Best of the Vasus — an incarnate Vasu
'tan sametan mahabhagan upalabhya vasuttamah' (SB 1.9.9); tradition holds him the eighth Vasu, born as a man through a curse.
King
Bhishma
भीष्म
Also known as देवव्रतः · भरतपुङ्गवः · वसूत्तमः
Bhishma (Devavrata, Gangeya), son of Shantanu and Ganga, is the grand-uncle of the Kuru line. He took the terrible vow of lifelong celibacy and renunciation of the throne so that his father might marry — whence the name Bhishma — and for it received the boon of dying at will. Tradition holds him an incarnate Vasu, and SB 1.9.9 calls him 'best of the Vasus'. He commanded the Kaurava army, and pierced by Arjuna's arrows lay on a bed of arrows awaiting the uttarayana (SB 1.9.29). In SB 1.9 he expounds to Yudhishthira the whole range of dharma, then utters the Bhishma-stuti (SB 1.9.32-42) and merges into the undivided Brahman. The stuti is remarkable in that he meditates on the very Krishna whom his own arrows had pierced.
Śrīmad Bhāgavata Mahāpurāṇa 1.9.1 — Sanskrit Wikisource (pinned oldid=330834)
Boon of death at will; awaited the uttarayana
'sa kalah pratyupasthitah yo yoginash chanda-mrityor vanchitas tuttarayanah' (SB 1.9.29) — lying on the bed of arrows he awaited the favourable time.
Expounded the whole of dharma from the bed of arrows
'dana-dharman raja-dharman moksha-dharman vibhagashah stri-dharman bhagavad-dharman' (SB 1.9.27) — charity, kingship, liberation, women's duties and devotion, in brief and at length.
Received Krishna's direct darshana at the hour of death
'yan me 'sums tyajatah sakshat krishno darshanam agatah' (SB 1.9.22) — proof of His compassion upon single-minded devotees.
Bhishma — attained — Brahman
Bhishma merged into the undivided Brahman: 'sampadyamanam ajnaya bhishmam brahmani nishkale' (SB 1.9.44). Evidence: EXPLICIT.
Bhishma — wounded — Krishna
Krishna's body was pierced by Bhishma's sharp arrows: 'mama nishita-sharair vibhidyamana-tvaci' (SB 1.9.34) and 'shita-vishikha-hato vishirna-damshah kshataja-pariplutah' (SB 1.9.38). Direction: striker -> struck. Evidence: EXPLICIT (Bhishma's own words).