When she was about to throw the eighth child into the river, Shantanu, unable to control himself, stopped her and confronted her about her actions. One by one, seven sons were born and drowned, while Shantanu remained silent because of his commitment. However, when a child was born, the queen used to drown him in the river Ganga. Shantanu accepted it and lived a happy marital life with her. The lady agreed to his proposal but with one condition that he will never question her actions and if this condition was broken, she would abandon him. He fell in love with her and asked for her hand in marriage. Īccording to the legend, Shantanu, the youngest son of the king Pratipa and the king of Kuru kingdom, was on a hunting trip, when he saw a beautiful woman on the banks of the river Ganga. It is believed that he was the avatar of a Vasu named Dyu, alias Prabhasa. He was the only surviving son of Shantanu, a king belonging to the lunar dynasty, and his first wife Ganga, a river goddess. Painting by Raja Ravi Varmaīhishma's birth and youth are mainly narrated in the Adi Parva book of the epic. Shantanu stops Ganga from drowning their eighth child, who later was known as Bhishma.
On the tenth day of the war, the Pandava prince Arjuna, with the help of Shikhandi, pierced Bhishma with numerous arrows and paralysed him on a bed of arrows. He played a major role in the political affairs of the Kuru kingdom and participated in the Kurukshetra War from the side of Kauravas. He took the extreme step of vowing to be celibate at a young age, because of this massive decision, he came to be known as Bhishma and was blessed to live as long as he wanted. However, he ceded his rights for his father's happiness and took the vow of lifelong celibacy.
Originally named Devavrata, he was made the heir-apparent of the kingdom. He was related to both the Pandavas and the Kauravas through his half-brother, Vichitravirya. He was born as the elder son of the illustrious King Shantanu and Ganga. Bhisma was the elder brother of grandfather of both the Pandavas and the Kauravas and statesman of Kuru Kingdom. He was the one who witnessed the Mahābhārata completely from the beginning since the reign of king Shantanu of Kuru kingdom. He was the supreme commander of the Kaurava forces during the Kurukshetra War mentioned in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. 'terrible'), also known as Pitamaha, Gangaputra and Devavrata.
Bhishma ( Sanskrit: भीष्म, IAST: Bhīṣma, lit.