The fierce battle of the Mahabharata lasted for 18 days, ultimately resulting in the Pandavas' victory over the Kauravas. However, as the battle ended, the Pandavas became arrogant about their valor. Their pride was shattered not by any surviving warrior, but by the severed head of Barbarika, who had witnessed the entire battle from a high perch.

Who was Barbarik?

Barbarika was Bhima's grandson and Ghatotkacha's son. He possessed three infallible divine arrows, with which he could single-handedly change the outcome of an entire battle. Barbarika had vowed to always support the losing side. Therefore, to balance the battle, Lord Krishna asked for his head as a donation. Barbarika gladly donated his head, but expressed a desire to witness the entire battle, which Krishna granted.

Who gave victory to the Pandavas?

After the battle, when the Pandavas began to prove their superiority, Lord Krishna approached Barbarika. Barbarika dispelled the Pandavas' delusion and told them that only Lord Krishna's Sudarshan Chakra was rotating across the battlefield, and that his divine power was destroying the Kaurava army. The Pandavas were merely the medium of that righteous war.

A big message about not being arrogant

Barbarika's reply made the Pandavas realize that the credit for victory lay not with the arrogance of any single warrior, but with the divine grace of God and the establishment of righteousness. This same Barbarika later became revered in popular belief as "Khatu Shyam."