Paandav in Forest: Bheem's Marriage to Hidimbaa

Paandav were going through Siddhaavat forest, that at one time Kuntee told that she got very tired of walking. Then Bheem lifted her and Nakul and Sahadev on his shoulders and Yudhishthir and Arjun on his back and started walking easily. He walked very fast, they came about 80 Yojan far from Baarnaavat during that night. Kuntee was very tired so she sat under a tree and refused to move from there. Bheem brought water from a nearby lake, but when he arrived there where he left them, all were asleep. He woke them up and gave them water, but they were so tired that they went to sleep again after drinking water. Everybody slept and Bheem kept vigilance on them.

The place they were resting was Hidimb Van. It belonged to a Raakshas named Hidimb. He was living there with his sister Himdimbaa. He used to eat all the humans who were foolish to enter that forest. Hidimb smelled a human being, so he asked his sister to bring his flesh to eat, as it was lot of time passed he could not get human flesh to eat. Hidimbaa went there and saw Bheem keep watching his brothers and mother. She got attracted to him. She changed her form into a beautiful woman and asked Bheem - "Who are you and what are you doing here? Do you know that this Van belongs to a cruel Raakshas Hidimb? He relishes human flesh. I am his sister. Since I have seen you I have started loving you. I cannot live without you, please, accept me. I will make you very happy."

Bheem said - "This is my mother, and these are my brothers. They all depend on me so leaving them here I cannot marry you." Hidimbaa said - "I will carry you and your mother from here. I can assume any shape and any form. We will live on some mountain top or I will take you somewhere else, this place is not good because of my brother. I don't want to lose you." Hidimbaa saw her brother coming there. In fact he waited for her for quite some time and when she didn't come back for long, he himself came out in search of her. Bheem said - "Let your brother come here, I can take care of him."

Hidimb had come there and was getting angry on his sister speaking loudly. Bheem said - "Don't make so much noise, my mother and brothers are sleeping. And as you are talking to your sister I will kill you for your words. She came her to obey you, but she fell in love with me. You say that you can kill me. Let me see how can you do it?"

Hidimb attacked Bheem but Bheem killed him soon while fighting. Now Hidimbaa requested Bheem to marry her. Bheem married her with the permission of Kuntee and his brothers. Hidimbaa asked Kuntee to permit Bheem to live there until she had a son from him, for which Kuntee permitted him.

Hidimbaa took them all to a sacred lake called Shaalivaahan. She built a beautiful cottage for them and brought good food. She said to Kuntee - "Maa, I know how much you love your son, but for now I take him with me but I will bring him back every night." Bheem appreciated her love to him and said - "I will be with you for some time, until a son is born to us. We will then have to leave you and go, not because I want to, but because we have to."

Bheem was very happy with her. Seven months were now gone. Muni Vyaas also came to see them. Then he came to see Kuntee and said - "Your this daughter-in-law will bear a brave son. He will be famous in the world for his bravery and fearlessness. After that she will be called Kamalmaalinee. When a son is born to her, your time to go is sure. Wear the bark of tree and have matted hair, then go to Ekchakraa Nagaree. I will see you there. Do not worry, your sons are born to rule. We all are here to keep a watch over you." and he went away.

Seven more months passed. Hidimbaa gave birth to a boy who was named as Ghatotkach. He became favorite of all the uncles, especially of Yudhishthir. Now the time for departure had arrived. Bheem consoled weeping Hidimbaa - "You have your son with you. Take good care of him. Whenever I will want you I will think of you, you must come to me at once, but now we have to go." Dressed in tree barks and deer skins they all proceeded towards Ekchakraa Nagaree

Killing of Bakaasur in Ekchakraa Nagaree

Bheeshm again asked Vidur the whereabouts of Paandav. Vidur said - "They are in Ekchakraa Nagaree." Bheeshm asked to make arrangements for him to go there, Vidur said - "If you went there then my whole planning will be spoiled, so if you wait a little while more..." At this Bheeshm asked him to promise that he would be informing about them at time to time.

Now Paandav were living in Ekchakraa Nagaree in disguise of Braahman with a Braahman family and were pulling on their lives on alms. Whenever they brought any alms, Kuntee used to say - "Distribute it among yourself." But then she used to distribute it like this : Half of it would go to Bheem, still he would always be hungry; the rest she would divide among themselves. There was a potter in their neighborhood. Bheem used to help him in bringing a huge load of clay. He was so happy with him that he made a huge pot for him to bring alms.

One day the master of that family came back to his house with a sad face and soon after his coming all started crying. Then the voices came "I will go", "I will go". When Kuntee couldn't make out anything she went to them to ask as what was the matter. They did not want to share their sorrows with guests, but when Kuntee insisted, the man told her that there was a Raakshas named Bakaasur who was given one man and a cart-load food every week. Before this arrangement, he often came in the village and used to eat people just like that. Then the villagers made a pact with him that they would send a man and a cart-load food every week and he wouldn't trouble them like that. The village decided the man through lottery, so this time his name had come out in that lottery. Now they were arguing among themselves that who would go to him taking that cart-load food. Bakaasur won this Nagaree 13 years ago. 

Kuntee said - "None of you has to die, and it is not a matter of worry at all. I have five sons, so my one son will take his food." Braahman said - "You are our guests, I cannot give this trouble to you." Kuntee said - "We have got shelter in your house, so it is our moral duty to consider this house as our own house. If you are in trouble, then it is our responsibility to share it. I have five sons, if Bakaasur eats one of them, it does not matter much. But you will see that he will not be able to eat my son. So my one son will go to that Raakshas taking his food, you don't worry at all."

Kuntee asked Bheem to take that Raakshas' food. Yudhishthir got very sorry to hear this that Kuntee remembered only Bheem in this odd time. Nakul and Sahadev also told that they would like to go, but in the end only Bheem was to take that Raakshas' food. Kuntee said - "Yudhishthir, you are the would-be king of Hastinaapur, I cannot take risk of your life, so it is not advisable for you to go. Nakul and Sahadev are very young, that is why I won't send them there. I know my Bheem's powers. He has drank the Sudhaa Ras from Naag Lok. He walked for so long carrying all of us without any fatigue. He killed Hidimb. He is the most powerful man in the world. When he was a baby, one day a tiger came near me. I cried and got up and forgot that I had a baby in my lap. Your father had also come out from the hut and killed the tiger. Then we looked for the baby, he had fallen down from my lap and rolled down the slope of the hill. When we reached there, Bheem was safely sleeping. The rock on which he was sleeping, had been ground to fine dust. So do not worry at all about him."

When Bheem arrived At Bakaasur's place, it was evening, still he did not give that food to Bakaasur, rather he himself started eating it. Bakaasur was waiting for his food since morning. He was very angry, and was thinking as why his food had not yet arrived. He came out of the cave and got more angry to see Bheem eating his food. First Bheem was very late; secondly, he did not give him his food; thirdly, he was eating it himself. So angrily he attacked Bheem. Both fought fiercely, and at last Bheem killed Bakaasur. He left his body at the gateway of the city and came back.

Bheem came back to Ekchakraa Nagaree after killing Bakaasur. First, people didn't believe this that Bakaasur was dead, but the then some people told them that they saw Bakaasur lying dead on the way, so they had to believe it. Then they thought to honor that family which freed them from Bakaasur. So they all started towards that Braahman's house.

When the villagers came they thanked the Braahman to free them from Bakaasur, but the Braahman said - "I was not the one who did this. In fact seeing me crying some divine person came from Heavens and he told me that he would take the food to Bakaasur. I did what he said. I have not seen him since. The villagers were sorry for not been able to thank to that unknown man. Paandav still continued to live in the same house for some more time.