Shikhandi

Shikhandi (Sanskrit: शिखण्डी, romanized: Śikhaṇḍī) is a character in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. Born as Shikhandini, daughter of Drupada, the King of Panchala, Shikhandi becomes a biological male after agreeing to a sex exchange with a yaksha. She is the brother of Draupadi, the female protagonist of the epic, who is the common wife of the Pandavas.

Shikhandi, whose natal female identity is sometimes rendered Shikhandini, is the reincarnation of Amba, a princess who was abducted by Bhishma at a svayamvara and later spurned by him. The prince fights in the Kurukshetra War on the side of his brothers-in-law, the Pandavas, and is instrumental in causing the death of Bhishma. She also engages in combat with great warriors like Ashwatthama, Kripa, and Kritavarma.

In Javanese wayang tradition, Shikhandi is known as Srikandi and is born as a male, and changes into a female. He becomes the second wife of the Pandava brother Arjuna, Draupadi being the first.