O guhyaka! Bestow your favours on me.’”’

‘Bhishma said, “O bull among the Bharata lineage! The yaksha heard Shikhandi’s words. Overpowered by destiny, he thought about this in his mind. O Kourava! This was indeed destined for my grief. He said, ‘O fortunate one! Listen to me. I will do what you desire, but there is a condition. For a limited period of time, I will give you my male organ. But I tell you truthfully that when that time is over, you must return to me. I am a lord whose wishes always
come true. I can roam in the sky and can assume any form at will. Save your city and your relatives through my favours. O daughter of a king! I will bear your female organ. Promise me this and I will do what brings you pleasure.’ Shikhandi replied, ‘O illustrious one! I will return your male organ to you. O one who roams in the night! You will only bear my female organ for a limited period of time. When King Hemavarma
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has returned to Dasharna, I will become a maiden again and you will become a man.’ O king! Having said this, they made an agreement with each other. They transferred to each other their respective organs. O lord of men! The yaksha Sthunakarna wore the female organ and Shikhandi obtained the yaksha’s blazing form. O king! Having become a man, Shikhandi from Panchala happily entered the city and went and met his father. He told Drupada everything, exactly as it had happened. On hearing this, Drupada was overcome with joy. Together with his wife, he remembered Maheshvara’s words.

‘“O king! He sent a message to the lord of Dasharna. ‘My son is a man. You should have faith in me.’ The king of Dasharna suddenly approached. Drupada, the king of Panchala, was full of grief and anger. When the lord of Dasharna approached Kampilya, he sent a messenger, supreme in the knowledge of the brahman, to him,
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with the words, ‘Honour him well and tell him this, on my instructions. “O evil-minded one! You chose my daughter for your daughter. There is no doubt that you will witness the fruits of that disrespect today.”’ O supreme among kings! Having been thus addressed, the brahmana messenger left for the city, under the instructions of the king of Dasharna. The foremost one approached Drupada in the city. O Indra among kings! Together with Shikhandi, the king of Panchala honoured him well and offered him a cow and the gift given to a guest.
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He did not accept those honours and spoke these words in reply. ‘The brave king Kanchanavarma has spoken thus. “O vile one! You have deceived me for the sake of your daughter. O evil-minded
one! You will reap the fruits of that wicked deed. O lord of men! Give me a fight. In the head of the battle today, I will uproot you, together with your advisers, your sons and your relatives.”’ O best of the Bharata lineage! In the midst of his ministers, the king heard all these insulting words, spoken by the lord of Dasharna through that foremost messenger. He bowed and said, ‘O brahmana! You have delivered the words that my in-law has spoken. My messenger will carry the reply.’ Drupada sent a brahmana messenger, knowledgeable in the Vedas, to the great-souled Hiranyavarma. O king! He went to the king who was the lord of Dasharna and repeated the words spoken by Drupada. ‘Let proper enquiries be made to show that my son is a man. Someone has uttered a falsehood. What has been heard should not be faithfully believed.’ On hearing Drupada’s words, the king was distressed. He despatched supreme ladies, who were extremely beautiful in form, to ascertain if Shikhandi was a woman or a man. Having been sent, they learnt the truth. O Indra among Kouravas! They reported everything to the immensely powerful king of Dasharna—that Shikhandi was a man. Having done this, the king was delighted. He approached his in-law and cheerfully dwelt with him. That lord of men happily gave Shikhandi elephants, horses, cows and many hundreds of servant-maids. Having been honoured and having again conveyed his daughter,
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King Hemavarma was pacified that there had been no sin and returned happily. Shikhandi was also delighted.