Birth and lineage
In the age of the Mahabharata, Bhimasena — the second of the five Pandava brothers — had a remarkable son named Ghatotkacha, born of Hidimba and a mighty warrior in his own right. Ghatotkacha married a Naga princess, Maurvi, known in some texts as Ahilavati. Their son was Barbarika.
From his earliest years the boy was extraordinary — radiant, strong, and drawn to the art of the bow. When he sat in his mother Maurvi’s lap she sensed that this child was no ordinary one, but born for some great purpose.
Three generations of valour were gathered in Barbarika — the dharma of the Pandavas, the strength of Bhima, the rakshasa-power of Ghatotkacha, and the Naga radiance of Maurvi. These four streams met in a warrior whose full power was a wonder to all creation.
His mother’s vow
When Barbarika had grown and gained mastery of weapons, his mother Maurvi called him and gave him the family vow: "My son, whenever you go to a battlefield, always stand with the side that is losing. Protect whoever is weak, whoever is being defeated. This is our family’s dharma."
Barbarika took the vow to heart. That single promise would shape the whole course of his future — and, set against the Mahabharata, it would become the cause of an extraordinary dilemma.
Penance and the three imperishable arrows
To live up to his vow, Barbarika understood he would need unmatched power. He withdrew to a lonely forest and began a severe penance. For months, for years, he gave up food and water and meditated on the Goddess Durga (in some traditions, on Lord Shiva).
The Goddess was pleased and gave him three imperishable arrows. These were no ordinary arrows: the first would mark everything Barbarika wished to destroy; the second would mark everything he wished to protect; the third would, in an instant, destroy all that the first had marked and leave untouched all that the second had marked.
With this boon Barbarika became the greatest archer in the three worlds. No war could last long before him — a single moment would decide it.
The march to Kurukshetra
When the Mahabharata war was declared and the armies of the Pandavas and Kauravas faced each other at Kurukshetra, Barbarika heard of the great battle. He asked his mother Maurvi for leave to go.
She reminded him once more of the family dharma — "stand with the losing side." Barbarika promised to act by her vow. Taking his three arrows, his divine bow and a blue horse, he set out for Kurukshetra.
But Barbarika did not know that Krishna himself was waiting along his road — and that a test lay ahead that would weigh the whole of his character. That story belongs to the next parva.
॥ Thus ends the first parva — the birth and vow of Barbarika ॥