Why was the arrow-bed given to Bhishma?

 Arjun confronts invincible Bhishma in the Mahabharata war. Bhishma has a boon from his father, Shantanu - to choose the time of his death. Arjun appears nothing in front of the strength, skill, prowess, experience and boon of Bhishma. Arjun would have been killed by the hand of Bhishma if he was not intervened by Lord Krishna. He is trapped in the net of a well-fabricated trick. And an arrow from the Gandiv of Arjun pierces the heart of a great Bhishma, which always throbs for the welfare of Hastinapur. One after another, the arrows of Arjun pierce the disarmed grandsire.

A roaring lion among the warriors falls down in the battle of Kurukshetra like an old, shadowy big banyan tree. But his body does not touch the earth. His wounded body lies on the arrow-bed. Why arrow-bed…?

Everyone is crying  seeing their grandsire on the arrow ridden bed. He is suffering from the pang of the arrow. But, no one tries to remove the arrows from his body and let him lie on the earth comfortably. He waited 58 days for the auspicious day (Uttaranayan) on the arrow-bed for sacrificing his mortal body. Why could no one do anything despite their love for their grandsire?

According to a legend - he was suffering on the arrow-bed due to the sin he had perpetrated in one of his past lives. He had thrown a snake in the bush of thorn, and the pain of the snake was unbearable. Due to that sin, he was also suffering on the arrow-bed. Similarly, there are many other legends approves his arrow-bed. But, these are not the logical reason for his arrow-bed. Let us try to find what is that empirical reason.

Our body is made of five elements, the Panchbhutah (Earth, fire, water, air and ether), and it subsists on these five elements. The imbalance of any of these five elements makes us sick. These elements come from nature. Nature has given these five elements as a form of body to the soul for a certain period of time. Hence, we are not the owner of the body, but nature.

On the due date, there is no option but to return back those five elements whence it has been taken.  What has been taken from nature, we have to return it back. Nature always kills the old and dilapidated one to create a place for the new one. Any trick with nature has always been a perilous effect.

Bhishma had a boon of choosing the date of his death, which is against the law of nature. The death of the individual is chosen by nature, not by the individuals. Bhishma kept postponing his death, which nature did not like. The earth was not happy with Bhishma. Hence, at the time of death, the earth did not accept the body of Bhishma, and hence, the arrow-ridden death bed was provided to him. There can be violent in nature, but not the violation of its law. Boon becomes a curse when the limitation of the boon is not understood.