In this section of the reading the war officially begins
between the Kauravas and the Pandavas. Bhishma leads Duryodhana’s army while Dhristadumnya leads the
Pandava army. The part that really stood out to me was how Bhishma’s downfall
took place. From the very beginning, Arjuna is hesitant to fight Bhishma
because he regards him as a grandfather. Although Bhishma was an old man, he
was still very powerful and awed everyone on the battlefield. To defeat
Bhishma, Arjuna seeks the help of Sikhandin to take down Bhishma. Bhishma is
shot and wounded with so many arrows that when he falls down out of his
chariot, his body doesn’t even touch the ground. As soon as Bhishma falls, all
the fighting and bloodshed stops immediately and flowers sprinkle down upon
everyone from heaven. A pillow is made for Bhishma’s head and he is given water
to drink. The cool thing is that Bhishma has the power to choose the exact time
and place of his death so he decided to lie on his bed of arrows until the
shortest day of the year arrives. To relieve Bhishma of the terrible pain he
must be feeling, Krishna puts him in a deep sleep.
I thought this scene was so graceful and intense at
the same time. The respect Bhishma draws from everyone is mind blowing. I don’t
think anyone has had a death like this in any of the epics I have read so far
in this class. It is definitely one of my favorite scenes from the Mahabharata.
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| Bhishma on his bed of arrows; Wikipedia |
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