Śikhaṇḍī
Sign in to saveAlso known as Śikhaṇḍinī
Shikhandi (), whose natal female identity is rendered Shikhandini, is a character in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. Born as the daughter of Drupada, the King of Panchala, Shikhandini becomes male after agreeing to a sex exchange with a yaksha. He is the brother of Draupadi, who is the common wife of the Pandavas.
Key facts
- Character.info hdr
- Information
- Character.image
- Shikhandi.png
- Character.alt
- Shikhandi
- Character.caption
- An illustration of Shikhandi before her sex-change, c. 1916
- Character.family
- Drupada (father)Prishati (mother)Dhristadyumna (brother)Draupadi (sister)
- Character.spouse
- Unnamed princess of Dasarna
- Character.children
- Kshatradeva
- Character.name
- Shikhandi
- Character.gender
- Woman, later Man
via Wikipedia infobox
~8 min read
Encyclopedic overview
6 sectionsContents
- Legend
- Previous birth
- Sex exchange
- Kurukshetra War
- References
- External links
Shikhandi (), whose natal female identity is rendered Shikhandini, is a character in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. Born as the daughter of Drupada, the King of Panchala, Shikhandini becomes male after agreeing to a sex exchange with a yaksha. He is the brother of Draupadi, who is the common wife of the Pandavas.
Shikhandi is the reincarnation of Amba, a princess who was abducted by Bhishma at a svayamvara and later spurned by him. The prince fights in the Kurukshetra War on the side of his brothers-in-law, the Pandavas, and is instrumental in causing the death of Bhishma. He also engages in combat with great warriors like Ashwatthama, Kripa, and Kritavarma.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Śikhaṇḍī” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.