Sadhguru tells the story of Barbarik, a southern warrior who arrives at Kurukshetra with only three arrows and the boast that one would suffice for either side — and asks Krishna's identification of the battle's true greatest warrior as the cosmic question the Mahabharata is built to provoke.
Transcript
In this war there were two key people who did not take sides. One is Rrookmi Rrookman's brother and Balarama Krishna's brother because of the relationship they kept out. Another warrior from the south arrived on the battlefield with only three arrows in his queer and Krishna and others were there. A pre- battle preparations are going on. He came and said people asked him how come you have only three arrows. He said with one arrow I can kill all the cowas. With one arrow I can kill all the pandas. So three is more than enough for me. [Music] When Krishna heard this boast, he said, "Why don't you show what kind of skills you have?" And he showed him a banan tree with thousands and thousands of leaves. He said, "Let me see with a single arrow how many leaves you can pierce." used a single arrow with the necessary empowerment of ault. He pierced every leaf on the tree and the arrow came and powered around Krishna's feet which was over a fallen leaf waiting to pierce that. Krishna said that's very impressive and on whose side will you fight? Because nobody has seen him before. He's come from the south. [Music] He said I will always fight on the losing side. Day by day I will see if kavas are losing I'll fight for them. If pandas are losing I'll fight for them. Anytime when I see one particular army is losing I will fight for them. Now Krishna looked at this situation. So if this guy is on the other side you should not win. That will be the formula. Because if you win, if you start winning, this guy will join the if he's on this side, he'll go and join the other side. So, uh Krishna said, "Can I ask you for something which will will you give it to me? I want you to remove the head of one warrior." Barbarik said, "For you, I will do it. Tell me who it is. [Music] Krishna went into his camp, brought out a mirror and showed it to him. Barbaric knew he was done in but he had given his word. Before this he asked one request. Yes, but I have come all the way from the south to see this war. I want to see this war. Such a great war. A warrior like me, I don't want to miss it. I wanted to see the spectacle of this war. So Krishna said, "That's okay. You remove your head. I will see that your head can see and speak." So he took his sword and removed his own head and held it by the hair and gave it to Krishna before he fell. And they placed the head in the battlefield in a vantage point where he could see everything. [Music] And it so happened that when the war began, anytime he saw something cowardly, something funny, Barbaric would laugh so upiously he would unnerve lot of soldiers. And just his laughter would create such a disharmony. Then after a couple of days of battle, Krishna said, "Let us give him a much better vantage point and move the head to the top of the hill. From there he can see and laugh too close up. He is unnerving our soldiers." So that head was kept on the hilltop sat there just the head watching the war laughing commenting and doing things and after the war is over pandas soldiers who are few left they wanted to know in this battle who was the greatest warrior who fought better than whom they came and asked Krishna Who was the best warrior in this battle of 18 days? 18 days of absolute brutality and slaughter. Who was the best man in this? Krishna laughed and he said, "Why don't you go and ask Barbarik? He's been sitting there having a gallery view. He's in the stadium. He's looking at the whole game absolutely without missing anything. I have been into so many situations. I would have definitely missed something. Ask him, he will know. So they went to Barbarik's head which was sitting there on the mountain and they asked who is the greatest warrior? Who achieved the victory? Which warrior was the determining factor? So Barbaric said it was neither Arjuna nor Karna nor Bishma nor Dona nor Ashwatama nor Disha nor Pandas nor Kowavas who decided the course of this war. It was Vishnu in a deceptive form. It is the sudrasha chakra which won the war. From this point, from this v vantage point, I could not see anybody killing anybody. I only saw Sudarin Chakra going around and doing all the killing. [Music] See the symbolism is if you are little above, you would see it clearly when you're in it. That's what Krishna is saying. I was in it. So I could see you ask that guy he's sitting above. One who is above always notices things better than people who are in the thick of life. Isn't it? So it is based on this everywhere they're talking about being a witness to your own life. If you are about you would see it clearly. If you're in it you can easily get lost in the turmoil of the situation. The story is a very powerful spiritual process. If you live this story, it is in time that we exist. It is in time that we were born. It is in time that we will die. [Music] This is what dharma dharma is. It is a law that if you grasp it, it will allow you to move towards truth or untruth. So Duryodhana is the only character in the whole of Mahabharat who does not have a past life because Vasa does not want to leave that excuse to him. This is the harshest thing a man can do to himself. So they called him Bishma. Karna is a kind of an anti-hero. He knows it's wrong but his loyalty is strong. Arjuna and Karna both are war machines. That's their only dream in their life is to be the best archer. This is not about good. This is not about bad. This is not about the right thing and the wrong thing. This is about exploring the human creature like he's never been explored in any other place. [Music]