ng Bhishma, the son of Santanu, in battle I may be able to slay
him.' The god of gods, having the bull for his symbol, then said unto
that maiden, 'The words I have uttered cannot be false. O blessed lady,
true they will be. Thou shalt slay Bhishma, and even obtain manhood. Thou
shalt also remember all the incidents (of this life) even when thou shalt
obtain a new body. Born in the race of Drupada, thou shalt become a
Maharatha. Quick in the use of weapons and a fierce warrior, thou shalt
be well-skilled in battle. O blessed lady, all that I have said will be
true. Thou shalt become a man at the expiration of sometime (from thy
birth)!' Having said so, the god of gods, called also Kapardin, having
the bull for his symbol, disappeared then and there, in the very sight of
those Brahmanas. Upon this, that faultless maiden of the fairest
complexion, the eldest daughter of the king of Kasi, procuring wood from
that forest in the very sight of those great Rishis, made a large funeral
pyre on the banks of the Yamuna, and having set fire to it herself,
entered that blazing fire, O great king, with a heart burning with wrath,
and uttering, O king, the words,--'(I do so) for Bhishma's destruction!'"'"

SECTION CXCI

"'Duryodhana said, "Tell me, O grandsire, how Sikhandin, O Ganga's son,
having before been born a daughter, afterwards became a man, O foremost
of warriors."

"'Bhishma said, "O great king, the eldest and beloved queen of king
Drupada was, O monarch, childless (at first). During those years, king
Drupada, O monarch, paid his adoration to the god Sankara for the sake of
offspring, resolving in his mind to compass my destruction and practising
the austerest of penances. And he begged Mahadeva, saying, 'Let a son,
and not a daughter, be born unto me. I desire, O god, a son for revenging
myself upon Bhishma.' Thereupon, that god of gods said unto him, 'Thou
shalt have a child who will be a female and male. Desist, O king, it will
not be otherwise.' Returning then to his capital, he addressed his wife,
saying, 'O great goddess, great hath been the exertion made by me.
Undergoing ascetic austerities, I paid my adorations to Siva, and I was
told by Sambhu that my child becoming a daughter (first) would
subsequently become a male person. And though I solicited him repeatedly,
yet Siva said,--"This is Destiny's decree. It will not be otherwise. That
which is destined must take place!"' Then that lady of great energy, the