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Description
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.

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 much 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 the outside. He wears torn yellow saffron shorts, held tied around his waist by a piece of rope, as his only clothing attire, as well as yellow saffron wristbands and anklebands. He has three red stripes adorning his head, hoop earrings, and metallic bracelets, 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") who were often associated macabre practices such as cannibalism and meditating on top of rotting corpses. Like Blanka and Urien, Dhalsim's alternate costumes change his skin color, usually a shade of grey or yellow like 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
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 youngster (but still serious and self-focused) type, 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 off any emotional involvement that may prejudice 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
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 now obsolete.

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.

Description
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.

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 much 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 the outside. He wears torn yellow saffron shorts, held tied around his waist by a piece of rope, as his only clothing attire, as well as yellow saffron wristbands and anklebands. He has three red stripes adorning his head, hoop earrings, and metallic bracelets, 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") who were often associated macabre practices such as cannibalism and meditating on top of rotting corpses. Like Blanka and Urien, Dhalsim's alternate costumes change his skin color, usually a shade of grey or yellow like 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
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 youngster (but still serious and self-focused) type, 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 off any emotional involvement that may prejudice 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
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 now obsolete.

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.