Hidimbi
The Rakshasi Who Loved a Pandava
A rakshasa princess of the forest who fell in love with Bhima and became the mother of the mighty Ghatotkacha. She chose love and dharma over her own fearsome clan.
- Sanskrit/Telugu name: హిడింబి
- Also known as: Hidimba, Bhutana Devi
- Symbols: Forest, Mountain shrine
Story
When the Pandavas escaped the burning lacquer house, they fled into a wild forest that belonged to the rakshasa Hidimba. He smelled humans and sent his sister Hidimbi to catch them — but when she saw Bhima standing guard while his family slept, she fell completely in love and warned him of the danger instead. Furious at her betrayal, Hidimba attacked, and Bhima defeated the rakshasa in a ground-shaking wrestling match. Hidimbi then asked Kunti, with folded hands, for permission to marry Bhima, and the wise mother agreed — on the understanding that Bhima would stay only until a child was born. Their son was Ghatotkacha, a hero with a heart of gold, and when the Pandavas moved on, Hidimbi raised him alone in the forest, teaching him to always answer his father's call. She kept that promise years later at the terrible cost of her son's life in the Kurukshetra war. In many tellings Hidimbi is honored as a devi in her own right — in Manali in the Himalayas there is a famous ancient temple where she is worshipped to this day, a rare temple to a rakshasi who chose love over fear.
Fun fact
Hidimbi is one of the very few rakshasa characters in the epics who has a real temple — pilgrims still visit her shrine in Manali.