King Shantanu, once a majestic ruler of Hastinapur, was now a quiet shadow of his former self. He wandered through his palace lost in thought, no longer riding horses or speaking freely with his son. His face had lost its glow, his voice its warmth. Something troubled him deeply, and it did not go unnoticed. Devavrata, his only son and the pride of the Kuru race, approached him with care. “Father,” he asked, “you rule the Earth. All kings bow to you. Why then are you wrapped in silence and sorrow? You don’t talk to me, nor do you smile. Your body is weakening each day. Is there an illness you have not told me about?”
King Shantanu, moved by his son’s concern, finally spoke, “My child, you are indeed my greatest treasure. Alone, you are worth more than a hundred sons. But I am tormented by the impermanence of life and lineage. If something were to happen to you, our family would vanish. I do not wish to remarry, but I also fear that our dynasty may perish with me. For the sake of our lineage, a desire has risen in me, and that is to have another son.”
Devavrata listened silently as the weight of the king’s burden passed to his shoulders. Determined to solve the mystery of his father’s grief, Devavrata sought counsel from the royal minister. The truth shocked him. His father had fallen in love with a fisherwoman named Satyavati. Devavrata understood everything now. His father’s silence was not born out of weakness, but from a noble conflict between desire and duty. Without wasting another second, he rode to the Nishadraj.
Standing before Nishadraj and Satyavati, Devavrata asked for her hand in marriage on his father’s behalf. But the fisherman hesitated. With a little fear in his voice, he said, “Even if you promise never to claim the throne, what if your children one day demand it? I need assurance that my daughter’s lineage will sit on the throne of Hastinapur.“
And then came the moment that changed history.
Devavrata took a vow so fierce, so absolute, that even gods and sages trembled at its sound. “From this day forward, I renounce all claim to the throne. I shall never marry. I shall never father a child. I shall live a life of celibacy till death.” The sky echoed with divine applause. Flowers rained from the heavens. The gods declared, “From now on he shall be known as Bhishma—the one who took the terrible vow.”
Devavrata then returned to Hastinapur with Satyavati as Nishadraj happily handed his daughter’s hand to Bhishma for his father. After knowing the entire episode and watching Satyavati in front of his eyes, Shantanu was overwhelmed with love and gratitude. Tears welled in the old king’s eyes. For his unmatched sacrifice, Shantanu granted a boon to Bhishma that no man had ever received. “Death shall not touch you unless you allow it. You will live as long as you choose. Even death must await your command.“
Thus was born the legend of Bhishma, the celibate warrior, the pillar of dharma who shaped generations to come.
Well, honestly, the complexity increases from here. You will realize that something that you have been carrying for a long time was even faced by someone else. This read might divide us. Some people would appreciate the sacrifice Bhishma made. While others would disagree with it. Because for each, their dharma is different. Someone’s gut would shout to them to make sacrifices for the parents who have given them life. But for some, their gut will ask them to take a lead and understand that the new generation does not need to carry forward generational trauma. Who is right? Well, all and none. If you chose what your inner conscience told you to do fearlessly, the end will be right. But if you get scared and choose what feels pleasing to others or comfortable to you. You’ll enter a cycle of punishment.
Every single choice that you will make in this world will have some consequences. No choice ever is one hundred percent right. The catch lies in the fact : what consequences you are ready to face. It is easiest to choose between right and wrong. The real fight is between right vs. right. There is no perfect path. But there is a path that is yours. The universe has specifically crafted this path for you. Nobody around would resonate with it. Nobody around would have faith in it. But that does not even matter. The real question is, do you believe in your choice? Your path? Your decision? The cost of abandoning one’s inner voice is a lifetime of punishment. So pause. Sit. And then ask yourself—not who was right—but who will you become when you choose “your right”?
Journaling Prompts
- Have you ever sacrificed something just to please someone or out of fear of them being sad?
- Has that choice made you happy once the decision was taken, or does it kill you every day, but you keep mum because you don’t want others to be disappointed?
Interesting Reads
A section where we give you one interesting book recommendation daily.
This modern classic is the story of intransigent young architect Howard Roark, whose integrity was as unyielding as granite…of Dominique Francon, the exquisitely beautiful woman who loved Roark passionately, but married his worst enemy…and of the fanatic denunciation unleashed by an enraged society against a great creator. As fresh today as it was then, Rand’s provocative novel presents one of the most challenging ideas in all of fiction—that man’s ego is the fountainhead of human progress. Discover it here
