In the previous episode, we had witnessed Bhishmachaarya’s two costly misses with regards to attaining the highest “Moksha” through the divine hands of Bhagawan Krishna Himself! We’ve seen that during the third day of the war, Bhagawan Krishna advanced towards Bhishmachaarya to kill him, only to be stopped by Arjuna. Now, during the ninth day, the same incident happens and once again Arjuna stops Bhagawan Krishna from advancing further. Even though Bhishmachaarya was ready to accept Bhagawan Krishna’s advancement, his boon that he could determine when to die prevented Bhagawan Krishna to do the needful. This is where most of us go wrong as well – Even if Bhagawan is ready to come to us, we are not ready most of the time to receive Bhagawan. For instance, if we go to a temple and worship Bhagawan and what if suddenly Bhagawan’s heart melts with our prayer and says, “Oh my ardent Bhakta! I’m so impressed with your prayers and hence, why don’t you stay with me here itself in this temple forever?” Will we be ready to accept Bhagawan’s offer straight away without thinking for a moment even? In many cases, we will start thinking – Oh! We have so many things to do back home! We’ve to take care of our son, daughter, parents, etc.! We will reply to Bhagawan that we shall finish all our duties and then come to Him, isn’t it? This is where we’re not ready to embrace Bhagawan’s divine love and affection, even if He’s ready to give them to us! This is exactly where Bhishmachaarya got stuck as well – His family, children, grandchildren came as a first priority and Bhagawan came second and hence, Bhishmachaarya lost both the opportunities to be granted the highest “Moksha” by Bhagawan Krishna directly!
Moving on further thus, at the end of the ninth day, all the Paandava brothers come together for a discussion and strategic planning. Bhagawan Krishna is also present with all of them, and Yudishtra asks Bhagawan Krishna thus, “Oh Bhagawan Keshava! Looking at the way Bhishmachaarya fought today’s battle, I’m afraid that the war will end tomorrow itself, resulting in the destruction of all of us! We’ve to find a way to control Bhishmachaarya’s renewed aggression. Is there a way to do it?” As Yudishtra asks thus, Bhagawan Krishna replies – “Oh Yudishtra! You had gone and asked Bhishmachaarya on the first day of the war to understand the methodology to kill him, didn’t you? Bhishmachaarya had replied to you that the time hasn’t come for him to reveal the same, didn’t he? Now I think the time has come. I would suggest you to go back to Bhishmachaarya and ask the same question to him once again, and now he would tell you the “Upaayam” (Way) how to go about things tomorrow!”
As Bhagawan says thus, Yudishtra doesn’t talk a word back, and he quietly proceeds to Bhishmachaarya’s chamber to seek advice. As Yudishtra comes to meet Bhishmachaarya, he falls on Bhishmachaarya’s feet to seek his “Anugraha”. Bhishmachaarya’s body is full of wounds and injuries as he is tending to all of them by himself. In turn, Yudishtra’s body is also full of bruises. The intensity of the war on the ninth day was extreme in such a way that people on both camps sustained severe injuries. Now Yudishtra asks Bhishmachaarya thus, “Oh Bhishmachaarya! Looking at the way things are going, I’m not too sure whether we will be able to win this war! Your valour today on the battlefield was explicable and your fortress was nearly impossible for all of us to breach through. If this goes on, we are never going to win this war. Hence, you’ve to tell us how we will win this!”
As Yudishtra says thus, Bhishmachaarya replies back – “Oh Yudishtra! I already told you on day one itself that unless and until I’m there on the battlefield, you will never be able to win the war. Even Indra cannot win over me. I’m not an ordinary person to fight with. However, I’m not saying that you will never win this war. You will definitely taste victory – But for that, I should not be there on the battlefield. Hence, you’ve to eliminate me from the battlefield before you will start tasting victory!” Yudishtra asks back thus, “Oh great Bhishmachaarya! I’m totally in sync with whatever you’re saying. However, the biggest question here is how will we be able to eliminate you?” For this, Bhishmachaarya slowly starts revealing some secrets to Yudishtra. So for today, let us understand up to this point and in the next episode, we shall witness what Bhishmachaarya has to say to Yudishtra with regards to how he can be prevented from fighting the war on the battlefield! A hugely important accord awaits us in the next episode! Stay tuned! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 