The Kurukshetra war is in progress, and the Kauravas suffer heavy casualties. Duryodhana accuses Bhishma of not doing his best. Bhishma vows that the next day, he will make Lord Krishna pick up His weapons, something the Lord has vowed He will not do. Duryodhana is pleased, because he reasons that only the death of Arjuna will make Krishna pick up a weapon, and so Bhishma’s words mean that death for Arjuna is certain. However, the next day, Bhishma forgets his words to Duryodhana, elaborated Goda Venkateswara Sastrigal, in a discourse.
Suddenly, Krishna gets down from the chariot, and lifts His hand. The Lord’s discus, Sudarsana, misinterprets the Lord’s gesture as an indication that He wants to use His discus. So Sudarsana comes and positions himself near the Lord’s hand. Seeing this, Bhishma marvels at the Lord’s magnanimity. Bhishma had told Duryodhana that he would make the Lord pick up a weapon and here is Krishna in the pose of holding His discus. Bhishma is so moved by the Lord honouring his (Bhishma’s) words, that he feels he can no longer fight and that it is time for him to leave the world. All that he had ever wanted was to see the Lord with his discus, and he has now been witness to it. In fact, when Bhishma is on his death bed of arrows, and recites the Vishnu Sahasranama, the Lord listens and now He appears not just with the discus, but with all His weapons. When a person who loves God asks for something, the Lord gives much more than is asked for. Bhishma had desired to see the Lord with His Sudarsana, but gets to see Him with all His other weapons too.
