But Amba, now her predicament unchanged, did severe penance to please Lord Shiva as he is most easily pleased and could give anything to anyone. Lord Shiva told Amba that Bhishma is his pupil's disciple as Parashurama who was the teacher of Bhishma was the student of Shiva but Personality. Bhishma had a stature and personality that in those times were fit for kings. He was a true Kshatriya as well as a disciplined ascetic - a rare combination.
Like a true Kshatriya, he never unnecessarily exhibited the passion and anger. A symbol of truth and duty, the benevolent Bhishma was in all senses a true human. It is unfortunate that a person as noble as Bhishma saw a life full of loneliness, frustration and grief.
But that was how Vashishta'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 moment; even his last moment on earth before ascension to heaven alive was very painful.
But the strong as steel character which he possessed ensured that he never shied away from his duty, and never stopped loving those dear to him.. Bhishma was not only a good warrior, but also highly skilled in political science. He tried his best to bring reconciliation between Pandavas and Kauravas to prevent the war.
Even in the Kurukshetra war while he was the general he tried his best to keep the war low key by minimising confrontation between the two camps. Even as he fell he tried to use the opportunity to persuade both camps to put an end to the war. After the war, while on his deathbed he gave deep and meaningful instructions to Yudhishthira on statesmanship and the duties of a king.
In the great battle at Kurukshetra , Bhishma was the supreme commander of the Kaurava forces for ten days compared to Drona's five, Karna's two and Salya's one-the last day.
He fought reluctantly on the side of the Kauravas ; nevertheless, he gave it his best effort. At one stage Arjuna 's disinclination to fight him, nearly made Krishna break His vow not to raise a weapon in the war.
Not even Arjuna was able to defeat Bhishma because in addition to being a peerless warrior he was blessed with choosing the moment of his death.
In this war, Bhishma vowed not to kill any of the Pandavas, as he loved them, being their grandsire. Duryodhan often confronted Bhishma alleging that he was not actually fighting for the Kaurava camp as he wouldn't kill any Pandava but would let them kill Kauravas.
But in fact, Bhishma was the strongest barrier that had protected the Kaurava camp from impending defeat. The war was thus locked in a stalemate. As the Pandavas mulled over this situation, Krishna advised them to visit Bhishma himself and request him to suggest a way out of this stalemate.
Bhishma knew in his heart that the Pandavas were righteous and chaste, and that he stood as the greatest obstacle in their path to victory, so when they visited Bhishma, he told them that if faced by an other gender that is a gender which has both features of a male and female in battle he would cease to fight and not lift weapons against her.
The Pandavas were initially not agreeable to such a ploy, as by bringing such a gender to the battleground they would disgrace themselves, but Krishna suggested a clever alternative.
And thus, on the next day - the tenth day of battle - Shikhandi accompanied Arjuna on the latter's chariot and they faced Bhishma who put his bow and arrows down.
He was then felled in battle by a reluctant, ashamed and tearful Arjuna pierced by innumerable arrows. As Bhishma fell, his whole body was held above the ground by the shafts of Arjuna's arrows which protruded from his back, and through his arms and legs.
Seeing Bhishma laid on such a bed of arrows humbled even the gods who watched from the heavens in reverence, silently blessing the mighty warrior. Bhishma was succeeded by Drona as the Commander-in-Chief. Bhishma lay on the 'bed of arrows' till the end of the battle for an interesting reason. Bhishma asked Krishna why he was suffering so much. Krishna told him it was a result of his reticence and silence towards Draupadi's cheer-haran which was a maha-papam great Sin. Bhishma failed to act to protect Draupadi at a time of dire need.
Krishna further told him that the immediate time was not an auspicious time to leave the world. Thus, Bhisma, who delayed his death by his own will, now waited for the auspicious time, when the sun turns northward, to depart from the world. One of his last acts was to impart his final instructions on administration and kingcraft to Yudhisthira. A few formations mentioned in the epic Mahabharata are listed.
Bhishma is lying on a bed of arrows with Arjuna standing above him with bow drawn and pointed. But practically, Bhishma and the Pandavas would be four generations apart as Bhishma was himself a prince of marriageable age when his father Shantanu married Satyavati, so Chitrangada and Vichitravirya were more like sons than brothers to Bhishma.
When both Chitrangada and Vichitravirya died heirless, Maharishi Ved Vyas was called upon to revive the lineage. Then Dhritarashtra, Pandu and Vidura were born. The Pandavas and Kauravas were the next generation, so although addressed as grandfather, Bhishma was equivalent to their Great-Grandfather.
When Bhishma ascended to heaven, he was the eldest living ancestor to the equivalent of 5 generations as the Pandavas themselves were grandparents.
Their only living heir was Parikshit , Arjuna 's grandson, the son of Abhimanyu and Matsya princess Uttara. As the Kauravas were losing the battle, Duryodhana approached Bhishma one night and accused him of not fighting the battle to his full strength because of his affection for the Pandavas.
Bhishma, greatly angered took, "Tomorrow I will kill Arjuna or break Krishna's vow. Tomorrow I shall fight like a lion, and this time, either I will kill Arjuna or I will make Lord Krishna break His promise of not picking up any weapons during the war. Although Arjuna was very powerful, he was no match for Bhishma. Bhishma soon shot arrows which cut Arjuna's armour and then also his Gandiva bow.
Arjuna was helpless before the wrath of the grandsire. As Bhishma was about to kill Arjuna with his arrows, Lord Krishna threw down the chariot reins and jumped off the chariot onto the battlefield, lifted a chariot wheel and charged Bhishma. Arjuna tried to stop Lord Krishna, but the Lord said, "In order to protect my devotee, I must break my own promise.
Krishna, one who was a perfect Yogi and in control of senses including anger, lifted the Chariot Wheel in order to respect and uphold Bhishma's promise and word, as the latter promised he would make Krishna yield weapons source: Satsung CT. Eventually, however, Arjuna convinced Krishna to return to the chariot and put down the wheel, promising to redouble his determination in the fight.
All the while Bhishma stood with folded palms and tears in his eyes, awed by the beauty of the wrath of the Lord and the intense love that God bears for his friends, so great that He is willing to endure the censorship of ignorant foolish men.
Later the Lord told Arjuna how he could bring down the old grandsire, through the help of Sikhandhi. At this, Satyavati's father retorted that even if Devavratha gave up his claim to the throne, his Devavratha's children would still claim the throne. Devavratha then took the vow of lifelong celibacy, thus sacrificing his 'crown-prince' title and denying himself the pleasures of conjugal love. This gave him immediate recognition among the gods.
His father granted him the boon of Ichcha Mrityu control over his own death — he could choose the time of his death, making him immortal till his chosen time of death, instead of completely immortal which would have been an even more severe curse and cause of suffering.
Criticism of King Shantanu from his subjects as to why he removed Bhishma from the title of the crown prince, as he was so capable, abounded. There was worry about the nobility of Shantanu's unborn children, now promised the throne. Hearing this, Bhishma said it was his decision and his father should not be blamed as Shantanu had never promised anything to Satyavati's father. The prime minister then asked who would be held responsible if the future crown prince isn't capable enough.
Bhishma then took another vow that he would always see his father's image in whomever sat on the King's throne, and would thus serve him faithfully. Years later, in the process of finding a bride for his half-brother, the young king Vichitravirya , Bhishma abducted princesses Amba , Ambika and Ambalika of Kashi Varanasi from the assemblage of suitors at their swayamvara.
Salwa, the ruler of Saubala, and Amba the eldest princess were in love; Salwa attempted to stop the abduction but was soundly beaten. Upon reaching Hastinapura, Amba confided in Bhishma that she wished to wed Salwa. Bhishma then sent her back to Salwa, who, bitter from his humiliating defeat at Bhishma's hands, turned her down.
Disgraced, Amba approached Bhishma for marriage. He refused her, citing his oath. Enraged beyond measure, Amba vowed to avenge herself against Bhishma even if it meant being reborn over and over again. Amba sought refuge with Parasurama, who ordered Bhishma to marry Amba, telling Bhishma it was his duty. Bhishma politely refused saying that he was ready to give up his life at the command of his teacher but not the promise that he had made.
Upon the refusal, Parasurama called him for a fight at Kurukshetra. At the battlegrounds, while Bhishma was on a chariot, Parasurama was on foot. Bhishma requested Parasurama to also take a chariot and armor so that Bhishma would not have an unfair advantage. Parasurama blessed Bhishma with the power of divine vision and asked him to look again. When Bhishma looked at his guru with the divine eyesight, he saw the Earth as Parasurama's chariot, the four Vedas as the horses, the Upanishads as the reins, Vayu wind as the Charioteer and the Vedic goddesses Gayatri, Savitri, and Saraswati as his armor.
Bhishma got down from the chariot and sought the blessings of Parashurama to protect his dharma , along with permission to battle against his teacher. Pleased, Parashurama blessed him and advised him to protect his vow as Parasurama himself had to fight to uphold his word as given to Amba. They fought for 23 days without conclusion, each too powerful to defeat the other. In one version of the epic, on the 23rd day of battle, Bhishma attempted to use the Prashwapastra against Parashurama.
Learned in his previous birth as Prabhasa one of Ashta Vasus , this weapon was not known to Parasurama and would put the afflicted to sleep in the battlefield. This would have given Bhishma the victory. Before he could release it, however, a voice from the sky warned him that "if he uses this weapon it would be a great insult towards his Guru. At the behest of the divine sage Narada and the gods, Parashurama ended the conflict and the battle was declared a draw by Gods. Parashurama narrated the events to Amba and told her to seek Bhishma's protection.
However, Amba refused to listen to Parashurama's advice and left angrily declaring that she would achieve her objective by asceticism. Lord Shiva assured her that she would be born as a man named Shikhandi in her next birth and still she would recall her past and could be instrumental in Bhishma's death, thus satisfying her vow. Vichitravirya fell ill and died without siring any children. Bhishma's step mother, Satyavati, begged him to sire children on Vichitravirya's wives, but Bhishma could not break his vow of lifelong celibacy.
Satyavati revealed to Bhishma that before she married Shantanu, she secretly had a son with the Sage Parashara. Bhishma, despite being a renunciate, was forced to look after the Pandavas and the Kauravas, as Pandu died an untimely death and Dhritarashtra was blind. Bhishma appointed Dronacharya, who was another former disciple of Parashurama, as the martial instructor for the Kauravas and the Pandavas.
Despite his efforts, Bhishma was unable to resolve the childhood rivalry between the Pandavas and the Kauravas, which later resulted in a blood feud and a devastating war. Throughout his life, Bhishma tried to convince Duryodhana to give up this hatred but failed. Bhishma guided the Pandavas, but was highly criticized for remaining silent and motionless during the controversial game of dice and did nothing to help when princess Draupadi was being humiliated and abused in the royal court.
In the great battle at Kurukshetra, Bhishma was the supreme commander of the Kaurava forces for ten days. He fought reluctantly on the side of the Kauravas. Bhishma was one of the most powerful warriors of his time and in history. He acquired his prowess and invincibility from being the son of the sacred Ganga and by being a student of renowned Gurus. Despite being about five generations old, Bhishma was too powerful to be defeated by any warrior alive at that time.
Every day, he slew at least 10, soldiers and about a 1, chariot warriors. At the beginning of the war, Bhishma vowed not to kill any of the Pandavas, as he loved them, being their grand-uncle. Duryodhan often confronted Bhishma alleging that he was not actually fighting for the Kaurava camp as he wouldn't kill any Pandava but would let them attack the Kaurava brothers.
Bhishma wanted Dhritarashtra, the visually-impaired eldest son of his half-brother Vichitravirya, to become the king, but his younger nephew Vidur and Satyavati voted Pandu, who was more able.
The land of Bharat shall always remain indebted to Devavrata, famous as Bhishma, the grandsire of the Kuru clan. Besides, Babruvahana born when Arjuna went for the exile. There is no concept of soul traveling back in time to be reborn, in Hinduism. She was born to the King of Kashi as Amba. The same Amba went to Parashurama and gave up her life to bring down the Great Bhishma following a boon by Lord Shiva!
However she was brought up as a son and married to a princess.
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