He Chose Duty Before Anyone Asked Him To
Bhishma did not make one vow. He made two, on the same day, and the second is the one nobody talks about. The first was celibacy. The second was the renunciation of the throne of Hastinapura. His father Shantanu wanted to marry Satyavati, a fisherman's daughter whose father refused the match unless her sons, not Devavrata, would inherit the kingdom. Devavrata gave up his birthright in one afternoon. Then, to silence any future doubt, he swore never to father children. Both vows were gifts to his father. Neither was demanded of him by dharma. He volunteered them.
