Ghatotkacha in Lanka – Stories from Sabha Parva

When Sahadeva reached the ocean and the end of the land during his conquests, he thought of Ghatotkacha, Bhima and Hidimbi’s son. The rakshasa appeared immediately and bowed to his uncle. After inquiring about his well-being, Sahadeva asked Ghatotkacha to fly to Lanka and get a tribute from Vibhishana for Yudhistira’s Rajasuya. He asked Ghatotkacha to share the details and was confident that the king of Lanka would be happy to send gifts. 

Note: This episode is not a part of the Critical Edition. We used Prof. P Lal’s Complete Edition as our source.

Ghatotkacha took Sahadeva’s blessings and flew across the ocean to land in Lanka. The kingdom was protected by high fort walls on all sides. He was mesmerized by the wealth and beauty of the kingdom. Gold sparkled everywhere on decorations and panels on windows, doors, etc. The grills were made of gold, silver, or ivory. 

Drums sounded throughout the kingdom. The parks sparkled with lush trees and flowers. As Bhima’s son walked inside, he saw rakshasa guards carrying tridents. The women were beautiful and dressed in lovely clothes and fine jewelry. None of them were surprised or worried when they spotted a stranger. 

Ghatotkacha quickly went to the palace and found a guard. He said that Sahadeva, the youngest son of Pandu, a Kuru ruler, had sent him to meet the king of Lanka. The guard went to inform the same to Vibhishana who granted the audience to the rakshasa. 

Bhima’s son marveled at the decorations inside the palace as he walked through the corridors to reach the sabha. He could hear to soothing sound of veena playing somewhere in the palace. He then saw Vibhishana seated on a golden throne and stepped into the long court. Vibhishana looked like a celestial king wearing divine robes and a flower garland. Two girls in golden dresses were fanning him from both sides. 

Ghatotkacha saw divinity and dharma radiate from the king. He bowed to Vibhishana in respect and introduced himself. Then, he shared Sahadeva’s message (by first providing the details of his Kuru lineage to help Vibhishana recollect the details). He said that Yudhistira had been ruling Indraprastha and planned to perform the Rajasuya. As a part of this, his younger brother, Sahadeva, conquered the kingdoms in the south and sent Ghatotkacha as a messenger to Lanka. Ghatotkacha also listed the accomplishments of the other Pandavas. 

Vibhishana was impressed by Ghatotkacha’s eloquence. He already had a good impression of the Pandavas and was delighted to send his wishes for the yagna. He gave the largest tribute and sent his guards to carry everything wherever Ghatotkacha wanted. This included –

Gold, ivory, gem-studded things, expensive household items, thousands of hand-carved goblets, silver utensils, war weapons, pearls, fourteen palmyra trees to be planted at the palace gates, gem-studded palanquins, expensive coronets, gold armlets and armors, moon-white conch-shells, sandalwood and aloe-wood, woolen clothes, fine robes, and many other precious items. 

Ghatotkacha took Vibhishana’s blessings and departed from Lanka with eighty-six night-ranging rakshasas carrying the tribute. They first landed at Sahadeva’s camp near the ocean shore. Ghatotkacha went back to his kingdom. The rakshasas from Lanka carried everything to Indraprastha. They returned to their kingdom after Yudhistira and Sahadeva expressed their pleasure at their service.