Who was Ashwathama?
Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 1 Verse 8 Explained
Translation:
Duryodhan speaks to Drona:
In my army there is you (Drona), Bhishma, Karna and Kripacharya who have always been invincible alongside Ashwathama, Vikarna, & Somdatta’s son i.e. Bhurishrava.
Commentary:
Duryodhan is talking about the warriors on his side to boast and reassure himself that his army is also strong.
Who is Kripa?
Kripa was the grandson of Rishi Gautama, who is one of the Saptarishis i.e. Seven Holy Sages. He was adopted by King Shantanu, the father of Bhishma, along with his twin sister Kripi. Kripi was later married to Drona, thus making him Drona’s brother-in-law. Kripa taught the royal children and thus called Kripacharya. He would go on to survive the war and teach Parikshit, the son of Abhimanyu and the first King of Hastinapur in Kaliyuga.
Who is Karna?
Karna needs no introduction he is a famous character in Mahabharata. He was the firstborn son of Kunti, the mother of Pandavas, even before she was married. Karma was thus discarded by a fearful Kunti as she was still unmarried when Karna was born. He was left in a basket in a river to die. However, he was found by a Charioteer and was raised as Sut Putra i.e. Son of a Charioteer. He is one of the most powerful and iconic characters of Mahabharata.
Who is Ashwathama?
Ashwathama was the son of Drona. He is perhaps the most powerful yet most underrated character of Mahabharata. Drona prayed for a powerful son and thus Ashwathama was born. He cried like a horse on birth and thus named so. Ashwathama is said to be one of the 11 Rudras and one of the 7 Chiranjeevis or immortals.
Ashwathama was so powerful and skilled that he couldn’t be defeated by anyone in the battle. Even his father Drona was invincible due to his skills as a warrior. Thus Krishna plotted a scheme, where Pandavas would kill an elephant named Ashwathama, and will spread the news in the Kaurava camp that Ashwathama was dead. Drona doesn’t believe this and asks Yudhishthira himself, as Yudhisthira never lied. Yudhishthir responds “yes” to the question “was Ashwathama really dead?” asked by Drona. Due to this Drona becomes shocked and in his sadness, he lays down his weapons and is beheaded by Dhrishtadyumna- the commander of the Pandava army and son of Drupad- who had vowed to kill Drona.
Ashwathama gets so angry by this deceitful killing of his father Drona that he vows to kill all Pandavas by any means possible. He eventually raids the Pandava camp at night when everyone is deep asleep and kills almost all the Pandava army along with the children of Draupadi in a shock attack. He makes sure to kill Dhrishtadyumna, to avenge the death of his father Drona, by strangling his neck instead of using a sword as this was considered a dishonourable death for a warrior.
Luckily Pandavas aren’t present at the camp that night along with Krishna. Pandavas are distraught when they return to see their armies almost destroyed. They chase Ashwathama, along with the remaining warriors of Kauravas. Duryodhan is already dead by then.
A battle ensues between Ashwathama and Arjun where both use Brahmastra, but Rishi Ved Vyasa asks Arjun to retreat his Brahmastra, which he does. But Ashwathama, instead of retracting his weapon, directs it towards Uttara- the wife of Abhimanyu- who is pregnant. The child dies in the womb itself, which angers Krishna. Krishna curses Ashwathama that he will bleed and roam in the forest, and yet death will not come to him. This curse would make Ashwathama immortal yet his life would be worse than death.
Ashwathama was one the last surviving warrior who fought from the Kauravas side and he never died.
Who is Vikarna?
Vikarna is the brother of Duryodhana and the third son of Dhritarashtra. He was respected among Kauravas. He was the only one who objected when Draupadi was being disrobed.
Who is the Son of Somadatta?
The son of Somadatta is Bhurishrava, who is the grandson of Bahlika- the elder brother of King Shantanu, who was the father of Bhishma. Bahlika was the original crowned prince of Hastinapur but he devoted his life to military conquest in Balkh, now in modern-day Afghanistan.
Somadatta wanted to marry Devaki- the mother of Krishna, when she was unmarried and had fought Srini, the father of Satyaki, who was a Yaduvanshi warrior. Srini eventually won and Devaki was married to Vasudeva. Thus however bred hatred between the two families and it panned out in the Mahabharat war when Bhurishrava tried to kill Satyaki and was in turn killed by Arjuna.
