Bhishma's Last Teachings

Bhishma is lying on the bed of arrows. The Pandavas along with Krishna approach the grandsire. Yudhister stands beside his grandfather and tears well up in his eyes.The victory has neither given him happiness nor peace of mind.Unaffected by the spoils of war,Yudhister wants to renounce the world and retire to the forest. With the line of succession in imminent peril, Krishna advises Yudhister to go and seek knowledge from the grandsire.

The disciple of Parashurama, an ocean of knowledge speaks from his death bed;

‘Oh King, just as the foot of the elephant covers every other foot, so does Raja Dharma cover all aspects of Dharma under all conditions.Raja Dharma is supreme as it provides nourishment to people of all varnas or professions and encompasses all sacrifices.The sages since ancient times praised sacrifice as the best form of Dharma.

The Sanatana Dharma was destroyed several times, but each time it was redeemed and spread again by the Kshatriya Dharma. The greatest sacrifice is that of the King who lays down his life to uphold Raja Dharma'.

Be it Ramayana or the Mahabharata, the emphasis was on acquiring and preserving knowledge rather than losing it with the death of the Gyani or the learned soul. Great warriors like Ravana and Bhishma were authorities on a variety of subjects and every effort was made to acquire knowledge for the benefit of successive generations.

The pre-eminence of knowledge and scholarship was a foregone conclusion in the Vedic times.

If you look at it closely, knowledge learnt over hundreds of years was passed on to Yudhister in a matter of days.

Call it " rapid knowledge transfer", Bhishma knew that his teachings would come in handy and help Yudhister rule Hastinpur for the next 36 years – which he did with great elan.

Pic credit - Youtube

Engage your organisation with

a thought-provoking session!

Know more about our Corporate Training Programs