Ekadasi-devi is Krsna's embodiment of special mercy. The blessings and mercy of Krsna are always directly with her. Ekadasi-devi appears every fifteen days. Each time she comes, she brings special gifts. She brings medicine to help the suffering jivas, but medicine alone is not enough, she also arranges a proper diet to make the jivas healthy and strong in bhakti. Many different rasas are needed. Ekadasi-devi knows what is necessary to help the jivas and make them qualified.
The Asta Vasus were cursed to take birth in Earth. Ganga-devi liberated seven of the Asta Vasus when they were born as her sons. Ganga-devi offered each of her first seven sons into the river Ganga as soon as they were born.
King Santanu thought, "Why is she throwing all of our sons in the Ganga?" The King had no eyes to see what was happening. His wife was Ganga-devi herself and She was offering their sons in her own waters to liberate them from their curse.
Again and again witnessing his wife's seeming cruelty toward her babies, the King lamented. Although he knew that his wife was none other than Ganga-devi herself, his intelligence was defeated by maya's influence. Hence, he thought, "This baby is my dear son." Ganga-devi offered all her babies into her waters, so she could take care of them in her own abode. Otherwise, if she would give her sons to the King or to anyone else, then her children would surely be caught by maya's iron grip.
Ganga-devi saved her newborn sons from maya's influence by keeping them in her own abode. But the King was very disturbed by her actions. He lamented, "What can I do? Why did I marry this lady? She is very cruel! I cannot win her over. She is very strong and peculiar. She told me, 'I will leave you on the very day you question my actions.' If I try to stop her, she will leave me? Then I will lose everything. I have already lost my sons, so how can I lose my wife as well?"
After the seventh son was also lost, the King's anguish knew no bounds. The advisors told the King, "We have a plan for you. You have never performed any vrata or tapa. You must follow Ekadasi-vrata; then your eleven senses will automatically be controlled. Ekadasi-devi has appeared to help the conditioned souls control their senses. She has the power to control the eleven senses. You will then be able to control your wife without any struggle or fight. You will have no more problems."
The king said, "Yes. This solution is good. I will follow Ekadasi-vrata."
A year later, King Santanu and Ganga-devi had another son. He had the combined beauty of the previous seven infants. The demigods showered flowers on the baby and gandharvas blew on their bugles and conches. Hearing the sounds, the King exclaimed in joy, "A son is born!"
But, Ganga-devi took this son in her arms and proceeded in the direction of the River Ganga. King Santanu ran behind her in despair. Imploring her, he said, "My dear wife! Please, for a moment, look at me! I fall at your feet and beg that you give me this son. Don't kill it like the others. Why are you acting like this?"
Ganga-devi replied, "You are now questioning my actions? I am now going. Take your son."
Ganga-devi offered the baby to Santanu and began walking away. Santanu Maharaja begged her, "Please take this child with you for some time. Who will take care of the baby in the absence of his mother?"
She consented, "Very well. I will take care of our son for some time. When he is young, I will return him and you will never see me again."
When the boy grew into a young man, Ganga returned him to Santanu Maharaja. King Santanu obtained this son by his practice of vrata and tapa. By his son's presence, Santanu was able to maintain his composure. King Santanu thought, "By my observance of vrata, the devas gave me this son. Thus, I shall name him Devavrata." His son was unequalled; none in the world could match his beauty or prowess. Looking at his son, Santanu was very pleased.
Once, Maharaja Santanu decided to come to Mathura to hunt. Near Madhuvana, there was a big jungle. This jungle consisted of deer and many other animals that would freely and fearlessly move about the forest. With the intention to hunt, King Santanu entered the jungle. But, on the bank of the Yamuna, he saw a lady of astonishing beauty. At the sight of this girl, Santanu lost his intelligence and energy. He forgot about his strenuous relationship with his first wife; the pain and tension he experienced in that relationship faded into oblivion. He forgot his son; he forgot everything. He lost his composure and shame. He approached the lady, but she was very shy. She sat on the bank of the Yamuna, waiting to ferry people across the river. He followed her from behind and soon after, reached the doorstep of her house. This lady's father was a boatman.
He asked her father, "Will you marry your daughter to me?"
The boatman replied, "Who are you?"
"I am the King of Hastinapura. Indeed, I am the emperor of the entire world."
"Yes. Good. But how can I give my daughter to you? Do you have a young son?"
"Yes."
"Then I will not marry my daughter to you. Instead, I will marry her to your son."
"Why?"
"Why? If I marry my daughter to you, then the children she gives birth to will be your son's servants and slaves. Your elder son will be the heir to the throne. Hence, my grandchildren will be useless. I will not give my daughter to you."
It was not possible for King Santanu to take the boatman's daughter away by force. He had taken his son away by force from Ganga and thus he now suffered from her absence. There was no guarantee of what would happen if he tried to take the boatman's daughter by force. Utterly dejected, King Santanu returned to his palace. He then completely gave up on eating, sleeping, and talking. Covering his face with a cloth, he would lie down for the entire day.
Noticing his father's plight, Devavrata thought to himself "What is father's problem? Why has he stopped eating and sleeping? Why has he stopped talking?"
Devavrata asked the ministers the reason for his father's plight. He told the ministers, "Please ask my father if he is sick or if he is beset with any problems." He called for the physician and arranged for the treatment of his father's illness. But this problem had no treatment. There are no medicines to cure this illness; the medicines will never work.
On repeatedly being asked by the ministers, the King revealed what was troubling his heart. He said, "I would like to be married to a particular lady who has captured my heart while I was wandering on the bank of the Yamuna."
The ministers replied, "Then what is the problem? We will have the girl brought to you and she will be immediately married to you. There is no harm in the King marrying a thousand women. Earlier, you were married to only one lady, but now you can marry another."
The King replied, "There is no problem, except the father's consent."
"Why not?"
"I have a young son, that's why. The father wants his daughter to be married to Devavrata and not me."
Devavrata received this news from the ministers and decided to go bring this lady for his father.
When Devavrata reached the fisherman's house, the fisherman welcomed him and offered him a seat.
Devavrata inquired, "Will you give your daughter?"
"Yes, I agree to give my daughter."
"But, I will marry your daughter to my father; not me."
The fisherman said, "No. Then I will not give my daughter."
Devavrata asked, "Why not?
The fisherman said, "I don't want her sons to be subordinate to you."
Devavrata said, "Let her marry my father and I will accept your terms."
The fisherman then said, "Okay, I will give my daughter; but on one condition. If she marries the King, then the son born to her will be the heir to his throne."
Devavrata said gravely, "So be it."
But, the fisherman wasn't finished yet. He said, "But in the future, the son born of your wife may object that they have a right to the kingdom and in this way they will not be subordinate to my daughters son."
Devavrata said resoundingly, "No, that will never happen. You have my word."
"I cannot believe you," the boatman doubted.
"You have my word," Devavrata reassured him, "I vow I will never get married."
Satisfied, the fisherman said, "Yes, you mustn't get married for your entire life. You must also take care of my daughter, her sons, and the kingdom. You must always help. Otherwise, you may turn against my daughter; you may attack and defeat her children. You may even kill them. Do you promise to always serve them and never turn against them?"
"Yes. I promise. I will never be against your daughter and her children."
Because of his strong vow of lifelong celibacy, Devavrata was henceforth known as Bhisma.
When Bhisma made this promise, his father, Maharaja Santanu, became elated that he would receive his new young bride. Very much pleased, Santanu Maharaja showered many blessings upon his son, Bhisma, "For the sake of my enjoyment, you forsook your own enjoyment. You have left everything for me. Therefore, I will give you a boon. You will have a long life and you can choose to leave your body at any moment you wish. Only when you desire will you die, otherwise not. Kala, time personified, Yama Maharaja, and the other demigods will be unable to disturb you. They will be unable to touch you."
Because of Bhisma's promise to observe lifelong celibacy, Bhisma's father was happy; indeed everyone in the kingdom became happy. But, one problem arose. After some time, old age dawned on King Santanu and his desire to remain in marital bliss was crippled. A little later, King Santanu was afflicted by tuberculosis. He started to cough and vomit blood. His heart and body was finished. Soon after, he died, leaving his wife and children behind. His two sons were Vicitravirya and Citrangada. Citrangada was a strong personality however one day he fought with the gandharvas, and he died in battle. Seeking retribution, Bhisma killed many gandharvas. Lord Brahma, Manu and other celestial beings had to intervene and stop Bhisma.
When Vicitravirya was only sixteen years of age, his mother and his relatives wanted him to get married. Bhisma went to Kasi to attend the svayamvara, a ceremony in which a bride selects her groom. The king of Kasi who organized the svayamvara had three daughters. Bhisma fought with the contending princes and forcefully stole the three princesses Amba, Ambika, and Ambalika for Vicitravirya.
The eldest of the three princesses called Amba told Bhisma, "I had already chosen Salva as my husband and he also desired to have me as his wife. I was going to choose him in the svayamvara
But you stole me away. What shall I do now?
Bhisma then decided to return her to Salva and sent her to his city. However, Salva upon seeing Amba rejected her saying, "I cannot accept you because you have been taken by Bhisma. He has touched you and you happily went with him." She tried to convince him that she was kidnapped against her will but Salva would hear none of it and sent her away.
Amba then left for the forest to do austerities. Wandering in the forest she met some rsis and she informed them of her plight. Feeling sympathy they told her that Parasurama was on his way to their asrama that it would be wise to seek his help.
Amba then met with Bhisma's guru, Parasurama. Feeling sorry for Amba, Parasurama went to see Bhisma. He told Bhisma, "You should follow my order and marry this lady!"
Bhisma replied "No. I have taken a vow never to marry."
Parasurama said, "It is only proper you accept her. By kidnapping her you have ruined her future. By taking her she has been rejected by everyone. Therefore, you must marry her."
Bhisma unflinchingly said, "No. I will never marry."
Greatly angered, Parasurama said, "You do not wish to get married? Do you know who I am?"
"Yes, I know who you are."
"Are you not my disciple?"
"Indeed, I am your disciple."
"If you don't wish to marry, then you must fight with me."
Bhisma agreed. There was a tumultuous battle between Bhisma and Parasurama. It didn't last for only one day but for many days. The demigods and the residents of the different planetary systems were greatly disturbed by this unrestrained fight. The demigods came and requested Parasurama and Bhisma to end their duel. They stopped their battle after much pacification.
Parasurama unable to defeat Bhisma told Amba he had tried his best and could do no more to help and left that place.
Amba desired to kill Bhisma. Girls are very strange. Amba told Bhisma, "If you don't desire to marry me then know that I will be your maha-kala, your doom."
Amba then proceeded to perform arduous tapa and japa. Siva became pleased and offered her the benediction that in her next life she would be the cause of Bhisma's death and she would remember her enmity to him. Pleased, She entered a raging fire in order to quickly give up her body. In her next birth, she was born into King Drupada's family and was known as Sikhandi. Sikhandi was born a woman but changed into manhood. During the Mahabharata war, she was positioned in front of Arjuna's chariot to allay Bhisma Pitamaha's relentless attack. Seeing her standing in the front Bhisma would not fight with her because she was a woman by birth. Bhisma Pitamaha looked away in disgust, and seeing the opportunity Arjuna began shooting many arrows and defeated the Grandsire. He pierced his body from head to toe with his sharp arrows. In this way, Grandsire Bhisma was defeated. Without Sikhandi it would not have possible to defeat Bhisma who was invincible in battle.
How did Bhisma Pitamaha maintain his life of near immortality and resist the temptations of women like Amba? He did so by following his father's instructions.
King Santanu told Bhisma, "This Ekadasi-vrata is very strong. If you desire to follow this Ekadasi-vrata, then I give you the boon that your senses will never disturb you. I also bless you that you will be able to use all your senses in the service of the Lord. God will accept your service; you will be close to God."
On the strength of his father's advice, Bhisma Pitamaha started following Ekadasi. After starting to follow Ekadasi-vrata Bhisma Pitamaha's senses never disturbed him. He never lost his intelligence; his mind always dwelled on Krsna's lotus feet. During the Mahabharata War Bhisma Pitamaha said, "Hari se astra uthau, to santanu putra kahaon." Bhisma Pitamaha vowed that he would only be known as Santanu's_son if he would make Krsna use any kind of a weapon to defend His devotee, Arjuna. On one particular day of the war, Bhisma Pitamaha didn't fight with Arjuna; rather, he attracted Krsna to fight with him. Bhisma pierced Krsna's transcendental body with many arrows. Krsna's body even bled at times. With the wheel of a chariot in hand, Krsna ran towards Bhisma, intending to kill him.
Krsna broke His promise to never take up weapons during the war. On seeing the Lord approach him, Bhisma Pitamaha with folded hands prayed and offered many prayers to the Lord. Describing this scene, Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura has said, "This battle was like a madana-yuddha, kama-yuddha, the battle of Cupid." A passionate man fights with his lover and forcefully defeats her. He then embraces and kisses her. She in return marks him with her nails and teeth. By doing so it cannot be said she is devoid of love, rather this is an indication she loves him more than her own life. Similarly, the cuts made by Bhisma's arrows on Krsna's body are compared to like love bites manifesting during the battle of Cupid. He thought, "Krsna likes me. He is trying to defeat me and steal me away. He intends to catch and embrace me." Hence, Bhisma is resisting Krsna's approaches. He prays, "This is a battle-place, don't come now. You cannot touch me here." Why has Bhisma prayed as such? He prayed like this because he has offered everything to Krsna, and is a one-pointed follower of Krsna.
Bhisma loved the Pandavas more than his own life. The five brothers were like his five life-airs. Once, Duryodhana laced Bhima's food with poison. Bhima was strong, young, and very powerful. He couldn't tolerate the temptation to eat what his arch-enemy Duryodhana offered; he had no patience. Duryodhana poisoned Bhima's food and had him bound by straw and grasses. Duryodhana poisoned Bhima when they were playing in the forest. Bhima was very greedy to eat the poisonous food. Duryodhana offered him halava and many kinds of tasty preparations. Bhima readily ate the food and soon after, became senseless. Bhima was then thrown in a river. Everybody thought that Bhima was dead, especially Duryodhana.
But, Bhima went lower and lower from the earth's surface and ultimately reached naga-loka. There, many snakes looked at Bhima and thought, "Wah! We have obtained nice food!" Many snakes repeatedly bit unconscious Bhima and sucked the poison out of his body. But, this poison was deadlier than snake poison. By sucking this poison out, even the snakes became senseless. Like Bhima, they fell unconscious on coming in contact with this poison.
Afterwards, Anantadeva came. Seeing all the snakes unconscious, He said, "What happened to my relatives? How is Bhima here?"
By the combined efforts of all the snakes, Bhima's body became free of any poison. The residents of naga-loka then sent him to prthivi-loka, Earth. He returned to Hastinapura in a healthy condition. Bhisma Pitamaha knew everything. He would teach military warfare to the Pandavas, the sons of Kunti and Madri.
Desiring the ultimate welfare of the Pandavas, Bhisma told them, "From today, you must follow Ekadasi-vrata. Then you will be safe for your complete lives. Most importantly, you will all be Krsna's near and dear ones. I, for instance, am very happy. I have no problems; I am never disturbed. My mind is never restless. I am always appointed in the service of the Lord. All of you should also follow Ekadasi-vrata."
Hari-katha spoken by Sripada Premananda Prabhu; rendition by Rasik Mohan Das
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