''Bhishma'' is a 1962 Indian Telugu-language Hindu mythological film, based on the life of

Bhishma Bhishma (), also known as Pitamaha, Gangaputra, and Devavrata, is a central figure in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. He was a statesman and military commander of the ancient Kuru Kingdom. Renowned for his wisdom, valor, and unwavering principles, ...

from the epic

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

, produced and directed by B. A. Subba Rao. It stars N. T. Rama Rao and

Anjali Devi Anjali Devi (; 24 August 1927 – 13 January 2014) was an Indian actress, model and producer in Telugu and Tamil films. She was well known for her role as the Devi Sita in '' Lava Kusa'' as well as for the title roles in movies like Chenchu ...

, with music composed by S. Rajeswara Rao.

Plot

The film begins in the court of

Brahma Brahma (, ) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the triple deity, trinity of Para Brahman, supreme divinity that includes Vishnu and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity, Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 212– ...

, where Mahabhisha &

Ganga The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary riv ...

lures each other, and the lord curses them to be born as mortals Mahabhisha takes birth as Shantanu in the Kuru dynasty, meets Ganga, and knits her on a condition not to question her actions Time passes, and Ganga gives birth to 7 children and drowns them in the river During the turn of the eighth one, devastated, Shantanu confronts her when she disappears with the child who grows up to be Devavratha, a great warrior trained by

Parasurama Parashurama (), also referred to as Rama Jamadagnya, Rama Bhargava and Virarama, is the sixth avatar among the Dashavatara of the preserver god Vishnu in Hinduism. Hindu tradition holds him to be the destroyer of the evil on Earth. According t ...

Once he is acquainted with the father while hunting, Ganga unites them and quits A few years later, Shantanu attracts

Satyavati Satyavati (, ; also spelled Satyawati) was the queen of the Kuru Kingdom in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. Satyavati is married to king Shantanu of Hastinapura, and is a great-grandmother of the Pandava and Kaurava princes. She is also the m ...

, the daughter of Dasaraju. So, he moves with the proposal, which they accept, provided Satyavati's son would inherit the throne of Hastinapur. Hence, Devavratha pledges a mighty vow of lifelong celibacy and service to whoever sat on the throne of their dynasty, which debilitates him as ''

,'' and his father gives him a boon that death will not be near him until he calls. After some time, Shantanu passes away, and Satyavati's son Vichitravirya becomes the king; Bhishma decides to perform his nuptial with the princesses of Kaasi Amba, Ambika, & Ambalika However, the Kaasi king affronts not submitting the proposal to Hastinapur as Satyavati belongs to the grassroots So, enraged Bhishma abducts the princesses Following, Amba proclaims her love for Salwa when Bhishma honorably sends her back Salwa denies her when Amba returns to Bhishma and asks him to splice, which is impossible because of his oath Then Amba approaches Parasurama, who edicts Bhishma but in vain, and the war erupts, and Bhishma defeats his mentor Accordingly, Amba takes a pledge to seek to avenge Bhishma, performs immense penance to please Siva, and takes a boon that she will cause Bhishma's death Next, Amba reincarnates as Sikhandi, a woman who later transforms into a man The

Kurukshetra Kurukshetra () is a city and administrative headquarters of Kurukshetra district in the Indian state of Haryana. It is also known as Dharmakshetra ("Realm of duty") and as the "Land of the Bhagavad Gita". Legends According to the Puranas ...

war begins, which designates Bhishma as the supreme commander of the

Kaurava ''Kaurava'' is a Sanskrit term which refers to descendants of Kuru, a legendary king of India who is the ancestor of many of the characters of the epic ''Mahabharata''. Usually, the term is used for the 100 sons of King Dhritarashtra and his ...

, and

Pandavas The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, aɳɖɐʋᵊ IAST: Pāṇḍava) is a group name referring to the five legendary brothers, Yudhishtira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva, who are central figures of the Hindu epic ''Mahabhara ...

are unable to defeat him for ten days Ergo, on the tactic of

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

Arjuna Arjuna (, , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, �ɾd͡ʒun̪ə is one of the central characters of the ancient Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He is the third of the five Pandava brothers, and is widely regarded as the most important and renowned among them. ...

shoots Bhishma, keeping Sikhandi in front, and he collapses on ''Ampashayya,'' the arrow bed After the completion of the war, Bhishma leaves his breath on ''Uttarayana Punyakalam,'' and Krishna bestows him a boon that the universe celebrates the day as ''Bhishma Ekadashi.''

Cast

* N. T. Rama Rao as

** ''Master'' Nagaraju as young Bhishma *

as Amba /

Shikhandi Shikhandi () is a character in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. Born as the daughter of Drupada, the King of Panchala, Shikhandi becomes male after agreeing to a sex exchange with a yaksha. He is the brother of Draupadi, the female protagonist of th ...

Kanta Rao Tadepalli Lakshmi Kantha Rao (16 November 1923 – 22 March 2009) was an Indian actor and producer known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. Regarded as one of the finest method actors, Rao appeared in more than 400 feature films, ...

as Salwa * Relangi as Narada Maharshi * Haranath as

Lord Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is wi ...

* Shobhan Babu as

* Gummadi as

Karna Karna (Sanskrit: कर्ण, IAST: ''Karṇa''), also known as Vasusena, Anga-Raja, Sutaputra and Radheya, is one of the major characters in the Hindu epic ''Mahābhārata''. He is the son of Surya (the Sun deity) and princess Kunti (later ...

* Nagabhushanam as

Parashurama Parashurama (), also referred to as Rama Jamadagnya, Rama Bhargava and Virarama, is the sixth avatar among the Dashavatara of the preserver god Vishnu in Hinduism. Hindu tradition holds him to be the destroyer of the evil on Earth. According t ...

* Dhulipala as

Duryodhana Duryodhana (, Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ̪ʊɾjoːd̪ʱən̪ᵊ ), also known as Suyodhana, is the primary antagonist in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata.'' He is the eldest of the Kaurava, Kauravas, the hundred sons of King Dhritarashtra and Queen Gan ...

* Satyanarayana as

Lord Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hinduism. Shiva is known as ''The Destroyer' ...

Prabhakar Reddy Mandadi Prabhakar Reddy (1935–1997) was an Indian film character actor known for his works in Telugu cinema. He acted in over 472 films over three decades. He wrote stories for several acclaimed films, including '' Karthika Deepam''. Dr. M ...

as Shantanu * Vangara as Rajaguru Madhava * C. S. R as Shalya *

Peketi Sivaram Peketi Sivaram (8 October 1918 – 30 December 2006) was an Indian actor and film director. Career Peketi Sivaram acted in many Telugu, Tamil and Kannada films, receiving recognition for the character Bhagavan in '' Devadasu'' (1953). He dir ...

as Vichitravirya *Malladi as

Drupada Drupada (), also known as Yajnasena (, ), is the king of the southern part of Panchala Kingdom, in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He is the father of Draupadi, the epic's lead female character. In the Kurukshetra War as the head of 1 akshauhi ...

*A. V. Subba Rao as Dasaraju *A. V. Subba Rao Jr as

Drona Droṇa (, ), also referred to as Dronacharya (, ), is a major character of the Hindu epic Mahabharata. In the epic, he serves as the royal preceptor of the Kauravas and the Pandavas. He is one of the primary counsellors and warriors featured ...

*Jagga Rao as Dushasana * Suryakantham as Dasaraju's wife * G. Varalakshmi as

Kunti Kunti (, un̪t̪iː ), also known as Pritha (, ">r̩t̪ʰaː/nowiki>, ), is a prominent female character in the ancient Hindu epic '' Mahabharata''. She is chiefly recognised as the mother of the central characters—the five Pandavas—h ...

*Sujatha as

*Anuradha as

*Meena Kumari as Hemangini *Susheela as Ambika *Malleswari as Ambalika *

Nirmalamma Nirmalamma (18 July 1920 – 19 February 2009) was an Indian actress in the Telugu cinema. She appeared in more than 1000 films and was well known for her grandmother roles in several films. She won two Nandi Awards. Early life She was born in ...

as Drupada's wife

Soundtrack

Music composed by S. Rajeswara Rao. Lyrics were written by

Aarudhra Arudra (born Bhagavatula Sadasiva Sankara Sastry; 31 August 1925 – 4 June 1998) was an Indian author, poet, lyricist, translator, publisher, dramatist, playwright, and an expert on Telugu literature. He is also known for his works in Telugu cin ...

References

External links

* {{Works based on the Mahabharata 1962 films 1960s Telugu-language films 1960s Indian films Hindu mythological films Indian black-and-white films Films based on the Mahabharata Films directed by B. A. Subba Rao