Hi!! Today's story is about Bheema, one of the Pandavas, and how he saved a village from imminent terror. Let's go…
Ekachakra, a small but beautiful village residing in the heart of the Kamyaka forest accommodated kind people who lived together harmoniously amidst the pleasant nature. It was once visited by the Pandavas who were in exile for 13 years!! The Kaurava prince, Duryodhana had sentenced them to 13 years of exile after a very unfortunate game of dice. Shakuni, the uncle of the Kauravas, had plotted the Pandavas' downfall with Duryodhan. The Pandavas went into the forest because of their cousin. During one of their years in exile, they came upon a small village, which was none other than Ekachakra.
Arjuna, the third of the Pandavas, suggested that going as five heirs to the throne and their mother would be too obvious and apparent. He then added that they should disguise themselves as Brahmin scholars and go into the village. Kunti, the Pandava's mother agreed to the suggestion. Bheema, the second Pandava asked, " O mother, what shall we do for our meals?" Bheema was known to have a big appetite (let alone MASSIVE!). Kunti assured him, "Bheema, don't worry. We shall beg for our food and eat in the evenings." So, the Pandavas dressed themselves in common man's clothes, and went to beg for their alms.
Suddenly, a plump-looking, learned man stopped them and asked, '' Where do you come from?'' The Pandavas were a little apprehensive. Reluctantly, Yudhistira, the oldest Pandava, stated, "We are from Hastinapur. We were banished, because… Because our brother had a big appetite! He went and stole some food from the vendor outside our house. We have nowhere else to go. We were going to beg for food in the village, " The man understood their plight, "It's okay, you may stay at my house. We are happy to shelter you," The Pandavas were overjoyed! They bowed down to the man, who was smiling at them. "Thank you, swami. You have given us a home."
Life went on peacefully. The Pandavs were accepted by the community, and the community was accepted by the Pandavas. During the day, the Pandavas would beg for their food and when the blazing sun had lowered out of the sky, the Pandavas would eat what reap the fruit of their hard work. They would get very little food, compared to what they had in Hastinapur. They used to feast on delicacies. Sweets and savouries would be put in front of their faces, and they would eat with pleasure. Now, they had reduced to begging for food. The consequences of the begging had made Bheema thin. He starved on some days. This had taught him to value your food, and not just devour it.
All was good in Ekachakra except the barbaric, cannibal demon Bakasura!!! He was an Asura (aka Demon!!) who lived in a nearby cave. Years ago, Bakasura had attacked the village and devoured men, women and children alike!! Whenever he was hungry, he would attack ruthlessly. The king was a coward. He ran away, leaving his subjects in grave danger. They tried reasoning with Bakasura, but it was no use. He just kept on ravaging the village. After a loooooong time, they finally agreed with Bakasura. If he stopped mashing the village into chutney, the residents would provide him with a cart full of fruits and vegetables, with mounds of rice and different breads, accompanied with a person. He would be allowed to eat all of the food and the human too. This continued even when the Pandavas reached the village.
One day, Bheema decided to stay home and be with his mom, Kunti. They were inside the house when they heard two people crying. It wasn't any happy crying. It was like someone was going to die!! They rushed out and saw that the plump scholar and his wife were wailing in agony. Kunti ran to them and asked, "O Swami, What happened? Are you okay?" He just shook his head and resumed his weeping. Kunti was terrified! She didn't know what was going on! When she asked the scholar's wife, she told Kunti of the demon Bakasura and how they had agreed to send someone every day. Kunti then understood that it was the scholar's turn to go and be eaten up by the demon. She was petrified!! Out of confusion, she called Bheema outside, "Bheema?! Bheema?! Come here!!" Bheema rushed outside to see the same sight that Kunti saw. She told him what had happened, and he immediately came to a decision, "O Swami! I shall go to Bakasura! Don't worry! I shall slaughter him into pieces!! But I have one request. You must provide me with a LOT of food, I mean a LOT!!" The scholar bowed down to Bheema's feet. They prepped up the cart for the journey to Bakasura's cave…
Bheema was happy. He would get to do two of his favourite things: Belt some demons AND eat some food. He pulled a brown and white horse from the village stable and hooked it to the cart. He waved bye to his mom and to the scholar, and set off to kill the demon, Bakasura. Behind him, he could smell the lovely aromas of rice, fruits and vegetables. It was jam-packed with yummy breads, delicious jamoons, and soft, velvety rice! He was tempted to just gobble it right up!
Bheema reached the foot of a huge mountain, with a cave near the middle. He said to himself, "I'll just take one morsel," and turned back to look at the food. He jumped off the horse and climbed onto the cart. He picked up one orange and ripped it open. He chewed the delicious orange goodness and smiled to himself.
Within the next minute, the jam-packed cart of food had become empty!! There was absolutely nothing left!! Bheema, who was lying on the cart surface, let out a huge burp, "BBBBUUUUUUURRRRRPPPPP!!!!!" This alerted Bakasura. He came to the edge of his cave, and saw that there was nothing there!!! Only a man laid in the cart!! Bakasura was infuriated!!!! He ran out of his cave and roared, "RRRRROOOOOOAAAARRR!!!!! WHO DARES TO STEAL MY FOOD?!?!?!" He jumped down from his cave and landed on the floor. The earth shook with his landing. The faraway village, Ekachakra, broke into pieces at the earthquake that fell from the cave. Bakasura stared at Bheema and jumped up into the sky. Bheema woke up from a slumber to see a huge monster above him. He rolled to the other side. Bakasura roared in anger. Bheema got up and brandished his newly-grown muscles.
They fought an epic fight. Bheema punched Bakasura into the dusty mountain range. Bakasura lept onto Bheema, but he got smacked back into the rocky terrain. Bakasura took a big, fat beating from Bheema. "SMACK!!! POW!!!! KABOOM!!!" He eventually succumbed to his wounds. Bheema rode back to Ekachakra on the terrified horse, which was too scared to say a word.
After reaching Ekachakra, Bheema ran to his mom and laughed, "Oh mom! Haha!! You said there was a demon, but I think that it was puny rat!! Haha! I killed him sooooo easily!!" Kunti and her other sons hugged Bheema. Behind them, the village of Ekachakra danced with joy!! After killing the beast, Bheema declared that it was time for them to set off on another adventure. Bidding them a hearty goodbye, the residents of Ekachakra celebrated the death of the demon, Bakasura.
They continued to tell the tale of how Bheema saved them for disaster for ages to come…
Fun Fact: The place where Bheema and Bakasura fought is a place near Chickaballapura district, in Karnataka. The is called Bheema Bakasura Betta. It is situated in a place called Kaiwara, about 65 kilometres from Bangalore.
Thanks for reading my take on the story of How Bheema killed Bakasura!!! Please follow with your email and press the follow box to receive emails about my posts!!!!
Ekachakra, a small but beautiful village residing in the heart of the Kamyaka forest accommodated kind people who lived together harmoniously amidst the pleasant nature. It was once visited by the Pandavas who were in exile for 13 years!! The Kaurava prince, Duryodhana had sentenced them to 13 years of exile after a very unfortunate game of dice. Shakuni, the uncle of the Kauravas, had plotted the Pandavas' downfall with Duryodhan. The Pandavas went into the forest because of their cousin. During one of their years in exile, they came upon a small village, which was none other than Ekachakra.
Arjuna, the third of the Pandavas, suggested that going as five heirs to the throne and their mother would be too obvious and apparent. He then added that they should disguise themselves as Brahmin scholars and go into the village. Kunti, the Pandava's mother agreed to the suggestion. Bheema, the second Pandava asked, " O mother, what shall we do for our meals?" Bheema was known to have a big appetite (let alone MASSIVE!). Kunti assured him, "Bheema, don't worry. We shall beg for our food and eat in the evenings." So, the Pandavas dressed themselves in common man's clothes, and went to beg for their alms.
Suddenly, a plump-looking, learned man stopped them and asked, '' Where do you come from?'' The Pandavas were a little apprehensive. Reluctantly, Yudhistira, the oldest Pandava, stated, "We are from Hastinapur. We were banished, because… Because our brother had a big appetite! He went and stole some food from the vendor outside our house. We have nowhere else to go. We were going to beg for food in the village, " The man understood their plight, "It's okay, you may stay at my house. We are happy to shelter you," The Pandavas were overjoyed! They bowed down to the man, who was smiling at them. "Thank you, swami. You have given us a home."
Life went on peacefully. The Pandavs were accepted by the community, and the community was accepted by the Pandavas. During the day, the Pandavas would beg for their food and when the blazing sun had lowered out of the sky, the Pandavas would eat what reap the fruit of their hard work. They would get very little food, compared to what they had in Hastinapur. They used to feast on delicacies. Sweets and savouries would be put in front of their faces, and they would eat with pleasure. Now, they had reduced to begging for food. The consequences of the begging had made Bheema thin. He starved on some days. This had taught him to value your food, and not just devour it.
All was good in Ekachakra except the barbaric, cannibal demon Bakasura!!! He was an Asura (aka Demon!!) who lived in a nearby cave. Years ago, Bakasura had attacked the village and devoured men, women and children alike!! Whenever he was hungry, he would attack ruthlessly. The king was a coward. He ran away, leaving his subjects in grave danger. They tried reasoning with Bakasura, but it was no use. He just kept on ravaging the village. After a loooooong time, they finally agreed with Bakasura. If he stopped mashing the village into chutney, the residents would provide him with a cart full of fruits and vegetables, with mounds of rice and different breads, accompanied with a person. He would be allowed to eat all of the food and the human too. This continued even when the Pandavas reached the village.
One day, Bheema decided to stay home and be with his mom, Kunti. They were inside the house when they heard two people crying. It wasn't any happy crying. It was like someone was going to die!! They rushed out and saw that the plump scholar and his wife were wailing in agony. Kunti ran to them and asked, "O Swami, What happened? Are you okay?" He just shook his head and resumed his weeping. Kunti was terrified! She didn't know what was going on! When she asked the scholar's wife, she told Kunti of the demon Bakasura and how they had agreed to send someone every day. Kunti then understood that it was the scholar's turn to go and be eaten up by the demon. She was petrified!! Out of confusion, she called Bheema outside, "Bheema?! Bheema?! Come here!!" Bheema rushed outside to see the same sight that Kunti saw. She told him what had happened, and he immediately came to a decision, "O Swami! I shall go to Bakasura! Don't worry! I shall slaughter him into pieces!! But I have one request. You must provide me with a LOT of food, I mean a LOT!!" The scholar bowed down to Bheema's feet. They prepped up the cart for the journey to Bakasura's cave…
Bheema was happy. He would get to do two of his favourite things: Belt some demons AND eat some food. He pulled a brown and white horse from the village stable and hooked it to the cart. He waved bye to his mom and to the scholar, and set off to kill the demon, Bakasura. Behind him, he could smell the lovely aromas of rice, fruits and vegetables. It was jam-packed with yummy breads, delicious jamoons, and soft, velvety rice! He was tempted to just gobble it right up!
Bheema reached the foot of a huge mountain, with a cave near the middle. He said to himself, "I'll just take one morsel," and turned back to look at the food. He jumped off the horse and climbed onto the cart. He picked up one orange and ripped it open. He chewed the delicious orange goodness and smiled to himself.
Within the next minute, the jam-packed cart of food had become empty!! There was absolutely nothing left!! Bheema, who was lying on the cart surface, let out a huge burp, "BBBBUUUUUUURRRRRPPPPP!!!!!" This alerted Bakasura. He came to the edge of his cave, and saw that there was nothing there!!! Only a man laid in the cart!! Bakasura was infuriated!!!! He ran out of his cave and roared, "RRRRROOOOOOAAAARRR!!!!! WHO DARES TO STEAL MY FOOD?!?!?!" He jumped down from his cave and landed on the floor. The earth shook with his landing. The faraway village, Ekachakra, broke into pieces at the earthquake that fell from the cave. Bakasura stared at Bheema and jumped up into the sky. Bheema woke up from a slumber to see a huge monster above him. He rolled to the other side. Bakasura roared in anger. Bheema got up and brandished his newly-grown muscles.
They fought an epic fight. Bheema punched Bakasura into the dusty mountain range. Bakasura lept onto Bheema, but he got smacked back into the rocky terrain. Bakasura took a big, fat beating from Bheema. "SMACK!!! POW!!!! KABOOM!!!" He eventually succumbed to his wounds. Bheema rode back to Ekachakra on the terrified horse, which was too scared to say a word.
After reaching Ekachakra, Bheema ran to his mom and laughed, "Oh mom! Haha!! You said there was a demon, but I think that it was puny rat!! Haha! I killed him sooooo easily!!" Kunti and her other sons hugged Bheema. Behind them, the village of Ekachakra danced with joy!! After killing the beast, Bheema declared that it was time for them to set off on another adventure. Bidding them a hearty goodbye, the residents of Ekachakra celebrated the death of the demon, Bakasura.
They continued to tell the tale of how Bheema saved them for disaster for ages to come…
Fun Fact: The place where Bheema and Bakasura fought is a place near Chickaballapura district, in Karnataka. The is called Bheema Bakasura Betta. It is situated in a place called Kaiwara, about 65 kilometres from Bangalore.
Thanks for reading my take on the story of How Bheema killed Bakasura!!! Please follow with your email and press the follow box to receive emails about my posts!!!!
Good writing Pradyun and thanks for the funfact though I knew the story didn't know that the place was in Karnataka. Will add it to list of places to visit after the lockdown 😀. Keep writing more and giving out more such funfacts .
ReplyDeleteThanks Kruthika!!!
DeleteSuper story writing Pradyun :)) love your style :).
ReplyDelete- Raksha
Thanks Raksha Moushi!!!!!!!!!!
Delete