Bhishma
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Template:IndicText Bhishma (Sanskrit: भीष्म, bhīshma) born as Devavrata (देवव्रत, dévavrata), son of Shantanu and the holy River Ganga, is the most respected and perhaps the most fabulous character in the epic Mahabharata after Lord Krishna. 'Bhishma' means 'the person of the terrible oath', referring to his vow of life-long celibacy. Image:The Death of Bhisma.jpg Devavrata became Bhishma because of the bhishan pratigya or vow that he took of never marrying in his entire life and that he would protect whoever sat on the throne of his father (the throne of Hastinapura). This was because when his father wanted to remarry a fisherwoman Satyavati, her father refused saying that his daughter's children would never be rulers because Shantanu already had a son. This made the king despondent and to make his father happy Devavrata took the terrible vow thus sacrificing his crown-prince title. This gave him immediate recognition among the Gods. His father granted him the boon of Ichcha Mrityu (control over his own death — he could choose the time of his death, but not, as may be suggested, one of immortality).
He learnt political science from Brihaspati, the guru of the Devas, Vedas and Vedangas from rishi Vasishta, and archery from Parashurama, also known as Bhargava. He was known as Bhishma Pitamaha(that is, Bhishma the grandfather) among Pandava's and Kaurava's.
Bhishma is one character who is the perfect example of a dutibound officer. He is the one who witnessed the Mahabharata completely from the beginning since the rule of the Shantanu. Shantanu was the third king after Dushyanta and Bharata, though the vansh (family or progeny) is said to have started with Bharata the great.
In the great battle at Kurukshetra, Bhishma's valor almost made Lord Krishna break his vow of not actually fighting in the war. Krishna rushed to kill Bhishma with his sudarshan chakra and was welcomed with folded hands by Bhishma. Krishna realised his mistake. When Bhishma was badly stricken and chose to die, Arjuna created a bed of arrows with the water of Ganga flowing in his mouth. In his last days before he ascended to heaven, he recited to Yudhisthira the famous hymn to Vishnu, the Vishnu sahasranama.