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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-in-lanka

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. 

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A Summary of the Birth of the Main Characters in the Mahabharata

The image on the left shows the five Pandava children and the Ashwini Devas while the image on the right shows Dronacharya and Kripi with Ashwathama (Image Credit: The Mahabharata Part I Comic Book from Archive.org)

Table of Contents (The Complete Condensed Mahabharata in Simple English)

Previous Post: Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa’s Birth

Note: This post is a short and quick account of how the main characters of the Mahabharata were born. I have mentioned the circumstances of everyone’s birth but summarised the character description provided in the unabridged Mahabharata. You can read the full character descriptions here.

Bhishma was born to Devi Ganga and the King Shantanu.

Karna was born from the union of Kunti and Surya Deva. He was born with natural armour and bright earrings.

Sri Vishnu, the all-pervading soul, himself was born to Devaki and Vasudeva in the race of Andhaka-Vrishnis for the benefit of all the creatures in the three worlds.

Satyaki and Kritivarma were born in the Vrishni race. Satyaki’s father was Satyaka while Kritivarma’s father was Hridika. Both of them were strong, well-versed in all branches of knowledge and always obeyed Sri Krishna.

Drona was born from the seed of the great rishi Bharadwaja. The seed was kept in a pot and that’s how Drona (the pot born) got his name.

The twins, Kripi and Kripa were born from sage Gautam’s seed which had fallen on a clump of reeds.

Ashwatthama was born to Kripi and Drona.

Dhrishtadyumna was born from the sacrificial fire in a yagna organised by King Drupada. He was born with a bow in his hand and he was destined to destroy Drona. 

The excellent and beautiful Draupadi (also known as Krishnaa) was born from the same sacrificial fire. 

From King Drupada and his wife was born a daughter called Sikhandin who later transformed into a male with the help of a Yaksha named Sthuna.

Sakuni was born to Suvala. Cursed by the gods, he worked against virtue and was the cause of death for many people. 

Gandhari was also born to Suvala. Both Gandhari and Sakuni were knowledgeable in the art of acquiring worldly profit.

Dhritarashtra was born to Ambika (Vichitravirya’s wife) and Rishi Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa. 

Pandu was born to Ambalika (also Vichitravirya’s wife) and Rishi Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa. 

Vidura was born from the union of Ambika’s maid (called Parishrami) and Rishi Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa. He was an incarnation of Dharma but he was born to a maid due to the curse of a brahmin who was falsely accused of theft because of the way Dharma’s law worked on earth. 

The Pandavas were born to Pandu and his two wives (Kunti and Madri). Yudhishthira was born to Kunti and Dharma (the god of justice). Bhima was born from Kunti and the God of wind (Marut). Arjun was born from the union of Kunti and Indra Deva. The twins, Nakula and Sahadeva) were born to Madri and the Ashwins.

Dhritharashtra and Gandhari gave birth to a hundred sons, with Duryodhana as the eldest. Another son called Yuyutsu was born from Dhritharashtra and a Vaishya woman. out of the 101 sons, 11 were maharathas.

Amoung the Pandavas’ children, Abhimanyu was born from Subhadra (Sri Krishna’s sister) and Arjuna. Draupadi and Yudhishthira had a son called Pritivindhya. Draupadi and Bhima had a son called Sutasoma. Draupadi and Arjuna had a son called Srutakirti. Draupadi and Nakula had a son called Satanika. Draupadi and Sahadeva had a son called Srutasena. Bhima had one more son with Hidimba called Ghatotkacha.

Note: Arjuna also had children from Ulupi (a Naga princess) and Chitrangada (the princess of Manipura). However, these progeny are not mentioned at this point, in the Mahabharata. I have mentioned it here for completeness.

Next Post: Why Did The Celestials Take Birth On Earth As The Pandavas And other Beings

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