Bhishma
Bhishma ( Sanskrit भीष्म bhīṣma m. ), Son of Shantanu and the Ganga , uncle of Pandu and Dhritarashtra . Highly respected great-uncle of the Pandavas and Kauravas in the Mahabharata .
biography
Bhishma was the son of King Shantanu and the river goddess Ganga. Therefore he was also given nicknames like Shantanava, Gangeya and Nadija, d. H. "River Born". In old age, Shantanu wanted to marry again and chose Satyavati , the daughter of a fisherman's chief. He only agreed to a marriage on the condition that Bhishma renounced the succession so that a son of his daughter would become king. Bhishma then not only renounced the throne, but also took an oath that he would never marry or have children.
Shantanu then married Satyavati, who bore him two sons. After his death, Bhishma made the eldest son king, but he died early in a battle. He was succeeded by Vichitravirya , whom Bhishma supported as protector and advisor. He abducted two daughters of the king of Kashi by force of arms and gave them to Vichitravirya as his wife. But he too died early, whereupon Satyavati's illegitimate son Vyasa fathered children with his widows on his behalf. Bhishma raised the two princes Pandu and Dhritarashtra and was ruler in their place in Hastinapura . He was also responsible for the education of their children, the Pandavas and Kauravas.
When there was a serious conflict between the Pandavas and Kauravas, Bhishma tried to mediate and bring about peace. When this failed and war broke out, Bhishma fought on the side of the Kauravas and became commander in chief of their army. The Pandavas managed to defeat him by means of an unfair attack. When Arjunas fell from his chariot, hit by numerous arrows , he was fatally wounded, but he had the gift of being able to determine the time of his death and survived another 58 days. He gained fame through his qualities of self-sacrifice, devotion, and loyalty.
literature
- JAB van Buitenen, Mahabharata vols. 1-5, Chicago 1973
- MMS Shastri Chitrao, Bharatavarshiya Prachin Charitrakosha (Dictionary of Ancient Indian Biography, in Hindi), Pune 1964, p. 572