Chapter One – Bhishma
The Mahabharata is one of the most revered and sacred texts in Indian history and culture. Dating back thousands of years, this scripture is considered a spiritual and enlightening journey through the cycle of life and death. All the characters signify a particular personality trait or importance causing an impact on our daily lives. The “Bhagwad Geeta” is a part of it and is read all over the world in more than 40 languages.
The main reason behind this series of articles is not only to portray the teachings of every person in it, but also to introspect our character through their lives. Hence, it is necessary to understand the science, psychology and personal beliefs of every individual to make our lives better. Every character has a story to tell!
Devavrath – Birth of Bhishma
Born as Devavrath to Maharaj Shantanu and Maata Ganga, Bhishma was one of the valiant warriors of the Kuru dynasty who didn’t break his vow and loyalty to the throne of Hastinapur until the end of his life. Gained knowledge and warfare skills from Lord Parshuram himself, Bhishma was indomitable and undefeated by many throughout his life. Wielder of many celestial weapons, Bhishma was counted amongst the “Maharathis” (Warrior of the warriors) in the Mahabharata war. It purely means a person capable of fighting 7,20,000 warriors simultaneously and with a higher succession rate.
Bhishma was blessed to die at his own will and he also chose to practice celibacy the entire life and serve to the throne of Hastinapur, no matter who the king is. This is where we try to break down the psychology of a warrior capable beyond our imagination.
Bhisma was no ordinary individual. His mastery over weapons and combat skills had gained fame and respect all over the sub-continent of Bharat. His vow to be a servant to the throne merely comes out of his respect to Maharaj Shantanu and Maharani Satyavati.
Not a flaw, but a gesture that changed Bhishma’s life forever.
Kauravas and Pandavas – Start of Mahabharat
The throne lacked a good king after Vichitravirya until the birth of Dhritarashtra and Pandu. He trained them, mentored them and raised them like his own kids. Bhishma had no liking for power. His whole life he was devoted to protecting ‘Dharma’ or righteousness in his lands. The history timeline took a turn when Maharaj Pandu died in the forests leaving behind his 5 sons – the Pandavas. Dhritarashtra had 101 sons and 1 daughter – the Kauravas.
The story of Mahabharata was not only a clash between brothers but also a duel of values, ethics, morality and greed. It was Bhishma who was responsible for delaying the incidents that we all learnt later on after the brothers grew up.
The reason being?
Bhishma’s interference in various administrative matters and code of conduct which put a halting effect on the destruction of all that was built up by Dhritarashtra and Pandu. Though, we consider Shakuni portraying the villainous catalyst to the entire story, Bhishma’s contribution is something that was ignored and bounced back after the game of dice between the half-brothers. Shakuni’s moves to upturn the whole system of Hastinapur was not invisible to Bhishma.
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Though playing smarter than others, Shakuni knew for the fact that Bhishma is the only one who can create a problem but he was confident enough that he was devoted to his rules and vows. Does that make Bhishma incompetent?
Absolutely not.
He was the wisest and chose to stay silent as he never thought so many steps ahead of Shakuni. His vow and ethics or his deviated definition of “Dharma” made him work only through a single perspective. Perspective matters, no matter in what aspect of life.
As a matter of fact, Bhishma was the one who stayed silent during the game of dice while Draupadi was disrobed by Dusshasan. He was silent when Dhritarashtra exiled the Pandavas. He was silent when the war was waged between the family. He was silent while many people died in the war. He did not let Karna participate until he was present in the battlefield.
His vows were unbreakable until Lord Krishna decided to intervene and enlighten . A moment of nirvana for the great warrior indeed! Bhishma adored Lord Krishna and had a huge respect for him. However, it was the stubbornness of his duty towards the throne that made him attack Lord Krishna, the supreme deity. This is the time when Bhishma was enlightened by the God himself and he realized the true “Dharma”.
This creates an impact of ‘change’ in our lives. Change cannot be ignored. Change is inevitable. The entire character of Pitamah Bhishma creates a resilience towards change in his life. The inaction in decision making and not changing as per the timeline escalates problems to a level that changed the history of mankind. One step towards change and the entire war would have been evaded. But, it was his fate and a lesson to rest of the generations to come – that change should be incorporated wherever possible for growth.
Bed of Arrows for the great Warrior
He was no ordinary warrior, a master and warrior, a person who was alive on a bed of arrows for more than 90 days guided Yudhisthir after he was crowned the King of Hastinapur. It was acceptance of defeat and inaction that made Bhishma see beyond his own perspective and gave a new way of life to Yudhisthir.
The entire world will remember Bhishma – not only for his valour, but also the lessons through his defeat.
About the Author – Swanand Oak
Sommelier by profession & a Photographer by passion, Swanand is an avid history geek and loves reading and writing. He has a great fascination towards Indian culture, history and the ethnography which makes him pursue knowledge and its impact on everyday lives as well as the teachings out of it. He even has an active Blog page with articles based on the same and tries to educate himself as well as the youth in his network on various topics in the field.
His goal is to bring the people together through the medium of writing and awareness, and to make others curious about the golden history that India holds. The roots of this beautiful land is a pathway towards the bright future of India.
Apart from that, Swanand also likes to travel, and also interested in knowing about global history and architecture.
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Image Courtesy:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wuosY59Svic/VpYSF9pp_DI/AAAAAAAAhDQ/WZp7c8n1YqM/s640/bhishma-lozhe.jpg
https://deepak-2000.medium.com/why-did-bhishma-wait-till-uttarayana-to-leave-his-body-9b3889dc332f
