Barbarik – The Unsung Hero Of Mahabharata

We all know that in the sprawling epic of the Mahabharata, one character stands out for his unparalleled physical prowess, indomitable spirit, and unwavering loyalty—Bhima, the second of the Pandavas, son of Kunti and Vayu, the god of wind. 

We also know that Ghatotkach, the son of Hidimba and  Bheema, was the most powerful warrior to ever participate in the Great War between the Kauravas and the Pandavas at the Kurukshetra. He was half-rakshasa, which gave him magical powers that allowed him to fly and change his size at his will.

How many of us have heard of Barbarik?

 Mahabharata has many unknown yet significant characters that played a mighty role in the events that led to the war. One such character is that of Barbarik, the son of Ghatotkach and Maurvi.

Maurvi ensured that Barbarik became a skilled warrior and excelled in all forms of martial arts. Maurvi herself was a warrior and had learned various martial arts. Barbarik was so impressive in his skills and combat training that his dedication and commitment impressed Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva gave him a boon of Three arrows. The three arrows that could decide the fate of Mahabharata in just one minute.

Lord Krishna had heard about this miraculous feat and wanted to test the authenticity of this claim. He went to Barbarik and asked him how long it would take him to finish the battle. He answered just one minute. Lord Krishna then asked him how it was possible, and Barbarik explained his magic possession of the three divine arrows.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐬 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐲.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐝 𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐲𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 marked and returns to its quiver.

Madhav asked which side he would be in the war. Barbarik replies that he has made a promise to his mother that he would only support the weaker side. Krishna explains the dilemma of choice to him and how his action can be destructive. Whatever side he chooses, the opposite shall get weaker and if he keeps shifting sides, he will be the lone survivor of the war. Krishna then offers him that he would be the judge of the war and his head would be offered to the God of wars before the battle begins. Barbarik accepts this fate and his head is then placed at the top of a mountain from which he witnesses every event of the war.

At the end of the battle, the victorious Pandava brothers argue amongst themselves as to who was responsible for their victory. Sri Krishna suggested that Barbarika's head, which had watched the whole battle should be allowed to judge,

Barbarik replies, “𝑨𝒍𝒍 𝑰 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔. 𝑶𝒏𝒆, 𝒂 𝒅𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒌𝒓𝒂 𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒍𝒅, 𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑫𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒂. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝑮𝒐𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝑴𝒂𝒉𝒂𝒌𝒂𝒍𝒊, 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒔𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒖𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒍𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒆".

 Listening to this, Pandavas realized that it was Shri Narayan and Goddess Mahamaya who cleaned up the world from adharma, and the Pandavas were mere instruments.

Interestingly, Barbarik was also one of the few people who could listen and witness the Vishwaroopa of Krishna while he gave the lesson of Gita to Arjuna. After the war ends, Barbarik declares Krishna as the ultimate soldier of the war because of him everything happens and he is the mightiest of all.

{As Barbarik becomes the ultimate emblem of sacrifice and war, it is believed that he received a boon from Sri Krishna that he would be known by Krishna’s name (Shyam) in the Kaliyuga era and worshipped.

Barbarik over time has merged with various local deities and is worshipped in North India. Barbarik is worshipped as Khatushyamji in the temple located in Khatu village, Sikar District, Rajasthan.}

**(There is no person named Barmarik in the Mahabharat written by Sage Vyasa. His story is in the Skanda Purana, which is the source of all legends.)