Shloka 2
Śikhaṇḍinī’s Marriage Arrangement and the Daśārṇa Envoy’s Accusation (शिखण्डिनी-विवाह-विप्रलम्भ-प्रसङ्गः)
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 |
Bhīṣma disse: “Ó rei, como eu não tinha filho varão e, por medo das minhas coesposas, quando nasceu esta menina, Śikhaṇḍinī, ainda assim eu a apresentei como se fosse um menino.”
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.