After the end of the Kurukshetra war, the Pandavas performed the Ashvamedha yagya. After the end of yagya, Yudhisthir, now the Emperor along with his brothers and Lord Krishna went to Bheeshm to get their blessings. Bheeshm, who was lying on the bed of arrows since the war, gave precious lessons to Yudhisthir on how to be a good ruler- on the insistence of Lord Krishna. Along with the values, Bheeshm Pitamah also gave the 5 brothers a recital of Vishnu Sahasranamam- the 1000 names of Lord Vishnu.
The Bhishma Ekadashi falls in the Uttarayana Punyakalam, which has many auspicious days dedicated to Bheeshma, like the Bhishma Ashtami and Bhishma Dwadasi. It is widely acknowledged that Bheeshma selected this period of Uttarayana Punyakalam to leave his mortal body and merge with the Supreme Power.
The virtues and significance of observing Bhishma Ekadashi is mentioned in puranas, including Haribhakti Vilas, The Padma Purana and Skanda Purana. In northern India, Jaya Ekadasi is observed on this special day.
Bhishma Ekadasi is an auspicious occasion, observed on ShuklaPaksha Ekadashi of Magh (Jan-Feb) month. According to lunar calendar, on the 11th day of waxing moon, it comes exactly after 2 months of Githopadesa. It is the “birthday” of “Shri Vishnu Sahasra Nama Stotram”.This stotra was revealed to Pandavas by Bhishma Pitamaha ,while he was on ‘Sharashaiyya’ (on the bed of arrows) after the Mahabharatha war.
Bheeshma who was a learned personality of Action and Sacrifice, mastered the entire Dharmashastra and practiced it regularly. Bheeshma served the Sages for long periods and observed all the teachings imposed by them and convinced them that he deserved to be revealed the secret they learned after severe efforts. Later on, the great sages blessed Bheeshma and revealed all those secrets of universe. Bheeshma assembled all those teachings from various sages and composed Shri Vishnu Sahasranama Stotram.
Krishna accompanied Pandavas to Bheeshma and requested him to give knowledge to Pandavas about Dharma. Krishna therefore restored memory of Bheeshma which was affected due to severe injuries during the battle. When Dharmaraja asked him to reveal the greatest of secrets, Bheeshma explained Pandavas on this auspicious day, that Shri Vishnu is Lord of all Lords and praying Him with all 1000 names is all one can ever do to please Him,leading to salvation. Reciting or even listening to regularly is also a great achievement, that empowers one with the strength to overcome all the difficulties and get on to the right path of Salvation.
By: Archa Dave
