Shikhandi - Soul of Amba Reborn

Dadi: "Guddu, tonight I'll tell you about vengeance that took not one lifetime but two - and about a woman whose fury brought down the mightiest warrior who ever lived."

Guddu: "Two lifetimes?! That's a lot of anger, Dadi!"

Dadi: "When someone destroys your entire life, beta, sometimes one lifetime isn't enough. This is the story of Princess Amba and the warrior Bhishma."

Guddu: "I know Bhishma! The grandfather who slept on arrows!"

Dadi: "And I'm going to tell you why he fell on those arrows. It started with a swayamvara - a ceremony where a princess chooses her husband. Amba, the eldest princess of Kashi, had already chosen King Shalva in her heart."

Guddu: "So she knew who she wanted to marry?"

Dadi: "Yes, but before she could garland Shalva, mighty Bhishma burst into the ceremony. He defeated every king present and kidnapped all three princesses - Amba and her sisters - to take back to Hastinapura as brides for his half-brother Vichitravirya."

Guddu: "But Amba loved someone else!"

Dadi: "She told Bhishma exactly that. 'Please let me go. I have already given my heart to Shalva.' To his credit, Bhishma respected her feelings and released her."

Guddu: "So the problem was solved?"

Dadi: "*shaking head sadly* No, beta. This is where tragedy truly began. Amba went to Shalva, expecting him to welcome her. But Shalva rejected her. He said, 'Bhishma won you in battle. You belong to him now. I cannot accept you.'"

Guddu: "*horrified* But she didn't ask to be kidnapped!"

Dadi: "Exactly! It wasn't her fault at all. She returned to Hastinapura and demanded that Bhishma marry her himself. But Bhishma had taken a vow of lifelong celibacy - he could never marry. Vichitravirya also refused her because she had declared love for another."

Guddu: "So she was stuck? Wanted by no one?"

Dadi: "Through no fault of her own, her life was ruined. She blamed Bhishma - and I understand why. He had started this chain of events. She went to warrior after warrior, asking them to defeat Bhishma and restore her honor."

Guddu: "Could anyone beat him?"

Dadi: "Even Parashurama, Bhishma's own guru, fought him for twenty-three days! But the battle ended without victory. No one in the world could defeat Bhishma."

Guddu: "What did Amba do?"

Dadi: "She performed terrible austerities. She stood on one foot. She fasted. She prayed for years. Finally, Lord Kartikeya, the god of war, gave her a garland of blue lotuses and said, 'Whoever wears this garland will cause Bhishma's death.'"

Guddu: "Did anyone wear it?"

Dadi: "*shaking head* She traveled to every kingdom, offering the garland. But no king would accept it - they were all too afraid of Bhishma. In rage, she hung it on the gates of King Drupada's palace and left."

Guddu: "Then what?"

Dadi: "She went to Lord Shiva himself. He granted her a boon: 'In your next life, you will be the cause of Bhishma's fall.' But Amba couldn't wait. Her hatred was too strong. She built a fire and walked into it, ending her own life with thoughts of revenge."

Guddu: "*quietly* That's... that's so intense."

Dadi: "And this is where the story gets strange and beautiful. Amba was reborn as Shikhandini - the daughter of the same King Drupada on whose gates she had hung the garland. She was born remembering her past life. Remembering her hatred."

Guddu: "She came back as a girl again?"

Dadi: "Yes, but Drupada raised her as a boy named Shikhandi. When Shikhandi grew up, an unusual event transformed her body to match her warrior spirit. She became a man - ready to fulfill the purpose of her existence."

Guddu: "What happened in the great war?"

Dadi: "On the tenth day of the Kurukshetra battle, everything aligned. Bhishma had vowed he would never fight 'anyone who was ever a woman.' When Arjuna rode into battle with Shikhandi as his shield, Bhishma recognized Amba's soul immediately."

Guddu: "Did he know she had come for him?"

Dadi: "He lowered his bow. He refused to fight back. And Arjuna, protected by Shikhandi, shot arrow after arrow into Bhishma's body until the mighty warrior fell."

Guddu: "Amba finally won."

Dadi: "After two lifetimes and decades of fury, she had brought down the unconquerable warrior. Bhishma lay on a bed of arrows, so many piercing him that his body didn't touch the ground."

Guddu: "Dadi... was Amba right to want revenge for so long?"

Dadi: "*thoughtfully* That's a hard question, beta. Her anger was justified - Bhishma did ruin her life, even if unintentionally. But look at what the revenge cost her. Two entire lifetimes consumed by hatred. Two lives where anger was her only purpose."

Guddu: "Maybe if Bhishma had just married her in the beginning..."

Dadi: "Maybe. Or if Shalva hadn't been a coward. Or if the world didn't treat women as prizes to be won. There's blame to go around, beta. But the lesson I take is different."

Guddu: "What is it?"

Dadi: "Holding onto anger is like holding a hot coal. Even if you eventually throw it at your enemy, you burn yourself for all the years you carry it. Amba got her revenge - but at what cost? Would she have been happier if she had built a new life instead of burning for the old one?"

Guddu: "I don't think she could let go, Dadi."

Dadi: "No. Some wounds cut too deep. I'm not saying she was wrong to feel what she felt. I'm just saying - when someone hurts you, you get to choose. Become the fire, or become something new. Both are valid. Both have consequences."

Guddu: "I think I'll try to become something new when I'm hurt."

Dadi: "*hugging him* And that choice, my wise one, is what will give you a peaceful life. Now sleep. Dream not of arrows and revenge, but of healing and fresh starts."

Guddu: "Goodnight, Dadi. May all the Ambas find peace."

Dadi: "May they indeed, beta. May they indeed."