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Ghatotkach

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Ghatotkach
Read about   Ghatotkach's son Barbareek
Skand Puraan version

Ghatotkach is a Mahaabhaarat character. Ghatotkach was the son of Bheem and Hidimbaa. He was very powerful and mighty. When Hidimbaa married Bheem, she asked permission of Kuntee and Yudhishthir to keep him with her until she had a son. Yudhishthir gave this permission to Bheem. So Bheem stayed with her for some time. At last she got pregnant and gave birth to a boy. Then Bheem went away from there and joined his family in Ekchakraa Nagaree.

Raakshas women give birth to the child the day they get pregnant and their children grow also immediately they are born. They can take whatever form they want at their will. The same thing happened to Ghatotkach also. His maternal parentage made him half-Raakshas (giant), and gave him many magical powers that made him an important fighter in the Kurukshetra war, the climax of the epic. He got his name from his head, which was hairless and shaped like a pot (in Sanskrit Ghat is an earthenware pot), so Ghat means pot and "Utkach" means hairless". When Ghatotkach was young he lived with his mother Hidimbaa.

Once he had a fight with Abhimanyu, his cousin, without knowing that he was Arjun's son. He was a loyal and humble figure. At the time of MBH war, he brought all his fellows to fight from his mother's side. Like his father he used to fight with Gadaa. Bheem just had to think of him, and he was present there. Yudhishthir loved him very much since he was the child in the Paandav house.

He was married to Ahilaavatee (a Naag girl).

According to one legend, he was married to Mur Daitya's daughter Kaamkantakataa also and had a son named Barbareek from her. He married her on the advice of Krishn. All ceremonies of his marriage were performed in Indraprasth only. Krishn asked Barbareek's head in alms before the MBH war, which he gave Him readily but requested to see the war. So Krishn kept his head on a high hill and he watched the whole war from there.

According to MBH, Ghatotkach had a son named Anjanparv also who was killed by Ashwatthaamaa before he himself was killed by Karn.
According to Jaimini's Ashwamedh Parv (see No 2 Practical Difficulties], his son's name was Meghvarn who helped to bring the Ashwamedh Yagya horse of Yudhishthir.

MBH Serial shows "How Ghatotkach met his father?" It is an interesting story. One day by the order of his mother he went to look for a human being for the sacrifice his mother wanted to give to Kaalee Devee. He met a Braahman family on his way so he asked them as who among them wanted to be the sacrifice? The whole Braahman family got scared but then everybody got ready to be the sacrifice. In the meantime Bheem also came there and threatened Ghatotkach that why should he accept all those people who were weak, and since he was stout, he could go with him as sacrifice.

"Who was going with him" was immaterial to Ghatotkach, it should only be a human being, that is all, so he took Bheem to his home and said to his mother, "I have brought this human being for your sacrifice." When Hidimbaa saw the man, she got very happy to see her husband after such a long time. She introduced both to each other. Ghatotkach also got happy to see his father. Bheem explained Hidimbaa  that Devee does not get pleased by killing human beings so he should not sacrifice of human beings.

Ghatotkach also came to fight in Mahaabhaarat war and fought very bravely for the whole day. He used his Raakshasee (demonic) powers to create havoc in Kaurav army after the death of Jayadrath when the battle continued past sunset. He killed so many soldiers in Kaurav army that Duryodhan had to request Karn to use his Shakti (Power), given by Indra to him which he had saved for Arjun, to kill Ghatotkach. So at last he was killed by Karn by the Shakti Karn got from Indra. Thus he also had a full day in Mahaabhaarat war in his name as Abhimanyu had.

This was a turning point in the MBH war as after the death of Ghatotkach, now Arjun was safe from Karn because Karn now had no Power to use on Arjun.

Ghatotkach's Chariot's Measurement
According to MBH, G-War/23, Ghatotkach had 30 Nalavaa long and high chariot; while Nalavaa is equal to --

1 Cubit = 1 Haath, or 1 Hast, or about half yard (from the elbow to tip of the middle finger)
1 Nalavaa = 400 Cubits = 400 Haath = 200 yards
30 Nalavaa = 30 x 200 = 6,000 yards long and high

It seems so odd to have such a large chariot

 

 

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Created by Sushma Gupta On 5/27/04
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Modified on 04/15/13