Ghatotkach, the son of Hidimba and the great Pandava Bheema, was the most powerful warrior to ever take part in the Great War between the Kauravas and the Pandavas at the Kurukshetra.

He was half-rakshasa, which gave him magical powers that allowed him to fly and change his size at his will. He got his name from his head, which was hairless, thus utkaca, and shaped like a water jug, known as ghatam. Thus the name Ghatotkach.

Hidimba and BhimaThe story of his parents is quite interesting. The Pandavas escaped from Lakshagraha and stopped at a dense forest to take rest. Over there, everyone fell asleep while Bheema kept watch. In the same forest lived Hidimb, a rakshas, with his sister Hidimba. He was a very powerful demon. He sensed the Pandavas from a far off distance and asked his sister to take the form of a beautiful maiden to lure Bheema and lure him out, so that he could eat him.

Hidimba took the form of a beautiful girl and went to confront Bheema, and instantly fell in love with him. She approached Bheema and told him about her feelings and the intentions of her brother. Bheema was surprised to know that a bloodthirsty demon had taken the form of a beautiful girl and wanted to marry him, so he refused her proposal. After that, a great fight took place between Bheema and Hidimb, one that caused a lot of chaos and destruction, and finally Bheema prevailed in the battle.

Bheema wanted to kill Hidimba too, as he thought that she would take revenge for the death of her brother at the hands of Bheema. But, Yudhisthira stopped him from committing such a heinous crime. Hidimba begged Kunti to allow Bheema to marry her, and seeing her plight, Kunti asked Bheema to get married to her, which he had to obey, as it was the order of his mother. But, Bheema made a condition that, he would leave her once she bore a child with him.

Hidimba agreed, and they got worried. In a year’s time, Hidimba gave birth to a son. The young infant’s head resembled a water jug, so they gave him the name Ghatotkach. Ghatotkach grew up to become immensely powerful and was a master of magic and illusion. It is said, that his power grew tremendously in the night. He was even given a boon by Lord Krishna, that no one would be able to match him at magic and sorcery, except for Lord Krishna himself.

Ghatotkach grew up with his mother in the forest Himbavana, and he was kind and compassionate right from his childhood. He was especially close to his brother Abhimanyu. He once gifted a pearl to him. Abhimanyu and Ghatotkach bore many similarities. Both were born when their fathers were in exile, both grew up with their mothers as their fathers were away, and both were considered to be even more powerful than their fathers.

He was dedicated to his father Bheema, and all Bheema had to do was just think of him, and he would appear. Like his father, he wielded the mace, and was even better than Bheema at warfare and using the mace.

He got married to Ahilawati, a naga kanya, and had a son with her, Barbarika. Barbarika is considered to be the strongest Kshatriya to ever live, according to Lord Krishna. He was even stronger than Ghatotkach and the five Pandavas.

He was summoned by his father to take part in the battle for the Pandavas, and using his magical powers, he wreaked havoc in the enemy Kaurava camp. After the death of Jayadratha, the battle continued on past sunset, and as nightfall came, his powers grew immensely, and he caused even more destruction.

The power of asuras increase with darkness, and so was the case with Ghatotkach. His powers increased tremendously and it looked as if the war would be over in one day. No one could manage to stop him, not even great warriors like Karna or Duryodhana.

Ghatotkacha Fights the Kauravas in the Kurukshetra Battle

Together with his brother Abhimanyu, he was decimating the enemy which instilled great fear in the hearts of the Kauravas camp. Seeing all the destruction, Dronacharya, the guru of the Pandavas and Kauravas, took charge of the army. Under his guidance, the Kauravas managed to kill both Ghatotkach and Abhimanyu. Abhimanyu died first, on the thirteenth day of the war. He manged to break the ultimate formation, Chakravyuh, but couldn’t manage to come out of it, and was killed by his uncles quite cruelly.

Ghatotkach died after him, on the fourteenth day of the war. The story goes, that Duryodhana requested his best friend, the great warrior Karna, to kill Ghatotkach, as he couldn’t bear to see the annihilation caused by Ghatotkach. Karna possessed a powerful weapon called Indrastra, or Shakti, which was granted to him by Lord Indra. It was capable of killing anyone Karna wanted to, but it could be used only once.

Karna had been saving the weapon for his arch enemy Arjuna, but seeing Duryodhana’s plight, he couldn’t use it on Arjuna and instead used it on Ghatotkach, killing him in the process. Ghatotkach, before dying, increased his size to the maximum he could, and fell on the enemy camp, killing thousands in the process. His death resulted in Bheema unleashing his wrath on his enemies, killing hundreds and thousands of warriors and soldiers.

Ghatotkach and Karna had an intensely ferocious battle, one which was watched by everyone in awe. It was tilting in the favour of Ghatotkach, as he was using his dark magic, which forced Karna to use the weapon given to him by Lord Indra. It is said, that when his huge body fell on the enemy camp, it crushed one Akshauhini of the enemy military camp.

Ghatotkach’s death is also said to be the turning point of the war, as with his death, Karna he longer had the divine weapon with which he could kill Arjuna, and Krishna was now confident that the war would be won by the Pandavas.

The legend of Ghatotkach and stories of his power and mastery over black magic are quite famous. It is said, that once during the war, Krishna had asked everyone about the number of days they would take to finish the war.

Bhisma told that he would be able to finish the war in three days. Next was Karna’s turn, who said that he would finish the war in one day. When he asked Ghatotkach, Ghatotkach’s reply astounded everyone.

Ghatotkach said, that he would finish the war with just three arrows. With one arrow, he would decimate the Kaurava army, with the other arrow, he would decimate the Pandava army, and when asked about the third arrow, Ghatotkach said, that he would kill Lord Krishna himself, by hitting the arrow at his foot, right below his toe.

The name of Ghatotkach is also mentioned in other forms of literature over the world. He is the main character of Bhasa’s play Madhyamavyayoga. The play talks about an incident in which Ghatotkach is asked by his mother to get a human for her so that she could eat him, and in the process he meets with his father Bheema.

Ghatotkacha and Karna Kurukshetra War - Statue in Bali Indonesia
Ghatotkacha and Karna Kurukshetra War – Statue in Bali, Indonesia

In the Indonesian Javanese version of the Mahabharata, he was given the name Jabang Tetuko. It has Ghatotkach wearing a vest with a sun symbol, and he is portrayed as a human and not a rakshas.

Ghatotkach was a character who had a major role to play in the turning of events of the Mahabharata. His death allowed Ajruna to remain invincible, which enabled the Pandavas to win the war. His sacrifice was the ultimate form of devotion to his father.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0ABnGsh_-4

https://youtu.be/pFuTVhR5WDE

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