When Lord Krishna asked all the Maharathis of the Mahabharata as to how many days they would individually take to end the war, Bhishma said he would take 20, Karna 24, Dronacharya said 25 and Arjuna said 28. Barbarika said, he would take only one minute to end it all, a claim Krishna too said was true. Here’s what happened to him, and why he could never participate in the war.
Barbarika was the son of Ghatotkacha and the grandson of Bhima. He had learned the art of warfare from his mother, Maurvi. He had promised her that if he ever participated in a war, he would always fight for the weaker side. He was a strong devotee of Lord Shiva and had a boon from him which had made him almost invincible.
He had received three arrows from the Lords – the first would mark all the targets, the second would mark all the things he wanted to save and the third one would completely destroy all the things he had not marked as safe. In short, Barbarika was capable of killing everyone with three arrows.
Before the war, Krishna disguised himself as a saint and asked Barbarika to show his powers by marking all the leaves of a peepal tree. As Barbarika closed his eyes to meditate, just before releasing his first arrow, Krishna secretly hid one of the leaves under his feet. Barbarika released his arrow, which marked all the leaves of the tree, and then hovered around Krishna’s feet. Krishna asked him as to why it was hovering around his feet, Barbarika said that there must be a leaf under them. After this incident, Krishna realised that Barbarika was indeed very capable.
Krishna then asked him which side he would take in the war, to which Barbarika replied he would find for the Pandavas, since they were the weaker side. Krishna then said that his powers would weaken the Kauravas, and that he would have to switch sides in the war. This would continue till everyone died and he was the only one left. Krishna, disguised as a saint, then asked for something from Barbarika, who promised to give him anything he wanted. Krishna asked for his head.
Barbarika agreed to do so, but asked the saint who he really was. Krishna then showed his true face of Lord Vishnu, and Barbarika was one of the two warriors in the epic to see Krishna in his divine form. Barbarika then requested Krishna that we wanted to see the entire war, to which Krishna agreed, and he placed his head on a hill from where he saw everything.
After the war, Barbarika’s head was drowned in the river Rupawati by Krishna, and after centuries, was found buried in the village of Khatu, Rajasthan. The King of Khatu made a temple for Barbarika’s head, which is today known as Khatu Shyam Ji, one of Rajasthan’s most revered temples. This story of Barbarika appears in the Skanda Purana.
Image credits: Detechter
Liked our blog? Join our Whatsapp community.
Past Present Continuous 