Also called Shikhandini.
Shikhandi
शिखण्डी
Born a daughter, raised as a son, made a man by a yaksha's exchange, and the one warrior Bhishma would not raise his bow against.
Appears in
- The story of Amba — Bhishma explains why he will not fight Shikhandi and, in telling Amba's story, names the one way he can fall
- The bed of arrows — The Pandavas ask Bhishma how to kill him, he tells them, and he falls on a bed of arrows that never lets him touch the ground
Embodies
- Curse and consequence — A word spoken in anger by a sage, a mother or a wronged woman, and the generations it takes to run its course
- The binding vow — A promise that outlives the reason it was made for, and the ruin its keeping costs everyone around it.
Questions to explore
- What does the text say about Amba's rebirth as Shikhandi?
- Why will Bhishma not fight Shikhandi, and is that a vow or a judgement?
