Chapter 8 - Shikhandi

Satyavathi sighed as she saw the glowering figure of the Kasi Princess Amba in the
palace of Hastinapur.

As was the practice among the warriors, Bhishma had abducted the princesses of
Kasi on the very day of their swayamvara and he had brought the three princesses
of Kasi for Vichitraviryan. Ambika and Ambalika had married Vichitraviryan and
were very happy with him.

Princess Amba.....however that was another matter.

Satyavati felt a little sorry for the princess. First she was spurned by Shalva, the
man she loved, for the reason that Bhishma had defeated him and taken her away.
Then Vichitraviryan refused to marry her saying that Amba had already chosen
Shalva as her husband and he could not marry her now....

Because Bhishma had defeated Shalva, Amba was now forcing Bhishma to marry
her....Well atleast trying to...Satyavathi thought sighing again. Amba had stayed in
the palace of Hastinapur for the past six years and was trying to get Bhishma to
marry her...Satyavathi smiled sadly. Bhishma was named that [Bhishma meant
'The firm] because he had made a terrible promise of never to marry and Satyvati
knew that nothing....absolutely nothing could change his mind. As far as Satyvati
knew Bhishma had never thought of any woman and Satyvati was sure that Amba
could not change Bhishma's mind.

But nowadays looking at Amba, Satyavathi was getting a little nervous. Satyavathi
sensed that the six long years in Hastinapur and probably watching her two sisters
happy with Vichitraviryan, had changed Amba irrevocably. Amba was now a
woman who never smiled and gradually all the frustration she was feeling was
becoming into hatred. Satyvathi realized with a growing uneasiness that Amba's
hatred had found a target Bhishma. Amba was blaming Bhishma for her
misfortunes thinking that he was the reason she was not living like her
sisters....Such things never boded well for any kingdom, Satyavathi realized. But
she did not know what to do. She could not just have Amba thrown out of
Hastinapur....

It was because of this that Satyavathi was stunned the next day to find Princess
Amba missing from her quarters. A quick search revealed that Princess Amba was
nowhere to be found. Satyavathi realized that Amba had left them. But Satyavathi
was too shrewd to know that this definitely was not good. If Amba had left that
meant that she was going to explore other alternatives to get what she wanted. And
with two people as determined and stubborn as Amba and Bhishma, 'the
alternatives' could not be simple or easy....

************

Satyavathi was perfectly right in her assessment of Amba. Amba was no longer the
innocent young girl whom Bhishma had brought to the kingdom of Hastinapur.
She was now a woman with a mission. She was going to destroy Bhishma. It was
because of him that she was now being ridiculed by everybody. It was because of
him and his cursed vow that she would never know the pleasures of marriage or
motherhood....The man had singlehandedly destroyed her and now Amba was
going to return the favour....

Amba realized that she was not powerful or trained enough to fight and win against
Bhishma and that she needed someone else. Someone else who was trained and
powerful and who would be willing to fight for her. And so Amba set out. She
traveled all over the kingdoms to implore the princes and the kings of the other
kingdoms to fight against Bhishma for her.....But it was a task easier said than
done. Everyone knew of the great Bhishma and no one......not one person was
willing to stand up and fight against him.

Disgusted, Amba left for the forests. The pathetic humans are all afraid. None of
them had the guts to stand up against Bhishma. The Devas were the only option I
have....So she decided to turn to the Gods for help. She prayed to Lord Karthikeyan
focusing all her hatred towards the penance. Lord Karthikeyan appeared before her
within a surprising short time.

'Lord! I need someone to fight against that wretched Bhishma and win! I want that
man dead!' Amba said with utter hatred in her heart. Lord Karthikeyan realized that
Amba was so lost in her hatred that she was beyond redemption. He pulled out a
garland of flowers which never withered and handed it over to her. 'Take this!
Whoever wears this garland would be the one who would destroy Bhishma!'

Overjoyed Amba took the garland with her and this time asked the princes to wear
the garland and fight Bhishma. But Amba should have known better. None of the
princes felt confident enough to take on Bhishma even with the garland. Amba last
approached the kingdom of Panchala which was ruled by King Drupad.

After King Drupad also refused to help her, Amba became thoroughly
disillusioned and left the garland hanging outside his palace and went back to the
forests....

************

A sage from the hermitage in the forest saw the regal lady getting ready for
penance. The woman was beautiful....but her eyes....they looked...the sage shivered
as he studied the lady, the eyes of the woman looked dangerous to say the least.

'My Lady! Who are you? What are you doing in this forest? You look like
someone who has had a royal upbringing! What are you here for?' he went to her.

The lady frowned as she looked at the sage. The sage realized that the woman's
face looked like it had lost the capacity to smile 'I want a man dead!' She said so
simply that the sage was shocked. 'The wretched 'brave' kings and princes do not
have the guts to stand up against him...I have realized that it is useless to rely on
other people so I am going to pray to the Three-eyed Lord (Lord Shiva) for a boon
to destroy him!' She continued.

As the woman spoke the sage realized that the woman was not someone who could
be reasoned with. The woman was beyond all that. 'Who is this man?' The sage
asked inspite of himself.

'BHISHMA!' The woman snarled as the sage looked appalled at the ferocious
expression of her face.

Bhishma? The Kuru Bhishma? The sage wondered. No wonder the woman had
found anyone to fight against him. The man was a legend. Why there was not one
person....The sage suddenly blinked as he looked at the woman. 'My Lady!' The
sage stammered. 'You could ask Lord Parashurama! Sage Parashurama is in a
hermitage near mine! He hates all kings and warriors and he is a brilliant
warrior...Why don't you....?'

'Where is he?' Amba was on her feet, her eyes shining with hatred even before the
sage finished speaking.

Mutely the sage pointed as Amba thanked him and left the place, now filled with a
new purpose.

*************
Amba went to the hermitage of Parashurama and told him the entire story. Sage
Parashurama who was in fact Bhishma's teacher, decided that Amba was right and
accepted to fight for her.

Amba accompanied with Parashurama went to the gates of Hastinapur....

'Come out Bhishma!' Parashurama bellowed outside the palace. The guards outside
tried to calm down the furious sage but it was of no use. Bhishma heard the
commotion and he came out. Seeing his teacher he rushed forward happily but
stopped short when he saw the ferocious expression on his teacher's face. That was
when Bhishma spied Amba standing beside the sage.

Taking a deep breath he went towards Parashurama. 'Welcome to Hastinapur! I....'

'I am not here to enjoy your hospitality or listen to your flattering words Bhishma!'
Parashurama yelled. Bhishma said nothing as he watched the sage. 'I am here as a
representative of Princess Amba! You have wronged her!' Sage Parashurama
narrowed his eyes and said in an icy cold manner. 'The only way you can right the
wrong done to her, is by marrying her!'

Bhishma took another deep breath to calm himself. 'Gurudev! I am bound by my
vow! I cannot marry....'


'TAKE YOUR WEAPONS OUT!' Parashurama shouted pulling out his weapons.
'We fight!'

And so they fought. Sage Parashuraman and Bhishma fought as Amba watched the
entire scene with bated breath. The battles was one of the most evenly matched and
glorious fights ever. Anything that Bhishma was able to come up, Sage
Parashuraman was able to counter and Sage Parashuraman was not able to put any
past Bhishma's defences.
The battle lasted for a total of 23 days and in the full time neither side yielded an
inch. Finally Bhishma pulled out his deadliest weapon and aimed the arrow at
Parashuraman.
For a moment the world stood still.
Sage Narada and the other sages appeared before the two of them. 'You cannot use
this weapon Bhishma! Using this weapon would cause the world to end! The world
cannot end right now!'
Bhishma relaxed his hands on the bow. The sages turned to Parashuraman. 'This
fight would not have any result. Please give it up!'


Finally Parashuraman realized that the fight could go on indefinitely without any
result. He went to Amba. 'I am sorry! I cannot fight and win against him!'
Amba looked at him with tears in her eyes, 'But...!'
Sage Parashuraman shook his head. 'He is a powerful man! Our fight would not
yield any result....I will talk to Shalva and ask him to....'
Amba gave Sage Parashuraman a withering look. 'I do not want your pity!' She
turned and saw the proud and haughty Bhishma for the last time and then walked
away from there without a backwards glance.
Amba followed her original plan. She decided to meditate and pray to Lord Shiva
with the same determined and single minded hatred that she had developed over
the years.
Lord Shiva appeared before her. 'My Lord! I want to destroy Bhishma!' Amba said
without any preamble.
Lord Shiva who knew Amba's purpose smiled sadly at her. 'In your next life, you
would be the reason of Amba's death!'
Amba looked angrily at the three-eyed God but did not say anything. Once the God
vanished from there she looked furiously around...Next life? I cannot wait to
destroy his life! I will end my life now and here! The sooner I end this life the
sooner my next life starts...
The woman was so muddled with her hatred that she did not really mind ending
her life. Without a second thought Amba killed herself....
********

King Drupad of Panchala had a daughter.
His daughter walked outside the palace as she watched a garland of fresh flowers
which always hung outside palace. Looking at it she always felt so....odd.
One day unable to take it anymore, she pulled down garland. The minute she
touched the garland, she felt dizzy. A wave of memories washed through
her...Amba...Shalva....Satyavathi....her sisters....BHISHMA...All the emotions that
Amba had, were fed into the girl. She looked around furiously. From that time till
now, no one has had the guts to wear this. Disgusted the girl pulled it and wore the
garland herself.
King Drupad who saw his daughter wear the garland was scared stiff. He knew the
history of the garland. This girl would bring doom to the kingdom. By wearing the
garland she had invited the wrath of Bhishma. If he attacks my kingdom, I may not
be able to protect it...King Drupad decided that the only way he could protect the
kingdom was to banish his daughter to the forest. Without a second though Drupad
banished his daughter to the forests....
The girl roamed through the forests....That her father banished her did not bother
her. The old passion and hatred was back in her eyes. How on earth can I fight with
Bhishma now? How can I bring about his death....

The girl there met a yaksha. There with the blessings of the yaksha the girl was
transformed into a man. The daughter now became a man a man who wore the
garland of non-withering flowers....He came to be known as Shikhandi....