In the previous episode, we had witnessed Bhishmachaarya revealing an important secret to Yudishtra as to how he could be killed in the battle. Bhishmachaarya explains that he has created a certain set of rules and regulations for himself in any battlefield, and accordingly, he will not fight with people who are physically challenged, people who are women, people who are not professional in warfare and people who have done a “gender change” and falsely project themselves as men. This is where the catch is – The last category of people which Bhishmachaarya mentions is the ploy which has to be taken in hand – Shikandi is someone who was a woman earlier and subsequently changed into a man, especially to kill Bhishmachaarya. We’ve seen this story earlier itself in our previous episode as to how Shikandi took birth in this world. All those back-dated events come to haunt Bhishmachaarya right now during the Kurukshetra war, and with this, Bhishmachaarya hints to Yudishtra that Arjuna should bring Shikandi along with him to fight the war and that is the only way through which Bhishmachaarya can be stopped.
Now as Bhishmachaarya says thus, the onus is on Yudishtra and Co. to bring Shikandi into the battlefield. So how early is this going to happen? As this question lingers, Yudishtra is now going to return back to the camp and have a discussion. At the time when Yudishtra is about to leave, Bhishmachaarya once again says thus, “Oh Yudishtra! I do not understand one point here – Why did you come all the way to me and ask all these things? One person who is with you knows everything, and he is none other than Bhagawan Krishna! I do not understand why He’s not saying this to all of you and why I should do!” This was a slightly sarcastic remark made by Bhishmachaarya on a lighter note and as he makes it, Bhagawan Krishna is by the side of Yudishtra only. Bhagawan replies even more sarcastically thus, “Oh Bhishmachaarya! No matter whoever I am, certain things are best told by great Aachaaryas only! Hence, rather than me telling certain things to Yudishtra, I always feel that an Aachaarya (Guru) should tell them!”
Now this is a very important point that Bhagawan Krishna is making. Even if it might have been on a lighter note, there is an important message in it – A “Guru” or an “Aachaarya” is always one step even higher than Bhagawan Himself, and this concept is being illustrated here beautifully by none other than Bhagawan Krishna Himself. All of us know that Bhishmachaarya is the first “Guru” to all the Paandava brothers in terms of teaching several warfare techniques. Guru Dhronachaarya came in much later and until his arrival, it was Bhishmachaarya who was teaching all these children the art of bow and arrow and other techniques. We’ve seen this in our earlier episodes clearly. Bhagawan Krishna wants Bhishmachaarya to do his duty as a Guru to the Paandava brothers and hence, He wants Bhishmachaarya himself to teach them how to overcome him, rather than Bhagawan stepping in.
Moreover, it is very clear here as to when Bhagawan Krishna would step in and when He would not involve himself much. Bhagawan has a clearly defined boundary with which He operates – If it is between a Guru and a Sishya (Disciple), Bhagawan will never intervene in between. He will leave the entire responsibility to the Guru to guide the Sishya in the way he wishes to. However, if someone comes to Bhagawan in terms of Bhakti and Sharanagati, He would step in. Even for granting “Moksha”, Bhagawan does not do that everytime. He does it only by a case-to-case basis. For instance, we’ve seen how Bhagawan empowered Shrimad Ramanujachaarya to grant “Moksha” to whomever he wanted to. Here we can see that a highly qualified Aachaarya like Bhagawad Ramanujachaarya has been given the highest power of granting “Moksha”, which otherwise, only Bhagawan can do. Hence, we can see from all these examples, the significance of a Guru or an “Aachaarya” and this is exactly why Bhagawan asks Bhishmachaarya to teach a few important things to Yudishtra and Co.
In fact, to go one step further, Bhagawan Krishna seemingly wasn’t satisfied with the entire Bhagawad Gita that He gave to all of us. It is only when this same Bhishmachaarya elucidates His significance through the Vishnu Sahasranamam (We’re going to witness this in detail later on), Bhagawan gets satisfied. Thus, even when it comes to talking about His own significance, Bhagawan wants it to take place through a Guru or an “Aachaarya” and once again, Bhishmachaarya is the person Bhagawan selects for this purpose. Through this, we can understand the significance of Bhishmachaarya in the entire Mahabharata text. Even though he might have been on the wrong side during the war and even if he might have had a few shortcomings, Bhishmachaarya is someone who occupies the highest position according to Bhagawan Krishna! So for today, let us understand this important point that Bhagawan is stressing upon and let us wait till the next episode to witness the strategy planning that is about to take place post this accord from Bhishmachaarya! Stay tuned! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 