(Devavrata) Bhishma Vow — Mahabharat Part 6.
With joy the king welcomed in his heart and in his shining kingdom and
the young prince Devavrata and crowned him as Yuvaraja, the real heir.
Four years passed. One day, while King was wandering the shores of Yamuna, the air was suddenly filled with a fragrance so sweet that King sought his goal, and brought him back to a girl so beautiful that she looked like a goddess. A sage had given him a gift of divine fragrance which emanated from him, and this now covers the whole forest.
By the time goddess Ganga left him , the king had kept his senses under
‘s control, but seeing these beautiful nymphs broke the bonds of ‘s restraints and filled him with ‘s unstoppable desire. He asked her to be his wife.
The girl said: “I am a fisherman, the daughter of the chief fisherman.
Please ask him and get his approval”. His voice is as sweet as his face.
The father is a cunning man. Said, “O king, there is no doubt that this
girl, like the others, should marry someone and you truly deserve for her. But you have to make me a appointment before you can have it. Santanu replied: “If it is a fair promise I will make it. “ The chief fisherman said:” The child born to this girl must become king after you.”
Though almost mad with passion, king was unable to make this promise, as it would mean that overruled the divine Devavrata, son of Ganga, who was entitled to the crown of that was an unthinkable price. At shameless. He then returned in to his capital, Hastinapura, suffering from bewildering desires. He didn’t reveal the matter to anyone and languished in silence.
One day Devavrata asked his father: “My father , you have everything your heart desires . Why were you so unhappy then? How that you like the person who pine with secret pain? The king replied: “Dear son, what you say
is true. I was completely tormented by mental pain and anxiety. You are my only child and you always worry about military ambition. Life in the world is uncertain and wars are incessant. If anything untoward befalls you our family will become extinct. Of course, you are equal to a hundred sons. Still, those who are well read in the scriptures say that in this transitory world having but one son is the same as having no son at all. It is, not proper that the perpetuation of our family should depends on a single life, and above all things I desire the perpetuation of our family. This is the cause of my anguish.” The father prevaricated, being ashamed to reveal the whole story to his son.
The wise Devavrata realized that there must be a secret cause for the mental condition of his father, and questioning the king’s charioteer came to know of his meeting with the fisher maiden on the banks of the Yamuna. He went to the chief of the fishermen and besought his daughter’s hand on his father’s behalf. The fisherman was respectful, but firm: “My daughter is indeed fit to be the king’s spouse. Then should not her son become king? But you have been crowned as the heir apparent and will naturally succeed your father. It is this that stands in the way.” Devavrata replied: “I give you my word that the son born of this maiden shall be king. And I renounce in his favor my right as heir apparent,” and he took a vow to that effect. The chief of the fishermen said: “O best of the Bharata race, you have done what no one else born of royal blood has you have done till now.
You are indeed a hero. You can yourself conduct my daughter to the king, your father. Still, hear with patience these words of mine which I say as the father of the girl. “I have no doubt you will keep your word, but how can I hope that the children born of you will renounce their birthright? Your sons will naturally be mighty heroes like you, and will be hard to resist if they, seek to seize the kingdom by force. This is the doubt that torments me.” When he heard this knotty question posed by the girl’s father, Devavrata, who was bent on fulfilling the king’s desire, made his supreme renunciation. He vowed with upraised arm to the father of the maiden: “I shall never marry and I dedicate myself to a life of unbroken chastity.” And as he uttered these words of renunciation the gods showered flowers on his head, and cries of “Bhishma,” “Bhishma” resounded in the air. “Bhishma” means one who undertakes a terrible vow and fulfils it. That name became the celebrated epithet of Devavrata from that time. Then the son of Ganga led the maiden Satyavati to his father. Two sons were born of Satyavati to Santanu, Chitrangada and Vichitravirya, who ascended the throne one after the other. Vichitravirya had two sons, Dhritarashtra and Pandu, born respectively of his two queens, Ambika and Ambalika. The sons of Dhritarashtra, a hundred in number, were known as the Kauravas. Pandu had five sons who became famous as the Pandavas. Bhishma lived long, honored by all as the grandsire until the end of the famous battle of Kurukshetra.
