"I will meditate and destroy you." —Dhalsim (Street Fighter II)

Today, I shall win again. 私は今日も勝って帰る… , Watashi wa kyou mo katte kaeru... ? " —Dhalsim (Street Fighter IV series)

I'm not very fond of conflict. 争いは好まぬのだが… , Arasoi wa konomanu nodaga… ? " —Dhalsim (Street Fighter V)

Dhalsim (ダルシム, Darushimu?, Hindi: दाल्सीम, Dālsīma) is a video game character from the Street Fighter series, first appearing in Street Fighter II. He is a Yoga Master who possesses the ability to stretch his body and conjure fire.

Contents show]

Biography Edit

Appearance Edit

Dhalsim is often depicted with pupil-less white eyes. His build is that of a normal man who exercises and weight trains regularly, except for his abdomen and waist, which appear out of proportion and emaciated. His arms are also quite extraordinary in length, and he uses this to create an advantage over his opponents during fights, usually opting to wear them down from a distance He wears torn yellow saffron shorts, held tied around his waist by a piece of rope, as his only clothing, as well as yellow saffron wristbands and anklebands. He has three red stripes adorning his head, hoop earrings, and metallic bracelets, and sometimes also anklets. In the Street Fighter Alpha series, he wears a turban that he removes before battle, while in the Marvel vs. Capcom series he removes what appears to be a one-shoulder shirt. The skulls he wears around his neck are those of village children that died during a plague.

Dhalsim's minimal clothing and necklace of skulls are reminiscent of the Hindu ascetics known as Kapalikas ("skull-bearers"). Like Blanka and Urien, Dhalsim's alternate costumes change his skin color, usually toa shade of grey or yellow reminiscent of the ash that Hindu holymen cover their bodies in.

In Street Fighter V, he has gained a long white beard as a result from aging, and wears his turban rather than removing it.

Personality Edit

Dhalsim is quite stoic, serious, self-disciplined, humble, and also very stern when needed. Being a pacifist, he will never hurt a person more than necessary, or kill an adversary, even the most evil ones such as M. Bison. His pacifistic beliefs also allow him to be a greatly loving father and husband towards his family.

As an extremely altruistic man, Dhalsim fights mostly for the poor and oppressed, as he constantly tries his best to raise money for his poverty-stricken people. Dhalsim is aware that if he uses his power to harm, he may become evil, and frequently questions his decisions to use his powers for fighting. Furthermore, all forms of yoga are meant to aid a personal journey towards enlightenment, and not to harm others. Therefore, Dhalsim is constantly concerned about his fighting style overwhelming his own principles of non-violence.

In contrast with Ryu's depiction as a young, but still serious and self-focused, type of person, Dhalsim has a more "mature" and less "enthusiastic" nature, as he regularly relies on his traditional yoga meditation rites to expand his spirituality, and keep his inner neutrality in the face of emotional involvement that may compromise his discipline.

Dhalsim always remains calm and serene. When he fights, he is always in a constant state of meditation so he can focus on the opponent. He rarely speaks to his opponents outside of calling his attacks, and when he does, his words are riddles that leave the foe confused about his or her own being. However, even with all his spiritual discipline, Dhalsim is not above having moments of anger or annoyance: for example, he holds a grudge against Balrog for killing one of his sacred elephants (the boxer was practicing his Gigaton Blow), and he is visibly annoyed by Rufus's incessant pointless talking after the latter mistook him for an alien.

Concept Edit

Dhalsim got his name from an Indian restaurant, called Dhal's, in Osaka near Capcom's office (Dhal is lentils, shim is Hyacinth beans). The restaurant is no longer in operation.

During the development of Street Fighter II, the early original design for Dhalsim bore a striking resemblance to Ganesha, a Hindu god with four arms and the head of an elephant. A picture of Ganesha can be seen in the background of his Street Fighter II stage, and his fifth alternate costume in Ultra Street Fighter IV resembles him.

Lead designer of Street Fighter II, Akira Nishitani, stated in a interview that the concept of Dhalsim's ability to stretch his limbs comes from the Ripple Zoom Punch technique (from the manga series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure).[7] This is reconfirmed in the comment section of Dhalsim's bio in the Street Fighter X Tekken Artworks artbook.

Character Relationships Edit

Family Edit

Dhalsim has a wife, Sally, and a son named Datta.

Much like Oro and Gouken, Dhalsim serves as a mentor for Ryu, encouraging the younger fighter's spiritual journey of self-improvement while simultaneously attempting to temper Ryu to reduce his risk of falling to the Satsui no Hado. As seen in A Shadow Falls Ryu sees the yogi as a confidant when dealing with his inner darkness, and when Ryu briefly succumbs to the Hado while fighting Necalli and throws a punch powered by evil, Dhalsim steps in and takes the attack, beseeching Ryu to comes to his senses. The sheer shock of Dhalsim's action is enough to snap Ryu out of the Satsui no Hado.

Though he disapproves of Dhalsim's merciful nature, Sagat respects the yoga master and even trains with him in the Udon comics. In Street Fighter X Tekken, Dhalsim asks a favor of Sagat, telling him of missing children from his own village. The two decide to team up and search for Pandora, believing the power within it may help them find the missing children. Eventually reaching the Antarctic, the two find the missing children, and Pandora opens before them. Dhalsim tells Sagat that Pandora "is said to be a power to rival the Gods". Sagat decides that "a king has no need" for the box, and the two walk off into the distance, with Pandora closing behind them.

Dhalsim was the one who made her aware that she was under mind control by Shadaloo after she was sent to assassinate him in Street Fighter Alpha 3. They, along with others, teamed up to defeat Shadaloo in Street Fighter V.

Retsu is mentioned to be a friend of his.[8]

Dhalsim and Oro are old acquaintances who knew each other long before the events of Street Fighter V. Oro respects Dhalsim greatly and will sometimes visit his residence for a friendly discussion and meal.[9]

Story Edit

During Street Fighter Alpha 2, Dhalsim raises money to save his village, and gains the respect of villagers; some call him "Great Yoga Master Dhalsim".[10] He questions what good could come from using his powers for violence.

In Street Fighter Alpha 3, he sets out to destroy the evil M. Bison. He travels around the world and meets Rose and Birdie, and uses his mind control powers to seek answers. He is responsible for making Cammy White self-aware, thus freeing her from Bison's control. He later confronts Bison and destroys the Shadaloo base, but this is not considered canon.[11]

Dhalsim enters the tournament to raise money for his village, but realizes that it contradicts his pacifist beliefs. Dhalsim retires from fighting after the second World Warrior tournament, and continues to roam the world helping those in need.

Dhalsim makes his return in the Street Fighter IV series, this time to free the flow of water to his village after S.I.N. builds a dam upstream. His son, Datta, is a penpal of Amy, Guile's daughter. When Datta informs Dhalsim that his penpal's father is away on a mission to investigate said dam, Dhalsim recognizes that the situation is even more serious than he thought. He is reluctant to use his powers for selfish purposes, but feels compelled to save his village.

Dhalsim goes to participate in the tournament S.I.N. was organizing. While fighting at the tournament, he encounters Rufus who interrupts Dhalsim to ask about his yoga. After he defeats Rufus he defeats Seth. When the dam base is destroyed at the end of the game, the water returns to the village. Although Dhalsim believes that Shadaloo represents an evil in the heart of humanity that will never truly be defeated, he also recognizes that "the goodness in mankind's heart is also endless".[12]

Prologue - 'The Path of a Yogi'

In his character story, a police officer named Mahesh seeks out Dhalsim and requests to be taught the ways of yoga. When Dhalsim inquires as to why he wishes to be taught, Mahesh says that he wishes to become strong enough to protect his people in the same way Dhalsim does. However, the yoga master replies that yoga is not meant to be used for strength, nor for violence; it is meant to spread harmony and understanding. Mahesh is taken aback by this, but Dhalsim ultimately decides to train the eager police officer. However, they are interrupted by the arrival of Rashid and Azam.

Rashid is enthusiastic to be in the presence of one of the "seven yoga masters you have to meet at least once", as it was stated on the Internet. Dhalsim is confused by Rashid's words, and Mahesh angrily tells the pair that the yoga master is busy. Rashid asks to spar with Dhalsim, and when asked why, he replies that he needs to get stronger. However, he is unable to improve himself and presumably loses. Before leaving, hhe asks if Dhalsim has seen his friend, but to no avail. He and Azam then depart.

A short while later, whilst showcasing his flames to Mahesh, Dhalsim is greeted by Oro, who claims that the yoga master's abilities are odd. A surprised Mahesh asks if Oro knows yoga, as he was floating in the air much like Dhalsim; Oro laughs, saying Mahesh has much to learn. Shocked to see the ancient hermit whom he had been previously acquainted with at some point in his earlier life, Dhalsim expresses how he never thought he would encounter Oro in India. Oro replies that he sensed interesting people here and came to investigate; he also questions Dhalsim as to why he is training a new pupil instead of mastering his own skills. Dhalsim responds by saying that honing his own skills is a secondary goal, as his primary goal is to harmonize everything as he believes it will set him upon the right path in life. Oro humorously says that Dhalsim hasn't changed since they last met, and sensing another interesting person in the area, decides to leave. He bids Dhalsim farewell, telling the yoga master to make him curry next time they meet.

Mahesh begins to practice breathing flames but is unsuccessful. Dhalsim critiques him for his impatience, but his lesson his cut off once again, this time by the arrival of R. Mika. Mika introduces herself and conveys her desire to learn to breath fire like he does, as she believes it will improve her wrestling performance and make the crowds go wild. Dhalsim agrees, but Mika is unable to breathe fire. Dhalsim tells her to not be discouraged, as she has the passion to ignite her flame one day. Taking the lesson in good stride, Mika takes her leave. Mahesh is finally able to breathe fire, albeit only a tiny amount. Dhalsim tells him not to worry, as he will happily teach him for as long it takes.

Other story appearances Edit

In Necalli's character story, the "Warrior Prophet", an Aztec warrior-priest from a place called "Ancient Altar", foresees that during the next 'Hour of Battle', Necalli will battle and consume the soul of Dhalsim, who is referred to as "The one who serves the God of Fire".

During Karin's character story, Dhalsim begins to teach Mahesh the fundamentals of teleportation, but gets a surprise visit from Karin, her butler Shibazaki, and Birdie. Having heard of Oro's presence in India days prior, the young head of the Kanzuki family came to seek him out. He tells her that the Senjutsu master has been gone by a few days; Karin however promptly decides to challenge Dhalsim, who did not expect the sudden developments. After a very long match in which neither gains the upper hand, they both commend each other for their own respective skills (Dhalsim's mastery of Yoga, and Karin's "pure fist") before the yoga master teleports away to continue teaching his pupils.



This section is currently incomplete.

Please assist the Street Fighter Wiki,

and complete the section if you can.

Street Fighter V Side Story: Musings on a Still Night Edit

Sometime in the evening, Oro makes a visit to Dhalsim's home for a friendly conversation and dinner.[9] Pondering with the Yoga master of the meaning of power and such power wielded in the world of martial arts and street fighting, he begins by loosening Dhalsim's solemn zeal and steadfast devotion. Displaying to him examples of ki and the Satsui no Hado,[9] the sennin theorizes and discusses with Dhalsim how such powers, despite possessing different boundaries and origins of manifestation, ultimately share an origin and shared source, and how despite the malevolence of the Satsui no Hado and Psycho Power, they ultimately share a neutral ground and capability for good in their own way as much as all concepts of power.[13] Making note that such boundaries are as interchangeable as the seas and the skies and fish and birds capable of entering both domains, yet as complex as a Calabi-Yau structure and that the misuse of labeling evil tends to empower its own strength with ignorance, Oro leaves Dhalsim with the wise lesson that knowledge of such power should be used for good when evil intends to abuse it.[13]

Crossover appearances Edit

Dhalsim is playable in Millennium Fight 2000, Mark of the Millennium 2001/EO and SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos.

Dhalsim is also playable in X-Men vs. Street Fighter, Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter and Marvel vs. Capcom 2.

Dhalsim is a playable character in Street Fighter X Tekken; his tag partner is Sagat. While training by a waterfall, Sagat is informed by a villager that the young girl he once saved has gone missing. Listening to the girl's brother's pleas for help, Dhalsim appears before him and asks a favor of him, telling him of missing children from his own village. The two decide to team up and search for Pandora, believing the power within it may help them find the missing children.

Eventually reaching the Antarctic, the two find the missing children, and Pandora opens before them. Dhalsim tells Sagat that Pandora "is said to be a power to rival the Gods". Sagat decides that "A King has no need" for the box, and the two walk off into the distance, with Pandora closing behind them.

Dhalsim is one of the bosses of Street Fighter × Mega Man.

Animations Edit



This section is currently incomplete.

Please assist the Street Fighter Wiki,

and complete the section if you can.

In the American animated series, Dhalsim is shown to be like his movie adaptation-- as an established biochemist who reluctantly worked for Shadaloo and was responsible for the mutation of Carlos "Charlie" Blanka. However, having survived the destruction of Bison's base alongside Blanka, he attempts to atone for his past mistakes by working alongside the Street Fighters. Since then, he abandoned science for yoga and the pursuit of spiritual enlightenment-- gaining his in-game powers of fire-breathing, teleportation and limb-stretching as a result of it.



This section is currently incomplete.

Please assist the Street Fighter Wiki,

and complete the section if you can.

Dhalsim lives in a remote village in India. Ryu and Ken go after him to learn about the Ways of Hadou. At first he turns them down, but later changes his mind. With his advices, Ryu managed to learn the Hadoken and Ken the Shoryuken.

Dhalsim has a small cameo in Disney's video game-themed film Wreck-It-Ralph as one of the portraits in Tapper's.

Comics and Manga Edit



This section is currently incomplete.

Please assist the Street Fighter Wiki,

and complete the section if you can.

In the UDON comic book series, Dhalsim is a wise and powerful mystic who aids Ryu in his quest to become stronger in order to avenge his master without being taking over by the Satsui no Hado, he teaches Sagat the way of fighting with sportsmenship, compassion, mental control, and respect for the well being of another opponent.

At some point, he is encountered by Ryu who is looking for a way to become stronger to defeat Akuma, he tells Ryu that he is fighting with rage and despair in his fist, he teaches Ryu to fight in a more positive manner.

Cameo Appearance Edit

Dhalsim makes a small cameo at the end of the Sakura Ganbaru manga along with his wife and Rolento, complaining about their lack of appearance. Rolento and Dhalsim were the only members of the cast of SFA2 to not appear at all in the Street Fighter Alpha manga or Sakura Ganbaru.[citation needed]

Other appearances Edit

Background Edit

Never one to question where fate leads him, Dhalsim finds himself invited to yet another Street Fighter tournament. He enters in order to continue raising money for the poor members of his village. He arrives to the first tournament as a late entry along with a school girl from Japan, much to Dhalsim's surprise.

Dhalsim fully participates in the second EX tournament, where he is arranged to fight a fearsome fighter from Brazil. When Dhalsim sees Blanka for the first time, he is surprised to find a child-like wonder in the eyes of what otherwise appears to be a gruesome beast. Dhalsim holds back a bit of his power and invites Blanka to hone his skill in combat against Dhalsim. At the end of the fight, Blanka is surprised to receive Dhalsim's hand in congratulations for a wonderful fight. At that point, Blanka gains instant admiration for a fighter who didn't dismiss him on the basis of his looks.

When the third EX tournament is announced, Dhalsim wonders who he might ask to be a partner with him when Blanka shows up, having flown all the way to India (by hanging on to the tail of an airplane) just to ask him to be his partner. Dhalsim graciously accepts.

Endings Edit

"With the protection of the God of Fire Agni, the guidance of the flame will be holified..." The Yoga Masters stands up to fight to rescue his people from illness. Dhalsim, the warrior who fights with benevolence in his mind. For the sake of his loved ones and the people he swored to protect, he has devoted his destiny today to the Ganges Matha."

With the prize money he obtained, Dhalsim return with the medicine needed to save his fellow villagers from an incurable disease. However, his mind was perplexed. Did he do the right thing by fighting and comitting a neccessary evil?

His beloved wife Sally and son Datta led him to the answer. Dhalsim shed tears as their words dispelled all doubts.

"You're the only one who can show us the way. Our love shall be with you for all eternity"

Dhalsim is once again fortunated as he walks the path of enlightment.

"I wonder what the truth could be?"

The evil that appeared has been vanquished several times. Could he truly call himself... virtuous?

"The path I believe in... Is the path I'll follow!"

As soon as Dhalsim returned to his village, he regained his happiness. Children could be seen playing joyfully outdoors. His heart warmed to the sight of his wife watching over the happy children. He thought, "I sincerely hope that all children grow up in good healt. A sound mind in a sound body. Hmmm..."

Gameplay Edit

Fighting style and abilities Edit

Dhalsim's fighting style is generally described as Yoga.Oddly enough, the manuals for the SNES and Genesis versions of Street Fighter II identified Dhalsim's (non-canon) fighting style as Kabaddi, which is actually an Indian sport.

Dhalsim's abilities also resemble those of an Indian fighter in the 1976 motion picture Master of the Flying Guillotine starring Jimmy Wang Yu. Like Dhalsim, the fighter in the movie used a yoga-based fighting style, and had the ability to extend his limbs to attack.

Dhalsim is the original long-range fighter of fighting games; his intense training has given him the ability to contort and extend his limbs into forms physically impossible for a normal human. He can project his arms and legs outward in order to deliver attacks that would be out of the range of normal limbs, and he is capable of teleporting to maintain distance from his opponent.

Dhalsim also has the ability to breathe fire in various ways. In earlier releases, Capcom USA claimed that Dhalsim's ability to breathe fire stemmed from his consumption of curry, but Capcom of Japan changed this to a blessing from Agni, Hindu god of fire, and a later English manual of Super Street Fighter II for the Super Nintendo states that the flames stem from his mastery over fully unleashing his latent kundalini energies in his training.[citation needed]

In Super Street Fighter IV, however, Gouken theorizes that it might be an energy-based ability instead. This may also explain Seth's ability to use some of Dhalsim's moves, though it is just as likely that he is more directly mimicking Bison's teleport.

According to his official profile in the Japanese Street Fighter V site, Dhalsim's fire is actually an illusion that he manipulates with the help of the god Agni.[5] In the UDON comics, the flames won't hurt a person if they believe that they won't be burned; he proves it via engulfing Adon in flames, and as he recoils and notices he's not getting burned, taking advantage of Adon's confusion to knock him out. Also, in Super Street Fighter IV, he calms Hakan after defeating him by mentioning that his fire is only an illusion that won't burn his oil. Furthermore, when defeating Dhalsim, Zangief boasts that Dhalsim's imaginary flames have no chance against his own real muscles. In the original Street Fighter IV, Seth also made a similar boast.

Moveset Edit

Dhalsim's overall style involves keeping the opponent at bay with distance attacks and projectiles, only getting close to strike with a surprise aerial attack or sliding kick. Dhalsim has both very low offense and defense, making it vital for him to avoid sustaining too many blows from a strong fighter. Dhalsim has a long airtime when he jumps so he can easily avoid projectiles and rushes, but he is very slow both on the ground and in the air, which can leave him vulnerable to a patient opponent. Dhalsim however, can create many ambiguous setups to confuse the opponent, and attack with ease.

Dhalsim's sprite, while standing, is actually quite a small target, due to the total number of pixels it occupies while not attacking; he becomes a much larger target while attacking. As of Super Street Fighter II Turbo, the player can make Dhalsim perform only short range attacks by holding back on the joystick.

In addition to his fire-breathing and stretching, Dhalsim has a "slow-motion" floating jump that allows him to surprise foes with midair attacks. He can also utilize his teleport in midair to throw off opponents who attempt to knock him out of the air.

His Super Combos commonly include powerful flames attack, the most common of which is known as the Yoga Inferno. Some games also allow him to aim the Inferno upwards instead; this variant is known as the Yoga Volcano. Another relative common Super Combo is the Yoga Strike; Dhalsim uses his stretching limbs to grab a faraway foe and slam them into the ground.

In the Street Fighter IV games, Dhalsim's new Ultra Combos continue this trend. His first Ultra Combo is the Yoga Catastrophe, which is similar to the Metsu Hadoken, but recovers almost immediately, allowing for a plethora of cross-up combo opportunities. His second Ultra Combo, Yoga Shangri-La, is a midair grab that targets an earthbound foe; if successful, he headbutts them repeatedly using the momentum granted by his stretching limbs. Dhalsim also has the most reach with his Focus Attack, and has one of the few Personal Actions that actually have an effect on gameplay.

In Street Fighter V, his V-Trigger, the Yoga Burner, works similar to his Yoga Flame and he can blow fire at the opponent in mid-air. His V-Skill is the Yoga Float where he floats in mid-air to hit his opponent. The Yoga Catastrophe (Dhalsim's first Ultra Combo in Street Fighter IV) is now his Critical Art, Dhalsim breathes in, making his belly enlarge. He then spits out a slow-moving giant ball of flame that arcs and hits the opponent.

Subpages Edit

Quotes Edit

Dhalsim/Quotes

Popular Culture Edit

Dhalsim/Pop Culture

Gallery Edit

Dhalsim/Gallery

Sprites Edit

Dhalsim/Sprites

Trivia Edit

Dhalsim is one of the eleven playable Street Fighter characters who are married or in a romantic relationship.

Despite having the same rival as he did in Street Fighter IV, Dhalsim's rival fight stage has been changed in Super Street Fighter IV. It was the Crowded Downtown stage before, but then got changed to the Exciting Street Scene stage. This was due to the fact that the latter stage is located in India (which is Dhalsim's home country), and thus suits him better.

Dhalsim is one of the few characters in the original Street Fighter IV game who only has one rival (in his case, Rufus) throughout the whole sub-series.

In Monster Hunter Explore, there is a Monster called Yoga Gigginox whose coloration is based off Dhalsim.

His win quote in Street Fighter II, "I will meditate and then destroy you" seems to contradict his pacifistic beliefs, but this was before he was established to have such beliefs. This quote was likely the result of a translation error since the original quote could be found here.

Stage Themes Edit

Street Fighter 2 World Warrior OST Theme of Dhalsim Street Fighter II Hyper Street Fighter II Music - Dhalsim Stage Hyper Street Fighter II Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold Theme of Dhalsim Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold Street Fighter Alpha 3 OST Praying (Theme of Dhalsim) Street Fighter Alpha 3 Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter Dhalsim theme Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter Street Fighter EX Plus @ OST Heat Wind (Theme of Dhalsim) Street Fighter EX plus α Super Street Fighter IV OST Theme of Dhalsim Super Street Fighter IV

Add a photo to this gallery

Videos Edit

See also Edit