Ghatotkacha

Quick Facts

About Ghatotkacha

Son of Bhima and Hidimbi, a rakshasa of immense power whose strength doubled at night. His sacrifice on the fourteenth night of the war drew Karna's infallible Shakti weapon, saving Arjuna's life.

In Their Words

If my death buys my uncle's life, then death is my gift to give.

Ghatotkacha

Traits

• devoted
• powerful
• self-sacrificing
• loyal son

Story Appearances

• The House of Lac and the DemonsBorn to Bhima and Hidimbi❧ 17 min
• Arjuna's Vow and the Fall of DronaNight-warrior whose death spent Karna's Shakti❧ 20 min

Stories Featuring Ghatotkacha

48 further tales on this site name Ghatotkacha, in canonical reading order.

• Bhima and HidimbiThe Birth of GhatotkachaAdi Parva ‧ 8 min
• Hidimbi, Queen of the ForestThe wife left behind who kept faithAdi Parva
• Adventures in the ForestTwelve Years of Pandava ExileVana Parva ‧ 30 min
• The Promise Made in the Kamyaka WoodsThe allies arrive, and Draupadi asks Krishna what her friendship is worthVana Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Sage at the LimitA skeleton ascetic marks the line mortals may not crossVana Parva ‧ 21 min
• Ghatotkacha Between Two WorldsThe half-blood's uncounted serviceVana Parva
• The Head That Watched the WarBarbarika and the Three ArrowsUdyoga Parva ‧ 11 min
• The Question of DaysEach commander prices the enemy army in morningsUdyoga Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Eighteen DaysWar spares no one - neither the righteous nor the wicked. The Mahabharata war ended with Pandava victory, but the price...Bhishma Parva ‧ 24 min
• Eighteen Days of DestructionThe Kurukshetra War teaches that there is no such thing as a 'clean' war. Even a war fought for the most righteous...Bhishma Parva ‧ 31 min
• Kurukshetra Day 4: Bhima UnboundEight Brothers Fall in a DayBhishma Parva
• The Serpent Prince's SacrificeIravan, Son of Ulupi, and the Price of VictoryBhishma Parva ‧ 22 min
• Kurukshetra Day 8: The Rakshasa's HourIravan falls and Ghatotkacha answers for himBhishma Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Son of RishyasringaAlambusha, the illusion-fighter the Kauravas kept for the Pandava sonsBhishma Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Herb in the Grandsire's HandA wounded Duryodhana asks Bhishma for reassurance and is given honesty, a pledge, and medicineBhishma Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Grandsire Chooses His HourBhishma remembers Santanu's boon and refuses to die in the wrong seasonBhishma Parva ‧ 21 min
• Six Duels on the Eighth DayShikhandi with a broken sword, Duryodhana on foot, and a mace that missedBhishma Parva ‧ 19 min
• The Three ColumnsAt midday on the eighth day the Pandava army splits into three attacking bodies, Arjuna's son Iravan is killed, and Bhishma sends twelve warriors to pull Duryodhana out of the fire.Bhishma Parva ‧ 21 min
• Ghatotkacha and the Javelin of BhagadattaDuryodhana asks to kill a Rakshasa, and a Rakshasa breaks a javelin on his kneeBhishma Parva ‧ 24 min
• The Wall Before BhishmaEvery Kaurava champion is given one Pandava to stop on the tenth dayBhishma Parva ‧ 15 min
• The Spear Meant for ArjunaThe Death of GhatotkachaDrona Parva ‧ 11 min
• The Banners and the BowsSanjaya names every standard on the fieldDrona Parva ‧ 18 min
• Kurukshetra Day 14: The Longest DaySunset Vow, False Dusk, and a Battle That Would Not Stop at NightfallDrona Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Order Yudhishthira GaveA king overrules the guard his brother postedDrona Parva ‧ 20 min
• The King Counts His ArmyEvery soldier paid, examined and willing, and still losingDrona Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Grandson of Shini Crosses the OceanOne chariot sent through the whole Kaurava hostDrona Parva ‧ 21 min
• One Man Against an Army of the NightAshwatthama burns a full akshauhini of Ghatotkacha's rakshasasDrona Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Oath of a Bereaved FatherThe house of Bahlika ends in a single nightDrona Parva ‧ 18 min
• Three Men and a Drawn SwordKarna boasts, Kripa answers, and Ashwatthama draws on his own sideDrona Parva ‧ 21 min
• What Krishna Had Already DoneArjuna asks, and gets a list he did not expectDrona Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Dart That Was Never ThrownA blind king asks the only question that matteredDrona Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Sword That Broke on the ShieldAbhimanyu strips a king of everything, and Jayadratha comes down off his car to stop himDrona Parva ‧ 13 min
• The Brahma Weapon AnsweredDrona empties the celestial arsenal at Yudhishthira on the fourteenth night, and the king matches him astra for astraDrona Parva ‧ 15 min
• The King They Thought Was DeadBhima's mace crushes Duryodhana's chariot, and both armies believe the Kuru king killedDrona Parva ‧ 14 min
• The King Falls Out of His SeatDhritarashtra hears that Drona is dead, faints in his hall, and wakes to ask who was supposed to be guarding himDrona Parva ‧ 20 min
• Bhima's Harvest on the Fourteenth EveningDrona takes the head of the king of Sivi, and Bhima kills with his fists, his palm and a caught dart until the kings call him RudraDrona Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Guard at Drona's Right WheelYudhishthira orders his whole army against Drona, and never gets past KritavarmaDrona Parva ‧ 15 min
• Karna by Night Against the PanchalasThe armies throw down their torches, and the Suta's son scatters Dhrishtadyumna and all of Panchala in the darkDrona Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Whole Host Against DronaYudhishthira sends every man he has at the preceptor, and the fifteenth morning breaks into duelsDrona Parva ‧ 23 min
• The Shape of GhatotkachaSanjaya describes the rakshasa's body, chariot and host as he charges Karna at midnightDrona Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Rakshasa Who Came for a DebtAlayudha, and the night that belonged to the man-eatersDrona Parva
• The Word Brought to HastinapuraSanjaya rides through the night with the news of KarnaKarna Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Brothers Bhima CountedDuryodhana's kin fall in handfuls on the seventeenth dayKarna Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Verdict at the Fallen KingBalarama's plough, Duryodhana's indictment, and the flowers that fell from the skyShalya Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Count of the DeadKrishna's blunt answer, and a king who could see where they had goneStri Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Crowning of YudhishthiraA king anointed by the man he could not saveShanti Parva ‧ 20 min
• The Night the Dead ReturnedVyasa Calls the Fallen Out of the GangaAshramavasika Parva ‧ 20 min
• The Return of the PortionsWho everybody turned out to have beenSvargarohana Parva ‧ 17 min

Places in Ghatotkacha's Story

Drawn from the stories Ghatotkacha appears in.

• Kurukshetraकुरुक्षेत्र
• Lakshagriha (Varnavata)लाक्षागृह
• Ekachakraएकचक्र
• Gangaगङ्गा
• Kampilyaकाम्पिल्य
• Kamyaka Forestकाम्यक वन
• Dvaitavanaद्वैतवन
• Gandhamadanaगन्धमादन
• Amaravatiअमरावती
• Badarikashramaबदरिकाश्रम
• Nagalokaनागलोक
• Barbarik's Watch Mountainबार्बरीक पर्वत

Related Characters

Others counted among the Pandavas.

• ❈Yudhishthira
• ⛏︎Bhima
• ◎Arjuna
• ✧Nakula
• ❧Sahadeva
• ✶Draupadi