Khatu Shyam Ji
As per ancient legend, Khatushyam is the other name of Barbarika, the mighty son of Ghatotkacha and Mourvi.He is also fondly called by his devotees as Shyam Baba, and he is considered as a saviour god in this Kaliyuga by his devotees.
He is mostly worshipped by the people in Rajasthan and Gujarat, and Barbarika has sacrificed his life, in order to fetch victory for the Pandavas, during the time of the Mahabharata war.
During his young age itself, Barbarika was a very brave person and he learnt the skills of warfare from his parents.He also learned magical skills from his mother, Ma Hidimba. Hidimba is also called as Salasangadi, an incarnation of Ma Shakti Devi, and a temple is also dedicated to her at Himachal Pradesh, India.
Khatushyam since had severed his head and gave to Lord Krishna for the sake of the Pandavas, Lord Krishna had given him a boon, that he would become a guardian god for the people in the earth, till the end of Kali Yuga, and after that, he would attain salvation. As per the boon of Lord Krishna, still now, he acts as a guardian god for the people in Rajasthan and through his super natural powers he is protecting the entire people living in the earth. As per Mahabharata, Khatushyam appears similar to his father Ghatotkacha, and he is an excellent warrior.
It is believed that still now he is giving his darshan to his sincere devotees, removes their fear, and gives them strength, courage and good knowledge. Ancient kings in Rajasthan used to worship Lord Khatushyam before going to the war, since they believe that he would fetch victory for them in the war. Most of his devotees, used to name their child as “KHATUSHYAM”, and would call them fondly as “KHATU”.
He is considered similar to the south Indian guardian gods, Madurai Veeran, SudalaiMadan and Ayyanar, and during our urgent call, he would appear before us immediately, and would remove our problems.
“JAI KHATUSHYAM”
WRITTEN BY
R.HARISHANKAR