Be careful with your words and your oaths
Tomorrow is a big day. Devavrata kept his eyes close in an attempt to sleep, but his mind wouldn’t rest.
Devavrata thought back to all the words of his many gurus throughout the years. They always said that I needed to know how to rule and yet they said I needed to know how to fight in war. “But then why did Mother insist for me to be trained by the immortal sage Markandeya? Yes, I learnt a great deal, but of what use is a lesson on monkhood to a King?”
He thought about the many times his Mother reminded him of the meaning of his name. “Deva-Vrata, it means a vow the Devas made. Be careful with your words and your oaths. Promise me you will try your best to walk the path of Dharma, no matter what lies ahead.” He wondered what his Mother meant. But he was sure he’d make her proud. He would keep every vow he made, and people would say Ganga’s son never broke his word.
Devavrata doses off with these thoughts. Tomorrow is a big day. Tomorrow he will meet his father, King Shantanu. But more importantly, tomorrow he will be a Prince.
I could never quite place my finger on what it was that bothered me about Bhishma’s character, but after my experience in the government, I see it clearly now. It is an easy trap to fall into. He lived by the book and made grand oaths which have serious implications in future in order to address immediate concerns. The man was obsessed with his kingdom. Although he relinquished his rights to the throne, he refused to die until he felt the kingdom was in safe hands with the Pandavas. And in this way it was reaffirmed that he was a righteous man. But what did he actually do towards this goal? Unfortunately, nothing. The great warrior who was undefeated by Lord Parashuram himself, whiled away the years while watching the spectacle of the Kurukshetra war. Although respected by all, he died on a bed arrows shot by his own disciple.
I was very tempted to re-imagine Bhishma’s story when he was lying on his deathbed, waiting for the war to be over. Perhaps to imagine him revisiting his mistakes, hoping he could have salvaged the situation earlier on. But something brought me back to the young boy being trained by the Devas to be King, or so he thought.