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==Literary background==
Bhima is a significant character in the ''[[Mahabharata]]'', one of the [[Sanskrit]] epics from the [[Indian subcontinent]]. It mainly narrates the events and aftermath of the [[Kurukshetra War]], a war of succession between two groups of princely cousins, the [[Kauravas]] and the [[Pandavas]]. The work is written in Classical Sanskrit and is a composite work of revisions, editing and interpolations over many centuries. The oldest parts in the surviving version of the text may date to near 400 BCE.<ref>{{cite book|last=Brockington |first=J. L. |year=1998 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HR-_LK5kl18C&pg=PA26 |title=The Sanskrit Epics |publisher=Brill Academic |isbn=978-9-00410-260-6 |page=26}}</ref>

The ''Mahabharata'' manuscripts exist in numerous versions, wherein the specifics and details of major characters and episodes vary, often significantly. Except for the sections containing the ''[[Bhagavad Gita]]'' which is remarkably consistent between the numerous manuscripts, the rest of the epic exists in many versions.<ref>{{cite book|first= Robert N.|last= Minor|title= Bhagavad Gita: An Exegetical Commentary|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ru_RjwEACAAJ|year= 1982|publisher= South Asia Books|isbn= 978-0-8364-0862-1|pages= l–li|access-date= 28 June 2020|archive-date= 16 April 2023|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230416075912/https://books.google.com/books?id=ru_RjwEACAAJ|url-status= live}}</ref> The differences between the Northern and Southern recensions are particularly significant, with the Southern manuscripts more profuse and longer. Scholars have attempted to construct a [[critical edition]], relying mostly on a study of the "Bombay" edition, the "Poona" edition, the "Calcutta" edition and the "south Indian" editions of the manuscripts. The most accepted version is one prepared by scholars led by [[Vishnu Sitaram Sukthankar|Vishnu Sukthankar]] at the [[Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute]], preserved at [[Kyoto University]], [[Cambridge University]] and various Indian universities.<ref>{{cite book |last=McGrath |first=Kevin |year=2004 |title=The Sanskrit Hero: Karna in Epic Mahabharata |publisher=Brill Academic |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YkmXk3-1j7UC&pg=PA19 |pages=19–26 |isbn=978-9-00413-729-5 |access-date=28 June 2020 |archive-date=16 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230416075934/https://books.google.com/books?id=YkmXk3-1j7UC&pg=PA19 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Bhima also appears in few of the later written ''[[Puranas|Puranic scriptures]]'', most prominent being the Krishna-related ''[[Bhagavata Purana]]''.<ref name=":62">{{Cite book |last=Sinha |first=Pürnendu Narayana |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GIBBAAAAYAAJ&dq=bhagavata+Purana+Bhima&pg=PA344 |title=A Study of the Bhagavata Purana: Or, Esoteric Hinduism |date=1901 |publisher=Freeman & Company, Limited |language=en}}</ref>