| Shikhandi | |
|---|---|
 Shikhandi fights Kripa. | |
| Information | |
| Gender | Woman, later Man[1] |
| Family | Drupada (father) Prishati (mother) Satyajit (uncle) Dhristadyumna (brother) Draupadi (sister) |
| Spouse | Unnamed princess of Dasarna |
| Children | Kshatradeva |
Shikhandi (Sanskrit: शिखण्डी, romanized: Śikhaṇḍī) is a character in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. Born as Shikhandini, daughter of Drupada, the King of Panchala, Shikhandi becomes male after agreeing to a sex exchange with a yaksha. He is the brother of Draupadi, the female protagonist of the epic, who is the common wife of the Pandavas.[2]
Shikhandi, whose natal female identity is sometimes rendered Shikhandini,[3] 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.
In Javanese wayang tradition, Shikhandi is known as Srikandi and is born as a male, and changes into a female. She becomes the second wife of the Pandava brother Arjuna, Draupadi being the first.[4][5]
- ^ "The Mahabharata, Book 8: Karna Parva: Section 6". www.sacred-texts.com. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
- ^ www.wisdomlib.org (28 September 2011). "Shikhandi, Śikhaṇḍi, Śikhaṇḍin, Shikhandin, Śikhaṇḍī, Sikhandī, Shikhamdi, Sikhamdi: 31 definitions". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
- ^ www.wisdomlib.org (28 January 2019). "Story of Śikhaṇḍī". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
- ^ Studies in Indo-Asian Art and Culture. International Academy of Indian Culture. 1980. p. 283.
- ^ Hartana, S.S., 2017. Origins, journeys, encounters: a cultural analysis of wayang performances in North America (Doctoral dissertation).page=49 [1]