Bhishma Abducts the Three Princesses of Kashi
Hearing of a svayamvara for the princesses of Kashi, Bhishma seeks his mother's blessing, rides out alone, and declares he will take the maidens by force. He places them on his chariot and dares the assembled royalty to stop him, defeating them all in a spectacular one-against-many battle.
With his elder brother Chitrangada dead and his younger brother Vichitravirya now an adult, Bhishma turned his mind to securing the Kuru lineage. He heard that the three daughters of the king of Kashi, each as beautiful as an apsara (celestial dancer), would be married through a svayamvara — a ceremony where a princess chooses her husband from assembled suitors.
With his mother Satyavati’s permission, the best of charioteers donned his armor. With a single chariot, he set out for the city of Varanasi.
He arrived to find the three ladies and the prosperous kings who had come from every direction. As the names of the thousands of kings were being recounted, Bhishma entered. Without ceremony, he raised the princesses onto his chariot.
Then he addressed the assembly in a voice like thunder. He recited the eight forms of marriage known to the learned. Some give daughters to invited men, some for a price, some for a couple of cows. Some are taken by force. Some marry with consent. The eighth is svayamvara. “However,” Bhishma declared, “those who know dharma have said that the bride who is taken away by force is the best.”
His challenge was absolute. “O rulers of the earth! I am therefore taking these maidens away by force. Use all your strength to try and defeat me, or be defeated instead. I am standing here, resolved to do battle.”
Having challenged the kings and the king of Kashi, the valorous Kourava swiftly drove off with the maidens.
A great anger seized the assembled royalty. They slapped their arms, ground their teeth, cast off their ornaments, and donned their armor. Their radiant gear glittered like shooting stars. Faces red, brows furrowed, they dashed to their chariots, yoked with excellent horses, and armed with every kind of weapon, they gave pursuit.
Then occurred the hair-raising battle of one against many. The kings hurled ten thousand arrows at Bhishma at once. Before they could reach, he sliced them all apart. They surrounded him from all directions and rained arrows down like a mountain showered by clouds. He stopped every shower with his own and pierced each king with three arrows.
His skill in defending himself was so supreme that his enemies, even in their fury, applauded him. Having defeated them all, the one who was supreme among those skilled in arms left with the maidens for the land of the Bharatas.