Hiḍimbī (

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...

: ,

IAST The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that emerged during ...

: ''Hiḍimbī''), or Hiḍimbā, is the

rakshasi Rakshasas ( sa, राक्षस, IAST: : Pali: ''rakkhaso'') lit. 'preservers' are a race of usually malevolent demigods prominently featured in Hindu mythology. According to the Brahmanda Purana, the rakshasas were created by Brahma when ...

wife of the

Pandava The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, IAST: Pāṇḍava) refers to the five legendary brothers— Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva—who are the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. They are acknowledge ...

Bhima In Hindu epic Mahabharata, Bhima ( sa, भीम, ) is the second among the five Pandavas. The '' Mahabharata'' relates many events that portray the might of Bhima. Bhima was born when Vayu, the wind god, granted a son to Kunti and Pandu. ...

and the mother of

Ghatotkacha Ghatotkacha ( sa, घटोत्कच, , literally: "Bald Pot") is a prominent character in the story of ''Mahabharata''. His name comes from the fact that his head was hairless (''utkacha'') and shaped like a ghatam, or a pot. Ghatotkacha ...

in the ''

Mahābhārata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuru ...

''. She meets Bhima in the 9th sub-parva (Hidimva-vadha Parva) of the

Adi Parva The ''Adi Parva'' or ''The Book of the Beginning'' is the first of eighteen books of the Mahabharata. "Adi" ( आदि, Ādi) is a Sanskrit word that means "first". Adi Parva traditionally has 19 parts and 236 adhyayas (chapters). The critical edi ...

. She is also referred to as Bhuṭanadevī or Pallavī.

Hiḍimbi and Bhīma

The story begins in the Lākṣāgṛha of the

after the Pāṇḍavās reached a dense forest. Exhausted from their travels, they all fell asleep at night, except for Bhīma who kept watch. In the same forest lived Hiḍimbi and her brother Hiḍimbā, a very powerful

rakshasa Rakshasas ( sa, राक्षस, IAST: : Pali: ''rakkhaso'') lit. 'preservers' are a race of usually malevolent demigods prominently featured in Hindu mythology. According to the Brahmanda Purana, the rakshasas were created by Brahma when ...

. He smelled the Pāṇḍavās at a distance and as usual asked the Hiḍimbī to lure the well-built Bhīma into a trap so he could eat him. Hiḍimbī confronted Bhīma and instead fell in love with him. She assumed the form of a very beautiful lady and approached Bhīma, expressing her desire to marry him by revealing her true identity, as well as her brother's intentions. Bhīma confronted Hiḍimbā, and soon overpowered the rakshasa and slew him. Kuntī and other Pāṇḍavās all watched the duel from a distance.

Marriage

After killing Hiḍimba, Bhīma married Hiḍimbī. Bhīma decided to live with her till a child was born. Hiḍimbī agreed, and they married. Within a year, Hiḍimbī gave birth to a son. They named him Ghaṭotkacha, as his head resembled a pot. Ghaṭotkacha went on to become a great warrior and an important figure in the

war.

Temples

India

There is a temple in Manali in Himachal Pradesh dedicated to the worship of Hidimbi. According to the legend, Hidimbi stayed back in the forest to perform penance and attain the status of a Goddess.

Nepal

Bhutandevi Mandir Bhutandevi Mandir ( ne, भूटनदेवी मन्दिर) is a Hindu temple dedicated to goddess Bhutandevi ( Hidimbi), located in Hetauda city of Bagmati Province, Nepal. Hidimba is one of the wives of Bhima (one of the Pandavas) ...

is a

Hindu temple A Hindu temple, or ''mandir'' or ''koil'' in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Quote: "The Hin ...

dedicated to Goddess Bhutandevi, located in

Hetauda Hetauda ( ne, हेटौडा, ) is a sub-metropolitan city in the Makwanpur District of Bagmati Province in central Nepal. It is the administrative headquarters of the Makwanpur District and the capital of Bagmati Province as declared by m ...

Bagmati Province Bagmati Province ( ne, बाग्मती प्रदेश, ''Bagmati Pradesh'') is one of the seven provinces of Nepal established by the constitution of Nepal. The province is Nepal's second-most populous province and fifth largest provin ...

. The name of the city—Hetauda itself is believed to be derived from the name of the goddess.

Gallery

File:Yudhistira telling to Hidimbi about rules of Marriage.jpg, Yudhishthira explaining the rules of marriage to Hiḍimbī File:BhutanDevi Temple.jpg, Bhutandevi temple, in Hetuada (Nepal)

References

{{authority control Characters in the Mahabharata Rakshasa in the Mahabharata Hindu goddesses