Even The Wise Make Mistakes

Chapter 1: Bhishma's Oath

Before he was called Bhishma, he was known as Devrath. The son of Ganga and Hastinapur’s king Shantanu. One day, he unselfishly took a grave oath to neither marry nor become a king. The newly declared successor to the throne swore to give up the throne and remain a loyal servant to whosoever sits on the throne of Hastinapur. In return, he received the boon of iccha mrityu (to die at his will). The oaths he took that day led to dreadful consequences. Buy why someone as righteous, wise, and well-educated as Devrath would do something that will bring misery to the whole kingdom.

His father Shantanu fell in love with a woman named Satyavati. She was the daughter of a fisherman and had received a boon of becoming a queen. As things unfolded, Shantanu proposed to her for marriage. But to Shantanu’s surprise, she refused. Marrying him would have fulfilled her wish to become a king’s wife but her firstborn wouldn’t have inherited the throne. Shantanu had already declared Devrath as his successor to the throne with everyone's approval. What’s the point of becoming a queen if your son doesn’t rule the kingdom. When Devrath came to know about this incident he immediately went to Satyavati’s home. After talking to Satyavati and her family, Devrath felt that he is the only obstacle standing between his father and Satyavati’s marriage. So Devrath promised her that it will be her firstborn who will sit on the throne. But Satyavati was afraid that in the future Devrath’s son might claim the throne since Devrath was the one meant to succeed Shantanu. So, Devrath took the oaths to ensure all of Satyavati’s demands are fulfilled for her to marry his father.

If Devrath wouldn’t have taken those oaths then he would have gone on to become one of the most righteous kings of all time. Devrath was trained by Parshuram who was Shiva’s student, therefore he was the fiercest warrior. With him under no oath, none of his children or grandchildren would have dared to even think of the things that Kaurav did.

Chapter 2: Arjun’s Oath

Arjuna was a very skilled archer and when he received Brahma’s divine bow Gaandiva through Varun Dev, he became even more dangerous for his enemies. After using the bow in some battles, Arjun was so impressed with it that he took an oath that whosoever will insult his Gaandiv, will kill him.

One day during the Virat yudh (Mahabharat war), Yudhishthir insulted Arjun and Gandiv for not fighting up to the mark in the war. Arjun, bound by his oath, took the sword and got off his chariot to kill his elder brother. Krishna intervened and told Arjun to abuse Yudhishthir in return instead of killing him to fulfill his oath. Arjun obeys Krishna and does so but feels terrible afterward. So, he starts a fire and prepares himself to immolate in it. Vasudev again intervened and saved Arjun’s life.

Chapter 3: Krishna’s Oath

It is a well-known fact that Krishna took the oath to never pick any weapon during the Virat yudh. But when Arjun hesitated to fight with his full valor against Bhishma Pitamah, Krishna got angry. He got off the chariot and pulled out a wheel and started walking towards Bhishma to kill him. After watching this site, Arjun also got off his chariot and requested Krishna to stop.

Conclusion

Mahabharat portrays the impulsive nature of humans. We unnecessarily bound ourselves with materialism and take such actions of which we can’t hold sway over the consequences. We think we know a lot but in reality, we hardly comprehend even the slightest of the bigger picture. Those great men of the Kuru clan were well versed in Shastra, Veda, and Yudh vidya. Even with all the knowledge, they acted foolishly. Bhishma sacrificed his beloved Hastinapur just to keep his vow, Arjuna was ready to kill his brother in the middle of the war to fulfill his vow. Bhishma was slaying soldiers day after day and Arjun still hesitated to stop him. Krishna realized that the war has reached a point where his oath of not picking up weapons has become a luxury they can’t afford. So, he was quick to act on it unlike the other two.

Mistakes are also a part of our journey but what we do with those mistakes matters the most. We all have a choice whether to hold on to something just for the sake of pride and ego or to evolve with the situation. When we open our minds to the idea of correcting a mistake we lose the fear of making a mistake. Learning from our past mistakes makes us wiser. So, a wise person isn’t someone who never makes mistakes but rather who is humble enough to accept the mistake and act on it. Therefore, we can say that even the wise make mistakes.