Devavrat was a lawmaker of the Kuru Kingdom and one of the most powerful warriors in Mahabharata. He was the only surviving son of Kuru King Shantanu and river Ganga. Once when Shantanu was on a hunting trip he saw a beautiful woman on the banks of river Ganga. He fell in love with her and asked for marriage. The lady agreed but with the condition that he would never question her actions. If he broke the condition she would abandon him. Shantanu accepted this proposal and live a happy marital life with her. When a child was born the queen used to drown the child in the river Ganga. One after the other seven sons were born and drowned. Shantanu remained silent but when she was about to abandon the eighth child Shantanu stopped her and confronted her. The women then as per the conditions abandoned him and left. She revealed herself to be goddess Ganga. She took his son along with him. He was brought and trained by sages. Years later when Shantanu was roaming on the banks of Ganga he saw a young man and recognized him as his son. He begged Ganga to return him. Ganga handed her son to Shantanu. Shantanu then met a fisherwoman named Satyavati. They fell in love with each other but her father fisherman wished that their son would rule the Kingdom. As Devavrat was the first son of Shantanu he would be the king. But to fulfill his father’s wish he took the oath of lifelong brahmachari. Because of this oath, he came to be known as Bhishma and was blessed to live as long as he wanted. He participated in the Mahabharata from this side of Kauravas. On the 10th day of the war, Arjuna pierced Bhishma with numerous arrows and laid him on a bed of arrows. Bhishma was then lying on the battlefield all pierced by arrows. Since he had the power to choose the time of his death, he decided to die during Uttarayana. He spent 51 nights on the arrow bed. On the day before he was to leave his body, all the Pandavas gathered around him. Yudhishtir now had the Kingdom for himself, he asked for Bhishma’s advice as he wanted to do his best as the new king. Yudhishthir asked hundreds of questions. He asked about his Dharma as a king and Bhishma explained to him every single point in a detailed manner. He elaborated about how a good king must be and what all things are to be taken care of as a king. Also, what is a king’s Dharma? How he must treat his enemy, how he must use his power, wealth and protect his kingdom. Some importance of Adharma too. He told him that he must do whatever was needed for the wellbeing of his nation and how he had lived all his life. Yudhishthir with the use of each and every advice of Bhishma remained a successful king for 36 years. Bhishma then attends salvation after his death.

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