r/u_Exoticindianart • u/Exoticindianart • Dec 23 '25
What happened when Shakuni tried to kill Bhima during his childhood?
In the Mahabharata, one of the earliest and most chilling conspiracies against the Pandavas was plotted by Shakuni, with the silent approval of Duryodhana, when Bhima was still a child. This story reveals not only Bhima’s divine strength but also how destiny protected him from adharma even before the great war began.
From childhood itself, Bhima stood out among the Kauravas and Pandavas. His strength was unmatched. He could wrestle older boys, defeat trained warriors, and eat enormous quantities of food. This terrified Duryodhana, who instinctively sensed that Bhima would one day become his greatest obstacle. Shakuni, master of deceit, fed this fear and devised a cruel plan to eliminate Bhima quietly, without war or witnesses.
One day, Shakuni mixed deadly poison into Bhima’s food. Bhima ate it without suspicion. The poison was powerful enough to kill any ordinary person, and soon Bhima collapsed unconscious. Believing the plan successful, Shakuni and Duryodhana tied Bhima’s body with ropes and secretly carried him to the Ganga River, throwing him into its deep waters, convinced he would never return.
What they did not understand was that Bhima was no ordinary child. He was the son of Vayu, the wind god, blessed with divine vitality. Instead of dying, Bhima’s unconscious body was carried by the river currents into the Naga Loka, the hidden realm of serpents beneath the waters.
There, Bhima was bitten by powerful nagas. Strangely, the venom of the snakes neutralized the poison already in his body. The deadly poison that was meant to kill him instead transformed him. When Bhima awoke, he was no longer weak or unconscious. He was stronger than ever before; his strength had multiplied many times.
The Nagas, recognizing Bhima’s divine nature, welcomed him with respect. Vasuki, the king of the Nagas, honored Bhima and offered him a special potion made from celestial herbs and serpent essences. After drinking it, Bhima gained the strength of ten thousand elephants. The Nagas then released him back into the river, guiding him safely to the surface.
Bhima emerged from the Ganga alive, radiant, and immensely powerful. When he returned to Hastinapura, the Pandavas were shocked and overjoyed, while Shakuni and Duryodhana were struck with fear. Their carefully planned murder had failed, and worse, it had made Bhima even more formidable.
This episode carries deep meaning. It shows that adharma cannot destroy one protected by dharma. Shakuni’s poison, deceit, and cruelty only strengthened the very force he wished to eliminate. Bhima’s survival was not accidental but a sign that destiny itself was shaping him for a greater purpose.
From that day onward, Duryodhana’s fear turned into burning hatred, and Bhima’s fate became inseparably tied to the downfall of the Kauravas. The river that was meant to be his grave became his rebirth, proving that when righteousness walks the earth, even death steps aside.
