Sauptika Massacre

The Sauptika (from supta, sleeping) is one of the most terrible events of the Mahābhārata. In one night Aśvatthāmā killed the whole sleeping Pāñchāla and Sṛñjaya army. This was soon after Duryodhana fell in the gadā fight. Of all the Pāṇḍava-allied force that had fought at Kurukshetra, only a handful lived through the night. The Sauptika Parva tells it in nine chapters, from Aśvatthāmā’s resolve and his prayer to Śiva, through the massacre itself, to the death of Duryodhana on hearing the news.

The three who were left

Duryodhana fell in the gadāyuddha (the mace fight) on the bank of the Dvaipāyana lake, and the Kaurava cause was finished. Of the eleven akshauhiṇī armies that had marched to Kurukshetra, only three warriors were still alive. They were Aśvatthāmā, son of Droṇācārya; Kṛpācārya, the eternal teacher; and Kṛtavarman, the Vṛshṇi warrior of the Hārdikas. These three had been away from the place where Duryodhana fell. They learned that their king was badly wounded and lying alone on the ground, and they hurried to him. They found Duryodhana with his thighs broken, lying in blood, with only wild animals near him. They sat around him and wept. (Sauptika Parva, Chapter 9)

Aśvatthāmā’s resolve

It was night. The three warriors rested under a great banyan tree. Aśvatthāmā saw a sight that pierced him. An owl came down silently on a flock of sleeping crows in the branches and killed them one by one in the dark. The crows had troubled the owl all day, and now they could do nothing. Aśvatthāmā took from this that what cannot be done in open battle by direct means may sometimes be done in another way. (Sauptika Parva, Chapter 1)

He thought of Dhṛshṭadyumna, who had killed his father Droṇācārya while the ācārya sat without a weapon in meditation. Grief and fury took hold of him. He decided then and there to go into the Pāṇḍava camp at night and kill Dhṛshṭadyumna, the sons of Draupadī, and every Pāñchāla and Sṛñjaya warrior who lay asleep in the camp. (Sauptika Parva, Chapter 1)

Kṛpa’s counsel against the night attack

Kṛpācārya spoke at length against the plan, and he did so twice. His reasons came from both dharma and philosophy.

Dharma forbids the attack on sleeping enemies. The rules of righteous war, the yuddha-niyamas, forbid violence against those who are unarmed, who have laid down their weapons, or who are unconscious or asleep. A warrior who breaks these rules makes his own line unclean, and the name of his ācārya too. It is better to wait until morning and fight in the open, even against heavy odds.

On the side of philosophy, Kṛpa spoke of daiva (fate) and purushakāra (human effort). Fate is supreme, and a man should not pile adharma on adharma in the name of effort. Destiny favoured the Pāñchālas, and daiva had already destroyed the Kauravas. What good would more killing do?

He also offered another way. They could go to Dhṛtarāshṭra and Gāndhārī, or to Vidura, for counsel. They could wait for morning, and fight if a fight had to come.

Kṛtavarman supported Kṛpa, but he also said that he would follow wherever Aśvatthāmā led. (Sauptika Parva, Chapters 2 and 4)

Aśvatthāmā’s reply

Aśvatthāmā heard Kṛpa and put his arguments aside one by one. The men who killed his father had used every kind of adharma: trickery, false news, and the striking of an unarmed man in meditation. The Pāṇḍava side itself had already broken the rules of dharmic war. There is no duty to keep rules that your enemy has thrown away.

He said that a warrior who takes up a task and then drops it out of fear earns no puṇya (merit). The most cowardly thing a man can do is turn back. The enemies were asleep. This chance was a gift of daiva itself, and he would use it. His father’s murder must be avenged.

He said, too, that Dhṛshṭadyumna in particular deserved no mercy. A man who killed an unarmed teacher seated in yoga-samādhi had put himself beyond the protection of every niyama (rule). Kṛpa’s principles were noble, but they did not apply to a man who had broken every principle himself. (Sauptika Parva, Chapters 3 and 5)

The guardian at the camp gate

Aśvatthāmā moved towards the Pāñchāla camp. A terrifying mahābhūta, a being of immense power, stood at the entrance. It was huge, carried many weapons, wore a tiger skin, was hung with serpents, and had eyes of fire. Aśvatthāmā loosed every weapon he had at this being, including his strongest astras. Every arrow and every astra was swallowed the moment it left his bow. He ran out of weapons altogether.

Aśvatthāmā was bewildered, and he thought deeply. He saw that this was a block sent by daiva, and that daiva must be met with daiva. He decided to pray to Mahādeva, Bhagavān Śiva, and to give himself up to him completely. (Sauptika Parva, Chapter 6)

The prayer to Bhagavān Śiva and his blessing

Aśvatthāmā got down from his chariot and steadied himself for prayer. He offered a long and heartfelt stotra (hymn of praise) to Mahādeva. He called on Bhagavān Śiva by his many names and forms: Ugra, Sthāṇu, Śiva, Rudra, Śarva, Īśāna, Īśvara, Girīśa, Varada, Nīlakaṇṭha, Umāpati, Kapardī, Tripurāntaka, Śūlapāṇi, Pinākadhārī, Viśvarūpa, Bahurūpa, and more. A fire had appeared before him on a golden altar. He said that he wished to offer his own body as a havis (an offering) in that fire. He spoke a Sāmaveda mantra addressed to Soma, and gave himself as the offering.

Then he stepped forward and placed himself in the fire.

Mahādeva was moved. Bhagavān Śiva appeared before Aśvatthāmā and said: “Until now I protected the Pāñchālas because of my love for Kṛshṇa. Kṛshṇa is dearer to me than any being that lives, and the Pāñchālas were under his protection. But their time is now over. Daiva no longer marks them for life. Go now.”

Bhagavān Śiva entered Aśvatthāmā’s body. He gave him āveśa (divine possession), and he put a divine sword, a vimala khaḍga, in his hand. The Pramatha-gaṇas, Bhagavān Śiva’s own attendants in their many terrifying forms, appeared and followed Aśvatthāmā into the camp where no one could see them. (Sauptika Parva, Chapter 7)

The massacre

Entry into the camp

Aśvatthāmā went into the Pāñchāla camp quietly, by a side way. The warriors inside were tired after the terrible days of battle and lay in deep sleep. He went softly towards Dhṛshṭadyumna’s tent, for he knew where it was. (Sauptika Parva, Chapter 8)

The death of Dhṛshṭadyumna

Aśvatthāmā found Dhṛshṭadyumna asleep on a splendid bed with white curtains, spread with costly covers and decked with the finest flower garlands. He kicked Dhṛshṭadyumna awake. As Dhṛshṭadyumna started up, Aśvatthāmā seized him by the hair and threw him to the ground. Then he beat and crushed him with his bare hands and feet. He trampled him and ground him down at the throat and chest.

Dhṛshṭadyumna was half asleep and overpowered. He clawed at Aśvatthāmā with his nails. In broken words he gasped: “Son of the ācārya, kill me with a weapon, quickly. Let me go to the good worlds.” Aśvatthāmā heard this and answered in cold fury: “You are the destroyer of your own line, the murderer of an ācārya. There is no good world for you. That is why there is no weapon for you.” He crushed the life out of Dhṛshṭadyumna with his knees and his boot, and killed him as one kills an animal. (Sauptika Parva, Chapter 8)

The deaths of Uttamaujas and Yudhāmanyu

Uttamaujas lay asleep close by. Aśvatthāmā dragged him down and killed him in the same way, with his feet on the chest and throat. Yudhāmanyu woke and rushed at Aśvatthāmā with a gadā, and struck him hard on the chest. Aśvatthāmā seized Yudhāmanyu, threw him down, and killed him like the others. (Sauptika Parva, Chapter 8)

The massacre with the divine sword

After he had killed these first three, Aśvatthāmā climbed onto a chariot and began to move through the camp, sword in hand. Rudra’s āveśa was in him. He struck down warriors who were too deeply asleep to understand what was happening. He used the Rudrāstra, and those who rushed to fight him were melted into bloody flesh. He cut off heads, split bodies, and cut off limbs. Elephants and horses, mad with terror, broke their chains and trampled their own soldiers. Darkness and dust made it impossible to see. Warriors could not tell friend from enemy and killed one another. Those who ran out of their tents were met at the edge of the camp by Kṛpa and Kṛtavarman, who cut down every man who came out. (Sauptika Parva, Chapter 8)

The deaths of the five sons of Draupadī

The five sons of Draupadī, the Upa-Pāṇḍavas, woke when they heard the sounds of killing. They armed themselves and attacked Aśvatthāmā together.

• Prativindhya, Yudhishṭhira’s son, was stabbed through the belly by Aśvatthāmā’s sword. He fell dead.
• Sutasoma, Bhīma’s son, struck Aśvatthāmā with a javelin and then rushed at him with a sword. Aśvatthāmā cut off his arm at the wrist and drove the blade into his body. He fell dying.
• Śatānīka, Nakula’s son, threw a chariot wheel at Aśvatthāmā’s chest. Aśvatthāmā dodged it, stepped close, and cut off Śatānīka’s head.
• Śrutakarmā, Arjuna’s son, swung a parigha (an iron club) and struck Aśvatthāmā on the left side. Aśvatthāmā split his head in two from top to bottom.
• Śrutakīrti, Sahadeva’s son, loosed a quick volley of arrows. Aśvatthāmā turned them aside with his shield and cut off Śrutakīrti’s head. It rolled away with its earrings shining.

All five sons of Draupadī were dead within moments. (Sauptika Parva, Chapter 8)

The death of Śikhaṇḍī and the Prabhadrakas

Śikhaṇḍī heard the uproar and rose with the Prabhadraka warriors. They attacked Aśvatthāmā with a shower of arrows. One of Śikhaṇḍī’s arrows struck Aśvatthāmā between the eyebrows. This made Aśvatthāmā more angry than ever. He seized Śikhaṇḍī and split him in two from top to bottom with one stroke of the sword. Then he hunted down the Prabhadraka warriors and killed them all. He also destroyed what was left of Virāṭa’s allied troops. (Sauptika Parva, Chapter 8)

Kālarātri seen in the camp

As the killing went on, those still alive in the camp began to see a dark figure of a woman moving among the tents. She was dressed in black, wore red garlands and red clothes, had loose hair, and held a noose in her hand. With the noose she pulled the dead by their necks and led them away towards Yama’s realm. This was Kālarātri, the Night of Destruction, shown in her true form. Both armies had seen this figure in dreams and waking visions all through the war. Now she appeared openly. The soldiers who were fated to die in this war had already been marked, and Aśvatthāmā was only the instrument through which fate carried out its decree. (Sauptika Parva, Chapter 8)

After the massacre

By the time night gave way to first light, Aśvatthāmā had killed the whole sleeping army. Tens of thousands of warriors, horses and elephants lay dead. The Pāñchāla army, the Sṛñjaya troops, Virāṭa’s soldiers and the Prabhadrakas were all gone. Sañjaya told Dhṛtarāshṭra of it and called it a dreadful result of the fixed decree of daiva: “Without doubt this is the fruit of an evil destiny. This crossing of what cannot be crossed could not be avoided.” (Sauptika Parva, Chapter 8)

Aśvatthāmā walked out of the silent, blood-stained camp. He met Kṛpa and Kṛtavarman at the entrance and told them all that had happened. They embraced him and rejoiced. (Sauptika Parva, Chapter 8)

The report to Duryodhana and his death

The three survivors hurried to Duryodhana, who still lay on the battlefield with his thighs broken. Aśvatthāmā knelt beside him and gave the full account. Dhṛshṭadyumna was dead. Śikhaṇḍī was dead. The five sons of Draupadī were dead. The Pāñchālas, the Sṛñjayas and all the surviving troops of Virāṭa were dead.

Duryodhana was moved beyond words. He gathered himself and said: “What the noble Bhīshma, Karṇa and Droṇa could not do in battle, you, Kṛpa and Kṛtavarman, have done for me tonight. At this moment I count myself equal to Indra. Go in peace. We shall meet again in svarga (heaven).” Then he fell silent and gave up his prāṇas (life breaths). Duryodhana, king of the Kurus, died on the battlefield as night gave way to day. (Sauptika Parva, Chapter 9)

Sources

• Mahābhārata, Sauptika Parva, Chapters 1–9