Once upon a time Bheema was roaming through the forests in search of flowers for his wife Draupadi. He was walking through the forest, looking here and there for flowers until he suddenly stopped in his tracks. He saw a long tail coming out from a bush. He followed the tail with his eyes and saw that it belonged to an old monkey sitting on top of a rock.
Bheema called out to the monkey and asked him to remove his tail, but the monkey did not respond at all. Bheema then called out loudly and asked the monkey to move his tail so that he could pass. The monkey now opened his eyes and looked at Bheema standing below. He smiled naughtily and told Bheema to move the tail himself. Bheema, who was irritated by now, bent down and tried to lift the monkey’s tail with his index finger, but was unsuccessful. Now, this was unusual for Bheema who was known for his excessive strength.
Sighing, he used two fingers to lift the tail, but he ended up with the same result. Bheema was now getting tired from his vain efforts and so he used his entire hand to lift the tail now, but it did not even budge a little. He grew frustrated and using both his hands, he tried to lift the tail once again. Finally, he was successful in lifting it but was only able to lift it a few inches off the ground. By now Bheema was exasperated and he fell to the ground with a thud.
The old monkey who was sitting on the rock above jumped and stood in front of Bheema. The monkey grew in size and it was then that Bheema knew that the old money was none other than the immortal Hanuman himself. Bheema then sought Hanuman’s blessings and went on his way. Hanuman continued with his penance.