Amba

In the Hindu epic the Mahabharata,
Amba is the elder sister of Ambika and
Ambalika. In the story she is abducted
with her sisters by Bhishma, to be married to his stepbrother Vichitravirya.
Ambika and Ambalika happily marry
Vichitravirya, but when Amba confides
that she has already given her heart to
King Salva, Bhishma releases her to go to
him. When Amba returns to Salva, he
rejects her on the grounds that her virginity is suspect because she has been
abducted by another man. Amba
returns to Bhishma and demands that
he marry her, since he is responsible for
her plight. Bhishma refuses to do so
because he has promised his father,
King Shantanu, that he will never marry,
to ensure that his stepbrothers will have
no rivals for the throne. His refusal
leaves Amba with no source of support,
and she vows to get revenge. She is later
reborn as the man-woman Shikhandi,
behind whom Arjuna hides to shoot the
arrows that eventually kill Bhishma.