Mahabharata Characters 31 – Bhima 01 – Growing stronger through danger and disaster

This talk is a part of the “Fascinating Mahabharata Characters” series. To know more about this course, please visit: bhakticourses.com

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Mahabharata character series.
Now, we will begin with the second Pandava, that is Bhima. The word Bhima means fearsome, great, who was very, very powerful and because of his power, he was fearsome. So, he is the son of Vayu.
So, he is also Hanuman who has come again. From Ramlila to Krishnalila and here also he exhibits extraordinary power. So, when Bhima was a small child at that time, once he was sit on the lap of his mother Kunti and Pandu was sitting next to him and they were sitting on the top of a mountain near a cliff, watching the scenery and talking.
And Kunti, while they were talking, Kunti sort of dozed off. And in the distance, suddenly a tiger roared. And when the tiger roared, Kunti, the start of horror got up.
And as she got up, the small Bhima who was in her lap flew off her lap and he fell right off the mountain cliff. Kunti screamed in horror. Think of her baby falling off like that.
And Pandu, in dismay, ran down the mountain cliff as fast as he could, wondering how his child would be. And when he reached down to his amazement, he saw that Bhima had fallen on a rock and the rock had shattered to pieces. And Bhima was just as it is, a small child playing along over there with his hands and legs.
So, right from his childhood, his body was like thunderbolt. He was extremely powerful. And when they all came back to the kingdom of their father, that is Hastinapur, and then the boys, the five Pandavas, the hundred Kauravas, they would play along.
And Bhima had tremendous strength. Naturally, he was a child and as a child, he would like to show off his strength. But he did not have an evil heart.
But when he would play around with the Kauravas, sometimes he would just pick them up and toss them away playfully, especially when they were playing in the water. It would not harm anyone, but it would just actually harm their ego. And the Kauravas would feel infuriated, especially Duryodhana.
He had considered himself to be the most powerful among his brothers. But here Bhima came along and Bhima was even more powerful than him. And then Dushyasan also was very powerful among the Kauravas.
He was second to Duryodhana and he also felt very angry because of this. And Bhima loved them, but in his playfulness, he would do these things. But Duryodhana and Dushyasan, because they were already envious of the Pandavas, because they saw that the affection that was meant for us had been coming only for us, now it is going to the Pandavas.
And the kingdom that was going to come to us, that may also go to the Pandavas. So they were already envious. And these playful antics, they did not take them playfully.
At one time, Duryodhana decided that he would poison and kill Bhima. Now at that time, they were just children and for children to… they had not even started going to Gurukul at that time. At that time, Drona had not yet come to the kingdom.
So it was quite a horrendously malicious thing for a child to plan like that. So Duryodhana invited all the Pandavas to a feast and he had prepared a special meal for Bhima. He had said, Bhima, you love food.
So I have prepared a special feast for you. And Duryodhana served him personally, acting as if he loves Bhima. And in that food, he had put enough poison to kill a dozen people.
And after that, after everybody took the meal, he offered the meal himself to Bhima and then they all started playing. Now this was a slightly slow acting poison. So it was expected that Bhima would… the plan was that when they would start playing, Bhima would say, I am feeling very sleepy and would go to sleep and then they would dispose him off.
But Bhima got up and he kept playing as if nothing had happened to him. Duryodhana was amazed, wondering what has happened. And finally, after several hours, the poison had its effect on Bhima and Bhima just fell asleep.
And the other Pandavas and Kauravas kept playing. But Duryodhana along with Dushyasana carried Bhima and they tied him up with ropes and then they carried him to the Ganga and threw him into the Ganga. Now this reveals the maliciousness of a person who has not even become a teenager till now, just a bare teenager, to make an organized murder plan like this.
So Bhima fell into the water and he was swept away by its currents. Actually at that particular place, the Ganga as we discussed, is a sacred river and there are places in the universe which connect with other areas of the universe. So from there, from that area in the Ganga, one could reach the abode of the Nagas, the Nagaloka.
So the current swept him towards the abode of the Nagas and as the water took him there and there, there were many fierce serpents. These divine serpents, when they suddenly saw a human being in their midst, they were alarmed and they started hissing and biting him. Now it worked in such a way that the poison which Duryodhana had given to Bhima, that and the poison which the snakes bit him, those two cancelled each other.
So actually this is how the Lord works inconceivably to protect his devotees. So he worked in such a way that this Bhima, that he inspired Duryodhana to put that particular poison and then he was thrown into the river at a time when the current took him towards the Nagaloka and Bhima came back to consciousness because one poison countered the other poison and then he looked around and he saw himself being bitten by snakes and being tired, flexed himself with all his strength and the strings which had tied him up, they ripped and broke apart and then Bhima started taking the snakes and catching them and throwing them away and crushing them under his feet and counterattacking them. The snakes got alarmed.
They had never seen any human being do something like this. Humans would flee in fear and mostly humans would not survive in one bite and here the conscious human being would become unconscious normally on being bitten by them but here an unconscious human being had become conscious and not just conscious but ferocious. He just fled and they told their leader, the king Vasuki of what had happened and when they told Vasuki, at that time along with Vasuki another Naga chief Arka was there and Arka had earlier been a resident of the earth and now he was with Nagaloka.
So he was the grandfather of Kunti and he also came with Vasuki. Then Nagas told him, this human being has come and is destroying all of us. Please come and see for yourself and decide what to do.
So it seemed to be like an emergency. So Vasuki came, Arka came and Arka saw. He immediately recognized Bhima to be his great grandson and he introduced himself and he embraced Bhima and Vasuki was pleased and he said, what can we offer him? He has come to our abode as our guest.
Let us offer him jewels and clothes. So looking at Bhima’s enormously powerful body, Arka smiled and he said, the best thing we can give him is our special nectar. So they invited Bhima in to the assembly and then they offered him the pots of nectar.
These have been prepared from celestial herbs and it would make a person’s body as strong as thunderbolt, impenetrable, undefeatable and Bhima took, they gave him several pots. Bhima took one pot and he just drank, he sat down facing east, offered prayers as he would always do, washed his hands and then after, he just drank it in one gulp and he took one pot, second pot, third pot. Nagas were amazed.
None of them could have taken so much of this nectar. Although it was delicious, it was also heavy. Nobody could take so much.
But Bhima took eight full pots and then after taking these eight pots, he started yawning. Now it was such a heavy food that his body to assimilate that would also need to rest. So Arka and Vasuki offered him a fine bed and he went to sleep and he slept there for eight days.
When he came back, after that when he woke up, his body had become like completely like thunderbolt, like rock. It could not be penetrated even by thunderbolt. Now he possessed the strength of 10,000 elephants.
So in this way, the very plan that had been made to kill him, that not only did not lead to the death of Bhima but rather Bhima emerged stronger and here Kunti and the Pandavas were in great anxiety, not being able to find Bhima. They had searched everywhere. When they could not see him anywhere, they were frantic with anxiety.
Kunti told Vidura that sometimes I see Duryodhana looking maliciously with a very evil gleam in his eyes. I am afraid he may even kill. If he may even kill me.
So Vidura pacified Kunti and he said, Vyasadeva is blessed that your sons will have long lives. His words can never turn out to be false. Please be patient.
I am sure he will come back. And eight days later, suddenly they saw Bhima charging towards them full of energy. They were delighted.
They embraced him and he offered his respects to his mother and he told the whole story. And from this time onwards, Bhima also became very suspicious, keeping a very sharp eye on everything that Duryodhana was doing. And it was Bhima who was instrumental in ensuring that when the Pandavas were taken to Varnavarth, at that time, Bhima always kept an eye on Purochan.
Purochan was the assistant, evil accomplice of Duryodhana who had been appointed to set the house on fire. So Bhima would constantly stay awake and he would always be on guard. And in that way, Purochan would never find the right time to set the house on fire.
And finally they waited for one year and after that, it was Bhima who set the house on fire. And at that time when he set the house on fire, so he saw that Purochan, there had been a festival for Lord Shiva and after that, many people had drunk heavily and Purochan had drunk. And Purochan was going to set the house on fire, but the Pandavas decided themselves to set the house on fire.
And when they set the house on fire, coincidentally it worked out that there was a woman who had come and she had five sons. And as a part of the festivities, the palace attendants had offered many guests also food and drink. And this woman and her sons, after drinking heavily, they had drunk so much that they had fallen asleep there itself.
And when the fire happened, they also caught fire. Now Bhima did not know that they were there. And he just caught, he just set fire and his intention was only to burn Purochan.
And he departed from there. Now Madhvacharya in his Mahabharata explains that actually this Nishada woman and her five sons, they were demons and they were destined to die through a fire. That was their karmic punishment.
And that’s how they ended up over here at that time. So Bhima took the Pandavas to the forest. He led them along the forest.
There’s dark clearing. He would go first and he would push aside the trees and clear away and take them along. And eventually when the Pandavas got tired, he just carried all of them.
He put Kunti on his head. He put Yudhishthira and Arjuna on his shoulders and the twins around his waist. And he just ran through the forest.
They ran and ran and ran and ran. And Bhima was tireless. And even at night when the Pandavas had to stay safely, this Bhima would stay awake and guard the Pandavas.
Seeing how they were now sleeping amidst such austere, in fact, harsh surroundings, Bhima’s heart broke in agony and anger. They were meant to sleep on royal beds and they were sleeping like this. And as he stood there on guard in the forest, actually they had, Bhidura had arranged for a boatman and they had gone by the boat across the river and they were deep in the forest.
They were wondering where to go. That night they were just spending under a tree. Suddenly, he heard some sound.
Actually in the vicinity, there was a Rakshasa brother and sister, Hidimba and Hidimbi. And they had woken up because the smell of human flesh had come to their eyes. So Hidimba licked his… and he said, oh where is this human flesh? He told his sister, go and get this human flesh.
After a long time, we will get an opportunity to eat this. So when Hidimbi went there and she saw Bhima standing guard and just seeing Bhima’s handsome, powerful form, she became delighted and her heart was attracted to her. Cupid shot his arrows and she fell in love with Bhima and she approached him.
And Bhima was surprised to see this woman. Now Hidimbi, she was a Rakshasi but she had the capacity to change her form. So she had acquired a very beautiful form, beautiful human form and she told Bhima, please, you know, I’m attracted to you.
Let us unite together and let us sport over here. I will take you far away from here. Instead of being in this terrible jungle, I will take you to celestial palaces and there we can enjoy.
My heart is attracted to you and I cannot live without you. Bhima looked at her in surprise and he said, how do you expect me that just for the sake of my lust, I will abandon my duty to my brothers and my mother? Here they are sleeping and I cannot abandon them. It is my duty to protect them.
So she had been so infatuated that she hadn’t noticed anyone. She turned around and she saw the four brothers and the elderly lady lying over there. Please wake them up and tell them and wake them up and I will take all of you far away from here.
This is the area in which my brother, a dangerous Rakshasa lives and soon he will come. Actually, he wants to eat all of you. Better we depart from here.
So Bhima said, I will never wake them up. They are extremely tired and I want them to rest peacefully and you can go away. If you disturb them, then I will punish you also.
Go away from here. Bhima had no intention to hurt her, but he wanted her to go away. So at that time Hidimba became impatient and where was his foolish sister? Why had she not come? And he started marching towards the direction in which the human flesh was coming from and as Hidimbi heard the footsteps of her brother coming, he says, don’t waste time.
My brother is coming. He is extremely dangerous Rakshasa. Let us go away from here.
So Bhima said, don’t worry. I am not afraid of any Rakshasa. My body is powerful enough to destroy anyone.
You can go wherever you like. I am not going to disturb my brother’s and mother’s sleep. And Hidimba came there and as soon as he saw his sister in a human form, he understood what had happened and he was enraged.
He said, who is so foolish that when I am hungry, that person is coming in between the way. I will kill you and I will kill these humans also. So Bhima, although this was an unknown lady, he had a Kshatriya protective instinct and he said, you cannot kill this woman.
She is affected by Cupid and she has lost her sense. And moreover, my brother and mother are sleeping. Don’t disturb them.
So Hidimba laughed and he said, what kind of fool is this human? He is instructing me instead of running away from me in fear. And he came to attack Bhima. Bhima, instead of fighting with him, first caught him and dragged him away several meters so that there would not be much noise.
And there they started fighting. And they fought and fought and fought. And the fight was fierce.
And Hidimba was surprised to see the power of this human being. But he kept fighting, fighting. And eventually as they fell against trees and fell over each other and hit each other, the noise woke up the other Pandavas.
And then there Kunti saw this beautiful lady over there. She asked, who are you? What are you doing here? Whom do you belong to? And she explained the whole situation. And she told the fight that was going on.
And then the Pandavas went there and Arjuna, seeing Bhima fighting fiercely, he said, oh Bhima, why didn’t you wake me up? It seems that you are tired of fighting with these demons. Step aside and I will kill him with my arrows. Arjuna was just taunting Bhima.
He wanted him to not play too much, but finish off the demon. And he knew that Bhima was fully capable. So the Arjuna’s taunt had the desired effect.
And he said, you don’t have to wake up. You can just, if you have woken up, you can just be a spectator. Watch as I finish off this demon.
And Bhima caught Hidimba in a powerful grip. And he picked him up and hurled him round and round and round. And he hurled him hundred times around.
And then he lost consciousness, threw him on the ground and threw him in the ground, completely fell unconscious. They ran over there and hit him on the back and broke his back. Hidimba screamed and gave up his life.
And the Pandavas had fully woken up. They went and congratulated Bhima on his heroic deed. And they decided to go away from that forest.
And Hidimba kept following. So Bhima said, the Rakshasas are known to be evil people and they may take revenge. Stop following us or I will punish you also.
So Yudhishthira said, you should never punish a woman. You should never give up a virtue for anything. So Hidimba turned to Yudhishthira and he said, you know, I will not be able to live without Bhima.
And then she turned to Kulti. You know the suffering of a woman who is afflicted by desire. Please do not reject me.
My request is not against dharma. I want to wed Bhima and serve him as his wife. Please allow me to do this.
I will not be able to live without this. And Yudhishthira was impressed by her, not just by her feeling, but by her knowledge of dharma. And he had noticed that although Bhima was telling her to go, he was repeatedly looking at her and he was not beyond her sight, long glances.
All the brothers knew each other very well. So he understood. He felt that she would be a fit wife for Bhima.
And then Yudhishthira, Kulti, they all consented. And then they said, you can marry, but you should stay with each other or you can sport with each other in the daytime. And after that, at night you should bring us back, bring him back here.
And then Bhima said, I will marry, but then as soon as you have a child, I will depart from here because I have much to do in the service of my brothers. So they agreed and then they got married there itself. And then she took all of them from the forest to a lake and a beautiful area named Shalivahan.
And there they lived in a comfortable cottage. And Bhima and Hidimbi would sport over there. After seven months, Hidimbi gave birth to a child, Ghatotkach.
And within a short time, he grew up and he became a powerful Rakshasa. And although he was a Rakshasa body, he was very virtuous and he had a great service attitude towards the Pandavas. But he decided the company of other Rakshasas and after taking permission from Bhima and mother, he departed towards the north.
And he told them, whenever you need me, just remember me and I will come for your service. And then after that, Bhima decided to move forward. And Hidimbi was in tears.
And she said, will we ever be able to meet again? He said, surely, we will meet. But first, I have to regain the kingdom. Then we will work out the plans.
And then they departed. So this Hidimba was the first powerful Rakshasa that Bhima killed. And then as they moved onwards, they came with the guidance of Vyasadev to Ekachakra Gram.
And we discussed the story about how Kunti, seeing that the Brahmana was in trouble because one of his family members had to be sacrificed for the sake of Bakasur, who was a demon terrorizing that area. She said that, my son will go. And Bhima was delighted.
And Bhima went with the whole cart load of food, which was to be given. And till then he had been living on the meagre fare that they had got during charity. And he was always starving.
So now there’s a cart load of food. He started eating the food. And he was taking the cart along and he was eating the food.
And as he came near the mountain top, the hilltop where Baka was living, he started calling out, Baka, where are you? Come out. And Bakasur heard this. He came out and he was infuriated to see some human being eating his food.
He said, who is this fool who wants to die today and who dares to eat my food? And Bhima was completely nonchalant. He just kept eating the food, kept eating the food. And Baka came and hit Bhima on the back.
And Bhima paid no attention, just kept eating the food. He came and hit him again. Nobody had survived his blow earlier.
But here it seems Bhima had no effect on him. He came and hit him again and again. Bhima just came eating the food.
And Baka got angry and he picked up a giant tree and he hurled it at Bhima. And as he was swinging it around to hurl it, Bhima finished eating the food. And after eating the food, he calmly took some container of water and washed his hands and then turned around to face the charging Bhima and just caught that.
He had hurled the tree at Bhima and just caught it effortlessly with the left hand and threw it away. And tree after tree was hurled at him and Bhima caught it and just hurled it away. And then they started uprooting trees and fighting with each other and they fought and fought and fought ferociously.
But eventually, Bhima caught Baka and he just hit him with his own head. BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! Both of them, their heads were hitting each other. But Bhima’s body was stronger than that of this great Rakshasa.
Slowly Bhima started weakening. And finally, Bhima beat him down fiercely. And he beat him and beat him and eventually Baka was overpowered.
And he gave a deadly scream. Bhima died. Bhima killed Baka.
And hearing the mortal scream of Baka, his relatives came over there, other Rakshasas. Now they would have terrorized other humans. But seeing this, humans who were killed by their leader, they became terrorized.
And Bhima said, you have no fear from me as long as you do not create any fear for humans. This one has been killed because of his excessive greed for human flesh. Flee away from here and you will have no fear.
Otherwise, you will meet the same fate that he has made. And the relatives realized that this was a ferocious, powerful human being and they immediately fled from there, never to return. And in this way, the Pandavas rescued the residents of Ekachakra Gram from the great danger that Baka was creating.
And in this way, Bhima got, served the citizens of his kingdom. Although he had no power right now or position or facility as a king, still he served the citizens by freeing them from this terror. And later on, the Brahmins told that actually they did not tell the real identity because Baka could not have been easily killed and the Kauravas might start suspecting that the Pandavas are still alive.
And in this way, Bhima performed extraordinary activities and his whole life would be filled with many, many feats that he would perform by which he would serve his brothers, serve the cause of Dharma. We will continue in our next conversation. Thank you.
Hare Krishna. Hare Krishna.