Unknown artist Unknown artist, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The epic Mahabharata war had started in Kurukshetra between the two warring cousins, the Pandavas, and the Kauravas. Presently, a fierce and bloody battle was going on between the Pandavas and the Kauravas, with Bhishma leading the Kuru or Kaurava’s force.
Bhishma, the general of the Kauravas, had fought a fierce battle for eight days. Bhishma fought so valiantly that there was a sense of fear among the Pandava army. Even then, Duryodhana was not satisfied with the way Bhishma was fighting.
Acharya Drona, the revered teacher for both the warring cousins, knew that even if the Kauravas could kill a single Pandava among the five brothers, the Kauravas would be decided victorious. These terms had already been agreed upon while setting the terms of the war. Everyone knew that Bhishma was a great and fierce warrior whom nobody could kill unless he opted to die.
Duryodhana was saddened that Bhishma had not yet killed a single Pandava in the war. He went to Bhishma and said, “Grandfather, you love the Pandavas more than us, that’s why you are just ‘playing’ with them even in war.”
Bhishma felt very sad to hear Duryodhana’s mildly offending words. He knew that he had to satisfy Duryodhana’s request even though it hurt him to even conceive such a notion. Duryodhana and his brothers were his great-grandchildren, and so were the Pandavas. Bhishma knew that it was unfair for him to choose either of them to the disadvantage of the other. However, he was helpless as he was duty-bound.
He mulled over the request of his captain and his great-grandson Duryodhana, the leader of the Kauravas. After much thought, he promised Duryodhana that he would either kill Arjuna in the war, or he would himself lose the battle.
Bhishma’s words spread fear everywhere on the battlefield and particularly in the enemy camp, that of the Pandavas. Everyone on the Pandavas’ side was scared now. Lord Srikrishna, who was worried about what was going to happen after Bhishma’s latest vow, could not have a good night’s sleep.
Hearing Bhishma’s oath and thinking Arjuna must be very worried, he went to his army camp to console him. But Lord Krishna was mildly surprised to know that Arjuna was oblivious to the situation and was fast asleep when he went there. Krishna was amazed to see Arjuna in that state.
Shri Krishna woke up Arjuna from his sleep and said, “Arjuna! Don’t you know Bhishma’s oath?” Cool as a cucumber, Arjuna said, “I know”. At this Lord Krishna questioned him, “But you don’t seem to have any worry on your face or any fear of death in your mind?”.
In his humble reply, Arjuna said in a calm tone, “O Venerable Sri Krishna, I know that the One who always looks after my well-being, the Lord who always protects me, is alert. So why should I worry about it? The burden of my protection, Your devotee, is Yours. Why should I worry about that? So I sleep peacefully.”
The precious moral of this episode is that many people waste their ‘today’ worrying about ‘tomorrow’s’ obstacles in life. It is useless to fear when the Lord is there to take care of everything that happens in this world. If we do our duty in a noble way, we will get the appropriate result, and the one who walks on the path of Dharma will always deserve the grace of God.