The significance of one of the major characters of the Bhagvat Geeta.
Pandavas meet Pitamaha Bhishma before the war to seek his blessings; Image Source: Hindi Gita Press Mahabharata
EARLY LIFE
Bhishma is a prominent figure in the great Indian epic of Mahabharat known for being a man of his words, a brave soldier and firm believer of Dharma, the code of conduct. . He is famously known by his many names such as Bhishma Pitamah, where Bhishma stands for fierce, fearful and the later means grandfather. Devavrata and Gangaputra, the only surviving son of Ganga too are the titles associated with him.
He was born to King Shantanu from the lunar dynasty of the Kuru clan. The king fell in love with river Ganga. They decided to get married but one one condition of Ganga that Shantanu would never raise any question about her actions. Shantanu happily obliged, not knowing that due to a curse, Ganga used to dispose of kids in the river. Shantanu could not contain his concern and inquired about this. As promised, Ganga abandoned Shantanu upon questioning but left Bhishma with him, owing the title to the kid. Soon after this, Shantanu once again fell in love with Satyavati.
But in order to marry her, he had to agree to the certain terms she had, just like his first wife. She demanded that it should be her kids that shall become heir to the clan and not that of the first wife’s, Bhishma. Simply to make his father happy, Bhishma took a celibacy oath wherein he would never be able to start his own family, let alone produce an heir. An impressed Shantanu gave the boon of Ichha Mritiyu to his son, giving him the power to die only when he wished too. This kept Bhishma alive till he could see his very own bloodline collapse in front of his eyes. The children of his kingdom then go on harbouring animosity and leading to the massive combat of Kurukshetra.
LIFE EVENTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS TO SOCIETY
He was the commander of the Kaurava army in the battle of Kurukshetra. Bhishma was aggressively loyal to the throne and its rulers. Although this was a result of the moral code of conduct that he followed, he felt deeply about his other grandsons, the Pandavas too, even more so than the ones he was openly supporting. He personally opted for peace at all times and did not favour bloodshed of his own family members. But he was sworn in to serve the current king of Hastinapur and he did so till he breathed his last.
LIFE AFTER MAJOR EVENTS
Bhishma was shot by multiple arrows by his own grandson Arjun. He was in immense pain and suffering but he had pledged to not die before leaving Hastinapur to someone responsible so he did not aces his boon and survived the pain. The war was brought to a close when all the Kauravas were killed, the bloodshed resulted in the Pandavas victory.
LIFE LESSONS
On his deathbed, he confessed about his mistakes in front of the Pandavas. He admitted that his love for Shantanu is what caused this chaos, had he not vowed celibacy, he would’ve had children and the Kuru clan would be alive. He also mentioned how his faithfulness towards the ruler of the throne kept him from taking any actions against the Kauravs and remained a mere witness throughout generations. He advised Yudhishtir, the heir of the kingdom, to focus solely on the welfare of people and their well being. The virtue of his righteousness was well established, appreciated and aimed for.
His courage, strength, intelligence were the things he was always respected for. He remained the guardian of the Pandavas after the demise of their father.
