Shloka 2
अपुत्रया मया राजन् सपत्नीनां भयादिदम् | कन्या शिखण्डिनी जाता पुरुषो वै निवेदिता,“राजन! पुत्ररहित होनेके कारण मैंने अपनी सौतोंके भयसे इस कन्या शिखण्डिनीके जन्म लेनेपर भी इसे पुत्र ही बताया
aputrayā mayā rājan sapatnīnāṃ bhayād idam | kanyā śikhaṇḍinī jātā puruṣo vai niveditā |
Bhishma said: “O King, since I was without a son, and out of fear of my co-wives, when this girl Shikhandini was born I nevertheless presented her as a male child.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how social pressure and dynastic anxiety can drive ethically fraught choices—here, concealing a daughter’s birth by declaring her a son. It frames a tension between personal fear and truthful conduct, foreshadowing how private compromises can have far-reaching consequences in matters of dharma and political order.
Bhishma, addressing the king, explains a past decision: because she had no son and feared her co-wives, she announced the newborn Shikhandini—actually a girl—as a male child. This statement serves as background for Shikhandini/Shikhandi’s later role in the epic’s unfolding conflict.