What Was Bhishma's Last Advice To Yudhishtira Before Dying?

Before finally letting go of his mortal life, while still on his bed of arrows, Bhishma summoned Yudhisthira to give him advice on politics and how to rule a country. The Shanti Parva in the Srimad Bhagavad Gita is his dialogue with Yudhisthira and the rest of the Pandavas, Draupadi and Lord Krishna. After the war, Yudhisthira was overwhelmed with sadness and remorse at the amount of bloodshed and damage that it had caused to everyone. He wanted to take sannyas and did not want any charge of the kingdom. It was only after much persuasion from his family and Maharshi Vedavyasa that he even accepted to the coronation ceremony. Even so, Krishna knew that he could end up sacrificing this post at any time. Hence, Krishna asked Yudhisthira, the eldest Pandava prince, to go meet Bhishma and learn the rules of good governance from him. Bhishma Pitama, having vast knowledge of all things concerned with ruling and governance, talked to Yudhisthira in detail about this subject. This advice gave rise to the Bhishma Niti. His first advice was, of all dharmas, Rajdharma was the highest as it nourished all the subjects of the land and also comprised of a lot of sacrifices. He mentioned that in every age, Shatradharma, which is the dharma of a warrior, had to be kept alive as it represented the greatest sacrifice of a king who was willing to lay down his life for his country. His second advice goes as follows. The main duty of the king was to serve to his subjects and not merely to administrate or collect taxes. His prime aim would be to keep his subjects happy and protect them from poverty, death and disease that would ultimately lead the way to the king's own salvation. The third Niti was about the law of taxation. The law of taxation, he explained, was very simple. There was no force or encroachment to the citizens. The tax amount was not meant to be wasted away. It was to be used to strengthen the reserve fund of a country or kingdom. The king had the right to only take one-fourth of the amount he received, no more. He would have to be pure of mind and use this wealth only to help enhance the peace and prosperity of the land he ruled. The fourth Niti was about choosing the right ministers. The king would have to select his cabinet ministers wisely. For this, he would have to consider not merely the number of votes but also decide if they will actually carry out their duty in a righteous way, keeping in mind the prosperity of their country and not their own prosperity. Lastly and most importantly, the king would have to be pious, devoted and religious. He would have to work to please the lord. He should pray every day and perform regular puja, listen to Srimad Bhagavatam and also selflessly serve other devotees. He told Yudhishthira that though he knew that he was being adharmic, he simply had to be on the side of the Kauravas as he was duty-bound due to his promise. He then advised the young prince to always follow the path of righteousness, no matter what consequences he may have to face for it. After laying on the bed of arrows for about 58 nights, waiting for the most auspicious moment to shed his mortal coil, finally the great warrior decided that he no longer wanted to live. Bhishma took his last breath during the Uttarayan, when the sun ascends the northern path in the sky. On the first day of Uttarayan, Bhishma gave up his mortal body while still on his bed of arrows. So blessed he was that he instantly attained moksha or salvation. He was granted entry into the Mathra-loka, which is believed to be even higher than Vaikuntha, the residence of Lord Vishnu himself.