Bheema’s Encounter with Hanuman
Day and night, Draupadi kept worrying about why Arjuna had not yet returned from the Himalayas.
‘This forest now looks desolate without Arjuna,’ she said to Bheema one morning. ‘Maybe a change of place would help me overcome my restlessness.’
Bheema thought of sharing Draupadi’s anxiety with Yudhishthira. Coincidentally, sage Dhaumya happened to pass by the cottage the same afternoon.
‘I sometimes wonder,’ Yudhishthira said to the sage, ‘if I took the right decision in sending Arjuna to the Himalayas in search of a divine weapon. He was very eager to obtain such a weapon to prevail over Bheeshma, Duryodhana, Drona and Asvatthama. This is because our war with the Kauravas now seems inevitable.’ He paused. ‘Since both Draupadi and Bheema are agitated over the future, they feel that we should move to some other place. But where?’
‘The mind, O Yudhishthira, cannot be soothed by mere change of place,’ responded the sage, ‘because it transcends time and space. But you need not worry about Arjuna, who will certainly be back soon with the weapon. Just resign yourself to God’s will. Anxiety never solves any problems; it only generates more.’
But hounded by perennial restlessness, the Pandavas wandered from one place to another. Draupadi often complained of exhaustion and sore feet, but she declined Bheema’s offer to carry her. Battered and bruised, they kept wandering through dense forests, rugged pathways and hazardous ravines, till they reached Kulimda, whose king offered them warm hospitality. Here they stayed for a while, but their restlessness again prodded them to move on until they came to Naranasrama, a lovely forest with many fruit trees and flowers.
Here, one morning, Draupadi saw a flower drop at her feet. It had been blown off from somewhere by a strong breeze. As she picked it up, she was enchanted by its fragrance, colour and beauty. At first, she wanted to put it in her hair, but later decided to ask Bheema to get her a handful of such flowers.
‘O Bheema,’ she said, showing him the flower. ‘Here is a rare beauty, blown in by the north-easterly wind. Would you go in that direction and get me some saplings of this flower? I would like to grow them around our cottage.’
Immediately, Bheema set out in search of the flowers. It seemed as if the flower’s fragrance was leading him to his destination. But as he approached a cluster of plantain trees, he saw a gigantic monkey lying asleep across his path. Since he was in haste, he first shouted at the animal and then tried to shove it off with his right foot. The monkey now opened its eyes and glowered at Bheema.
‘O man, why did you shake me out of my sleep? Why do humans always choose to maltreat animals, as if we are not God’s creatures?’ He paused. ‘In any case, who are you and what are you looking for in this rugged part of the mountain? You may not know that no human being can go beyond this point because yonder lies the abode of the gods. So go back and rest.’
Bheema was rattled by this nonchalant speech.
‘Let me first ask,’ he said in angrily, ‘who you are. And how dare you talk to me so rudely? Let me tell you that I hail from the illustrious Kuru family and my father is Vayu, the wind-god. And, now, will you move away or shall I kick you out of my way?’
But without stirring at all, the animal responded with a grin: ‘You are asking for trouble. Let me warn you that if you touch me, I will blow you off to your father, the wind-god, even though I am very old. Now, why don’t you try to move me out of your way since I feel too lazy to get up? Or you may leap over me if you like.’
Bheema was intrigued by the monkey’s bravado. What kind of animal was it, he wondered.
‘Indeed, nothing would be easier than to jump over your body and move on to my destination,’ Bheema said. ‘But the scriptures prevent me from leaping over a monkey. Otherwise, like Hanuman, my brother, I could fly across a vast stretch of ocean.’
‘Who is this Hanuman?’ asked the monkey with a smile on its face.
‘O fool, don’t you know that he is unsurpassed in his devotion to Lord Rama? He leapt across a turbulent sea to locate Sita, his lord’s wife. I am his brother and as strong as Hanuman. And now, you impudent monkey, would you get out of my way?’
But the monkey still lay leisurely on the ground, not even turning on its side. Then, flashing another smile, it said, ‘I am so weighed down by age that I can’t even gather myself up on my feet. But if your scriptures restrain you from stepping over my body, you could at least put my tail aside and proceed on your way.’
Stung by the challenge, Bheema now looked at the tail which lay blocking his path. But as he tried to lift it, he found it too heavy. He strained every muscle of his body till he broke into a sweat. Crestfallen, he now stood, staring at the monkey, utterly dazed. Then it occurred to him that this beast might be some divine being.
‘Who are you – a monkey, or some god?’ Bheema asked. ‘I bow to you and admit my defeat.’
At this, the monkey’s lips curled into a gracious smile.
‘I am Hanuman, your brother, O Bheema,’ the animal said. ‘I had recognized you at the very outset. But I wanted to have a little fun with you.’ Then he explained that if he had held him up for a while, it was because the way ahead was fraught with danger – wild beasts and evil spirits.
Bheema’s Encounter with Hanuman
‘But you don’t have to go any further,’ Hanuman now consoled him, ‘because right there, behind that cluster of trees, flows a stream on whose bank you will find the Saugandha saplings you are looking for.’
But before bidding farewell to his brother, Bheema requested him to manifest himself in the form in which he leapt across the ocean to locate Sita.
At once, Hanuman’s body began to swell until it grew to the size of a huge mountain. From his eyes flashed a beam of divine light that lit up the entire forest. So dazzling was the glare that Bheema had to shield his eyes with both hands. It took some time for Hanuman to return to his normal form. ‘This is how I can blow up my body whenever I confront my enemies,’ said Hanuman.
Bheema felt as if he too had been charged with some new energy. As he stood gazing at his brother, Bheema heard him say, ‘I will be with you, O Bheema, in every moment of your crisis. I will fly as an emblem on the pennant of your brother Arjuna’s chariot. If I had Lord Rama to guide me at every step, you will have Lord Krishna to lead you to victory.’
Bheema then lay prostrate at the feet of his brother to seek his blessings. But as he rose, he saw that Hanuman had already vanished into the air. Was this encounter with him a miracle, Bheema wondered. Then he realized that some divine force must have prompted Draupadi to send him on this quest for the Saugandha flowers, which had brought him face-to-face with his brother.
Hurriedly, he gathered some Saugandha saplings from the stream and returned to their cottage. When Draupadi and his brothers learnt how he had encountered Hanuman, they took it as a good omen. Now they felt assured that at the end of their dark tunnel of suffering, there would be light, and the victory of good over evil.