In the Mahabharata, Bhishma lay on a bed of arrows after being defeated by Arjuna.
Bhishma was one of the epic’s most respected warriors and elders. He commanded the Kaurava army during the early part of the Kurukshetra War. Because of a boon granting him control over the time of his death, Bhishma could choose when to die. Arjuna’s arrows brought him down, but they did not immediately end his life; instead, Bhishma remained suspended on the arrows until the favorable time of Uttarayana.
The episode is one of the Mahabharata’s central scenes. Bhishma gives extended teachings on kingship, ethics, duty, and social order while lying on the arrow bed, especially in the Shanti Parva and Anushasana Parva. The warrior who helped Arjuna overcome him was Shikhandi, whom Bhishma refused to fight directly because of Shikhandi’s connection with Amba. Bhishma is therefore distinct from Drona and Karna, who also served as major Kaurava commanders but did not receive the arrow-bed episode.