#amba

[horsesarecreatures]

Amba doesn’t like posing under rainbows while it’s drizzling. It gives her the grumps.

[yoursdrs]

MISOGYNY IN MAHABHARAT

I've been an ardent fan of Mahabharata, but now that I think about it, except for Draupadi, Amba etc. getting their rightful revenge, it actually normalises rape and materialising women during several instances... Here are a few I remember:

Sage Parashara sleeps with Satyavati, in spite of her unwillingness, his only assurance to her that she will go back to being a virgin after giving birth to his child and she gets a “divine fragrance” (because apparently trauma is fine if you get perfume out of it; wth?)

Bheeshma "ACQUIRING" Ambika and Ambalika from their swayamvar for Vichitravirya....

Salva refusing to marry Amba, because he got defeated by Bheeshma.

Satyavati later calls on Vyasa to impregnate her daughters-in-law (who are clearly repulsed by him) by something called "niyoga", which does not make the term rape better in any way. And mind you, they were not even asked for consent. It is nauseating to think that Satyavati, herself, who went through something similar, did this. Oh, also after, Ambika, one of the victims, sends her maid to Vyasa, when he comes to impregnate her again... Ik it was a desperate move, Ambika, but way to go👏

Kunti accidentally calls upon Surya to test her powers, when she's still a child, and poor Lord Surya, bound by his duty, rapes her and leaves her to have his kid.

Pandu having no issue with the fact that multiple gods are sleeping with his wives, just so that he can have a son, which is obv not his.

Dhritarashtra impregnating Sugadha, Gandhari's maid, because Gandhari did not deliver her child past usual due... Apparently, being desperate for a child (i mean, a SON), is a valid reason to rape a maid

And yes, Draupadi is powerful. She questions the court. She refuses silence. But she and Bhanumati are both gambled away like property before anyone suddenly remembers morality exists.

Basically, Lineage > women. Sons > consent. Dynasty > dignity.

Both the epics show constant sexualisation of women and submissiveness.... Although they give valuable lessons and ALSO PROMOTE FEMALE EMPOWERMENT, you cannot ignore the crude misogyny baked into it.

[morethansalad]

Vegan Crispy Enoki Mushrooms with Amba Mayo

[friend-shaped-but]

Forcepanchalling Shikhandi

In the 2025 web series Kurukshetra, Shikhandi wasn't reborn. With the help of powerful ancient magic, he was made. Tantrik hrt ftw ig.

Amba transforms into a man, and Shikhandi weeps bitter tears at Drupad's death, celebrates with Dhrishtadyumna and does on the upapandavas--just like he did when he was born as Drupad's son. But this is the story of a bloody battle, and it doesn't have the time or cgi or will to explain how Shikhandi somehow becomes a part of Drupad's brood, how his place is as unquestioned as Drupad's children.

That's why I'm here, though. I'll be posting my takes on this here. Updates on fridays. Follow the tag #forcepanchalling shikhandi

[sambhavami]

Women in Mahabharata - Amba

She is the oldest daughter of a King of Kashi, who alongside her younger sisters Ambika and Ambalika, is forcefully kidnapped from a swayamvara arranged by her father by Bheeshma after the other participant kings make fun of him.

Later, once they reach Hastinapura, Amba tells Bheeshma, in front of his ministers, that she is in love with the king of Shalva, and with the permission of her father would have chosen him if Bheeshma had not messed up her plans. Slightly offended, but still polite, Satyavati and Bheeshma let her go.

Shalva, however, rejects her now, citing Bheeshma's assumed wrong intentions.

Angered, Amba seeks refuge with some rishis, and as fate would have it, she runs into her now-hermit maternal grandfather Srinjaya-Hotravahana. He, along with Parashurama and his disciple Akritavrana, hatch a plan to kill Bheeshma in a duel.

Bheeshma however defeats Parashurama after seven days of battle, and Amba therefore goes away to perform harsher tapasya in the hope of achieving enough merit to kill Bheeshma. Here, Ganga curses her to become a seasonal river infested with crocodiles, but Amba continues on her path, unbothered.

Finally, Shiva appears to her and gives assurance that she would be reborn in the Panchala royal family and that she would eventually become a man, and would retain this feeling of revenge.

Within the narrative we see Drupada's son Shikhandi being noted as the reincarnation of Amba [as a trans man], even though some researchers note that Drupada might have just adopted the original Amba and simply renamed and re-dressed her.

[theramblergal]

embers

Bhishma stares at Amba. 

The others call him (her?) Shikhandi. Duryodhana’s worried voice as he shouts at his warriors to “cover Pitamaha, damn it!” is a buzzing fly in his ear. Nothing more than an inconvenience.

The last he had seen of her was not in the radiant court of Hastinapura, swearing she would find a way to make him marry her, no. 

It had been an accident.

He had been separated from his hunting party, and had wandered into a clearing where he could sense the sharp tang of tapasya in the air. He was the son of Ganga after all; he was drawn to purity and divinity like a river is to the ocean. 

Then she had opened her eyes. 

She was not the slender maiden he had abducted for his younger brother any longer. She was emaciated, dirty, but her eyes burned with all the intensity of a forest fire that Bhishma found himself trapped inside. 

“You,” she had said, and, oh, it burned.

Bhishma sees the same smouldering gaze in Shikhandi now, on the battlefield, and the warrior smiles. 

It was his time to burn in the embers now.

just a little something I whipped up doing a 5 drabble challenge two days ago.

[devahutii]

Inherited

King dhrupada's children

Knew not of play nor of rest;

All they knew was of rage.

They bore fury

upon their foreheads,

As if it were a family crest.

Their blood seethed,

It boiled with wrath,

Just as their father's.

Fire blazed through their veins,

Through their lungs and brain,

For they were born of it.

Indignation had been embossed

Upon their chests;

Burning through flesh and bone,

Enshrined within their marrow.

King dhrupada's children

Knew not of play nor of rest;

All they knew was of rage.

[zinzinina]

Hiiiiiii. I apologize for blowing you up today, but I just finished my re-read of AMBA and seriously: it’s SO amazing. I never get tired of it. There are SO many little details to soak up. You were so invested in Boba Fett and put so much care and thought into his characterization.

So, as I was reading this go-around, I was wondering what was the exact moment that Boba realized he was in love with her? And when did he accept that it was ok to feel that way?

Obviously, it was a slow build in his comfort with their relationship over the story, but was after the first time after he was injured and she was fixing him up? Or did he not realize it until he spoke to her in Mando’a in the Princes bedchamber? Or when she got injured chasing the false Jedi? There’s so many times where he clearly has internal struggle and lets that softness or possessiveness slip out.

There were so many moments of growth in their relationship, so curious what your thoughts are about key moments!

Also, what is your favorite scene you wrote in this fic?

K thx for letting me fangirl about your writing and no rush on a reply. 🫶😜

Oh my god I cannot tell you what a lovely surprise it was to see this!! It made me genuinely happier than I can articulate to read your thoughts and aghhhh just truly holy shit this is the best gift any writer can receive so thank you thank you 😭

To answer your question, and this is maybe a strange response (? haha), the first moment Boba felt something he couldn’t easily classify toward her was the first time he saw her drinking alone in the hunter dive bar. He’s attracted, obviously, but it’s not just that (& I think for him attraction is a bit of a nothing-event; physicality and appearance is weird anyway because how do you work out any kind of beauty standards when you’re literally identical to millions of other people? I think the whole thing just ends up not counting for much) —it’s not sympathy either; it’s almost more of an emotional recognition? like an “Oh shit this person looks like how I feel, or how I used to feel, back when I felt anything.” That feeling simmers and soooo slowly warms until it’s burning him from the inside so by the time she starts putting herself at risk for his sake, and even worse, getting hurt for his sake, he’s honestly just pissing himself off more than anything else. & even then I don’t think he ever fully qualifies it or names it until the morning he wakes up and sees her standing on the balcony under the morning sun. I really wanted that to feel like his “oh, I would give it all up for her” moment while I was writing it. And to be honest, I don’t think he ever accepted it; I think he always knew he was running on borrowed time with her and was just waiting for the end whilst nursing some kind of vague, hopeless idea of maybe.

My fave moments to write were probably all the interactions with Cere 🥲 I’m very into slipping in EU side characters if it wasn’t already obvious (Krrsantan, Myo, hahaha). I’d cut out a scene where I was going to have an Aphra cameo at one stage as well and loved that too, so I might clean it up and post it as an outtake one day.

Thank you again so much for being so sweet and for giving me the chance to gush about this story again after such a long time! I hope you’re having an amazing week x