Khatu Shyam Temple

The Khatu Shyam Ji temple stands in the town of Khatushyamji in Sikar district, Rajasthan, and is one of the most revered shrines in the state. It is dedicated to Khatu Shyam, believed to be Barbarika, son of Ghatotkacha and grandson of Bhima in the Mahabharata, whom Krishna blessed to be worshipped in the Kali Yuga under the name Shyam. Millions of devotees come each year, above all for the Falgun Mela in February–March.

Legend says Roop Singh Chauhan, a local ruler, built the first temple in 1027 after a dream led him to dig up the buried head of Barbarika at Shyam Kund, a sacred pond nearby. The present temple is of white Makrana marble in traditional Rajasthani style. A 17th-century Braj Bhasha poem of 25 couplets, the Shyam Pacchisi, celebrates the deity, and local chiefs fought Mughal forces here in 1779.