It was late at night.
Not far from their camp lived a Rakshasa named Hidimba and his sister Hidimbi. For years the two had been spreading death and pain and the inhabitants of that region trembled just to hear about them. And it happened that, despite the distance, Hidimba felt their presence.
“I smell human flesh,” he said to his sister, “there must be men not far from us. They must be foreigners. Don’t they know this is my forest? How foolish they have been by venturing into a place like this without knowing it! Sister, go there immediately. I’m hungry. Kill them and bring me their meat.”
Promptly, Hidimbi obeyed and ran in the direction that her brother had indicated, until she reached a place where she saw five figures sleeping and one standing on guard sitting on a rock. It was a man with a furious look, clenching his fists with anger and murmuring terrible threats. Observing him better, she noticed the noble bearing, the powerful body and the magnificent features. At that moment, Kamadeva’s arrows struck the heart of the Rakshasi who gave up all murderous thoughts.
“How can I kill such a handsome and noble man?” She thought. “I would not be able to do it. I like him. He has bewitched my heart, and I can’t even think of having to eliminate him. On the contrary, I will use my arts to convince him to accept me as a wife and to love me”.
Enraptured by love for Bhima, she forgot her demonic brother who meanwhile was becoming more and more impatient to enjoy the delicious banquet that would be served by her. So, when after the first moments of confusion she remembered her mission, the world collapsed on her.
“If I don’t obey him, my brother is capable of killing us all.”
For a while she was tortured by uncertainty. Then, the strong feeling of love that had inexorably bewitched her heart prevailed over fear, so assuming the features of an attractive girl, she came out of hiding and went to meet Bhima. When he saw her, he immediately suspected that the girl was hiding something strange.
“Who are you?” He asked. “What does a young lady like you do in a forest infested with wild animals and Rakshasas? Are you a Rakshasa yourself? It is known that these demonic beings can take on any form, even the one of a pretty young woman.”
She didn’t even try to lie; she knew she had little time to save them from her cruel brother.
“I am Hidimbi, the sister of Rakshasa Hidimba. My brother felt your presence and sent me here to kill you so that he could feed himself. But after seeing you, I do not want to do it. You are in mortal danger. Please flee immediately. I have been gone for a long time, so soon my brother will start to get suspicious of the delay and will come in person.”
Bhima understood the feeling that prompted the Rakshasi to warn them, but he felt no apprehension.
“If your brother wants to come and fight, let him come,” he replied with a shrug. “And if he wants to feed on our bodies, he will have to earn them. My mother and my brothers have been walking all night and they are tired; I certainly won’t wake them up for a Rakshasa.”
“My brother has the strength of hundreds of elephants,” replied the girl somewhat surprised by those words, “and no one has ever managed to win him in a duel. Please, you don’t know what you are saying; run away without wasting any more time.”
Bhima was not at all impressed by the description of the Rakshasa’s strength and kept telling her that he had no intention of disturbing his family.
Meanwhile, the hungry Hidimba was beginning to wonder the reason for so much delay and began to kick impatiently. After a while, he thought it best to go and see for himself what was going on.
One can imagine the anger and the amazement of the demon when, arriving on the spot, he found his sister talking to the stranger, and approached to hear what she was saying. When he heard her warn him of the danger they were in, a violent fit of anger blurred his vision and he shouted with unprecedented fury:
“I will kill you all!”
And he rushed at them. Seeing the Rakshasa coming threateningly, Bhima jumped up and ran to meet him. The collision of the two bodies was so violent that it produced a loud noise like thunder. The fight immediately became furious: a cloud of dust surrounded the two opponents who fought with every weapon they could find, including trees and rocks. The clamor of that battle woke up the brothers and the mother who immediately realized the situation. Arjuna wanted to intervene, but the two bodies were so close to each other and moving with such rapidity that it would be easy to miss the target, so he decided to leave it in Bhima’s hands.
After several hours the terrible duel was resolved in favor of the Pandava. Grabbing the Rakshasa in an iron grip, leveraging his mighty knee, he pushed one arm on his neck and the other on his legs, breaking his spine. Hidimba gave a terrifying cry and perished. It was dawn, and the rising of the sun marked the end of the fight.
As the night had passed, the Pandavas prepared to leave that place and put together the things they had brought with them. Rakshasi Hidimbi was still there, looking at Bhima without saying a word. And even when they started, she followed them, without speaking. Kunti, who understood the woman’s feelings, said to his son:
“Bhima, that girl wants you for her husband. It was she who helped us, going against her brother’s will. Now she has no one who can protect her and I really think you should accept her and reciprocate her feelings.”
“But Yudhisthira is not married yet,” Bhima retorted, “and it is not correct that I do it before him without his consent. So ask my older brother, and if he has no objection, I will marry this Rakshasi. “
Yudhisthira gave his consent, and the same day they got married and went to live alone for a while.
From their union a son was born, Ghatotkacha, who in a short time became as strong as his father. After that, Bhima said goodbye to his wife and son and rejoined his family to resume the journey.
This is a section of the book “Maha-bharata, Vol. 1”.
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