The man of
terrible oath, Devavrata the eight son of king shantanu by the holy Goddess
Ganga came to know as Bhishma after his vow of lifelong celibacy. He was
blessed with wish-long life (ichcha mrithyu) and had sworn to serve the ruling
king. He was the grandsire of both the pandavas and the kauravas. An unparallel
archer and warrior, who posses all the qualities of a king gave up his claim to
the throne for his father. This made Mahabharata the story of his sacrifices
too.
Bhishma in his previous
birth was one among the eight vasus. He was cursed by sage vashista for the
theft of Kamdhenu, thus Prabhasa, the protagonist took birth in the world of
men as Bhishma. However Vashista softened the curse to the extent that he would
be one of the most illustrious men of his time and will be remembered till the
end of all heavenly creations.
Bhishma means he of the
terrible oath, he sacrificed his ‘crown prince’ title and himself the pleasure
of conjugal love, so that his father could marry a fisher women. Thus he was
granted with the boon of ichcha mrithyu. Bhishma once abducted the princess of
kasha as bride for his half brother. This ended in a battle between Bhishma and
Parasuram and the defeat of Parasuram. Amba the eldest princess later became
the reason for Bhishma’s death.
Bhishma was one of the greatest
devotees of lord Krishna himself. He was a true kshatriya as well as a disciplined
ascetic-a rare combination. He never unnecessarily exhibited passion and anger.
A symbol of truth and duty; he was the guardian of sathya and dharma. Bhishma
in all sense was a true human being. But that was how Vashista’s curse was
supposed to unfold. Bhishma’s human birth was destined to be marked with
suffering and that was how his life transpired right till the last movement,
even his death.
Bhishma was one of the greatest Bramacharis of all time, which
made him an invincible warrior of the era. He was also highly skilled in
political science. He had all the good qualities of an excellent king. Bhishma
posses all the knowledge of tactical formation of the military in those days
and only some warriors like Krishna, Drona, Arjuna and Karna could be compared
to the vast knowledge that Bhishma had. He always walked in the right path of
dharma. After the war, he gave and meaningful instructions to yudhisthira on
statesmanship and the duties of a king.
Bhishma was the true son of bharata and one of the greatest men
ever lived on earth. He is a great example of devotion and sacrifice. His name
itself is an honor to him, Bhishma which means severe because he took a vow to
remain celibate for life and pithamah which means grandfather which combined
means great grandsire and Acharya which means the perfect teacher. When Bhishma
fell down pierced with arrow. Ganga herself came to satisfy her son’s thirst.
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