Bhima
In the Mahābhārata, Bhima (Sanskrit: भीम, IAST: Bhīma) is one of the central characters of Mahabharata and the second of the Pandava brothers. He is one of at least two sons of lord Vayu in Hindu mythology, another such son being lord Hanuman. Bhima was distinguished from his brothers by his great stature and unimaginable strength.
His legendary prowess is celebrated in the epic: "Of all the wielders of the mace, there is none equal to Bhima; and there is none also who is so skillful a rider of elephants. In fight, they say, he yields not even to Arjuna; and as to might of arms, he is equal to ten thousand elephants. Well-trained and active, he who hath again been rendered bitterly hostile, would in anger consume the Dhritarashtra in no time. Always wrathful, and strong of arms, he is not capable of being subdued in battle by even Indra himself. Bhima a Maharati,capable of fighting 60,000 warriors at once, so mighty was he that when he were to roar in anger he would put to shame the proudest lion and frighten the most fearless warrior".[1] Bheemasena is known for following the Bhagavatha Dharma to the fullest extent possible by the Jivas.
He was furious when the game of dice between his brother, King Yudhisthira, and Duryodhana reached its final stages. Duryodhana told Draupadi to sit on his lap at which Bhima became enraged. He swore to himself and Duryodhana that he would crush those very thighs that he told Draupadi to sit on. But when Dushasana dragged Draupadi into the royal court by her hair and attempted to strip her in the court, Bhima swore that he would tear his chest and drink his blood also wash Draupadi's hair with it. During the second exile of the Pandavas, he visited Alakapuri and was blessed by Kubera. At the end of their exile at the court of Virata, he disguised himself as Bhallava and acted as a palace cook.
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Marriage alliances
He lived for a time in hiding with his brothers during their first exile. In this period, he came across Hidimba, alias Smritika and Hidimbi, alias Pallavi, a rakshasha brother and sister. Because of the enmity of the rakshasha to the people of the Kuru kingdom, Hidimba asked Hidimbi to lure Bhima to a trap. However, Bhima and Hidimbi were attracted to each other. Bhima fought and killed Hidimba, and lived for a year in the forest with Hidimbi, by whom he had a son, Ghatotkacha.
With his brothers, he was married to Draupadi, who give birth to a son by him by the name Sutasoma. The child that Draupadi bore to Bhimasena was born after Bhima had performed a thousand Soma sacrifices, he came to be called Sutasoma. Bhima also obtaining for a wife Valandhara, the daughter of the king of Kasi, offered his own prowess as dower and begat upon her a son named Sarvaga. Chedi king Sisupala's sister also was wedded to Bhima.
Ghatotkacha
Bhima's wife Hidimbi bore a child named Ghatotkacha. He was giant, like his uncle Hidimba and his mother. Ghatotkacha possessed magical skills and war tactics like his father who used a mace as his primary weapon. He brought great havoc and distress to the Kaurava army. Karna killed him upon the request of Duryodhana, with divine weapon Brahmastra that Indra granted him.
Battles of Bhima
After the first return of the Pandavas to the Kuru lands, he challenged the king of Magadha, Jarasandha, to a wrestling bout and killed him, thus making it possible for his brothers to take part in the Rajasuya Yajna. Other than Lord Sri Krishna, Jarasandha could have been killed only by Bheema. Such was the evil strength of Jarasandha.
Bhima also embarked on a military expedition to the east as directed by his elder brother Yudhisthira, the king, to collect tribute for the Rajasuya sacrifice. It is believed that Yudhisthira chose Bhima to lead the army to eastern kingdoms because these kingdoms were famous for their strong armies protected by war-elephants and Bhima was an expert in defeating any army consisting of war-elephants with his great skill in mace-fight. In his expedition Bhima defeated using either diplomacy or military might, many kingdoms in the east including the hostile tribes of Panchalas who were enemies of Panchala king Drupada, the Chedis, the Kosalas, Kasis, Mallas, Videhas, Magadhas, Angas and Vangas. In Mahabharata, 2 chapters (MBh 2.28, 2.29), are dedicated to this eastern military expedition of Bhima.
Family of Bheem
Bheem's Marriages to Hidimbi, Draupadee, and Balandharaa
On Vidur's advice, Paandav started living in hiding in villages and Van. Once all Paandav were sleeping along with Kuntee in a forest. Bheem was on guard. There lived a Raakshas nearby, named Hidimba along with his sister Hidimbi. On that night when Hidimba came back, he smelled human being's flesh and asked Hidimbi to bring human meat. Hidimbaa went there where Paandav were sleeping, but she got attracted to Bheem. She came back and said to her brother that she wouldn't kill him as she loved him and wanted to marry him. Then Hidimb himself came there to eat them, but Bheem fought with him and killed him. By then other Paandav and Kuntee also woke up and surprised to see a Raakshas killed and lying there. Hidimbi requested Kuntee to accept her for Bheema. Kuntee accepted her on Bheema's consent. Bheema lived there until he had a son - one year. His son's name was Ghatotkacha. He also fought very bravely in Mahaabhaarat war like Abhimanyu and was killed there.
Bheema then married to Draupadi and had a son from her named Sutsom. Bheema was married to the princess of Kaashee also - Balandharaa and had a son from her too - Sarvaang. Thus Bheem had three sons from his three wives - Ghatotkach from Hidimbi, Sutsom from Draupadi, and Sarvaang from Balandharaa. All sons of Bheema were killed in Mahabharata war.
In Kurukshetra War
Bhima was a great general in the great battle of Kurukshetra, second in command only to the generalissimo Dhristadyumna, killing six out of the eleven akshauhinis of the other side (Kauravas). Six Akshauhinis adds up to the astronomical figure of around 1,705,860 men and 787,320 beasts which is testimony to the portrayal as the character of supreme physical prowess. In the battle, his charioteer was Krishna's son himself. During the battle, the Kauravas were frightened to face his might and sent elephants to fight him. An entire sub-chapter is devoted to describing the "light chat" or banter that he used to maintain with Krishna's son whilst fighting the enemies - yet another glimpse into the power that VedaVyasa invests in Bhima's persona. Bhima's weapon of choice was the mace - in the use of which he was second to none
"Bheemascha, Balabhadrascha(Balarama), Madrarajasya(Shalya) veeryavan".... (The 4 greatest mace wielders of that time were reputed to be Bhima, Balarama, Shalya and Keechaka, with there being none to be considered close enough to be named the 5th, so that slot was left unnamed). Amongst the most important personalities that he quelled were Baka (head of a cannibalistic race), Kirmira (Baka's brother), MaNiman (leader of the anger-demons in Kubera's garden), Jarasandha, Dushasana etc. He also defeated mighty Dronacharya by breaking his chariot eight times while Arjuna was trying to find and kill Jayadratha, and initially held his own against Karna. During the battle, he killed the elephant Ashvatthama, which enabled the Pandavas to spread the falsehood that Ashvatthama, son of Drona, had been killed. At the end of the battle, he also wounded Duryodhana in a duel, after striking him a foul blow below the waist. At this time, Balarama criticised Bhima for the foul blow, but was calmed down by Krishna. Bhima refrained from killing any respectable elders in the Kaurava's side out of respect for their virtue. The only elderly person he killed was the king of Bahlika (Bhishma's paternal uncle) - and he does this because the king of Bahlika asks Bhima to kill him to release him from the sin of fighting for the kauravas (Bahlika had to fight with the kauravas on account of Bhishma, his nephew).Bhima is also credited to have killed all 100 sons of Drithrastra.
He finished his days with his brothers and Draupadi, on their great and final journey toward Heaven. He was the last to die on the journey, leaving Yudhisthira alone to complete the journey by himself.[2][3]
Miscellaneous
"Bhaktir jyanam sa Vairagyam Prgna Medha dhrithi sthiti:" "Yogo Praanam Balam Chaiva Vrikodara iti smruta:" He was the fountainhead of 10 qualities
It is said that Bheema, Duryodhana, Keechaka, Jarasandha and Hidimbasura were born in the same cosmic phase. It was said that the one who kills the first among these five will kill the rest of them too. Bhima is the first to kill Himdimbasura and eventually slays everyone else.
Two characters in Hindu mythology are great cooks. One is Bhima and the other is Nala. Bhima is credited with the invention of the famous dish "Aviyal".
While he did possess superhuman strength, he has been portrayed as a man with no lenience for duplicity or tact in many cases - he is portrayed as the only pandava who constantly pointed out the faults of others, even if they were older or much respected(A Sign of True Bhagawata Dharma). Being highly sensitive, he swayed between extreme emotions of love and hatred. Draupadi is often seen to turn to him to salvage her honor (be it in the case of Duryodhana's defeat or in the case of Kichaka's slaying).
It is said that Bhima's appetite was so huge, that he always had to eat below his means, because there wasn't enough grain in the world at one time. He hence had a very thin waist and hence was called "Vrikodara" or wolf-bellied, because wolves seem to lack a belly even if they are well-fed.
References
- ↑ The Mahabharata, Book 5:Udyoga Parva: Section XXII Page 36
- ↑ Vettam Mani; Puranic Encyclopaedia
- ↑ Indian Myth and Legend Index
See also
- Ekachakrapura: now called: Kaivara
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