SHIKHANDI - Digital Illustration
Amba was the eldest daughter of the king of Kashi. Bhishma heard of a Swayamwar arranged by the king of Kashipura for the wedding of his three daughters - Amba, Ambika and Ambalika. Bhishma gallantly rode up to Kashipur and with his unquestioned might carried away all the three princesses to become the wives of his half-brother, Vichitravirya. Amba, however, kept on urging him to let go as she and Salva, the king of Saubala, were secretly in love and Amba had promised to place the varmala in his neck at the swaymwara - the ceremony where the women choose their own grooms from among those present. On reaching Hastinapur, when Amba refused to marry the Kuru prince, Bhishma finally let her go. When she returned to Saubala king of Salva, the latter refused to carry forth their relationship or marry her as now she was 'soiled' by having been abducted by another man. Heartbroken, shamed and sad, Amba then proceeded to do severe penance. Seething inside that the act of the senior Kuru prince - Bhishma - had destroyed her life - she sought revenge. She was devastated that Bhishma had carried her away though he himself was avowed celibate and must pay for it.
The Gods happy with her penance gave her a garland that when worn by anyone would enable him to kill Bhishma. But Bhishma was so revered and feared in that era that no man agreed to wear that garland. Amba herself could not use it as a woman could not beckon Bhishma to a fight. Before dying heartbroken, she hung the garland on a door of Kind Drupad's palace. The king was childless. Soon the king begot three children through a yagya. The eldest was Amba reborn and was named Shikhandi. The doctors and the astrologers could not decide whether the baby was a boy or girl. She was brought up as a boy but could claim manhood only when a Yaksha lent her his male form after Shikhandi's marriage. Shikhandi appropriated the garland she had left on the doorway in her last birth, thus enabling herself to become Bhishma's slayer. Now that she had the element of man in her, she qualified to carry out the task.
The question whether Shikhandi was a transgendered male or intersex is still up for some debate. My version looks at HIM as transgendered male. The garland of the gods is a tattoo on his skin, indicating the divine power he is blessed with to kill a mortal. He wears no armour that covers his chest and to show the marks the yaksha left him with when he exchanged genders with Shikhandi. The marks represent the scars of a mastectomy surgery one would undergo to transition from male to female. He is a warrior just as any, if not more, for he transcended lifetimes to gain vengeance.Inspired by tale this tale of the Mahabharat, wanted to recreate an image of Shikhandi, that made sense to the modern political landscape. Shikhandi is perhaps the most prominent queer characters in Hindu literature and also extremely significant the epic itslelf. Without Shikhandi, the Pandavas may never have won or defeated Bhishma.
Inspired by this tale of the Mahabharata, I wanted to recreate an image of Shikhandi, that made sense to the modern political landscape. Shikhandi is perhaps the most prominent queer characters in Hindu literature and also extremely significant to the epic itslelf. Without Shikhandi, the Pandavas may never have won or defeated Bhishma.
