BHISHMA PITAMAHA: THE FUNDAMENTAL CAUSE BEHIND THE KURUKSHETRA WAR

 

 Hindu historical epics like Mahabharata and Ramayana have always remained a source of countless debates and squabbles among intellectuals. It remains a mystery whether these events literally happened or not but these scriptures convey a lot than you read. One of my favourite epics is Mahabharata because it is so adroitly written that it immaculately represents the ‘true human fallibility’ whether it’s’ the greed of Duryodhana’ or the ‘profound bondage of Dhritarashtra for his sons’ these events correlate with the true nature of Humans.

Bhishma Pitamaha©Pinterest (Atlantis)

Though all the characters in Mahabharata are too complicated to be deciphered but among all these personas Bheeshma Pitamaha is the most crucial character of Mahabharata.

WHO WAS BHISHMA PITAMAHA?

Bhishma Pitamaha©Pallavi Tripathi

Bhishma Pitamaha was the son of king Shantanu and Ganga who received his education from the sixth incarnation of Vishnu (Parshuram). His original name was Devrath and he was proficient in various fields including dharma shastra, Vedas and yudhshashtra (warfare skills).

His unmatched aptitudes helped him to procure the title of Yuvraaj (a title that is given to a successor of a kingdom). Nevertheless the path of greatness gave rise to complications and problems. That predicament did happen when Devrath’s father decided to marry Satyavati (daughter of a fisherman) who cleverly put down some conditions in front of the king. If the king agrees to her conditions then she would marry him.

Her conditions include:

1)     Her firstborn child will become the king of Hastinapur

2)     Devrath should give up his title of ‘Yuvraaj’

3)     Devrath should carry out the orders of the future king of Hastinapur and guide him properly.

Devrath wholeheartedly agreed to the demands of Satyavati and took a fierce vow of not getting married and live a life like a celibate. He even agreed to the term of giving up the title of ‘Yuvraaj’.

Since that day Devrath was called ‘Bhishma Pitamaha’.

WHY BHISHMA PITAMAHA WAS THE FUNDAMENTAL CAUSE BEHIND THE KURUKSHETRA WAR?

Bhishma Pitamaha©Pen India Limited

It’s easy to take a vow without assuming its future consequences. It’s easy to agree to the demands of a particular person without analyzing its shortcomings. That’s what actually happened. Bhishma’s consent to Satyavati’s demands secondarily leads to the downfall of the Kuru clan. His unquestionable fidelity for king ‘Dhritarashtra’ stopped him to act against the cruel intentions of Kauravas especially Duryodhana. Though Bhishma tried to resolve the problems among the 105 brothers by dividing the territories of their kingdom, his efforts went into vain when the Pandavas lost their territory to Kauravas in a mere game of Dice.

Bhishma’s consent to the demands of Satyavati generated a situation where an incompetent person like Dhritarashtra became the ruler of Hastinapur who even failed to interpret the evil intentions of his son (Duryodhana) because of his profound affection for his offspring.

Bhishma’s vow and Dhritarashtra’s lack of judgment resulted in one of the shameful incidents in the history of Hindu epics. Draupadi(wife of Pandavas) faced an indelible mortification in the royal court of Hastinapur when Dushasana tried to disrobe her. This incident played the role of a catalyst and resulted in the fierce battle among the 105 brothers.

One way or other Bhishma Pitamaha’s inability to act against the malfeasances due to his ‘AKHAND PRATIGYA’ (VOW) resulted in this bloodshed. His character signifies a person who remained loyal to his words but never received something substantial in return. His final days were comprised of internal pain and sufferance which no one understood.

Undoubtedly Mahabharata is imperfect without the presence of Bhishma Pitamaha.