BG 1.11 Listen

Duryodhana urges the commanders of the Kaurava army to protect Bhishma at all costs. Bhishma, Drona, and Karna are the "immortal characters" in the Kaurava army, yet each of these men will voluntarily provide the Pandavas with the means by which they may be slain over the course of the Kurukshetra war.

Bhishma's death

In the eighth verse of this chapter, the commentary provides a background on Bhishma's life - namely, that he voluntarily gives up his claim to the throne to secure his father's happiness. After the death of his father, he manages the succession of his half-brothers, and is active in arranging their marriages. In the case of his half-brother Vichitravirya, he attends a swayamvara (a competition where a woman chooses the winner as her husband) on his behalf, and returns with three princesses of Kashi - Amba, Ambika, and Ambalika. Ambika and Ambalika consent to the marriage, while Amba tells Bhishma about her love for another king. Bhishma sends her to the other king, who rejects her out of humiliation over his loss to Bhishma at the swayamvara.

After Amba's return to Hastinapura, she is further rejected by Vichitravirya since she has declared her love for another man. Bhishma is pressured to take Amba as his own wife, but Bhishma remains firmly committed to his vow of celibacy, even though his father (on whose behalf he made the vow) has been dead for many years. Amba decides to take her own revenge and wins the favor of Shiva, who assures her that she will be reborn as the one who brings about Bhishma's death.

Amba is reborn as Shikandi, who is born a female but becomes a male after agreeing to sex exchange with a yaksha (a broad class of nature deities). During the battle, Bhishma informs Arjuna that he may be killed by Shikandi since he will not take up arms against a woman, which leads to a final encounter with Arjuna where he chooses to die on a bed of arrows.