In many images of Khatu Shyam, three arrows appear in Baba’s hand or beside him. With that peacock-feathered face they look so natural that most devotees never stop to ask — why three arrows? And why, because of them, is Baba called "Teen Baan Dhari", the bearer of three arrows?
The answer lies in a short story, but inside that story is a large truth — the highest use of power is not in wielding it, but in holding it back.
The mother’s boon
Barbarika was extraordinary from childhood. Grandson of Bhima, son of Ghatotkacha and Mother Maurvi (Ahilavati), valour ran naturally in his veins. But he honed that valour further through penance.
Pleased by his severe austerity, the Goddess gave him three arrows that were no ordinary weapons. It is said these three held the power to bind all creation and then set it back in place. The first arrow would mark everything to be destroyed; the second would mark everything to be saved; and the third would complete both tasks in an instant.
For this Barbarika was called "Teen Baan Dhari" — a warrior for whom three arrows were the equal of an entire armoury.
Three arrows, three meanings
Devotees who pause over this story see in the three arrows not merely weapons, but a philosophy.
The first arrow — discernment: the sight that knows exactly what in life is to be given up. The second arrow — compassion: the feeling that knows whom to protect, what to preserve. And the third arrow — resolve: the power that completes the decision of discernment and compassion.
One who has all three — the discernment to recognise what is right, the compassion to protect, and the resolve to act — needs no other weapon. This was the true secret of Barbarika’s power.
The one who gave power a restraint
Master of such power, Barbarika still took an extraordinary vow — that he would fight for whichever side of the Mahabharata was losing.
The vow sounds simple, but a deep restraint lies behind it. Power leans naturally towards the victor — everyone wants to stand with the strong. Barbarika resolved the exact opposite: my strength will stand with the weak, will steady the falling.
Krishna knew the consequence of this vow — if Barbarika joined the losing army, the balance of the war would become impossible; each side would win and lose by turns, and the slaughter would never end. And so he chose another way.
The arrows that never flew
The most moving thing of all is that those three arrows, which could bind all creation, never flew in the Mahabharata war.
Krishna, come in the guise of a Brahmin, asked Barbarika for the gift of his head, and Barbarika offered his head without a question. The warrior who held the power to conquer the three worlds found his greatest victory not in battle, but in surrender.
This is the final meaning of the three arrows — the greatest power is not the one that is loosed, but the one that is held back for the good of the devotee. Barbarika never let his imperishable power become ego; he laid it at the Lord’s feet.
So when we see those three arrows in Baba’s image, they are not just weapons — they are a reminder of the restraint that made a boy the deity of the Kali Yuga.
For the devotee today
This vision of the Teen Baan Dhari is as alive as ever today. Each of us has power of some kind — of speech, of money, of position, of knowledge. The question is not whether we have power; it is which way we turn it.
Barbarika’s life says: set your strength beside the one who is losing, and where it begins to turn to ego, lay it at the Lord’s feet.