1. International Indexed & Referred Research Journal, November, 2012, ISSN 0974- 2832, RNI- RAJBIL- 2009/29954; VoL IV * ISSUE- 46
Research Paper - English
Duty, Dharma and Righteousness of Bhishma
Study in Mahabharata
* Nailesh R. Patel November ,2012
* Asst. Prof, Dept of English, N.P. Patel Mahila Arts College, Palanpur ( B.K.)
Duty, Dharma and Righteousness of Bhsma: to be a curse on the Bharata dynasty that led eventually
The meaning of Dharma, is righteousness and good to a horrendous war of succession. In Mahabharata
moral and ethical practices in accordance with the scrip- Bhishma sacrificed his own happiness for the sake of
tures, dharma includes all duties, individual, social, and his father. He did not marry, he did not become King. He
religious and adherence to the laws of the land. Accord- managed the Kingdom because personal feelings for
ing to the Hindu Philosophy, dharma is essential for his father for two generations.
accomplishing material and spiritual goals and for the Yet, if he had accepted requested to Satyavati's
growth of the individual and society request, he might have continued, the royal line of the
Devavrata (Bhishma) was the eldest son of Shantanu. Bharatas and lived a peaceful, domestic, Grihastha life
He would be Bharata's King and the ancestor of the of the second stage and spared the world mass destruc-
Pandvavas and Kauravas. Bhishma would have be- tion. One thing is the difficulty to understand why in
come King if his father had not fallen in love with Mahabharata the great hero did not do anything when
Satyavati, the daughter of the chief fishermen. everybody made a plan to play a dice game. At that time
As a condition of their marriage, the bride's father he could have stopped them.
was adamant that the King-ship should descend on And other than this there in the public humiliation
Satyavati's children. To make his father happy, he re- of Droupadi. In the assembly Bhishma must have known
nounced left the Kingdom and he promised his father more than anyone else, he could have saved Draupadi.
that he would never marry in his life. That was such a He had the authority to stop the shameful spectacle.
terrifying and awesome act of self-sacrifice that flowers Instead he thought about what Dharma was and what
rained form the sky when Devavrata took this oath here not Dharma was.
Bhishma acted as per too Dharma of a son for his father One expected him to strike Duhshasans to the ground
happiness. Bhishma kept his promise and remained when he tried to pull off Draupadi's garment. It has been
celibate all his life. His stepmother Satyavati had two suggested that Bhishma had eaten Duryodhana's salt
children from his father and he brought them up lovingly and thus forced to support him. This is obviously not
like his own brothers. a morally sound argument. Patronage does make a
When they are young, he ruled the Kingdom duti- claim on one's loyalty but the claim stops before one's
fully in their name as a guardian and regent. When they conscience. It is difficult to believe that the coura-
grew up, he arranged their marriages. Satyavati be- geous Bhishma would have been afraid of Duryodhana
seeches Bhishma to parent, children or her widowed at the end of his life, especially when he had lived the
daughters in law. But he refuses, saying that he cannot rest of his life selflessly on behalf of others. The fact
possibly go back on his word. remains that when it came to Draupadi's question in the
Bhishma tells the Pandavas that he is invincible in assembly, he failed.
battle; he can only be defeated when he lays down his When Bhishma says to Draupadi that 'Dharma is
bow and weapons. He tells them about a vow he made subtle', his mind appears to facing a real dilemma about
long ago that he would never hurt a woman. The what is right under these circumstances. He views
Pandavas realize that they have such a person in their Dharma naturally from the viewpoint of state policy
midst, who is an ally. The mighty Panchala Prince, and as the elder states man of the Kuru clan, his main
Shikhandi was born a woman but later, she changed her concern is to ensure that policies are adopted to
sex. If Shikhandi were to appear before him, Bhishma strengthen the interests of the Hastinapura state and
tells them, he would have to lay down his weapons. At to preserve the Bharata line to which both the Pandavas
that moment, Arjuna could kill him. 'I do not see anyone and Kaurvas belong. He is a public figure and hence his
in the three words who can kill me'. arguments are cautious and legalistic. They betray an
Bhishma certainly managed to create a huge individual so caught up in the affairs of the state that
problem of succession. His vow of celibacy turned out moral courage has deserted him. The Mahabharata has
SHODH, SAMIKSHA AUR MULYANKAN 37

2. International Indexed & Referred Research Journal, November, 2012, ISSN 0974- 2832, RNI- RAJBIL- 2009/29954; VoL IV * ISSUE- 46
presented us with another reminder as once again about In the Mahabharata Bhisma comes closest to the
the difficulty of being good. Even an exalted virtue like ideal of a secular ascetic. His duty to the state in char-
selflessness and a commitment to disinterested perfor- acterized by detachment from personal reward. His
mance of duty can get one into trouble. The epic seems vow of celibacy did not make him a 'Secular ascetic'.
to be saying that one ought to be wary of all absolute Indeed, the Mahabharata is ambivalent about his celi-
and there may even be limitations to Krishna's idea of bacy, which turned into house holders to be celibate
Nishkama Karma perhaps Draupadi's question did not either. The Gita focuses on the positive results that
have an answer. In Mahabharata all human life ends in come from becoming less self-centered and among this
frustration. is an escape from Karna.
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