Bhishma Panchaka 2031

From the Skanda Purana

Bhishma was the son of King Shantanu, a great warrior who never married and never had a child, and the Purana says he was one of the Vasus, the shining gods, born on earth. In the time of the Pandavas he lay on a bed of arrows.

Lying there, the noble Bhishma spoke at length about the duties of kings, about the path to freedom of the soul, and about giving gifts. The five Pandava brothers and Lord Krishna sat and listened to him.

On the eleventh day of the bright half of Kartika, Bhishma asked for water. Arjuna, swift as an arrow, brought him water of the holy Ganga, and Bhishma's body was refreshed.

Then Lord Krishna, full of joy, said to him, "You are truly blessed, Bhishma. You have taught all the duties of dharma. Because your body was satisfied today, let all people offer water to you and honour you, from this day until the full moon day. Let them keep this vow, named Bhishma Panchaka, with all their heart. It will give me joy."

That is how the vow got its name. Panchaka means "a group of five", for its five days. It is called Bhishma Panchaka because Bhishma received it from Krishna, and also, the Purana says, because it is hard to keep, as the word bhishma means "awesome" or "terrible".

The Purana adds that the vow is old. In the first age, the Krita yuga, the sages Vasishtha, Bhrigu and Garga kept it, and in the Treta yuga King Ambarisha kept it. Later King Atithi of Ayodhya kept it on the advice of Vasishtha, and he reached the city of Vishnu.

The Purana also says that Bhishma's time to leave his body did not fall in Uttarayana, the Sun's northward course. But Lord Hari, pleased with him, gave him that time, and gave him a pure and auspicious hour to depart.

The blessings the Purana promises are great. The vow destroys great sins and brings merit equal to a horse sacrifice. It says a childless couple who keep it for a son will have one within a year, and that the one who keeps it deserves liberation. Those who cannot keep the whole month long Kartika vow may keep these five days and gain its merit.

The Padma Purana and the Bhavishya Purana tell the same in short. The Padma Purana says the vow is called Bhishma Panchaka because Bhishma received it from Vishnu, and that Bhishma, lying on the bed of arrows, taught it. In the Bhavishya Purana, Krishna tells Yudhishthira that Bhishma himself, lying on the bed of arrows, told him this vow, and that it is the best of all vows.