Priyadarśana

Priyadarśana, an accomplished vīṇā musician and ten-year-old leader of the traders of Vārāṇasī, has a secret: he was born a girl! A vidyādharī friend of his mother, Sumanas, applied a magical herb that allowed Priyadarśana to pass for a boy. "How much longer?" Priyadarśana demands to know, before he loses the right to demonstrate his abilities?

In Budhasvāmin's Bṛhatkathāślokasaṃgraha, Priyadarśanā is the name of the vidyādharī and the name of the magical herb, as well as the name given to Sumanas's daughter. The text is silent about Priyadarśana's point of view when his gender is abruptly reassigned and he becomes a wife. I have imagined a visit from the vidyādharī to give a voice to Priyadarśana.

Cover Credit: haminasto of India Forums