Rise and Fall of Aswathama

In the Hindu epic the Mahabharata, Ashwatthama was the son of guru Drona and Kripi. He was the grandson of the sage Bharadwaja. Ashwatthama ruled the northern region of Panchala, being subordinate to the rulers of Hastinapura. He was a Maharathi[1] who fought on the Kaurava side against the Pandavas in the Kurukshetra War. He became a Chiranjivi (immortal) due to the blessing of lord Shiva and was cursed by lord Krishna to suffer for 3000 years in penance after the Kurukshetra war for attacking the womb of Uttara. Ashwatthama is the son of Drona and Kripi. He was born in a cave in a forest (in present-day Tapkeshwar Mahadev Temple, Dehradun, Uttarakhand). Drona does many years of severe penance to please lord Shiva in order to obtain a son who possesses the same valiance as lord Shiva. Ashwatthama was born with a gem on his forehead which gives him power over all living beings lower than humans; it protects him from gods, demons, spirits, snakes, all sorts of celestial weapons, diseases, hunger, thirst, fatigue and would even recover his deepest wounds in no time. Though an expert in warfare, Drona lives a simple life, with little money or property. As a result, Ashwatthama had a difficult childhood, with his family unable to even afford milk. Wanting to provide a better life for his family, Drona goes to the Panchal Kingdom to seek aid from his former classmate and friend, Drupada. However, Drupada rebukes the friendship, claiming a king and a beggar cannot be friends, humiliating Drona publically in his court. After this incident, and seeing the plight of Drona, Kripa invites Drona to Hastinapur. Thus, Drona becomes the guru of both the Pandavas and Kauravas. Ashwatthama was trained in the art of warfare along with them. Later, Drona asked his disciples to give him his Dakṣiṇā; requesting the capture of Drupada. While the Kauravas failed, the Pandavas defeated Drupada and presented him before Drona. Drona took the southern half of Drupada's kingdom, crowning Ashwatthama as king of it. The Pandavas and Krishna who were away during the night, now return to their camp the next day morning. Hearing the news of these events Yudhishthira faints and the Pandavas become inconsolable. Bhima angrily rushes to kill Drona's son. They find him at sage Vyasa's ashram near the bank of Bhagiratha. The now triggered Ashwatthama invokes the powerfull Brahmashirsha astra against the Pandavas to fulfill the oath of killing them. Krishna asks Arjuna to fire the Brahmashirā, the anti-missile, against Ashwatthama to defend themselves. Vyasa intervenes and prevents the weapons from clashing against each other. He asks both Arjuna and Ashwatthama to take their weapons back. Arjuna, knowing how to do so takes it back. Krishna saves Uttara's unborn child from the effects of Ashwatthama's Brahmashirsha astra, on the request of Draupadi, Subhadra and Sudeshna. As the child faced a test of life even before being born, Lord Sri Krishna named him Parikshit and later on this child succeeds Yudhisthira to become the next king of Hastinapura. Ashwatthama was then made to surrender the gem on his forehead and cursed by Krishna for 3000 years that he will roam in the forests with blood and puss oozing out of his injuries and cry for death but death would not meet him.

அசுவத்தாமன், மகாபாரதக் கதைமாந்தர்களுள் ஒருவன். இவன், துரோணாச்சாரியாருடைய மகனாவான். இவன் இந்துக்களின் நம்பிக்கைப்படி, ஏழு சிரஞ்சீவிகளுள் ஒருவன். துரோணாச்சாரியார் இவன்மீது அளவு கடந்த அன்பு வைத்திருந்தார். குருச்சேத்திரப் போரின், அசுவத்தாமன் இறந்துவிட்டதாகக் தருமர் மூலம் கூறப்பட்ட வதந்தியை நம்பித் துரோணர் கவலையில் இருந்தபோது இளவரசன் திருஷ்டத்யும்னனின் வாளுக்கு இரையாகித் துரோணர் காலமானார். குருச்சேத்திரப் போரின் 18-ஆம் நாள் இரவில், கௌரவர் பக்கம் உயிர்பிழைத்திருந்த மூவரில் இவனும் ஒருவன். தனது தந்தையை நயவஞ்சகமாக கொன்ற பாண்டவர் படைகளின் தலைமைப்படைத்தலைவர் திருஷ்டத்யும்னனை தூக்கத்தில் இருக்கும்போது கொன்று பழி தீர்த்தவன். பாண்டவர்களின் ஐந்து குலக்கொழுந்துகளையும் (உபபாண்டவர்கள்), பாண்டவர் தவிர மற்ற பாண்டவ படைவீரர்களை அதே இரவில் கொன்றான்.

Release date

Audiobook: 28 October 2022