Arjun as Brihannala, a eunuch - Page 5

Originally posted by: Wistfulness

One that hath thrown away his weapons, one that hath fallen down, one whose armour hath slipped off, one whose standard is down, one who is flying away, one who is frightened, one who says--I am thine--one who is a female, one who beareth the name of a female, one no longer capable of taking care of one's self, one who hath only a single son, or one who is a vulgar fellows,--with these I do not like to battle. Hear also, O king, about my resolve formed before. Beholding any inauspicious omen I would never fight. That mighty car-warrior, the son of Drupada, O king, whom thou hast in thy army, who is known by the name of Sikhandin, who is wrathful in battle, brave, and ever victorious, was a female before but subsequently obtained manhood. How all this took place, ye all know it truly. Brave in battle and clad in mail, let Arjuna, keeping Sikhandin before him, attack me with his sharp shafts. When that inauspicious omen will be there, especially in the form of one that was a female before, I will never seek, though armed with bow and arrow, to strike him.

Then it is clear that she was a female who became a man. In this case is it possible for her/him to reproduce?

Originally posted by: HearMeRoar

My guess is that he was Amba's son. Maybe gay or trans. That way, he would have the equipment and the chromosomes required to reproduce even if psychologically difficult.

But how can Amba have a son. She could never find a husband

Originally posted by: HearMeRoar

If we're talking without the divine element, Shikhandi couldn't have been born a woman since he procreated with his wife.

Re: Arjuna. Not a difficult guess since both men were archers.

It's not necessary that her reproduction was sexual, or the children were his biological children.

Originally posted by: CaptainSpark

Then it is clear that she was a female who became a man. In this case is it possible for her/him to reproduce?

Originally posted by: HearMeRoar

My guess is that he was Amba's son. Maybe gay or trans. That way, he would have the equipment and the chromosomes required to reproduce even if psychologically difficult.

How can Amba have a son? She never married and as per epic, she gave up her life and no man was ready to marry her.

Originally posted by: Wistfulness

It's stated that he reproduced after attaining manhood.

Well not necessarily it was sexual I guess

I think rebirth is a concept that is being researched on and it's not absolutely obsolete to be discarded. I understand not believing a woman coming out of fire, of children dropping from heaven via God maybe considered impossible. And these curses.

But I find it acceptable to believe that someone was reborn and there's no reason to think the people of Panchal would not teach him/her to bear a grudge against Bhishma. So she did come up to defeat Bhishma. Maybe she did not remember, but Bhishma took it as karma, as a punishment for what happened to him as a result of what he did to Amba.

This story doesn't seem impossible.

The Amba death didn't happen in a matter of weeks. She wanders along for a good long while and leaves a "garland of flowers" at Panchal gate before she dies.

Re: her having no husband. She was romancing Salva. Premarital sex was a thing even in those days.

Also, note what Bheeshma says: this girl will NOT be a Kuru daughter-in-law (paraphrased). Kurus were not exactly known to reject women with other partners (Ganga, Satyavati) or children (Satyavati). This is conjecture, but I think Bheeshma figured out Amba was pregnant. If she had the kid as Vichitraveerya's first wife, law would make the boy (if a boy) the heir.

There is no other reason why Shikhandi would be called Amba's reincarnation.

Originally posted by: HearMeRoar

My guess is that he was Amba's son. Maybe gay or trans. That way, he would have the equipment and the chromosomes required to reproduce even if psychologically difficult.

Originally posted by: HearMeRoar

The Amba death didn't happen in a matter of weeks. She wanders along for a good long while and leaves a "garland of flowers" at Panchal gate before she dies.

Re: her having no husband. She was romancing Salva. Premarital sex was a thing even in those days.

Also, note what Bheeshma says: this girl will NOT be a Kuru daughter-in-law (paraphrased). Kurus were not exactly known to reject women with other partners (Ganga, Satyavati) or children (Satyavati). This is conjecture, but I think Bheeshma figured out Amba was pregnant. If she had the kid as Vichitraveerya's first wife, law would make the boy (if a boy) the heir.

There is no other reason why Shikhandi would be called Amba's reincarnation.

But where is anything related to pregnancy hinted? This is interesting but unless there's some evidence to prove this it's hard to believe.