What is Bhismastami?
Bhismastami falls on the eighth lunar day of the bright fortnight of Magha, which in 2027 is Sunday, 14 February. On this day devotees remember how Bhismadeva, the grandsire of the Kuru dynasty, left his body while looking at Lord Krishna.
Significance
When the war at Kurukshetra was over, Bhismadeva lay on a bed of arrows. He had the power to leave his body at will, and he waited for the sun to begin its northward course, the time mystics prefer. Meanwhile he instructed Maharaja Yudhishthira in the duties of every order of life. Then, with Sri Krishna standing before him, he fixed his eyes on the Lord and left this world absorbed in meditation on Him.
In Srila Prabhupada's translation, Bhisma offers his whole mind to Krishna with this prayer:
Let me now invest my thinking, feeling and willing, which were so long engaged in different subjects and occupational duties, in the all-powerful Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.9.32
How to observe it
Read the Ninth Chapter of the First Canto of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, which describes Bhisma's last teachings and his prayers, and hear it from a devotee. Because these events took place at Kurukshetra, this is a day to remember the battlefield as a place of devotion as well as of war. Through steady chanting, offer your own thinking, feeling and willing to Krishna, as Bhisma did.
Questions
When is Bhismastami in 2027?
Bhismastami is on Sunday, 14 February 2027, the eighth lunar day of the bright fortnight of Magha.
Who was Bhismadeva?
Bhismadeva, also called Devavrata, was the grandsire of the Kuru dynasty and the grandfather of the Pandavas. A great warrior, he was also a pure devotee of Lord Krishna.
Why did Bhismadeva wait before leaving his body?
According to Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.9.29, he was waiting for the sun's northward course, a period mystics desire for leaving the body. Because he could leave his body at will, he chose that time.
What did Bhismadeva do at the end of his life?
He instructed Yudhishthira in dharma, then fixed his mind and eyes on Sri Krishna and offered prayers. Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.9.43 says he merged his mind, speech, sight and actions in Krishna.
Reviewed by ISKCON Kurukshetra · Updated
Key facts
- Date
- Sunday, 14 February 2027
- Also known as
- Devavrata
- Parents
- Mother Ganga and King Shantanu
Seva for this day
Feed devotees and visitors on this holy day, or begin the Bhagavad-gita course with us.