Hidimbi or Hidimbā, in the Hindu

Hinduism

Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...

 epic Mahābhārata

Mahabharata

The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....

, is a Rakshasi. She met Bhima

Bhima

In the Mahābhārata, Bhima is one of the central characters of Mahabharata and the second of the Pandava brothers...

 while he was travelling in the forest with his Pandava

Pandava

In the Hindu epic Mahābhārata, the Pandava are the five acknowledged sons of Pandu , by his two wives Kunti and Madri. Their names are Yudhisthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva. Although, Karna is told by Lord Krishna that according to the laws and ethics he is the first son of Kunti making...

 brothers and mother Kunti. After fleeing a burning palace at Varanavat, which was set up by their cousin Duryodhana

Duryodhana

In the Hindu epic the Mahābhārata, Duryodhana is the eldest son of the blind king Dhritarashtra by Queen Gandhari, the eldest of the one hundred Kaurava brothers, Emperor of the world at that time which means Emperor of India or Bharatvarsha as it was known at that time, cousin and the chief...

 to burn them alive; the Pandavas were wandering in the deep woods at night. Hidimbi's brother, Hidimba

Hidimba

In the Mahābhārata, Hidimba was a rakshasa, the brother of Hidimbi and a forest dweller. He and his sister, Hidimbi were tempted at the sight of the Pandavas and wished to eat them. For this purpose Hidimbi changed herself into a beautiful woman and brought him near Hidimba...

, an alleged cannibal, had sent her to bring him manflesh, but when she saw the handsome prince Bhima sitting in the glade she fell in love with him and could not bring herself to kill him. She transformed into a tall, dark-skinned and immensely beautiful woman dressed in ornaments and garlands and approached him. When Hidimbi was late, Hidimba came to kill Bhima himself. He tried to attack Hidimbi but she was protected by Bhima, who killed Hidimba after a good fight. Hidimbi then asked Bhima to marry her, at which he was reluctant initially but finally ensued after being repeatedly insisted. He agreed to spend the time from dawn to dusk with her on the condition that during the dark hours he would remain with his brothers, and this would continue till they had a son. She eventually bore Bhima a son, Ghatotkacha

Ghatotkacha

Ghatotkacha , is a character in the Mahabharata, the son of Bhima and the giantess Hidimbi . His maternal parentage made him half-rakshasa and gave him many magical powers that made him an important fighter in the Kurukshetra war, the climax of the epic...

. When the Pandavas left the forest, Bhima had to leave her as they were on a war campaign. It is not clear whether they ever met again.

It is suggested by the similarity of their names that Hidimba and Hidimbi were twins.

It may be noted here that in certain parts of Himachal Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh is a state in Northern India. It is spread over , and is bordered by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir on the north, Punjab on the west and south-west, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on the south, Uttarakhand on the south-east and by the Tibet Autonomous Region on the east...

 Hidimbi is worshipped as a goddess. There is a temple dedicated to her in Manali.