Maṇimanta

Maṇimanta was the captain of the yaksha (a class of semi-divine beings) forces of Kubera. He was stationed on Gandhamādana, the great northern mountain, in whose higher reaches Kubera’s domain lay. The Mahābhārata tells how Bhīma killed him in single combat, and how that death fulfilled a śāpa (a curse) laid on him long before.

His place on Gandhamādana

Maṇimanta was a powerful warrior among the hosts of the north. He commanded Kubera’s yaksha forces on Gandhamādana.

Agastya’s śāpa

At an earlier time, Maṇimanta urinated on the ṛshi Agastya. Agastya was seated in deep tapas (austerity) on the mountain when this happened. Agastya then laid a śāpa on Maṇimanta: a human being would kill him. Kubera knew of this śāpa. (Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapters 160–161)

Death at the hands of Bhīma

Bhīma disturbed the region guarded by the yakshas with the blast of his conch and the clap of his arms. Maṇimanta came forward as captain to challenge the intruder. He met Bhīma in personal combat and was killed. (Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapter 159)

What Kubera revealed

Kubera arrived afterward in the Pushpaka vimāna (flying chariot). He told Bhīma and the Pāṇḍavas the whole history. Maṇimanta’s death had been fixed by Agastya’s śāpa. Bhīma had not committed a pāpa (sin). He had been the unknowing instrument of a ṛshi’s śāpa.

Sources

• Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapters 159–161