Barbarik was the son of Ghatotkacha who was the son of Bhima , the second Pandava and Hidimbi, the Rakshasi ( female Demon) who was in fact the first Bahu (daughter-in- law) for Kunti, the mother of the five Pandava brothers.
Ghatotkacha the first born Pandava prince married Mourvi , a Nag Kanya and had three sons . Barbarik was their second son. He was trained by his mother and through his Tapasya (dedication) earned three divine arrows that made him infallible.
Before the Mahabharat war started , like warriors all over, Barbarik too set out to take part in the war. Before leaving home he promised his mother that he would only fight for the losing side. But Shri Krishna , the divine incarnation of Lord Vishnu , met him on the way and and tested the powers of arsenal. Then he presented him the apparent paradox.
With the arrows that Barbarik possessed he could win any battle. But since he promised his mother to be with the losing side, this would never be accomplished . Therefore, Barbarik could not join the battle for any side , logically. And as long as he remained alive, he could never be in the losing side. Thus , as Krishna explained to him, it was necessary for him to sacrifice himself.
Barbarik agreed for the sacrifice and he decapitated himself with his sword offering his head to Krishna . This also releases him from a curse that he suffered in his temporal existence as a Yaksha in a previous life. On his last request to be a witness to the great war, Krishna places his head atop a nearby hill from where the head of Barbarik watched the battles of Mahabharat.
Barbarik is also deified as Khatu Shyaam Ji in Rajasthan for his sacrifice.
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