Verse: Srimad Bhagvatam 1.9.34
PASSING AWAY OF BHISMADEV
Bhismadev is offering his prayers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is one of those beautiful prayers;
[SB 1.9.34]
yudhi turaga-rajo-vidhumra-visvak-
kaca-lulita-sramavary-alankrtasye
mama nisita-sarair vibhidyamana-
tvaci vilasat-kavace ’stu krsna atma
It is a very wonderful situation. Bhismadev is laying on the bed of arrows, the grandsire who was one of the most exalted personalities, the son of the illustrious King Santanu and mother Ganga. Ganga devi herself is Bhismadev’s mother. Bhismadev was brought up in the heavenly planets. Right after his birth mother Ganga left Santanu and took Bhismadev to the heavenly planets. There Bhismadev studied under the guidance of Brhaspati, the spiritual master of the demigods, one of the most exalted and most learned personality and wisest among all the personality. Then he was thought the art of using weapons by Parasurama, the incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore, Bhismadev had a very clear understanding from the very beginning of his life who is Krishna. He was a devotee from the beginning of his life. He was brought up in heavenly planets.
In the heavenly planets everyone knows Krishna, actually all the demigods are the worshipers of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. When he was 16 years old, mother Ganges returned Bhismadev to his father, Santanu. Bhismadev had such a brilliant character. He took a vow of life long celibacy. That is just for the sake of his father. He wanted to fulfil the desires of his father. Here we can see like when King Yayati was cursed by Sukracarya that he will became afflicted by old age, Yayati became very perturbed because he knew that his heart is full of desire for sense gratification, where else, his body will not be able to provide the facilities to have sense gratification. So, he requested all his children, ‘please take my old age’. The condition that Sukracarya laid was, ‘If any of your sons accept your old age, then you can go back to your youth’. He asked all his sons, he first asked the eldest one but he refused. In this way one after another all his sons refused ‘Yadu & Turvasu’, and finally Puru his youngest son accepted his old age. Here we see the difference although they are also very exalted personalities.
The Yadu dynasty appeared from which Krishna appeared ‘Chandra Vamsa’. The father was requesting them, ‘please take my old age and give me your youth in exchange, because I have so many desires for sense gratification’ but most of his sons refused. Bhismadev got to know that his father wanted to marry a very beautiful lady, Satyavati, the daughter of the king of fishermen. He got to know that his father wanted it, but why his father refused was because Satyavati’s father made a condition that ‘if you want to marry my daughter then you have to make a vow that her son will become the successor to the throne’. Santanu could not accept that. He said that ‘I already have another son and that son already had his coronation to the throne as crown prince, so he will be the successor to the throne’.
But because he has this desire to marry this girl and that desire was unfulfilled, Santanu was very much afflicted by distress. So, Bhismadev noticed that his father was looking unusual; he looked extremely morose and absent minded. Bhismadev wondered what happened but Santanu did not want to tell him what actually happened. Then Bhismadev asked the charioteer what happened to his father. Because the charioteer was there, he knew what actually happened. The charioteer described the entire incident, so Bhismadev told him to take him to that place. Bhismadev went to Devavrata the king of fisherman, and when Bhismadev got to know that his father had declined to accept these conditions because of him, Bhismadev said, ‘Alright, I will relinquish my right over for the crown”. So, we can see such a noble character, such a noble personality. For the sake of his father’s pleasure and in order to fulfill his father’s desire, he relinquished his right over his kingdom. He said ‘I won’t become the king; your daughter’s sons will become the king’. But the king of the fishermen was so cunning; actually, he was the foster father. He said, ‘Alright since you don’t want to become the king, it is very nice of you but what about your children, there will be a conflict in the family.
Your children will want to have a share of the kingdom because they will be older in age, and it is the custom in the Vedic culture that the eldest son in the family will inhabit the property for the king, the eldest son in the family will became the king’. That was also the problem with Dhrtarastra’s children and Pandu’s children. Dhrtarastra was the eldest then Pandu, although Dhrtarastra could not became the king due to his blindness yet he haboured the desire that his son will become the king because his son will be older. Finally, when the children were born, the son of Pandu born out of Kunti was born before Dhrtarastra’s son. Gandhari was carrying in the womb for a long time. The child could not be born. So, another chance was lost. So Yudhisthira Maharaj naturally became successor to the crown. That is how all this trouble started in the family. Yudhisthira Maharaj was the original king, the natural successor to the throne but Duryodhana made all kinds of dupe arrangements and he became the king and then finally there was a battle in the Kurushetra.
So going back to Bhismadev, Bhismadev naturally will be much older than Satyavati’s children and if he got married, his sons will be much older than Satyavati’s children. Devavrata (fisherman) had these considerations at the back of his mind, due to Bhismadev’s noble gesture, he is forgoing his right over his kingdom but what about his children, they will start to fight over the succession. Then Bhismadev said, ‘In that case I will not get married’. So, we can see what a noble personality, just for the sake of his father’s pleasure, he accepted a vow of life long celibacy. And he maintained the vow. There have been many trials, tribulation and test.
Like you can see Mahabharata actually describe how the destiny prevails faith directs the course of one’s life. As it says ‘man proposed it God disposed it’. We may have our own plan but eventually everything is in Krishna’s hand. In material nature we may make so many plans but ultimately things will happen according to one own’s karmic reaction. Prakrteh kriyamanani gunaih karmani sarvasah
In material nature everything happens according to Guna and Karma. Like here Devavrata secured the possibility so wonderfully. It was actually to fulfil arrangements. His grandson will become the king and he makes the arrangement that his grandsons children also will continue to became the king unhindered. But the stroke of destiny took away both his sons. Satyavati gave birth to two sons, Citrangada and Vicitravirya. Both the sons died young and there were no successors to the throne. Finally, Satyavati requested Bhismadev to procreate in the womb of the wife’s of Vicitravirya. Vicitravirya had two wives, Ambika and Ambalika the princesses of Kasiraja but Bhismadev declined. He took a vow of life long celibacy and he did not want to break that vow. Satyavati was pleading, ‘look our whole family line will be destroyed’. Here we can see her father wanted to make such an arrangement that her son and her grandson will continue to be the successors of the throne and in order to secure that Bhismadev was forced to take a vow of life long celibacy.
Now the whole family line was going to finish. She was pleading now that he should procreate the children in the womb of these two girls. It is authorized in Vedic culture that when the brother dies without any children then the brother of the departed husband can procreate in the womb of his wife. That is called”devarena sutotpatti”. Devarena means by the brother-in-low, suta means children and utpattim means procreation. The procreation by the brother-in-law is allowed in the Vedic scripture but that is not in the age of Kali. In the other age it is allowed but it is provident in the age of kali. Five things are forbidden in the age of Kali:
1. Asvamedha yajna – Horse sacrifice
2. Gomedha yajna – Cow sacrifice
3. Karma sannyasam – Accepting sannyasam
4. pala-paitrkam – Offering meet in sraddha ceremony
5. Devarena sutotpatti – Procreation by the brother-in-low
These five things are forbidden in the age of Kali. But in that age, these activities are authorized. So, Satyavati requested Bhismadev but he declined, finally Vyasadev was called by his mother. Satyavati had another son through Parasara muni that is Vyasadev. So Vyasadev requested to procreate in the womb of these two wives of Vicitravirya. Through Vyasadev two sons was born, Dhrtarastra and Pandu. So, we can see what a wonderful character Bhismadev was. He had such strong principles and because of that Bhismadev continued to side with Duryodhana although he saw Duryodhana was such an offender to Krishna and knowing that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But from another point of view this is the disqualification of Bhismadev. From here we properly can understand what is the meaning of ’sarva dharma parityajya’, Bhismadev was actually holding unto dharma but that dharma was just external consideration of dharma. The inner spirit of dharma is to surrender to Krishna or to the authority of Krishna. That is the real consideration of dharma.
Of course, ultimately all is Krishna’s arrangements. Krishna through His devotee thought His entire lesson. That’s why Krishna made Indra behaves in a certain way and Brahma behaves in a certain way but ultimately all is due to teach right principles, the right standard of devotional service. Indra wanted to flood the whole Vrndavana and destroy everything. That was Indra’s agenda. Brahma stole the cows and cowherd boys of Krishna. Similarly, we can see Bhismadev was also made to play a certain role in order to teach us something. What was the lesson that Krishna wanted to teach us? That no matter how exalted a personality, how much attached you are, how much strictly you are following the principles of dharma but the ultimate consideration is to sight to me and surrender to me. “Sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja” that is the ultimate consideration.
It would have been better if Bhismadev left Duryodhana and his followers and joined Krishna. That will be perfect understanding that means act of devotion. In pure devotion no other consideration comes in between. Janma karma ca me divyam, But Bhismadev was too attached altogether. At the beginning, Bhismadev was a jnana-misra-bhakta. When Bhismadev was acting in that way, but before his departure from this planet he became free from the influence of jnana and he became a pure devotee. So, we have to understand as Rupa Goswamy pointing out as Jnana karma anavrtam is standard of pure devotion, not karma-misra-bhakta or jnana- misra-bhakta, no matter how exalted they appear to be. That is not the standard. But of course, our business is to see things in a favorable light. Our position is not to criticize Bhismadev. Although we understand that we have to see things in the like of Krishna and His divine arrangements. Bhismadev acted in this way because Krishna wanted him to act in that way.
It was His past time and Bhismadev is playing his role in Krishna’s pastime. Bhismadev is lamentating that I shoot the arrow. Not that he shoots the arrows deliberately but while he was shooting the arrows, many of the arrows was hitting Krishna’s body because Krishna was the charioteer. Actually, during the battle of Kurushetra, although Krishna was not fighting himself but his whole body was pierced with arrows. There is a temple in South India near Madras called Parthasarathi temple. In that temple there is a deity of Krishna. It is said that after the battle of Kurusthera, Krishna came there and stayed there. The entire body of the deity’s surface is not smooth, like showing that after Krishna came from the battle of Kuruksetra; His whole body was pierced with arrows. So, it is a tough job even to be a charioteer in the battlefield. You have to take the arrows. You can’t avoid it. The next verse will describe how beautiful Krishna looked when he jumped up from the chariot although he took a vow that he will not fight.
He would not take any weapon in this battle of Kuruksetra, but when Bhismadev was fighting against Arjuna in such a valiant way, Arjuna was in difficulties due to horns of Bhismadev. That time Krishna could not bear that. What did he do? He just jumped out from the chariot, picked up the wheel of a broken chariot and He charged towards Bhismadev. At that time, it was described beautifully. Krishna’s hair was flowing and the hair took the color of the dust the yellowish color of the battlefield and with the wheel in His hand Krishna charging towards Bhismadev. Krishna looked just like a lion. Fixing his mind on that Bhismadev actually left His Body. At that time Bhismadev just dropped his weapon. He said, ‘alright my Lord, kill me’. From that angle Bhismadev is in “Dasaratha”. Marobi rakhobi yo iccha tohara: “I am your eternal servant. You are my eternal master and lord, do what you want do with me”. It is a beautiful example that Bhismadev sighted.
Bhismadev always supporting and in favor of Krishna. If anybody criticized Krishna, Bhismadev stood up. When Sisupala was criticizing Krishna, he said that, ‘this person is a devotee? He has affair with other people’s wife. Do not have any sense of mortality and that person being worshiped’. That time Bhismadev stood up and he said that, ‘the whole world for the vow of celibacy and I worshiped Krishna. Whom you call a devotee I worshiped Him being a renounced celibate, why? Because, Krishna is the crystal of all celibacy. Krishna is celibate and Krishna is just a celibate and just hearing Krishna’s celibacy everyone became celibate.
There is a purport mentioned that although Krishna had 16 thousand wives and had affairs with all the gopis in Vrndavana and apparently immoral activities because many of them were married to others but still Krishna is celibate. Not only Krishna is celibate but when one hears about Krishna, he becomes a celibate. This way we understand that the spiritual world is of a different dimension and that spiritual relationship cannot be understood in the material point of view. That is nothing fickle about the relationship in spiritual world. It is all spiritual. In this way Bhismadev came to Krishna against Sisupala’s blasphemy. This personality is worshipful even by me. If Krishna is not a devotee, then why should I worship Him? Srila Prabhupada also made it a point that if Krishna’s dealing with the gopis in Vrndavana then why Sukadeva Goswami who was a lifelong brahmacari who right after his birth he walked away. No attachment forever to the material nature. Then why Sukadeva Goswami is narrating to Krishna’s past time in Vrndavana?
In this way you must understand that there is nothing immoral or indecent in Krishna’s activities with the cowherd girls in Vrndavana. In day-to-day life also we see that so many married women became attracted to Krishna. Do their husbands mind when they became attracted to Krishna. No, because Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and developing the relationship with Krishna is the ultimate goal of life. Only through the example of an exalted personality like Bhismadev that we understand that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Bhismadev is waiting in the bed of arrows for so many days. Finally, when Krishna came, with fixing his mind and eyes on Krishna’s lotus face, Bhismadev left his body. Indeed, that is the perfection of his life.
Thank you.
Hare Krishna.
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada.