The day Bhima fought a sphinx...

In the second part of this popular tale, the bard narrates the battle between Bhima and Purushamriga, a Sphinx-like creature.

Anjaneya asked Bhima where he was going and why. “Brother Anjaneya, my brother Dharmaraya is performing the Rajasuyayaga to get my father a place in heaven. I’ve been sent to bring the divine cow Kamadhenu, wish-giving Kalpavriksha and the Purusha beast. You must help me in this noble mission.”

“Listen Bhima, capturing the Purusha beast is no easy task. The beast is sure to kill any human who comes his way. How are you going to conquer him?” “Anna, now that I have met you, I depend on your help.”

“In that case, keep these three strands of my hair with you. When you reach the heavenly mountain, call out to the beast. The moment the beast hears a mere human calling out his name, he will trace your smell and come roaring after you. At once, you must pray to your father Vayu and start running at the speed of wind. The beast will keep following you. When you feel he is getting too close, throw one of these strands of hair on him. Let me tell you about the power of this hair. It will create a river where it falls and a crore lingas on the bank of that river. The Purusha beast will bathe and smear himself with vibhuthi before worshipping each linga with flowers and leaves. By the time he has finished worshipping a crore lingas in this manner, you can run a yojana and escape from the beast. The beast will come after you again once he has finished worshipping the lingas. When he is about to catch you, throw another strand of hair. There will be another river with a crore lingas on its bank. When the beast has bathed and worshipped each linga like he has done earlier, he will come for you again. Throw the third strand of hair then. By the time he has finished worshipping the crore lingas and come after you, you should have reached Hasthinapura.” With these words, Anjaneya blessed Bhima and saw him off to Devagiri, the mountain in heaven.

Having arrived in Devagiri, Bhima picked up the divine cow Kamadhenu and held her under his left arm. He plucked the Kalpavriksha and holding it in his left hand, entered the forest where the Purusha beast was and shouted:

“Hey Purusha beast, come on! Respond to my call and come to the world of humans!” The beast was enraged by the sound and smell of a human. When Bhima told him who he was, the beast started chasing him with the intention of devouring him. As Bhima ran, he threw a strand of Anjaneya’s hair in front of the beast. A huge stream blocked the beast’s way at once. By the time the beast had offered worship to the crore lingas that had emerged on the bank of the stream, Bhima had covered six yojanas. But the beast caught up with him again and Bhima threw another strand of Anjaneya’s hair, which resulted in another stream blocking the beast and another crore lingas emerging on its bank. Once again, after worshipping each one of the crore lingas, the beast resumed its chase, determined to catch and devour Bhima, who had, by this time covered six more yojanas. The beast was about to catch him when Bhima threw the third strand of hair. This time the beast came roaring after him, even faster than before, after worshipping the crore lingas. Bhima had, by now, reached the main entrance to Hasthinapura and was met by Dharmaraya and Krishna who embraced him. Just then the Purusha beast caught Bhima by the leg. ‘Save me! Save me!’ hollered Bhima. Krishna then placed his palm on the beast’s head and the beast calmed down at once. The five Pandavas, accompanied by Dropathi, Krishna and five other women, welcomed the beast into the city with traditional ceremonies.

The author, a retired professor of English, is a well-known theatre and television artiste and an award-winning translator.

Folktales from the Mahabharata is a monthly column that features lesser-known episodes from ‘Janapada Mahabharata’ sung by eminent folk-artiste Bettada Beedu Siddhashetty and published by Dr P K Rajashekara.