1. Dyau≠ Pitar and His Lost Mythology

3.5 Bh%≠ma will not fight —ikhaº∂in. Although he loves the P#º∂ava brothers and recognizes the justice of their cause, Bhīsma is obligated to fight on the side of Duryodhana, the evil king of the Kauravas who is trying to keep the kingship from the P#º∂ava. Bhīsma reveals to Duryodhana that there is one man on the side of P#º∂ava whom he refuses to fight: —ikhaº∂in, because he is made from a woman. “This my vow has always been famous all over the earth: at a woman, one who has been a woman, one who has the name of a woman, and one has the appearance of a woman, I will not shoot arrows” (vratam etan mama sadā p‰thivyām api viśrutam / striyāª strīpūrvake cāpi strīnāmni strīsvarūpiºi/ na muñceyam ahaª bāºān). [Mbh 5.189-194].