To understand why Bhishma eventually fell at Kurukshetra, we have to go back to the vow that made him Bhishma in the first place. It was a promise made for his father’s happiness. At the time, Bhishma could not have known that this vow would shape almost every major event of his life, including his confrontation with Parshuram and, eventually, his own downfall. The irony is striking. The vow that made Bhishma one of the most respected men in the Mahabharata also became one of the reasons he could never resolve the tragedy of Princess Amba. And that unresolved conflict eventually came back to him on the battlefield of Kurukshetra.
