The Trans Warrior in the Mahabharata
Did you know who caused the death of Bhisma, the Kuru prince and son of Ganga in the epic war at Kurukshetra?
Bhisma was given the boon of Icchya Mrityu by his father, by which, he could embrace death whenever he wanted to. Hence, this boon made him invincible; he could be defeated by no warrior.
When the war was decided between the two armies, the Kauravas and the Pandavas, Bhisma decided to fight the battle against the Pandavas. Being bound to protect the kingdom of Hastinapur by an oath, he took the side of the Kaurava army in the Kurukshetra war.
The Pandava brothers realized that with a mighty warrior like Bhisma on the side of the Kauravas, victory was hard to attain. They had to lure Bhisma away from the battlefield. Amidst this Bhisma informed Yudhisthir, the oldest of the Pandavas, that his cause of death was to be Shikhandi, the Dhrupad princess, sister of Draupadi.
Amba revealed that she was in love with Salwa. Bound by the Kshatriya code, Bhisma sent her to Salwa.
However, misfortune awaited Amba. Acting according to the terms of the same Kshatriya rule, Salwa rejected Amba, accusing her of having a relationship with Bhisma.
Amba returned to Hastinapur. The crown prince too did not to agree to woo her. A hapless Amba asked Bhisma to marry her. Bhisma refused as he was bound by his oath of celibacy. Amba angrily retorted that if he had vowed never to be with a woman, how did he get the right to abduct her?
Amba asked for assistance from the other kings to wage war against Bhisma, however, they didn't want to take the risk of attacking a mighty warrior like Bhisma. Parashurama, Bhisma's tutor agreed yet he failed to overthrow him.
In agony, Amba prayed to Lord Shiva and asked him to bless her so that she becomes the cause of Bhisma's death. Shiva blessed her stating that in her next life, she would cause the death of Bhisma. To quicken this, Amba killed herself.
In her next life, Amba was born as Shikhandini, daughter of the Dhrupad king. Through born with female genital organs, her father raised her like a male child, giving her lessons in warfare. She was even married to Princess Darshana, who, on realizing that her husband was a woman, fleed to tell her father. To escape the wrath of her father-in-law, Shikhandini escapes to the forest and starts a rigid penance.
Shikhandini ultimately acquires manhood from Yaksha which gives her the form of Shikhandi. She was now eligible to enter the battlefield and take her revenge against Bhisma, for which she had been reborn.
On the battlefield, Bhisma was stunned to face a woman, which was 'adharma'- against the rules of battle. He dropped his weapons as he could not fight against a woman.
“You see her as a woman because she was born with a female body. You see her as a woman because in her heart she is Amba. But I see her as a man because that is how her father raised her. I see her as a man because she has a Yaksha’s manhood with which he has consummated his marriage" Krishna commented
Shikhandi thus shot her arrow at him. Lord Krishna, Arjuna's witty charioteer, asked Arjuna to shoot a quiver of arrows at Bhisma. Arjuna obliged.
Bhisma now lay suspended in mid-air in a bed of arrows. The death of Bhisma saddened the Pandavas, who held great reverence for him.
The character of Shikhandi is important as well as crucial. It was the young trans warrior's joining the battle, which turned the course of the war in the favor of the Pandavas. However, in modern retellings of the epic, Shikhandi is just given a passing reference.
Modern authors find it disconcerting to write about Shikhandi while the notion of homosexuality was freely addressed by Vyasa in the 4th century BCE. As a crucial character in the epic, Shikhandi incorporates all the factions of the LGBTQ+ Community. It is interesting as well as somewhat sad to note that the concepts of homosexuality appear embarrassing to modern writers which shows that the LGBTQ+ community is still to gain full recognition in society, while a sage had glorified a transgender warrior through his epic, thousands of years ago.
Bhisma was given the boon of Icchya Mrityu by his father, by which, he could embrace death whenever he wanted to. Hence, this boon made him invincible; he could be defeated by no warrior.
When the war was decided between the two armies, the Kauravas and the Pandavas, Bhisma decided to fight the battle against the Pandavas. Being bound to protect the kingdom of Hastinapur by an oath, he took the side of the Kaurava army in the Kurukshetra war.
The Pandava brothers realized that with a mighty warrior like Bhisma on the side of the Kauravas, victory was hard to attain. They had to lure Bhisma away from the battlefield. Amidst this Bhisma informed Yudhisthir, the oldest of the Pandavas, that his cause of death was to be Shikhandi, the Dhrupad princess, sister of Draupadi.
Chauvinism in the Mahabharata- The Princess Who Stood Against the Warriors
The story of Amba: Amba was the oldest daughter of the king of Kashi. She, along with her two sisters was abducted during their Swayamvarya by Bhisma, as a revenge for not inviting the Hastinapur rulers to the Swayamvarya ceremony. Bhisma presented the women as brides to his bedridden brother, Vichitraviriya, the crown prince of Hastinapur.Amba revealed that she was in love with Salwa. Bound by the Kshatriya code, Bhisma sent her to Salwa.
However, misfortune awaited Amba. Acting according to the terms of the same Kshatriya rule, Salwa rejected Amba, accusing her of having a relationship with Bhisma.
Amba returned to Hastinapur. The crown prince too did not to agree to woo her. A hapless Amba asked Bhisma to marry her. Bhisma refused as he was bound by his oath of celibacy. Amba angrily retorted that if he had vowed never to be with a woman, how did he get the right to abduct her?
Amba asked for assistance from the other kings to wage war against Bhisma, however, they didn't want to take the risk of attacking a mighty warrior like Bhisma. Parashurama, Bhisma's tutor agreed yet he failed to overthrow him.
In agony, Amba prayed to Lord Shiva and asked him to bless her so that she becomes the cause of Bhisma's death. Shiva blessed her stating that in her next life, she would cause the death of Bhisma. To quicken this, Amba killed herself.
From Shikhandini to Shikhandi
In her next life, Amba was born as Shikhandini, daughter of the Dhrupad king. Through born with female genital organs, her father raised her like a male child, giving her lessons in warfare. She was even married to Princess Darshana, who, on realizing that her husband was a woman, fleed to tell her father. To escape the wrath of her father-in-law, Shikhandini escapes to the forest and starts a rigid penance.
Shikhandini ultimately acquires manhood from Yaksha which gives her the form of Shikhandi. She was now eligible to enter the battlefield and take her revenge against Bhisma, for which she had been reborn.
On the battlefield, Bhisma was stunned to face a woman, which was 'adharma'- against the rules of battle. He dropped his weapons as he could not fight against a woman.
“You see her as a woman because she was born with a female body. You see her as a woman because in her heart she is Amba. But I see her as a man because that is how her father raised her. I see her as a man because she has a Yaksha’s manhood with which he has consummated his marriage" Krishna commented
Shikhandi thus shot her arrow at him. Lord Krishna, Arjuna's witty charioteer, asked Arjuna to shoot a quiver of arrows at Bhisma. Arjuna obliged.
Bhisma now lay suspended in mid-air in a bed of arrows. The death of Bhisma saddened the Pandavas, who held great reverence for him.
The character of Shikhandi is important as well as crucial. It was the young trans warrior's joining the battle, which turned the course of the war in the favor of the Pandavas. However, in modern retellings of the epic, Shikhandi is just given a passing reference.
Modern authors find it disconcerting to write about Shikhandi while the notion of homosexuality was freely addressed by Vyasa in the 4th century BCE. As a crucial character in the epic, Shikhandi incorporates all the factions of the LGBTQ+ Community. It is interesting as well as somewhat sad to note that the concepts of homosexuality appear embarrassing to modern writers which shows that the LGBTQ+ community is still to gain full recognition in society, while a sage had glorified a transgender warrior through his epic, thousands of years ago.
.jpg)
Comments
Post a Comment