Yudhishthiraloses an important game
of dice. Duhshasana drags Draupadi
into the hall by her hair, her garments
stained with menstrual blood, and
Duryodhana bares his thigh (a
euphemism for the genitals) toward
Draupadi and directs her to sit on his
lap. Bhima vows that to avenge these
insults he will rip open Duhshasana’s
chest so that Draupadi can wash her
hair in his blood, and smash
Duryodhana’s thigh with his club.
Although it takes thirteen years before
he carries out these promises, in the end
he avenges Draupadi’s honor. After the
Mahabharata war, Bhima aids his
brother Yudhishthira in reigning as king.
After Yudhishthira abdicates the throne,
Bhima travels with him and their other
brothers on a great journey to the
Himalayas, where Bhima eventually
dies of exposure.
Bhima River
A central Indian tributary of the
Krishna River, rising in the state of
Maharashtra, on the inland side of the
western ghatsand meeting with the
Krishna in the state of Karnataka. At the
Bhima’s headwaters can be found
Bhimashankar, which is one of the
twelve jyotirlingas, a group of sacred
sites (tirthas) deemed especially holy
to the god Shiva. Aside from
Bhimashankar, another important reli-
gious site on the Bhima is the temple of
Vithobaat Pandharpur.Bhimashankar
(“Bhima’s Shiva”) One of the twelve
jyotirlingas, a group of sacred sites
(tirthas) deemed especially holy to the
god Shiva. Bhimashankar is the name of
both the place and the presiding deity. It
is located in Maharashtra’sPune district
at the source of the Bhima River, hence
its name. Unlike many of the other
jyotirlingas, Bhimashankar is visited little
during the year since it is far from urban
centers and relatively inaccessible. The
major pilgrim traffic comes on the festi-
val of Shivaratri, which usually falls
within February and March.Bhishma
In the Mahabharata, the later of the two
great Hindu epics, Bhishma is the sonof
King Shantanuand an uncle and coun-
selor to both warring factions, the
Pandavasand the Kauravas. His name
as a child is Devavrata; he receives the
name Bhishma (“terrible”) as an
acknowledgment of his extremely diffi-
cult vow. King Shantanu has fallen in
love with the maiden Satyavati, who
agrees to marry him on the condition
that her sons will rule instead of
Devavrata, who has already been
anointed the heir apparent. Bhishma
not only agrees to give up the throne but
takes the solemn vow that he will never
marry, so that there will be no claimants
from his lineage to compete for the
throne. When Bhishma takes his dread-
ful vow, he is also given the option of
choosing the time of his death.
Bhishma faithfully keeps this vow,
and his adherence to it eventually costsBhima River
Bhima River at Pandharpur,
in the state of Maharashtra.