The noise of Bhima's battle with Hidimba wakes the other Pandavas and Kunti, allowing Hidimbi (the sister) to reveal her brother's murderous plot and her love for Bhima to the awakened family.
Adi Parva
Can a rakshasi's love for a Pandava be accepted and lead to a legitimate union?
The rakshasi Hidimba, sent by her brother to kill the Pandavas, instead falls in love with Bhima and reveals the plot. After Bhima kills her brother, Hidimba pleads with the Pandavas to accept her. Yudhishthira grants her a year with Bhima, resulting in the birth of Ghatotkacha, who pledges his future service.
4 stories · 0 pivotal · Chapters 142–143
Begin readingCausal position
How this arc sits in the story chain
Born from
This Arc
The Union of Bhima and Hidimba
Leads into
The son born from this union, Ghatotkacha, is a powerful rakshasa who later fights for the Pandavas in the Kurukshetra war. His existence is a direct result of this substory, and his death in the war triggers a key turning point (though the war is outside the current index). However, the causal link to Maya's survival is indirect. The more direct link from this substory is the creation of a character (Ghatotkacha) who later acts. Since the FULL INDEX only goes to the end of Adi Parva, we must look for a later effect within the same parva. Ghatotkacha is introduced and promises to come when called, but no specific trigger event for him occurs within the remaining Adi Parva chapters listed. Therefore, this edge is not valid for the given index.
Stories
Showing all 4 stories
Spine stories carry the arc's main thread. Essential adds key turning points. Supporting covers depth and backstory.
Supporting
Hidimba reveals her brother's plot and her love for Bhima
The Pandavas and their mother wake to find a woman of divine beauty standing before them. When Kunti asks who she is, the rakshasi Hidimba reveals she was sent by her brother to kill them—but upon seeing Bhima, she chose him as her husband instead.
Chapter 142 · ~1 min
Supporting
Bhima kills the rakshasa Hidimba after encouragement from Arjuna
Bhima is locked in a brutal grapple with the rakshasa Hidimba. Arjuna, watching, urges his brother to finish the fight quickly before dawn, when rakshasas grow stronger. Spurred on, Bhima crushes his foe and rips his body apart.
Chapter 142 · ~2 min
Supporting
Hidimba pleads with the Pandavas to accept her union with Bhima
After Bhima kills her brother, the rakshasi Hidimba appears. Bhima wants to kill her too, but Yudhishthira stops him. Hidimba then makes her case: she is in love with Bhima, and their union is a matter of dharma and survival.
Chapter 143 · ~2 min
Supporting
Hidimba and Bhima travel, love, and beget Ghatotkacha
Hidimba carries Bhima away to pleasure with him across the world's most beautiful landscapes. From their union, she gives birth to a son who grows to youth in a day—a rakshasa of terrifying power and devoted loyalty.
Chapter 143 · ~2 min