1. Dyau≠ Pitar and His Lost Mythology

3.4. Amb#’s rebirth as —ikhaº∂in. Meanwhile, the wife of King Drupada is sonless, and the king beseeches —iva for a son . —iva grants him a daughter. Drupada protests that needs a son to fight Bhīsma. (His daughter Draupadī has married the P#º∂ava.) —iva replies “You will have a male who is female (strīpumā²s te bhavi≠yati).” And so a daughter is born to the queen, but the queen raises him as a boy with the name —ikhaº∂in. Eventually the king and his wife marry —ikhaº∂in to the daughter of King Hiraºyavarman. The princess bride realizes her husband is a woman and complains to her father, who threatens war. The court is thrown into an uproar, and —ikhaº∂in, overcome with sorrow at these trouble, flees to a forest. The forest is domain of a Yak≠a (a kind of supernatural being that guards the treasures of the earth) named Sth&ºa, who takes pity on her and offers her a boon. —ikhaº∂in says that would be impossible to fulfill this particular request. The Yak≠a says he will do it nevertheless. —ikhaº∂in asks to be made a man, and the Yak≠a says he will exchange sex organs with —ikhaº∂in long enough to turn back the armies of Hiraºyavarman, but that he must have it back when this is done. —ikhaº∂in returns to his family and everyone is reassured that he is a man. Meanwhile, the lord of the Yak≠as, Kubera, pays a visit to Sth&ºa and is disgusted by Sth&ºa’s behavior. Kubera curses Sth&ºa to remain female forever. All the Yak≠as plead on Sth&ºa’s behalf, and Kubera relents by places a limit on his curse: Sth&ºa will regain his manhood when —ikhaº∂in is killed in battle [Mbh 5.189-193].