Bhishma: Epic Characters of Mahabharatha

By Sri Hari

Known as Bhishma Pitamaha, Bhishma was actually Devavratha, King Shanthanu and Mother Ganga's son. He received a boon from his father that he could choose his own time of death. He vowed never to get married and remained the constant guide, teacher, philosopher and friend to the Pandavas and the Kauravas. He kept his promise of never contesting the King's throne . Accordingly, after his father's death he made his brothers, Chitrangada and later, Vichitravirya, the kings. After both died, his mother requested him to get married and beget children to continue the lineage but he refused to break his vow. Later, Vedavyasa blessed Vichitravirya's queens, Ambika and Ambalike, due to which Dhritarashtra and Pandu were born. Vidura was born to Ambika's maid. Amba nursed a grudge against Bhishma and asked Parashurama to kill him. Both of them got into a mighty duel and both were advised to stop as they were equal to each other. Bhishma led the Kauravas in the Mahabharatha war but he loved the Pandavas very much and in fact, advised them on how to bring an end to the war. Even when he lay on his bed of arrows he begged Duryodhana to make peace with the Pandavas. As his hour of death approached, Krishna asked Dharmaraja to get all his doubts about dharma, artha, kama and yoga clarified from the learned Bhishma. Bhishma spent 58 nights on the bed of arrows and only after uttarayana set in, he blessed the Pandavas, took SriKrishna's permission and breathed his last.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bharatha Samskruthi Prakashana
• Release date: May 22, 2019
• ISBN: 9788194018520

Book preview

EPIC CHARACTERS OF MAHABHARATHA

Bhishma

Written by

SriHari

Translated by

Prof. G. S. Mudambadithaya

© Bharatha Samskruthi Prakashana, Bengaluru. All rights reserved.

Published by:

Bharatha Samskruthi Prakashana

C/o. Bharatha Darshana,

163, Manjunatha Road, 2nd Block,

Thyagarajanagar, Bangalure 560 028,

Ph: [phone], [phone]

bharathasamskruthi.com

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FOREWORD

Sri Srirangasadgurave Namah

Sri Vedavyasa’s immortal work, the Mahabharata, is our national epic reflecting like a golden mirror, the internal and external forms of the character and culture prevailing in the land of Bharata from times immemorial. It is hailed as the fifth Veda as it portrays the battle between the demoniac and the divine forces ending in the triumph of the latter, and announces to the whole world the universal truths of life. At places it orders with the tone and tenor of a paramount monarch. At some other places it teaches through stories and episodes and examples like a bosom friend and in some other places it brings home truths in the manner of a sweetheart. It is therefore a Sruti and Smriti and an Itihasa and a Purana and a Kavya, all embodied in one single work. It is an inexhaustible sourcebook for various literary works in Samskrit and local languages. On account of its extraordinary size of 18 parvas and the weightiness of its contents, it is appropriatly called the Mahabharata. Regarding the exhaustive teaching of the fourfold goals of life recommended by the founders of our culture, it has been rightly announced about this book as follows:

Whatever is found here is found elsewhere and what is not found here is found nowhere else.

We bless the efforts of Bharatha Samskrithi Prakashana to acquaint young minds with the prime characters of the above extraordinary work through these little vibrant volumes. It has derived inspiration from the 32 volumes of the Kannada version of the Mahabharata published by Bharatha Darshana, a premier publishing house, solely dedicated for the cause of the Bharathiya culture. The language of these booklets is very simple and lucid, so as to enter the hearts of the young minds and lead them on to the reading of the original. We hope that the younger generation will be able to analyse and judge these characters in the right perspective, elevate themselves and become good citizens of our nation.

We come across a large number of elderly people also who do not have a correct knowledge of the characters of the great epic. We hope that these little life-sketches based on the original Mahabharata,