The warrior of Mahabharata who still roams the Earth – Times of India

It was inside a cave that Kripi gave birth to a child, whose head shone with a Mani, and who didn’t cry but neighed and roared like a horse. Ashwatthama was the son of Guru Dronacharya and Kripi. His birth was unusual as it was accompanied by a celestial voice that proclaimed Lord Shiva’s blessing. Born after much penance, Ashwatthama didn’t have an easy upbringing, even basic amenities were absent to him.This changed when Dronacharya was given the opportunity to teach the Princes of Kuru- i.e, Kauravas and Pandavas.
The Maharathi
Ashwatthama trained along the princes and mastered his art of fighting. Guru Dronacharya had vowed to make Arjuna the greatest archer, so he taught Arjuna the use of Brahmastra, the weapon capable of destroying the world. But Arjuna was not the only warrior who learnt the use of the mightiest weapon, Guru Drona taught this skill to his son too. He knew about his son’s lack of maturity and sense of control. The repercussions of Drona’s action reverberated in the battle of Mahabharata.
What happened in Mahabharata
His strong bond with Duryodhana got him the throne of Southern Panchala. He fought with the Kauravas in the Kurukshetra war. On the 10th day when Bishma finally fell, Guru Dronacharya was made the commander-in-chief of the Kaurava army; he swore to kill Yudhishthira. Guru Dronacharya taught the Pandavas, he knew every strength and weakness of the Pandavas, he was unbeatable. To get him to surrender, the Pandavas came up with a plan. Bhima killed an elephant called Ashwatthama, Yudhishthira infomed Guru Drona that Ashwatthama was dead, and by the time he reached to the part of the statement where would say the elephant, the soldiers as instructed by Krishna made enough noises that Drona couldn’t hear the next part of the statement .The realization that his son died made Drona to surrender his weapons. With that Drishtadyumna(Drupad’s son) killed Guru Dronacharya.
The Repercussions of Krishna’s Ploy
Hearing of this betrayal, Ashwatthama was filled with rage. He swore to take revenge on the Pandavas. Anger and impulse were characteristic of Ashwatthama; he invoked the Narayanastra against the Pandava army. One arrow each for every armed Pandava soldier appeared in the sky ready to strike down. But Krishna, who knew how to counter the weapon, instructed the whole army to drop their weapons, and hence saved them from annihilation.
Meditation and Mahadev
Duryodhana was on his deathbed, Kauravas had almost lost the war and the only people on the Kauravas side who survived were Ashwatthama, Kripacharya and Kritvarma. As the war ended Duryodhana asked Ashwatthama to kill the Pandavas as a revenge for killing Guru Dron and him. Ashwathama, being a hothead, agreed to do so. Kripacharya and Kritvarma tried to stop Ashwatthama who had made up his mind to kill the rest of the Pandava army. In Bhagavad Purana, it is said that Pandava camp was guarded by Lord Shiva, so when Ashwatthama tried to enter the camp he failed massively. Ashwatthama then offered himself to Mahadev and started meditating, impressed by his endurance Lord Shiva entered his body and gave him a sword.
The Non-Fatal Mistake
With the new found energy and divine blessing, Ashwatthama entered the Pandava camp and went on a killing spree. First on his target list was Dhristadyumna, he choked Drupad’s son as he begged to be killed with a sword in his hand. He went on to kill many warriors, including Sikhandi, Yudhamanyu, Uttamaujas and even Upapandavas, mistaking them for Pandavas. The Pandavas, who were away for the night, when they came back were devastated by the sight in front of their eyes. Bheema swore to kill Ashwatthama who went into hiding at Sage Vyasa’s ashram.
Ashwatthama invokes Brahmashira Astra
As they confronted each other, Ashwatthama invoked Brahmashira Astra against the Pandavas and to protect themselves Arjuna invoked it. Sage Vyasa, however instructed both of them to retrieve their weapons, Arjuna called his weapon back but with the intention of ending Pandavas lineage Ashwatthama directed the weapon towards Uttara’s womb who was pregnant with Abhimanyu’s child. Angered by this act of cruelty, Krishna restored that child to life and named it Parikshit .He cursed Ashwatthama with a life of suffering and pain, that he will roam around the world for 3000 years with pus and blood oozing out of his injuries.
People believe that Ashwatthama roams the earth and can still be found near the Asirgarh Fort, where he offers his prayers to Lord Shiva. It is said that at the end of Kali Yuga, he will meet Lord Vishnu’s 10th incarnation, the Kalki avatar, and become a sage which will finally be the end of his sufferings.