“O gorgeous lady on the banks of river Ganga, whoever you may be, you must certainly become my wife”, said king Shantanu (ಶಂತನು / शांतनु ). He was a great king of Hastinapur. The lady replied “O great king, I agree to be your wife. However, I do have a constraint. Under any circumstances, my actions shall not be questioned by you. The moment you break this, I shall leave you”. The king readily agreed to the condition and married her. They led a perfectly happy life, oblivious of the passage of time, until the birth of the first child. The lady carried the child to the Ganges river, drowned it and returned with a smiling face! King Shantanu was struck with horror and anguish by the act, but couldn’t do anything as he was bound by the constraint. This continued until the seventh child, and when the eighth child was born, Shantanu could no longer resist.
(From left : Shantanu and Ganga, Shantanu preventing Ganga from drowning the last baby)
“Will you please stop this horrendous act and handover the child to me” said king Shantanu in an outburst. The lady replied “O king, the love for your child has made you break the promise. As I had stated earlier, I shall no longer stay here”. She then revealed that she was none other than goddess Ganga, and the eight babies were the Ashta-Vasus (ಅಷ್ಟವಸು / अष्टवसु ) (Ashta - Eight, Vasus - a class of Vedic deities) who were cursed to take birth as humans by sage Vasishta (ವಸಿಷ್ಠ / वसिष्ट). She was forced to play this hateful role of their mother. Before leaving, she added “I would take this child with me and bring him up for sometime, before I return him to you”. The boy was named Devavrata (ದೇವವ್ರತ / देवव्रत ) and he was taught Vedas by one of the greatest sages Vasishta himself. He learnt archery, sword fighting and the art of war by Parashurama (ಪರಶುರಾಮ / परशुराम ) (an incarnation of Lord Vishnu himself) and grew to be an incredible - a perfect blend of immense intellect and invincible war skills that one could only dream of.
Things don’t happen without a reason. The Ashtavasus had came across the hermitage of sage Vasishta and saw the sacred cow of his, ‘Nandini’ (ನಂದಿನಿ / नंदिनी), grazing there. They had heard of its divine powers and filled with greed and lust, they escaped with the cow. They were aided by the absence of the sage. The sage, on returning, came to know of this reprehensible act very soon through his yogic instincts. Their heinous deed, combined with the wrath of sage Vasishta proved too costly for them as they were cursed to be born on earth and face all the sufferings of the human life. Soon, they approached the sage, returning the cow and apologizing for their deed. Vasishta couldn’t reprieve the curse he had let out, however he decided to reduce the degree of the impact. The Vasus requested goddess Ganga to be their mother and relive them from the curse. Thus the seven Vasus were quickly deprived of their curse, barring the chief sinner who was born as the eigth child.
During a hunting affair, king Shantanu was taken aback when he saw an eight year old kid controlling the flow of river Ganga using a special formation of arrows. His joy knew no bounds when he came to know that he was none other than his own son, Devavrata. The entire kingdom rejoiced on the arrival of the prince, overwhelmed when they saw his skills. There was not a sign of doubt that he would become one of the greatest kings, but destiny had its own plot!
Several years after Ganga had left, king Shantanu was wandering along the banks of Yamuna. The air was filled with a divine frangrance, tracing which, led to a beautiful fisher-woman named ‘Satyavati’ (ಸತ್ಯವತಿ / सत्यवती), who was blessed by a boon to emanate such fragrance. King Shantanu was filled with desire and asked her if she could marry him. She directed him to her father to seek permission. The father couldn’t be more happier to marry his daughter to a renowned king, but, he had his own concerns. He said to the king that he could marry Satyavati on one condition. Satyavati’s child must become the successor of the king. The first thing that passed in the king’s mind was his son Devavrata, who was indeed the worthy successor of his. The king disagreed to the proposal and went back. However he was constantly haunted by the memory of the fisher-woman and gradually acquired a deep mental illness.
Devavrata, investigating on the cause of his father’s mental suffering, approached the fisherman quickly and sought the hand of his daughter for his father. The fisherman said “O great prince, apparently you have been deemed as the rightful heir to the king. It is this aspect which makes me reluctant to give my daughter. I want her son to be the heir”. On hearing this, without a second thought Devavrata promised that he would not succeed his father as the king and allow the fisher-woman’s son. The fisherman wasn’t completely convinced and questioned further - “O prince, you have done something which no one else from a royal blood have. However still, a doubt torments me. What if your children claim the right to the throne later? I am sure, naturally they would be as gifted as you and would have all the right to claim”. To this Devavrata took a vow announcing “I shall never marry and dedicate myself to the protection of the future kings and the welfare of this kingdom”.
(Bhishma’s vow)
On hearing this mighty vow, the Gods showered flowers on his head and the air was resounded with the cries “Bhishma, Bhishma” (Bhisma means one who has taken a fierce vow). Thus Devavrata came to be known as ‘Bhishma’ and continued to remain one of the most powerful characters of Mahabharata. King Shantanu was filled with pride by the sacrifice that his son had done. He granted Bhishma a boon that he could be ‘iccha marani’ (ಇಚ್ಛಾಮರಣಿ / इच्छामरणी , iccha - will , marana - death, meaning having death at one’s own will). This unthinkable vow by Bhishma portrays an epitome of selflessness and the love and respect he had for his father.
