Why did Krishna kill Barbareek?

Barbareek is the name of that person who was born with extraordinary ability to wield great weapon. He was the grandson of Bhima, the one of the five Pandavas of the great Indian epic Mahabharata. Barbareek was on the side of Kauravas in the Kurukshetra War which was between Kauravas and Pandavas.

Krishna the close friend and using Pandavas realized that, Barbareek is a powerful man who can change the side of the war to Kauravas side. To make sure this does not happen, Krishna went to Barbareek and requested him to show his prowess by fighting few soldiers. Barbareek also agreed and with his powers ordaned the soldiers.

Barbareek then wanted to know how Krishna wanted him to perform on the battlefield in an actual war. Barbareek complied and who produced three arrows and handed them over to Krishna. Krishna then arranged the three arrows simultaneously and told Barbareek to shoot each one of the arrows. Whenever Barbareek shot an arrow, it was met with enthusiasm from Krishna’s part as he was able to make them vanish into thin air.

Krishna then revealed unto Barbareek that the powers he possess are far beyond that of any of the warriors that are fight and due to this he would tipped they were great and if he were to join the war he would be tasked for killing all the warriors on both sides. Krishna also had to justify that he had to level the chances for both the parties so that the war could be fought in equal bases.

Knowing that Barbareek was eager to participate in the battle, Krishna had to slay him to avoid that. Krishna cut of Barbareek’s head and took away his abilities they say. This was done in order to level the odds of the war by making the battle fairly, so that there will be no prejudice for the winner between the two groups of Pandavas and Kauravas.

The story of Shri Barbarik becoming Khatu Shyam ji

Barbareek or Khatushyamji is a Bhumihar Hindu god and worshipped particularly in the sanctioned region of Rajasthan, India. Barbareek was a commander of the yester years who hasn’t still gone to heaven because he fought in Mahabharata war and was chopped off his head by Lord Krishna. According to old legends his head was buried at the place where now stands the modern Khatushyam temple.

The ethnohistory of Khatushyamji differs in different Partab and accounts regarding the Barbareek’s decapitation and the origin of Khatushyamji as the deity. In one story, upon his head being buried there, a ploughman called Lakkhi Singh Digging up the ground one day he found the head of Barbareek. He also came across with a statue of Lord Krishna which he took into his house.

Then one night Lakkhi Singh dreamt of Lord Krishna who revealed to him that he was actually Barbareek and he wished that his head be respected where it was buried. Lakkhi Singh and rest of the villagers then constructed the temple at this place and the head of Barbareek was then revered as Khatushyamji.

There is another story that when Barbareek was beheaded his head was taken into what was referred to as Naga Lok – the kingdom of the serpents – and the head was believed to be an idol. it was later found by a saint named Gwalipa and thereafter taken to Khatushyamji where it was placed in a temple.

Khatu Shyamji Story

The legend of Khatushyamji or Shyam Baba or Barbarika is all part of Hindu mythology and folk lore. As per the mythology, Khatushyamji had participated in the great epic war of Mahabharata and was on the side of Kauravas. He was the grandson of Bhima, one of the great characters of the Pandavas and was born with the science to use various mighty weapons.

But at the starting of the war, Khatushyamji had thought that he should support the side of the weak only so that the war could be a fair one. He even went on to question Lord Krishna, the charioteer and the guide of the Pandavas which side he should support. Thus, knowing that the powers of Khatushyamji were too superior to both the parties, Lord Krishna advised him to stay away from the scene and watch the war being fought from a distance.

Khatushyamji decided to accept the advice of Krishna and got out of the war zone. He then proceeded to the jungles to become a serious religious secluded, doing penance and meditating. There is the opinion that he was able to accumulate so much power via his asceticism that he rose to the status of the divinity.

The villagers of Khatushyamji came into the focus only in the beginning of the 19th century, when a farmer, Lakkhi Singh, found a statue of lord without a head in his field. He later dreamt of Lord Krishna, who enlightened, him about the fact that the statue was of the head of Khatushyamji. Looking at some other aspects of the culture of the people at that time, a temple was erected there and the statue assumed the social roles , namely, the statue was worshiped.

"Om Kleem Krishnaya Namah" - This Beej Mantra is a powerful mantra used to invoke the energy and blessings of Lord Krishna. The syllable "Kleem" represents the divine feminine energy, while "Krishnaya" is the name of Lord Krishna, and "Namah" means "I bow to you". Therefore, this mantra can be translated as "I bow to the divine energy of Lord Krishna, who embodies the power of the divine feminine".