BHISHMA.

Bhishma means ‘fearsome’ and refers to the fearsome or terrible oath of celibacy that he took so that his father, Shantanu could marry a fisherwoman, Satyavati, and their progeny could be the rulers of Hastinapur. His other names include Devavrata, Shantanab, Gangaputra, Shantanava, Pitamaha, Mahamahima, Gauranga, Shvetaveera and Asta Vasu.

In the epic Mahabharata, Bhishma (Sanskrit: भीष्‍म) was well known for his pledge of celibacy. The eighth son of Kuru King Shantanu and the goddess Ganga, Bhishma was blessed with wish-long life and was related to both the Pandava and the Kaurava. He was an unparalleled archer and warrior of his time. He is equal to 4 maharathi warriors, capable to defeating 4 maharathis at once. He also handed down the Vishnu Sahasranama to Yudhishthira when he was on his death bed (of arrows) in the battle of Kurukshetra.

 The legend behind Bhishma's birth is as follows — once the eight Vasus("Ashtavasus") visited Vashishta's ashram accompanied by their wives. One of the wives took a fancy to Kamadhenu, Vashishta's wish-bearing cow and asked her husband Prabhasa to steal it from Vashishta. Prabhasa then stole the cow with the help of the others who were all consequently cursed by Vashishta to be born in the world of humans.

Upon the Vasus appealing to Vashishta's mercy, the seven Vasus who had assisted in stealing Kamadhenu had their curse mitigated such that they would be liberated from their human birth as soon as they were born; however, Prabhasa being protagonist of the theft, was cursed to endure a longer life on the earth. The curse, however is softened to the extent that he would be one of the most illustrious men of his time. It was this Prabhasa who took birth as Bhishma.

Bhishma means He of the terrible oath, referring to his vow of lifelong celibacy. Originally named Devavratha, he became known as Bhishma after he took the bhishamna pratignya ('terrible oath') — the vow of lifelong celibacy and of service to whomever sat on the throne of his father (the throne of Hastinapur). He took this oath so that his father, Shantanu could marry a fisherwoman Satyavati — Satyavati's father had refused to give his daughter's hand to Shantanu on the grounds that his daughter's children would never be rulers. This made Shantanu despondent, and upon discovering the reason for his father's despondency, Devavratha sought out the girl's father and promised him that he would never stake a claim to the throne, implying that the child born to Shantanu and Satyavati would become the ruler after Shantanu. 

At this, Satyavati's father retorted that even if Devavratha gave up his claim to the throne, his (Devavratha's) children would still claim the throne. Devavratha then took the vow of lifelong celibacy, thus sacrificing his 'crown-prince' title and denying himself the pleasures of conjugal love. This gave him immediate recognition among the gods. His father granted him the boon of Ichcha Mrityu (control over his own death — he could choose the time of his death, making him immortal till his chosen time of death, instead of completely immortal which would have been an even more severe curse and cause of suffering).

In the great battle at Kurukshetra, Bhishma was the supreme commander of the Kaurava forces for ten days. He fought reluctantly on the side of the Kauravas. Bhishma was one of the most powerful warriors of his time and in history. He acquired his prowess and invincibility from being the son of the sacred Ganga and by being a student of renowned Gurus.

Krishna told Arjuna how he could bring down Bhishma, through the help of Sikhandhi. The Pandavas were initially not agreeable to such a ploy, as by using such cheap tactics they would not be following the path of Dharma, but Krishna suggested a clever alternative. And thus, on the next day, the tenth day of battle Shikhandi accompanied Arjuna on the latter's chariot and they faced Bhishma who put his bow and arrows down. He was then felled in battle by Arjuna, pierced by innumerable arrows. Using Sikhandhi as a shield, Arjuna shot arrows at Bhishma, piercing his entire body. Thus, as was preordained (Mahadeva's boon to Amba that she would be the cause of Bhishma's death) Shikhandi, that is, Amba reincarnated was the cause of Bhishma's fall.

Finally Bhishma gave up the fight, focusing his life force and breath, sealing the wounds, and waiting for the auspicious moment to give up his body on the arrow bed. He did wait for about 58 nights for the winter solstice or first day of Uttarayana to give up his body on the arrow bed. Mahabharata states that he attained salvation after his death. 

For more details on Bhishma, please visit various books on Mahabharata.