Camel

In the Satya Yuga, there lived a camel who had recollection of all the acts of his former life. The camel engaged in austere penances in the forest. Brahma, gratified by the penances, expressed His desire to grant the camel a boon.

The camel said, “Make my neck long enough that I can grab food that is even a hundred Yojanas away”. Brahma said, “So be it”. Having obtained the boon, the camel subsequently became idle and abstained from going outdoors for grazing.

One day, as he was collecting his food effortlessly a hundred Yojanas away, a great storm gathered. The camel, deciding to wait until the storm was over, placed his head and a portion of his neck into the cave of a mountain.

Meanwhile the heavy rains drove a shivering jackal and his wife towards that very cave for shelter.

The meat-eating jackal, hungry and tired as he was, set his eyes upon the camel’s neck and began devouring it. The camel, realizing that his neck was being eaten, tried to shorten it. But even as the camel tried to move his head around, the jackal and his wife, without losing their hold, continued to eat his neck away.

Soon the camel breathed his last. 

* * *

The above story was explained by Bhishma to Yudhishtira to urge the latter to avoid idleness as it results in one’s downfall. Bhishma asked his grandson to instead restrain his senses while delivering upon his duty with the proper means.

(Source: Mbh Santi Parva, Chapter 112)

Bhishma vs Parashuram Duel - Divine Chariot Vision

At the battlegrounds, while Bhishma was on a chariot, Parasurama was on foot. Bhishma requested Parasurama to also take a chariot and armor so that Bhishma would not have an unfair advantage. Parasurama blessed Bhishma with the power of divine vision and asked him to look again. When Bhishma looked at his guru with the divine eye-sight, he saw the

1. Earth as Parasurama’s chariot,
2. the four Vedas as the horses,
3. the Upanishads as the reins,
4. Vayu (wind) as the Charioteer and the
5. Vedic goddesses Gayatri, Savitri & Saraswati as the armor.

Bhishma got down from the chariot and sought the blessings of Parasurama to protect his dharma, along with the permission to battle against his teacher.

Parasurama was pleased and said to Bhishma that if he had not behaved in this manner, Parasurama would have cursed him, for it is the duty of warriors who fight against elders to not abandon the traditions of humility and respect for elders.

Parasurama blessed him and advised him to protect his dharma of brahmacharya as Parasurama himself must fight to fulfil his dharma of fighting to uphold his word as given to Amba.

They fought for 23 days without conclusion — Parasurama was chiranjeevi (immortal) and Bhishma had a boon that let him choose the time of his death.

Bhishma vs Parashuram Duel - How it Ended

Two versions exist about how their battle came to and end.

As per one, On the 22nd night, Bhishma prayed to his ancestors to help him end the battle. His ancestors gave him a weapon which was not known to Parasurama. They told him that it would put Parasurama to sleep in the battlefield. A person who sleeps in the battlefield is considered to be dead as per Vedas. They advised Bhishma to call back the weapon at the end of day after sunset so that Parasurama will come back to his sense and that shall bring the end to war. However the weapon was never used as Bhishma walked out of the war.

As per the other version, on the 23rd day, Bhishma summoned the infallible celestial weapon(astra) Prashvapastra, the method of using which was known to him and him alone. Neither did a counter-attack exist, nor was a defense against it known to Parasurama. As Bhishma mounted the astra on his bow, a divine voice (ākāshavānī) implored Bhishma not to fire the weapon as its use would lead to the humiliation of Bhishma’s guru(Parasurama himself). Bhishma refrained from using the weapon that would have brought him certain victory.

Upon witnessing this, Parasurama was overcome with adulation for his disciple and proclaimed Bhishma as the victor. Parasurama thus told Amba that he could not win over Bhishma and gave her the boon of “mahakal shiva”. Amba did penance to please Lord Shiva. Shiva gave her the boon that she would be instrumental in the death of Bhishma. Amba would later be reborn as the eunuch prince Shikhandi in the household of king Drupada.

Wash