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Question: Why did Bhīṣmadeva being a mahājana who attained perfection place his own vows higher than taking Kṛṣṇa’s side in the battle?

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Jayapatākā Swami: Because he was being maintained by Duryodhana. There is a saying in Bengali ‘jaar nuun khāo taar guṇa gāo.’ Whoever you take food from or somebody’s salt, you be grateful to that person. So he felt obliged to be on Duryodhana’s side. Duryodhana was accusing him of being partial to the Pāṇḍavas and not fighting fully. Then Bhīṣmadeva took five arrows and did pūjā and took a vow that with these five arrows I will kill the Pāṇḍavas, as long as Kṛṣṇa does not interfere. Then Duryodhana said ‘alright, give me those five arrows, I will hold them till tomorrow.’ He kept the five arrows, put them on his bed. Then Arjuna came to see him. In the nighttime they would meet each other like friends but in the daytime they would fight. So Arjuna said, ‘you owe me a boon, I saved you from the Gandharvas, you said you would give me a boon?’ ‘Yes, ok,’ Duryodhana said. ‘I heard you have five arrows, I want those,’ Arjuna said. ‘How did you know? HOW DID YOU KNOW? ‘ ‘Kṛṣṇa told me,’ Arjuna said. So, Arjuna took those five arrows from Duryodhana. So although Bhīṣma was on the other side, it was a unique situation. So although he was in Duryodhana’s side, he knew all along that Kṛṣṇa was the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is a unique situation.
25-07-2021 Śrīdhāma Māyāpur, India