Hari Sarvotama: BHIMA AVATAR

duruLa kIchakanu droupadiya cheluvikege

maruLAgi karakariya mADalavanA

garaDimaneyoLu barasi orisi avananvayava

kurupanaTTida mallakulava savarida ll18ll

duruLa = evil

kIchakanu = kIchaka (the name of an evil rAkshAsa)

droupadiya = droupadi'scheluvikege = beauty

maruLAgi = become infatuated

karakariya = harassment

mADalavanA = doing

garaDimaneyoLu = dance hall

barasi = made him come

orisi = wipe out

avananvayava = his existence

kurupanaTTida = the king of kurus (duryOdhana)

mallakulava = army of wrestlers

savarida = killed

When the evil kIchaka, infatuated by droupadi's beauty, started harassing her,

bhIma invited him to the dancing hall and killed him. He then proceeded to defeat

the army of wrestlers sent by the King of Kurus (duryOdhana).

At the end of their twelve years stay in the forest, the pAnDavas were supposed

to stay on an false identity (incognito) for one year. The terms were such that if they were detected

during this year they would have to spend another 12 years in the forest. The

pAnDavas chose matsya kingdom for their secret stay. This was ruled by

virAtrAja, a weak and ineffective king. The real power behind the throne was his

brother-in-law kIchaka, his wife sudhEshNa's brother.

yudhiShTira became the king's advisor, bhIma a cook, arjuna a eunuch teaching

dancing to the princess, nakula and sahadeva cowherds, and draupadi a maid

serving the queen.

kIchaka was a very powerful and evil warrior. His prowess as a wrestler was

legendary. Once, when he was with his sister after returning from a successful

tour of conquest, his lustful eyes fell on droupadi. Ignoring his sister's pleas

he made some unwelcome advances at droupadi. Unable to tolerate this, droupadi

asked bhIma for help. bhIma asked her to invite him to the dancing hall that

night. kIchaka gladly agreed. That night, bhIma took on the form of a beautiful

damsel and completely bowled over kIchaka. Finally, he thrashed kIchaka to

death with his bare fists. Once again, he had rid the earth of a powerful and

evil bully who had made a lot of people miserable.

bhIma took on the form of a beautiful damsel Bhima trashing kIchaka

kIchaka's brothers attacked droupadi to avenge kIchaka's death, but bhIma killed

all of them and protected her.

When duryOdhana heard of the death of kIchaka, he suspected the hand of bhIma

since there was nobody else who could do it. He immediately sent a group of

wrestlers to matsya, who challenged the king to find wrestlers who could fight

with them. Since it was a question of the kingdom's pride, yudhiShTira asked

bhIma to fight with them, which he did. duryOdhana's wrestlers were soundly

defeated.

After this, duryOdhana attacked matsya in order to expose the pAnDavas. arjuna

became Prince uttara's charioteer and defeated the kourava army. At the end of

the war, duryOdhana identified the pAnDavas, but they argued that since 13 years

had passed since their banishment there should be no penalty. However,

duryOdhana contested this saying that according to the solar calendar there were

still 5 months left. Finally, bhIshma and vidura ruled in favor of the pAnDavas

saying that according to the lunar calendar, which was prevalent then, 13 years

had indeed passed, thus negating duryOdhana's claim.

The grateful virAtrAja offered his daugther uttara's hand in marraige to arjuna,

but he accepted her as his daughter-in-law, i.e, as his son abhimanyu's bride.

Having completed the terms of their banishment, the pAnDavas returned to claim

their portion of the kingdom.

kouravara bala savari vairigaLa neggotti

Orante kouravana muridu mereda

vairi dushyAsanana raNadali eDegeDehi (toDeya laDDageDahi)

vIranarahariya lIleya tOrida ll19ll

kouravara = the kauravas

bala = strength

savari = ruin

vairigaLa = enemies

neggotti = broke their bones

Orante = as described above

kouravana = duryOdhana

muridu = broke (his thighs)

mereda = rejoiced

vairi = enemy

dushyAsanana = dushyAsana

raNadali = in the battle

eDegeDehi = kicked him to the ground

vIra = brave warrior

narahariya = narasimha

lIleya = sport or glory

tOrida = showed

He reduced the strength of the kouravAs, ruined enemies and broke duryOdhana

(i.e., his thighs). He humbled and then destroyed dushyAsana in the battle. He

thus demonstrated the glory (or greatness) of narahari (Krishna).

During droupadi's vastrApaharaNa bhIma had taken several oaths - to kill

dushyAsana, duryOdhana and the rest of dhrutarAshtra's sons. During the

kurukshEtra war, he single-handedly killed all of the kauravas. He destroyed

close to 6 out of the 11 akOshiNis (I dont know the modern equivalent -

battalion or division?) that the kauravas had assembled.On the

battlefield, he resembled the God of Death himself, displaying

unmatched ferociousness and courage, striking terror in the hearts of the enemy.

He chased major commanders of the enemy army and attacked them with an

intensity that was unheard of. Most of them lost their lives, while some

lucky ones escaped with just a few broken bones. Overall, he throroughly

demoralized the enemy and reduced it to a bunch of cowards in his presence.

While the war was going on, bhIma was constantly searching for dushyAsana in

order to make him pay him for his vile deeds. But dushyAsana the coward was

constantly eluding him. Finally, when bhIma met him face-to-face, his joy knew

no bounds. He jumped on him like a lion jumps on a deer, destroyed his chariot

and threw him down on the ground. He then split dushyAsana's chest with his

mace, sat on his stomach and made a big hole in his chest, creating a pool of

blood. He then pretended to drink dushyAsana's blood and reminded him of every

one of his misdeeds. He challenged the rest of the kaurava army to rescue

dushyAsana if they could, but the terrible sight curdled the blood of even

hardened warriors and no one dared to come near him. The vile and foul

dushyAsana thus got his just desserts, in the manner bhIma had promised.

droupadi's vastrApaharaNa

A point to note is that bhIma did not actually drink the blood since the

scriptures expressly forbid partaking of human blood. He ensured that the blood

did not cross his clenched teeth, thus protecting his dharma. The whole thing

was a big act, mainly to strike terror in the kourava army and demoralize it

thoroughly. And also to show the world what a terrible fate awaited people who

insulted and humiliated hari bhaktas. Indeed this was the reason why hari

incarnated as narasimha and showed the world his fearsome form. In fact, the

words "narahariya lIleya" have been used only to drive home the similarity

between bhIma's act and that of narasimha. And also to remind us that both the

acts, through gruesome to behold, were steeped in dharma, without even a trace

of adharma.

Another point to note is that as bhIma was killing dushyAsana, he "saw" or

glimpsed manyu sUkta. That is why he is considered one of the "drashTAs" or

"rishis" of manyu sUkta.

Towards the end of the war, when duryOdhana sensed defeat, he ran away and hid

in a lake. He was reciting the mantra that had been taught to him by dUrvasa.

These mantras were so potent that if duryOdhana were to recite them for a week,

staying under water his dead army would have regained life, and become

invincible. krishNa knew this, so he brought the pAnDavas to the lake and

instructed yudhiShTira to insult duryOdhana by calling him a coward. When this

was done, the arrogant duryOdhana came to the surface and challanged the

pAnDavas. He was given the option of choosing one of the pAnDavas with a weapon

of his choice; the understanding was that he succeeded in defeating his

opponent, victory was his.

duryOdhana chose the mace as his weapon and bhIma as his opponent since the

others were no match for him. Finally, bhima broke his thighs and incapacitated

him. When members of the kaurava army remonstrated saying that hitting an

opponent on his thighs was against the rules of mace fighting, krishNa defended

bhIma's action saying that he had kept his oath of breaking duryOdhana's thighs.Also, bhIma had struck him on the waist and not below, thus avoiding violating

the rules of combat. Thus bhIma killed the last of the kauravas and kept all of

his oaths. He submitted his entire action as an offering at the feet of krishNa.

In fact, throughout his life, every single asura or demo killed by bhIma was

offered as a 'bali-pashu' to krishNa, the acceptor of all yagna offerings. The

sole objective behind his acts was 'hari-prIti' and not to serve as a display of

his individual strength or greatness.

gurusutanu sangaradi nArAyaNAstravanu

uravaNisi biDalu shastrava bisuTaru

harikRupeya paDedirda bhIma hunkAradali

hariya divyAstravanu nere aTTida ll20ll

gurusutanu = teacher's son (drONa's son ashvaththAma)

sangaradi = in the battle

nArAyaNAstravanu = the fiery missile called nArAyaNAastra

uravaNisi = at a very high speed

biDalu = hurl

shastrava = missile

bisutaru = threw or hurled

harikRupeya = hari's grace

paDedirda = having achieved bhIma

hunkAradali = with a breath

hariya = hari's

divyAstravanu = divine missile

nere = aside

aTTida = chased away

In the kurukshEtra battle, ashwatthAma, the son of drONa, issued the

nArAyaNAstra (a powerful and dreaded missile) on bhIma in order to reduce him to

ashes. On krishNa's orders, everybody else threw down their weapons (to save

themselves). However, bhIma, who had the complete blessings of hari (nArAyaNa)

Himself, easily averted the missile with a breath.

drONa, the teacher of the kauravas and pAnDavas had a son called ashvatthAma. He

is considered to be an amsha of rudra. As soon as he was born he neighed (sound that horse makes) like a

horse, and an celestial voice asked drONa to name his son as ashvatthAma. He was

brought up on horsegram juice, something that even adults cannot digest easily.

He was a very great warrior, skilled in the use of all weapons. He is considered

to be one of the immortals (chiranjIvis) and is believed to be alive even today.

During the kurukshEtra war, when Dronacharya had been led to believe that his

son Ashwatthama was dead, he lost interest in the battle and even in life, and

was killed by Dhrishtadyumna as he sat to meditate on the battlefield. When

Ashwatthama came to know of Drona's killing, he took the extreme step of

usingthe nArAyaNAstra (a powerful and dreaded missile) to thrash the Pandavas in

one shot.

Ashwatthama use Narayanastra

krishNa knew that no other missile or weapon could match this missile and the

only defence against this missile was total surrender. Accordingly, He ordered

the entire pAnDava army to throw down their weapons and bow their heads in total

submission. Everybody including arjuna did this; the only exception was bhIma.

He refused saying that as a warrior he could not bend his head to save his life,

as that would be an act of cowardice. So, he continued to bear arms and confront

the weapon as that was pure kshatriya-dharma.

BhIma knew very clearly that the power behind the nArAyaNAstra was nArAyaNA,

and the power protecting him too was nArAyaNA. So, when the attacker is the

same as the defender, where is the cause for fear? One just needs to do one's

duty and leave the rest to Him.Lucky is the one who has devotion to such a merciful Lord!

Fortunate is the one who can point to such a great devotee and say "A vAyu namma kula guru

rAyanu"

(There was never an instance where Bhimasena and Krishna were not completely in

synchronism; this however could not be said of others, who on occasion did find

fault with Krishna. BalarAma, for instance, felt dislike towards Krishna

believing Him to have misappropriated the `syamantaka' gem. There are other

instances where Arjuna and others "close to Krishna" such as Pradyumna, Uddhava,

Samba, Aniruddha, etc., all were similarly guilty. Throughout the entire

mahabhArata, the only two persons who never moved away from total and complete

devotion to Krishna were bhIma and draupadi.

chanDavikrama gadegonDu raNadoLage bhU

manDaladoLidirAdanta khaLaranella

hinDi bisuTida vrukOdarana pratApavanu

kanDu nilluvarAru tribhuvanadoLu ll21ll

chanDavikrama = unmatched in defeating enemies on the battlefield

gadegonDu = caryying the mace

raNadoLage = in war

bhUmanDaladoL = on the Earth

idirAdanta = coming face-to-face (or meeting)

KaLaranella = all the bad and evil people

hinDi = wrenching

bisutida = throw out

vrukOdarana = another name for bhIma

pratApavanu = bravery

kanDu = seeing

nilluvarAru = who can stand (withstand)

tribhuvanadoLu = in all the 3 worlds

When bhIma, a ferocious and undefeated warrior, roams the warfield with his

mace, destroying all the enemies confronting him, who in all the three worlds

can stand up against his prowess?

Even though all the incarnations of vAyu are equally capable, in terms of bala

(strength) and gyAna (knowledge), each incarnation has a special focus, based on

the demands of the situation. The second incarnation as bhIma was known as a

fearsome and unmatched warrior, who inspired fear in the hearts of his enemies,

and who never tasted defeat, even once. In contrast, the other hero of the

kurukshEtra (arjuna), tasted defeat several times in his life (all of these were

when krishna was not around to save him). In strength, courage, steadfastness in

the face of adversity, there was nobody who could match bhIma, let alone exceed.

As we all know, the focus of the third incarnation, madhvAchArya, was on gyAna.

However, once in a while, he displayed flashes of his legendary strength and

bravery. When he was given a huge quantity of milk and bananas, by somebody who

doubted the fact he was an incarnation of vAyu, he polished them off quite

easily. He is also supposed to have lifted a huge boulder with ease, which

scores of people could not even move. While visiting kurukshEtra, he showed his

disciples the place where bhIma's mace was hidden.

gadegonDu raNadoLage

This has 2 references; the more straightforward one is to bhIma's favorite

weapon - the mace. He was unmatched when he marched the battlefield with

his mace proudly resting on his shoulders. But then, he was unmatched even with his bare

fists. So the reference to the mace is a pointer to something more subtle.

It is said that the 3 types of jIvas - sAtvikas, rAjasikas, tAmasikas - get rid

of their linga-dEha (a type of covering that the jIva has from time immemorial,

and which goes away only when the jIva is ready for its final destination) in 3

different ways. sAtvikas lose it when they take a bath in the virajA river along

with brahma. rAjasikas lose it through vAyu's breath. tAmasikas lose it when vAyu

hits them with his mace; thereafter they proceed to tamas (dark and unending

hell).

So, one may conclude that shrIpAdarAjaru is saying, in a poetic way, that not

only does he despatch demons from this world with his mace, but also sends them

to their final destination with it.

In the harivAyu stuti, shrI trivikrama panDitAchArya has beautifully described

his inadequacy to describe bhIma's bravery in the verse "kShvElAkShINATTahAsam

....". He finally concludes that only 2 people can do justice to this topic -

vEdavyAsa (the author of bhArata) and madhvAchArya himself - and offers his

heartfelt salutations to them.

Another aspect to remember is that even though bhIma was the most powerful

person of his times (with the exception of krishNa, of course), his power and

strength were always used to destroy lOka kanTakaru (evil people who were a

source of misery to society), and never for any personal gain.

As was stated in a previous posting, every single asura or demon killed by bhIma

was offered as a 'bali-pashu' to krishNa, the acceptor of all yagna offerings.

In the hearts of such evil people, his very name used to cause jitters.

There is a very popular misconception about the meaning of this

name (vrukOdarana). A direct translation means somebody who has a

wolf-like stomach, i.e, is a ravenous eater. bhIma's legendary ability to consume

huge amounts of food lendscredibility to this misconception. The real meaning

and origin of this name is totally different.

Every jIva has a jaThArAgni (flame) in its stomach. This is a form of the Lord,

and helps the jIva digest its food. vAyu's jaThArAgni is the most potent amongst

all jIvas and the form of the Lord that spread this flame is called "vruka".

Hence the term "vrukOdara" really means one who carries "vruka" in his stomach.

It is this which gives vAyu the ability to digest gigantic amounts of food.

One needs to understand that when bhIma ate food, he did so as a naivEdya to the

Lord within him, and not because he was hungry or could not survive without

food. vAyu is the life force that keeps 8,400,000 types of species alive and

kicking; every act of every jIva is performed under his supervision. So,

associating human-like frailities such as hunger, thirst, etc - with him is very

foolish and goes against what is said in the scriptures.

nArirOdana kELi manamarugigurusutana

hArhiDidu shirOratna kitti tegeda

nIroLaDagidda duryOdhanana horageDahi

Uruyuga tanna gadeyinda murida ll22ll

nArirOdana = woman's wail

kELi = on hearing

manamarugi = feeling sympathy

gurusutana = son of guru (ashwatthAma)

hArhiDidu = quickly caught

shirOratna = jewel in the head

kitti tegeda = (he) fiercely pulled out

nIroLaDagidda = the one who had hidden in the water

duryOdhanana = duryOdhana

horagedahi = pull out

Uruyuga = thigh

tanna = his

gadeyinda = with his mace

murida = broke

Upon hearing the sobbing of droupadi, his heart melted with compassion. He then

caught ashwaththAma, the son of his teacher (and also the offender of the

terrible crime) and stripped him of his birth-stone (the source of all his

powers). He pulled out duryOdhana who was hiding in the water and broke his

thigh with his mace.

At the end of the kurukshEtra war, ashwatthAma spent time with the fallen

duryOdhana and asked him "What do you want me to do?" duryOdhana said "Get rid

of the pAnDavas". He then performed the abhisheka of ashwatthAma with dust and

asked him to produce a son from duryOdhana's wife and continue the line of

kauravas further.

ashwatthAma agreed and went to the camp of the pAnDavas in the middle of the

night. He woke up the sleeping drushtadhyumna (droupadi's brother) and killed

him mercilessly, without giving him a chance to pick up weapons and fight.

Finally, he set fire to the tent in which he thought the pAnDavas were sleeping.

Unfortunately for him, it was not the pAnDavas but their sons who were sleeping

there. ashwatthAma then ran to duryOdhana and gave him the good news. duryOdhana

died peacefully after this.

duryOdhana destroyed by Bhima

droupadi lamented the death of her sons and asked the pAnDavas to avenge this.

bhIma, krishna and the rest of the pAnDavas went in pursuit of ashwatthAma. When

ashwatthAma saw the fierce rage of bhIma he remembered what had happened todushyAsana

and panicked. In order to escape bhIma's attack he fired the

brahmAstra at him. Immediately arjuna fired another brahmAstra to counter that

even though he knew fully well that bhIma was the abhimAni devata (patron diety)

of the brahmAstra and was thus immune to its awesome power.

vEdayvyAsa came there and chided arjuna and ashwatthAma for releasing such a

powerful weapon without thinking of the impact it would have on the rest of

creation. He asked them to withdraw the weapon immediately. arjuna was able to

do so, but ashwatthAma could not do so because he had lost his moral power by

agreeing to produce a son from duryOdhana's wife.

ashwatthAma had a divine maNi (pearl) in his head from birth. This potent jewel

had the power to a ward off death, disease, old-age, hunger, thirst, darkness,

ignorance etc. It was one of the main sources of ashwatthAma's strength.

vEdavyAsa then asked ashwatthAma to give his maNi to bhIma as compensation for

firing brahmAstra at him and for his inability to withdraw it. ashwatthAma

immediately complied with vEdavyAsa's order. vEdavyAsa then asked arjuna to

withdraw the brahmAstra discharged by ashwatthAma, which he did.