Bhishma, also known as Pitamaha, Gangaputra, and Devavrata, was a prince, statesman and commander of ancient Indian Kuru kingdom and is a major character of the epic Mahabharata and the protagonist of the Bhishma Parva episode. He was the supreme commander of the Kaurava forces during the Kurukshetra War. He was the only character who witnessed the entirety of the events of the Mahabharata, beginning from the reign of his father, King Shantanu of the Kuru kingdom. Bhishma was the stepbrother of Vyasa, the grandfather of both the Pandavas and the Kauravas. He was a prominent statesman of the Kuru Kingdom. He was born as the youngest son of the King Shantanu and goddess Ganga.