Shloka 63
एवमेष महाराज स्त्रीपुमान् द्रपदात्मज: । स सम्भूत: कुरुश्रेष्ठ शिखण्डी रथसत्तम:,महाराज! कुरुश्रेष्ठ! इस प्रकार यह रथियोंमें उत्तम ट्रपदकुमार शिखण्डी पहले स्त्रीरूपमें उत्पन्न होकर पीछे पुरुष हुआ था
evam eṣa mahārāja strī-pumān drapadātmajaḥ | sa sambhūtaḥ kuruśreṣṭha śikhaṇḍī rathasattamaḥ ||
Bhishma said: “Thus, O great king—O best of the Kurus—this child of Drupada became both woman and man. That foremost of chariot-warriors, Shikhandi, was born first in a female form and later became male.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames Shikhandi’s unusual birth and transformation as an established fact within the epic’s moral universe, underscoring how destiny and prior causes shape the instruments through which dharma and the outcomes of war unfold.
Bhishma is explaining to the king the background of Shikhandi: born initially as female and later becoming male, and recognized as a foremost chariot-warrior—context that will matter for the coming conflict.