Bheeshma is strolling at the Ganges Beach, a popular tourist resort in Hastinapur, when Shikhandini arrives on a horse. She gets down and walks towards Bheeshma, wearing her beach slippers. Bheeshma, who is hallucinating, sees a barefooted Amba walking menacingly towards him.
B: Where did I go wrong?
S: I'll tell you - ever since you started being impetuous in your decisions. Father was unhappy, you made a pratigya, w/o stopping a moment to think about the consequences. And in that aspect, you never grew. When that fisherwoman ordered you to disrupt the swayamvara of Amba & her sisters, you just went ahead, w/o even thinking about us.
How does it feel now? You didn't learn even after Parashurama had to fight you - you continued! You went to Gandhara & bullied them into giving Gandhari away to Dhritarashtra. Was that really necessary?
B: I needed to get a wife for Dhritarashtra
S: Why? And why her? When you went there, Maharaj Subala requested that you take Gandhari for Pandu. Why did you refuse? Did you actually think that Dhritarashtra was gonna be the king? Had you accepted their request, Pandu would have married Gandhari, had 100 virtuous sons, or at least, his sons wouldn't have had problems w/ Kunti's & Madri's 5 sons.
B: I did not force them to give Gandhari, if they didn't want to?
S: Really? Did they have a choice? Knowing as they did what you had done @ Kashi's court, they decided to quietly obey you. You yourself told Shakuni that there's nobody in Gandhara who dares disobey him, when you were kicking him out. Forgetting that? So he was resentful against you for forcing his sister to marry your blind & worthless nephew, and right now, he has you where he wants you, since you have zero clout w/ either your nephew or your grandnephews.
B: You obviously missed how I forced them to hand over Khandavprastha
S: In return for what? Chaining you to their adharm. Could you leave w/ Yudisthir for Indraprastha & settle down there? No! You have to support this blind idiot & his evil son, who's a puppet in the hands of the man whose father you armtwisted into handing over his daughter.
B: Kunti too is here
S: She'll join her sons once their kingdom becomes independent. But you can never do that - you'd have to die fighting for this blind adharmi. Funny thing - you claim to adhere to dharma, but my lil sis demonstrated your adharma by getting Mr Surya Narayan to accept your offerings. You called my sister & her 5 husbands adharmi, but it was you the brahmachari who was an adharmi. 😆
B: I hear that you too were opposed to those marriages. What happened?
S: Well, Krishna came and reminded my father about what he had wished for for Draupadi. That was a mistake, which my father admits, unlike you, who are incapable of it.
Well, what can you do now? Nothing!!! You've made a vow to Duryodhan that binds you to anything he does. If he slaps his thighs in front of a woman, you'll support it. If Dushashan drags a woman by her hair, you'll support it. If Shakuni - your nemesis - cheats @ a game of dice, you'll support it. How will you do otherwise?
B: My children are not like that
S: That's what that fisherwoman of a mother you had thought, and it was funny when her great grandkids bullied her former co-fishermen & caused them to lose their homes & leave Hastinapur. You can see it today - nobody wants to stay in Hastinapur, and you, or Karna, or Dushashan, or whoever, has to force them to stay. Just like you forced Ambika & Ambalika to marry your worthless drunkard of a brother. Just like you forced Gandhari to marry that blind cretin, her brother is now having the last laugh every day, while you agonize and wish that every day were your last
B: You'll be proved wrong. The Pandavas have become kings @ Indraprastha, and your sister will enjoy being queen. The Kauravas still have Hastinapur, and they'll be happy w/ that.
S: In that case, why do I see Taksha trying to steal the cows that are going from Hastinapur for the Bhumi Puja? 😆
B: SHAKUNIII!!!!!!!
S: Don't worry, my jiju Arjun will defeat him and get them back. We are on the side of good in this war, and you on the side of evil
Bheeshma agonized and left. Shikhandini mounted her horse & returned to Kampiliya
Shiv Shakti
