Bhima : The Lone Warrior
- M.T Vasudevan Nair
Bhima: The Lone Warrior (Randamoozham) is a 1984 Malayalam
novel by Indian author M.T Vasudevan Nair, widely credited as his masterpiece .
The novel is a retelling of the Indian epic Mahabharata from the perspective
of Bhima, the second pandava, always second in line – a story never adequately
told until one of India’s finest writers conjured him up from the silences in Vyasa’s
narrative. The story deviates from the traditional Mahabharata story as it
avoids the divine element of the ancient epic and re-represents the characters
and events realistically. The story begins with the incident of Mahaprasthanika
Parva where the pandavas leave for pilgrimage to Himalayas forsaking all the
worldly possessions and it continues as a memoir of Bhima's past. The story runs through the eyes of Bhima who faces
seemingly severe frustrations as a young man. He is adept at disguising his feelings,
but has an overwhelming intuitive understanding of everyone who crosses his
path. He was always destined to be second to his weak elder brother Yudishtira
in seniority and younger brother Arjuna in fame and popularity. A warrior without
equal, he takes on mighty Bakasura and Jarasandha and ultimately Duryodana,
thus bringing the Great War to a close. However, all of Bhima’s moments of
triumph remain unrecognized and unrewarded.
If his mother saw glory only in the skills of Arjuna and the wisdom of Yudishtira,
his beloved Draupadi cared only for the beauteous Arjuna.
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