Story 36

In the Mahābhārata, Bhima (Sanskrit: भीम, IAST: Bhīma) was the second of the Pandava brothers. He was son of Kunti by Vayu, but like the other brothers, he was acknowledged son by Pandu . He was distinguished from his brothers by his great stature and strength.
Bhima and Draupadi' 'as depicted in "yakshagana"

His legendary prowess has been mentioned in glowing terms throughout the epic. Eg: "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 to even 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 Dhartarashtras 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 is he, capable of fighting 60,00 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]

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 (thighs)enraged by this bhima he swore to himself and Duryodhana that he would with his mace 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 Draupadi in the court, bhima swore that he would kill him one day and drink his blood, and that he would wash draupadi's hair with dushaasan's blood 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 and acted as a palace cook.

Although there are several instances of Arjuna and others doubting or questioning the will of Krishna (Draupadi), the portrayal of Bhima's devotion to Krishna (Draupadi or Panchali) is umblemished in the original Mahābhārata.


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 same like his uncle Hidimba and his mother. Ghatotkacha possessed magical skills and war tactics same like his father who use mace as his primary weapon. His father strength is equivalent to 1000 elephants whereas Ghatotkacha is 10 times of his father, huge and valiant person brought great havoc and distress to Kaurava army. Karna killed him upon request of Duryodhana with divine power that Indra granted.

Miscellaneous

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. 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).

Also, his name is synonymous with anyone who has short-temper or a large appetite. 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.

Bhima is also infamous for having sown the seeds of hatred between the two collateral branches of the Kuru family by mercilessly beating up his cousins, almost unto the point of death, during his childhood & adolescence, when they tried to harass the pandavas. Bhima is also condemned for his brutal killing of Dushasana, where he tore open his cousin's chest and drank his blood in deference to his promise to Draupadi who had been insulted by Dushasana. However later he reveals to Gandhari that he spat out Dushasan's blood without swallowing it.