Son of the wind

Bhima is the son of Kunti by Vayu, the wind-god, and from his father he draws strength said to equal that of ten thousand elephants. Bold, hearty and quick to anger, he is also the most openly affectionate of the brothers. He is a half-brother of the monkey-god Hanuman, likewise a son of Vayu.

Slayer of demons and tyrants

From boyhood Bhima is the family’s shield. He kills the man-eating demons Hidimba and Bakasura, and — with Krishna and Arjuna — brings down the tyrant Jarasandha in a wrestling match. By the demoness Hidimbi he fathers the loyal Ghatotkacha.

The keeper of vows

When Draupadi is dishonoured in the dice hall, it is Bhima who swears the epic’s most terrible oaths: to break the thigh of Duryodhana and to drink the blood of Dushasana. Both vows he fulfils in the war. In the year of disguise he serves as the cook Vallabha and crushes the brutal Kichaka for harassing Draupadi.

The final road

On the Pandavas’ last pilgrimage, Bhima is the last of the brothers to fall, undone by pride and appetite — yet he too is reunited with his family in the heavenly worlds.

Bhima represents the power of the awakened life-force in the service of righteousness: raw strength made noble by love and loyalty, fierce against evil yet gentle toward those he protects.

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Role in the Mahabharata

Bhima, the second Pandava and son of the wind-god Vayu, was a figure of immense strength and appetite for life. Fiercely protective of his brothers and of Draupadi, he made two terrible vows after her humiliation — to drink Dushasana’s blood and to break Duryodhana’s thigh — and fulfilled them both, bringing the war to its decisive end.