Was Shikhandi a man, woman, gay, lesbian, transgender, eunuch or someone else?

Filter By Topic:

Was Shikhandi a man, woman, gay, lesbian, transgender, eunuch or someone else? Mahabharata

2 points | Post submitted by harigoyal 1418 days ago | 2 comments | viewed 717 times

It is said in the previous life she was princess Amba. If for that reason Amba was a woman, then the question arises, is the gender of soul fixed or soul has no such restrictions? More than what is written in Mahabharata, I am looking for logic.

jay1416 days ago | +1 points

I am yet to research about authenticate stories about shrikhandi but here is an answer about soul.
No, the self doesn't have gender, it's just a body which has gender.
According to Shwetashwatara Upanishad:
नैव स्त्री न पुमानेष न चैवायं नपुंसकः ।
यद्यच्छरीरमादत्ते तेने तेने स युज्यते ॥ १०॥
V-10: He is neither female, nor male, nor neuter. Whatever body he assumes, he becomes identified with that.
Another translation from Vidyaprakash:
The Jiva is not female, nor male nor neuter. Whatever body it assumes, it becomes filled with that body.
It's also recommended to forget such things in the path of Yoga by Swami Vivekananda on his work Rajayoga:
A man who wants to be a perfect Yogi must give up the sex idea. The soul has no sex; why should it degrade itself with sex ideas? Later on we shall understand better why these ideas must be given up.

[reply]

harigoyal1415 days ago | +0 points

Agreed, soul has no gender. It takes the gender of the body it occupy. The question is, will a female in next birth will always be female of that species or it can of different sex. This is relevant in case of Shikandi as Bhisam treated Shikandi female because in previous life she was Amba, a female.

[reply]