Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Bheeshma

King Shantanu of Hastinapur married Ganga - the river who stays in heaven. But she had set a condition. King should not ask her any questions no matter what she does. Blinded by love and passion, king agrees and marries Ganga.

Ganga gives birth to a beautiful son. But as soon as the baby is born, Ganga takes the new born to the river and puts the baby in the river and returns empty handed. King is aghast after hearing the news. He comes to confront her. But remembering her condition, he keeps quiet.

But Ganga throws her sons into the river again and again. Seven sons of King Shantanu are thrown into river. But when eighth son is born, king can no longer hide his anger and sadness and stops her. King asks Ganga, why is she throwing their children to river. Ganga returns back to heaven as King is broken his promise.

Eighth son of King Shantanu remains alive and is called Devavrata who later becomes Bheeshma.

Devavrata grows to become handsome and strong young man. When he is 16, he notices that his father has become very moody and is showing interest in nothing. When he probes around, he comes to know that his father has fallen for a daughter of a fisherman called Matsyagandhi. But the fisherman is not letting him marry his daughter because, Shantanu already has a son who will be heir to the throne.

Devavrata walks to the hut of Matsyagandhi and promises her father that he will never become king, so he need not worry. Then fisherman raises the doubt that, his children may covet the throne and hence snatch it from fisherman's grandsons. At this the prince makes a bheeshma pratijne - severe oath - that he will never marry so that his children or grand children will never compete for the throne. With this oath, he comes to be called as Bheeshma. He also promises that he will always protect the throne of Hastinapur.

Shantanu marries Matsyagandhi and later gives birth to two sons Chitraveerya and Vichitraveerya.

Bheeshma brings them up like his own children. Educates them. But Chitraveerya dies an untimely death.

Bheeshma goes to a swayamvara to bring brides for Vichitraveerya. King of kashi had 3 daughters Amba, Ambika, Ambalika and had arranged a swayamvara for their marriage.  Bheeshma abducts these three princesses and brings them to Hastinapur.

But Amba tells him that she loves King Salva and would marry only him. Bheeshma is kind and tells her to go to Salva and marry him. But Salva rejects her because she was abducted by Bheeshma.

Amba returns to Hastinapur and asks Bheeshma to marry her. He tells her about his oath and declines to marry her. She does severe tapas asks a boon to kill him.  and is born as King Drupad's daughter Shikhandi.

In the Mahabharatha war, Shikhandi comes opposite to Bheeshma. Bheeshma says he can not fight with women and leaves the battle ground. He asks his great grand son Arjun  to prepare a bed made of arrows for him and lies on it waiting for Uttarayana to come. Waiting for his death.

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