Bhishma - Son of Ganga

This is part of my ongoing series on the Mahabharat, an epic poem of ancient India. For links to all previous Mahabharat posts go here. Or you can simply click on the Mahabharat page link above.


Bhishma is probably the most venerated person in the whole of the Mahabharat, with the exception of Krishna himself.

Bhishma was named Devrath at his birth by his mother, the Goddess Ganga. His father Shantanu was the king of Hastinapur and after him Devrath was to have been king. Yet for the sake of his father's happiness Devrath sacrificed his right to the throne and became known as Bhishma. Go here to read the full story of Shantanu - The Ancestor.

This is what happened next:


When Shantanu died, Bhishma spent his time comforting his young brothers and his step mother Satyavati. It was only when he was alone that he allowed his own tears to flow. And when he couldn't bear his own grief he went to his mother Ganga and she comforted him.

Yet it was Hastinapur that demanded the most attention. With great pomp Bhishma and Satyavati had the oldest of Satyavati's two sons, Chitrangadha, crowned king.

Chitrangadha, a teenager who'd been trained by Bhishma to be a magnificent warrior and ruler, took to statesmanship with ease. Guided by Bhishma he ruled well and the people were happy. It was only through an unfortunate accident that Chitrangadha died so young. Bhishma then had Vichitravirya, the younger son, crowned king.

Vichitravirya was also a valiant and noble ruler but he was sickly and couldn't travel long distances. So when Bhishma heard that the king of Kashi was holding a swayamvar ceremony for his three daughters to choose their husbands Bhishma decided that he would go in Vichitravirya's stead to act as a representative. The problem was that Hastinapur did not recieve an invitation to the swayamvar. The king of Kashi, holding a long forgotten grudge against the Kurus, had decided to insult the Kurus by not inviting the king of Hastinapur.

Bhishma was infuriated by the slight to his motherland and his brother. In a rage he went to Kashi and defeated all the kings there, claiming the three princesses for Vichitravirya and riding away with them.

It was only once they had reached Hastinapur that the oldest of the sisters, Amba, revealed to Satyavati that she had previously chosen the king of Shalva as her husband. She wanted to marry him not Vichitravirya.

When Bhishma learned of this he asked Amba why she had not told him this at the swayamvar.

She looked at him with wide eyes. "I was terrified of you, son of Ganga."

Bhishma was disturbed to hear this. He realized that he'd made a mistake in carrying the princesses away by force. Quickly, he asked the younger princesses if they had any other choices for husbands and assured them that they would not be coerced into marrying Vichitravirya. Luckily, the two younger sisters, Ambika and Ambalika, were happy to accept Vichitravirya as their husband and thus became queens of Hastinapur. Amba, Bhishma sent to the king of Shalva with a full army escort and all honours.

But the king of Shalva, one of the kings defeated by Bhishma at Kashi, was very bitter. His bitterness was made worse by the fact that he'd lost to Bhishma once before when he'd attempted to conquer Hastinapur. Bhishma had defeated him and his whole army single handedly and this old grudge had fueled his passion when fighting for Amba. Yet the sting of being humiliated once more by Bhishma killed his love for the princess. He rejected her, saying that he did not want "Bhishma's leftovers".

Amba was in anguish but the more she thought of her humiliated state the more her fury grew.

She went back to the court of Hastinapur and demanded that Bhishma marry her since it was he who had carried her from her swayamvar.

Bhishma, explaining his vow of celibacy, gently told her that he could not marry.

She glared at him. "If you'd vowed to be celibate then why did you carry me here from Kashi?"

"I said then that I was acting as the king of Hastinapur's representative. I never intended to marry anyone."

"I refuse to acknowledge your vow. It is you who have carried me here. It is you who have made the king of Shalva reject me. It is you who are the reason for my helplessness. Thus it is you who should marry me."

"Lady, I cannot fulfill your request. I have taken a vow that is unbreakable." Bhishma crossed his arms.

Amba turned to Vichitravirya who sat on the throne. "Great King, I demand justice. I am a woman who needs shelter. In this world a woman finds shelter only in her father's home or in her husband's home. I was brought here to marry you but I do not accept you as my husband. I demand that Bhishma, son of Ganga, marry me and grant me shelter."

Vichitravirya looked upon her in sympathy. "Dear lady, forgive me. Just as Bhishma could not force you to marry me, I cannot force Bhishma to marry you. It would be against dharma to do so."

"You will allow a helpless woman to be abandoned?"

"If you wish then we will find another husband for you."

Amba was trembling with the force of her anger. "I do not want another. I want Bhishma. It is because of him that I suffer and therefore he should correct the situation."

"I tell you again that I have taken a vow of celibacy," Bhishma said.

Amba climbed the court steps to stand before him. "Learn to fear a scorned woman, son of Ganga. If you have taken a vow then I too take a vow here before the king and all his people. Here me, court of Hastinapur!

"I vow that I will be the cause of Bhishma's death. Though I be a weak and helpless woman I will have my vengence against him. I will do this even if I have to take birth after birth to achieve it."

With those alarming words Amba swept from the court.

And Bhishma knew he'd see her again.


To be continued...
To read the second part, go here.