Who was the father of Bhishma?

Who was the father of Bhishma? Shantanu was Bhishma’s father in the Mahabharata.

Shantanu was a Kuru king whose capital was Hastinapura. He married the river goddess Ganga, who bore him Devavrata, the warrior later known as Bhishma. According to the epic’s birth story, Ganga drowned their first seven children because they were celestial Vasus released from a curse. Devavrata was the eighth child and survived.

Ganga raised and educated Devavrata before returning him to Shantanu. He became heir to the Kuru throne, but later renounced both succession and marriage so Shantanu could wed Satyavati. This terrible vow earned him the name Bhishma. Shantanu then granted him the boon of choosing the time of his death.

A common mix-up is confusing Bhishma’s father with his half-brothers’ father. Chitrangada and Vichitravirya were also sons of Shantanu, but their mother was Satyavati. Bhishma’s mother was Ganga, which explains another of his famous names, Gangaputra, meaning “son of Ganga.”