Shloka 125
शिखण्डी द्रुपदाज्जज्ञे कन्या पुत्रत्वमागता । यां यक्ष: पुरुषं चक्रे स्थूण: प्रियचिकीर्षया,राजा ट्रपदसे शिखण्डी नामकी एक कन्या हुई, जो आगे चलकर पुत्ररूपमें परिणत हो गयी। स्थूणाकर्ण नामक यक्षने उसका प्रिय करनेकी इच्छासे उसे पुरुष बना दिया था
śikhaṇḍī drupadāj jajñe kanyā putratvam āgatā | yāṃ yakṣaḥ puruṣaṃ cakre sthūṇaḥ priyacikīrṣayā ||
Dāśa said: From Drupada was born Śikhaṇḍī as a daughter, who later came to be regarded as a son. A yakṣa named Sthūṇa, wishing to do her a kindness, transformed her into a man. The episode frames how destiny and extraordinary agencies can reshape social identity, setting the conditions for later moral and martial consequences.
दाश उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how unforeseen forces—here a yakṣa’s intervention—can alter a person’s social role and identity, thereby shaping later ethical and historical outcomes. It invites reflection on the limits of human control, the complexity of dharma in lived circumstances, and how intentions (priyacikīrṣā) can have far-reaching consequences.
Dāśa recounts Śikhaṇḍī’s origin: born to King Drupada as a daughter, she later becomes a son because the yakṣa Sthūṇa transforms her into a man out of goodwill. This background explains Śikhaṇḍī’s later role in the epic’s unfolding conflicts.