Bhishma
Indian mythology · hero · vows, celibacy, duty
Son of Ganga who swore lifelong celibacy so his father could remarry, receiving in exchange the power to choose his moment of death. Grandsire of both armies, he fought for the throne he was bound to, against the family he loved, and died on a bed of arrows.
Stories
The Dice Game
Shakuni's loaded dice strip Yudhishthira of kingdom, brothers, himself, and at last Draupadi. Dragged into the assembly, she is saved from disrobing by Krishna's grace while Bhishma and Vidura sit in shamed silence and Dushasana pulls at her robe; her unbound hair becomes the war's standing oath.
The Fall of Bhishma
None can defeat the grandsire while he holds his weapons, and he will not raise them against one born a woman. So Arjuna advances behind Shikhandi, Amba reborn for exactly this hour, and fills Bhishma with arrows; the old man falls onto a bed of shafts and chooses to die only when the sun turns north.