Bhima Proposes Ghatotkacha to Carry Them

The mountains ahead were unlike anything the Pandavas had crossed so far. They rose in jagged walls, uneven, covered with ice, difficult to access. Yudhishthira looked at Draupadi, then at Bhima, and spoke. "O Bhima! There will be many mountains. They will be uneven, covered with ice and difficult of access. O mighty-armed one! How will Krishna be able to traverse them?" Bhima did not hesitate. "O king! I will myself carry the princess, the twins and you, bull among men. O Indra among kings! Do not unnecessarily be anxious." It was a straightforward offer, entirely in character. Bhima had carried them through forests, across rivers, over hills. He would simply add this to the list. But then he offered another option. "Alternatively, my son is great in valour. He can roam the skies and is my equal in strength. If you say so, Ghatotkacha will carry all of us." Ghatotkacha — Bhima's son by Hidimba, the rakshasa woman he had married during their first year in the forest. The boy had been raised among his mother's people, a rakshasa with dharma in his soul, loyal to his father and his father's brothers. Bhima had not seen him in years. Yudhishthira instructed him to do it. So Bhima remembered his son — not aloud, not with any ritual, but simply by thinking of him. And as soon as his father had thought of him, Ghatotkacha appeared. He was mighty-armed, dark as a storm cloud, and he greeted the brahmanas and the Pandavas with his hands joined in salutation. They welcomed him in return. Truth was his valour, and he spoke directly to his father. "You thought of me and I swiftly arrived to serve you. O mighty-armed one! What is your command? Without a doubt, I will do everything." Bhima embraced his son — the rakshasa who had come the instant he was needed, who asked no questions, who offered no hesitation. The means to cross the mountains had arrived.