Hiḍimbī

In the Hindu epic, Mahābhārata, the heroine of the tale is named Draupadi and she is remembered as a symbol of righteous female rage and is considered to be a feminist icon. Another female character in the epic, who is not remembered with such devotion is Hiḍimbī. Hiḍimbī's tale is that of a strong single mother who stood by those she loved even at great cost to herself. She was the wife of a King, but was never to enjoy the privileges due to her as a Queen.

 

Hiḍimbī was a rakshasi, a demon figure of the Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism religions and had a rakshasa brother, named Hiḍimbā. Together, she and her brother lived in the Kamyaka Forest and devoured men.

 

One day, the royal Pāṇḍava family escaped an attempt on their lives and took shelter in the Kamyaka Forest. Exhausted Kuntī and her four of her sons slept, while her fifth son, Bhīma, watched over them.

Hiḍimbā could smell the humans from afar and went to find them. Seeing Bhīma , a well-built man, on guard, he commanded his sister, Hiḍimbī, to lure him in so that they could eat him.

Hiḍimbī did as she was bid and, turning herself into a beautiful woman, went to meet Bhīma. She had intended to lure him into her brother's hands, as commanded, but on seeing Prince Bhīma, she fell in love with him and refused her brother's command.

Hiḍimbā became frustrated with waiting and went to see why Hiḍimbī was taking so long to catch their meal. He became enraged when he found them together and started to fight Bhīma. Hiḍimbī bravely helped her love to overpower her demonic brother and Bhīma came out of the fight victorious.

 

It was at this point that the marriage of Hiḍimbī and Bhīma was arranged. In some versions of the tale, it was Hiḍimbī who approached Queen Kuntī and asked to marry her son, but in other versions, Kuntī suggested the marriage as she saw the contributions Hiḍimbī was capable of bringing to her family.

After the marriage took place, the Pāṇḍava family remained for a time in the forest. Hiḍimbī built them a cottage for shelter, and provided them with food and protection. Bhīma spent the days with his new wife and the nights in the cottage with his mother and brothers. Unbeknownst to Hiḍimbī, he had decided to remain with her only until such a time as a child was born and after only one year, the awaited event occurred.

Hiḍimbī became pregnant and Bhīma and the rest of the Pāṇḍavas left the forest, leaving the pregnant Hiḍimbī all alone.

 

Months later, Hiḍimbī gave birth to a son, who she named Ghaṭotkaca. She raised him alone to be a fine warrior and later in the epic, he would become an important figure in the Mahābhārata War.

 

Bhīma, when restored to power and joint King alongside his four brothers, would marry again, to the heroine of the epic, Draupadi. In fact, Draupadi wed all five of the brothers at once and, unlike Hiḍimbī, she enjoyed all of the luxuries of Queenship.

The discovery of Bhīma's betrayal devastated Hiḍimbī, but she stayed strong and continued to raise her son alone, in the forest. However, she did grow incredibly jealous of Draupadi, who she saw as a rival, and viewed her as being immoral for her polyandry.

 

Time passed and, when he was fully grown, Ghaṭotkaca went to attend the Rājasūya Yagna at his father's palace. Before he left, Hiḍimbī specifically instructed him not to pay respects to Draupadi, due to her jealousy of the woman who had stolen her husband and her rightful place in the palace.

Ghaṭotkaca did as his mother told him, but Draupadi was furious at the insult. She cursed Ghaṭotkaca that he would be killed by a divine weapon.

On hearing of this, Hiḍimbī cursed Draupadi's unborn children that they, too, should be murdered one day.

 

Many years later, during the Mahābhārata war, Bhīma was reminded of the existence of his eldest son, the fierce warrior, Ghaṭotkaca. He commanded Hiḍimbī to give her son up for Bhīma's army and she meekly accepted. Ghaṭotkaca was quickly sent off to battle against the Kauravas in Kurukshetra, proving himself to be a heroic warrior. Ghaṭotkaca was not just skilled in traditional battle, but he also inherited his mother's gift of illusion and caused havoc in the enemy camps.

Unfortunately, Draupadi's curse came to pass and Ghaṭotkaca was slain with a divine Śakti arrow, dying a martyr. Both Hiḍimbī and the Pāṇḍavas mourned his loss, but it is said that after his death, Ghaṭotkaca lost the demonic side within him and ascended to peace in heaven.

As for the curse that Hiḍimbī laid on Draupadi, this too came to pass, as Draupadi’s children were killed in a mistaken identity situation, when they were mistaken for the Pāṇḍavas.

 

According to the legend, Hiḍimbī remained in her forest, performing penance and eventually attained the status of a Goddess. There is even a temple in Manali, in Himachal Pradesh, dedicated to the worship of Hiḍimbī.

 

Hiḍimbī's story is a tragic tale and one that is, sadly, too often seen not just in myth, legend and folklore, but in real life as well. A lot of the historical women on this site suffered similar tragedies to Hiḍimbī, but none, I think, are as forgotten as her.

Nonetheless, Hiḍimbī can admired today for being a sex-positive woman. A woman who did not hesitate to make the first move and expressed her love freely. A strong single mother, who raised a hero.