Role of Ganga in Mahabharat! - Page 2

Bhishma means He of the terrible oath, referring to his vow of lifelong celibacy. Originally named Devavratha, he became known as Bhishma after he took the bhishana pratigya ('terrible oath') " the vow of lifelong celibacy and of service to whoever sat on the throne of his father (the throne of Hastinapur). He took this oath so that his father, Shantanu could marry a fisherwoman Satyavati " Satyvati's father had refused to give his daughter's hand to Shantanu on the grounds that his daughter's children would never be rulers as Shantanu already had a son (Devratha). This made Shantanu despondent and upon discovering the reason for his father's despondency,[2] Devavratha sought out the girl's father and promised him that he would never stake a claim to the throne, implying that the child born to Shantanu and Satyavati would become the ruler after Shantanu. At this, Satyavati's father retorted that even if Devavratha gave up his claim to the throne, his (Devavratha's) children would still claim the throne. Devavratha then took the vow of lifelong celibacy, thus sacrificing his 'crown-prince' title and denying himself the pleasures of conjugal love. This gave him immediate recognition among the gods and his father granted him the boon of Ichcha Mrityu (control over his own death " he could choose the time of his death, but he was not immortal, which would have been an even more severe curse and cause of suffering).

There was a lot of criticism of King Shantanu from his subjects as to why he removed Bhishma from the title of the crown prince (kings didn't have the power to remove a prince from the throne just as Bhishma could not deprive his unborn son from the throne so he decided to never have one)as he was so capable, and if by any chance he did see some fault in him (Bhishma),what did he see in the prince who is not yet born (Satyavati's son). Hearing this, Bhishma said it was his decision and his father should not be blamed as Shantanu had never promised anything to Satyavati's father. The clan Guru then asked who would be held responsible if the future crown prince isn't capable enough. Bhishma then took another vow that he would always see his father's image in whoever sits on the King's throne and will serve him.

In the process of finding a bride for his half-brother the young king Vichitravirya, Bhishma cleverly abducted princesses Amba, Ambika and Ambalika of Kashi (Varanasi) from the assemblage of suitors at their swayamvara. Salwa, the ruler of Saubala, and Amba (the eldest princess) were in love. Upon reaching Hastinapura, Amba confided in Bhishma that she wished to wed Salva. Bhishma then sent her back to Salva who turned her down as it was humiliating for a man to accept a woman who had been so long in the company of another man. Actually he had been embarrassed because Bhishma had defeated him very badly in the fight; he had been no match against the stronger Bhishma. She then naturally approached Bhishma for marriage who refused her, citing his oath. Amba, humiliated and enraged beyond measure, vowed to avenge herself against Bhishma even if it meant being reborn over and over again.

Bhishma abducting princesses Amba, Ambika and Ambalika from the assemblage of suitors at their swayamvara.

Legend has it that at her maternal grandfather's suggestion Amba sought refuge with Parasurama who ordered Bhishma to marry Amba. Bhishma politely refused saying that he was ready to give up his life at the command of his teacher but not the promise that he had made. Upon the refusal, Parasurama called him for a fight at Kurukshetra. At the battlegrounds, while Bhishma was on a chariot, Parasurama was on foot. Bhishma requested Parasurama to also take a chariot and armor so that Bhishma would not have an unfair advantage. Parasurama blessed Bhishma with the power of divine vision and asked him to look again. When Bhishma looked at his guru with the divine eyesight, he saw the Earth as Parasurama's chariot, the four Vedas as the horses, the Upanishads as the reins, Vayu (wind) as the Charioteer and the Vedic goddesses Gayatri, Savitri and Saraswati as the armor. Bhishma got down from the chariot and sought the blessings of Parashurama to protect his dharma, along with permission to battle against his teacher. Parasurama was pleased and said to Bhishma that if he had not behaved in this manner, Parasurama would have cursed him, for it is the duty of warriors who fight against elders not to abandon the traditions of humility and respect for elders. Parashurama blessed him and advised him to protect his dharma of brahmacharya as Parasurama himself must fight to fulfill his dharma of fighting to uphold his word as given to Amba. They fought for 23 days without conclusion " Parasurama was chiranjeevi (immortal) and Bhishma had a boon that let him choose the time of his death.

One version is, that on the 22nd night, Bhishma prayed to his ancestors to help him end the battle. His ancestors gave him a weapon named Prashwapastra which he knew from his previous birth as Prabhasa (one of Ashta Vasus) but forgot it in his present birth as Bhishma. This weapon was not known to Parasurama. They told him that it would put Parasurama to sleep in the battlefield. A person who sleeps in the battlefield is considered to be dead as per Vedas. However the weapon was never used as devas warned him from the sky that "If He uses this weapon it would be a great insult towards his Guru." Pitrs then appeared and obstructed the chariot of Parashurama, forbidding him from fighting any longer. The spirit of Parashurama's father, Jamadagni and his grandfather, Rucheeka, spoke to him:

O son, never again engage in battle with Bhishma or any other Kshatriya. Heroism and courage in battle are the qualities of a Kshatriya, and study of the Vedas and the practice of austerities are the wealth of the Brahmans. Previously you took up weapons to protect the Brahmans, but this is not the case now. Let this battle with Bhishma be your last. O son of the Bhrigu race, it is not possible to defeat Bhishma.

"Mahabharata 188:5[3]

In the end, the Gods showered praise on Bhishma, and he sought the blessing of Parashurama as his guru. The avatar then acknowledged that his former student was truly invincible, telling Amba:

Using even the very best of weapons I have not been able to obtain any advantage over Bhishma, that foremost of all wielders of weapons! I have exerted now to the best of my power and might. Seek the protection of Bhishma himself, thou hast no other refuge now.

"Mahabharata 189:1[3]

However, Amba refused to listen to Parashurama's advice and left angrily declaring that she will achieve her objective by asceticism. Her predicament unchanged, did severe penance to please Lord Shiva (as he is most easily pleased and could give anything to anyone). Lord Shiva assured her that she would be born as a woman named Shikandi in her next birth (and still she would recall her past) and could be instrumental in Bhishma's death, thus satisfying her vow.[4]

Rebirth as Shikhandi!

Bhishma refuses to fight Shakhandi .

Drupada had no children so he did austerities in the forest seeking the blessings of Shiva for begetting a son. Shiva granted him the boon that a girl would be born to him, but will transform into a boy later. As prophesied, Amba was reborn as Shikhandini, whose true gender was not disclosed and she was brought up as a boy. When Drupada got his daughter in the garb of a son married to the daughter of Hiranyavarna, the king of Dasharna, his true identity was revealed not only to the chagrin of the girl, her father but also to Shikandini himself. The agitated Hiranyavarna declared war on Panchala. Distressed by the turn of events, Shikhandini went into the forest to fast unto death but was saved by a yaksha (a forest deity), Sthunakarna, who helped him by offering his own gender in exchange to Shikandini's female gender. Thus Shikhandini became the male Shikhandi. After Hiranyavarna's death, Shikhandi returned to swap sexes with the yaksha, however the yaksha was cursed by his master the god Kubera to remain female until Shikhandi's death.

In the variant where the garland of ever-fresh lotuses is mentioned, Shikhandini wears the garland once and Drupada realizes that she will slay Bhishma.

Meanwhile over the course of time, Ambika and Ambalika had grandchildren Kauravas and Pandavas, who became arch enemies. Draupadi, the daughter of Drupada, was married to the Pandavas. When a great Kurukshetra war between Pandavas and Kauravas ensued, Shikhandi sided with his brothers-in-law, the Pandavas and Bhishma was with the Kauravas. Bhishma had vowed to "not to shoot at a woman, anyone who used to be a woman or has a woman's name or appears to be a woman",[18] so he narrated to the Kaurava leader Duryodhana Amba's tale and refused to fight to Shikhandi. When Bhishma led the Kaurava army, Shikhandi rode as the charioteer of Arjuna, the third of the Pandava brothers. On seeing Shikhandi, Bhishma lowered his weapons. Shikhandi and Arjuna pierced Bhishma's body, though most of Shikhandi's arrows were not so effective in wounding Bhishma. At this stage, it was also the desire of Bhishma to die. Before collapsing, he cried out that it was Arjuna's arrow that killed him and not of Shikhandi. Bhishma lay on a bed of arrows for days and died on the holy day of Uttarayana. Amba's vengeance was fulfilled when Shikhandi became the cause of Bhishma's death.

Role of Ganga!

Amba gave up food and sleep and practised asceticism standing still for six months in the Yamuna river valley, surviving only on air. She became emaciated and developed matted locks. After that, she stood in the waters of the Yamuna, without food and practised austerities. After that, she spent time standing on her tip toes, having eaten only one fallen leaf of a tree. Her penance for twelve years started burning the heavens and the earth. She then went to Vatsa kingdom, in which many renowned sages lived. She roamed the kingdom, bathing in the sacred waters of the Ganges (Ganga) and the Yamuna. Then, she visited the ashrams of many sages like Narada, Uluka, Chyavana, Vishwamitra, Mandavya, Dwilipa, Ramhrada and Garga as well as sacred sites like Prayag, Bhogavati and holy groves. During her journey, she observed difficult vratas (vows) and performed ablutions in the holy waters.

The goddess Ganga appeared before Amba and listened to Amba's tale that her austerities were aimed to destroy Bhishma, Ganga's son. The angry goddess Ganga replied that since Amba's mind was crooked, she would be become a crooked and tortuous river, which will remain dry for eight months and flow in the four months of the rainy season. Ganga declared that the bathing places along the river's course would be in difficult terrain, and it will be infested with crocodiles and other fierce creatures. The cursed Amba wandered practising severe vows and forgoing food and water for months. She visited many tirthas (sacred water bodies) in this time and finally returned to Vatsa, where Ganga's curse materialized. Half of her became the river Amba; the other half remained human, due to her ascetic merit.

Shiva's boon and death.

The ascetics of Vatsa dissuaded her to refrain from the austerities, but Amba maintained her resolve and told them her desire was to be born a man and slay Bhishma to avenge her misery. The god Shiva appeared to her and blessed her that she would become a man in her next birth and destroy Bhishma. Amba would be born to the king Drupada of Panchala and become a great warrior. Amba would remember her previous birth and hatred of Bhishma. As Shiva disappeared and pleased with the boon, Amba created a funeral pyre of wood on the banks of the Yamuna and jumped in the fire saying "for Bhishma's destruction!".

Garland of ever-fresh lotuses.

Another variant narrates that Amba performed austerities and pleased Kartikeya, the god of war and Shiva's son. He granted her a garland of ever-fresh lotuses and declared that whoever wore it will destroy Bhishma. With this garland, Amba made one more attempt to seek help of many kings and princes to support her in her just cause. However, there was no response from anyone of them to help her as they did not want to be on the wrong side of Bhishma. In a final effort she approached Drupada but even he declined; in frustration she cast the garland off on a pillar outside Drupada's palace and went for austerities in the forest again, where ascetics advised her to seek the help of Parasurama, where Parashurama's intervention also failed. Finally, she undertook severe penance and Shiva blessed her to be reborn as Drupada's child and slay Bhishma. While Amba kills herself, no one dares to touch the garland.