Aśvatthāman

Aśvatthāman was the son of Droṇācārya and Kṛpī, who was the sister of Kṛpācārya. He was born with a maṇi (gem) on his forehead. This divine jewel was part of his nature from birth.

His father Droṇa trained him together with the Kuru and Pāṇḍava princes, and he became one of the most powerful warriors of his time. The Mahābhārata remembers him most for what he did after the main battle of the Kurukshetra war. He killed the sleeping upapāṇḍavas (the sons of the Pāṇḍavas). He also sent the Brahmāstra at the womb of Uttarā, to put an end to the Pāṇḍava line. Arjuna then went after him, and he was finally humiliated. He was the last Kaurava general left alive after the war.

Birth

Aśvatthāman was born to Droṇācārya and Kṛpī. When he was born, he cried with a sound like a horse (aśva). This gave him his name, from aśva (horse) and sthāman (place, standing): “he who stands like a horse”. He was born with a maṇi on his forehead, a divine jewel that gave him particular powers.

Droṇa loved him dearly. It was for this son’s sake that Droṇa first went to the Kuru princes to look for food, and this led in time to his becoming their teacher.

Training and role

Droṇa trained his son in every kind of warfare and gave him the highest teaching in the divine astras (missiles empowered by mantras). Aśvatthāman was among the strongest of the younger warriors on the Kaurava side. In the later stages of the war he was one of the commanders of the Kaurava army.

Sources

• Mahābhārata, Ādi Parva, Sambhava Parva, Chapter 130