Mahabharata – 194
by
Sankar Mukherjee
&
Dr Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya
    Aadivamsavatarana Parva

                 Birth of Bhima

We have already narrated the story of the birth of Yudhishthira. Pandu was cursed by an ascetic. He  was not capable to procreate. But his wife Kunti was not an ordinary woman.She earned the super natural power to invoke any god who would bless her with a son. At the request of Pandu she invoked Dharma to give her a child. This is very significant Pandu might have asked Kunti to beget a child by any god whatever. But he asked Kunti to invoke Dharma because Pandu always prized Dharma and virtue above anything else. Consequently Yudhisthira was born and he was deemed to be the eldest son of Pandu.True that one Moon can do away with darkness. But thousands of stars together cannot achieve that.But Pandu was not satisfied with one son only.        

He again addressed his wife ---The wise say that a Kshatriya must be endowed with physical strength. Otherwise he is no Kshatriya. Therefore, I ask you for an offspring of great strength.

Thus requested by her lord,Kunti then appealed to Vayu. And the mighty god of wind, thus solicited, came to her, riding a deer,and said --- What,O Kunti,am I to give you? Tell me what is  your desire?

Smiling in modesty, she said to him --- Oh best of the gods!, give me, a child endowed with great strength.

The god of wind thereupon begot upon her the mighty child afterwards known as Bhima of powerful arms and fierce prowess. And on the birth of the child by the god of wind endwoed with extraordinary strength, an airy voice said --- This child shall be the foremost of all, endowed with strength. Another wonderful event occurred presently after the birth of Bhima. He fell from the lap of his mother upon a large stone. Because of the violence of the fall the stone broke into thousand pieces upon which the child fell. The body of the infant was as hard as the thunderbolt.And the infant body was not injured in the least.And he fell from his mother's lap because Kunti had been frightened by the roar of a tiger. Unconscious of the child that lay asleep on her lap she dropped the child. And seeing this, Pandu became full of wonder and awestruck. And that very day on which Bhima was born,was also, the birthday of Duryodhana.

And this great second child of Kunti was born in the month of Chaitra during the period of waxing moon and on the thirteenth day of the bright fortnight. At that moment Jupiter was rising  in the presence of Magha Nakshatra. The Moon entered into the Leo. It was the middle of the day at the eighth Muhurta.