Ashwatthama | EPFL Graph Search

Are you an EPFL student looking for a semester project?

Work with us on data science and visualisation projects, and deploy your project as an app on top of GraphSearch.

In the Hindu epic the Mahabharata, Ashwatthama (Aśvatthāmā) or Drauni was the son of guru Drona and Kripi (sister of Kripacharya). and a pivotal character in the Mahabharata. The grandson of the sage Bharadwaja, Ashwatthama ruled the northern region of Panchala with Ahichhatra as his capital, being subordinate to the rulers of Hastinapura. He was a Maharathi who fought on the Kaurava side against the Pandavas in the Kurukshetra War. He became a Chiranjivi (immortal) on being blessed by Shiva. According to The Mahabharata, Ashwatthama means "the sacred voice which relates to that of a horse". It is so-called because when he was born he cried like a horse. Some of the patryomics are Dronaputra-He was referred to as "Dronaputra" as he was son of Dronacharya, Guruputra-Kauravas and Pandavas used to call him "Guruputra" as he was their guru's son and Kripi Kumara-His mother's name was Kripi. 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 is born with a divine gem on his forehead which gives him power over all living beings lower than humans; it protects him from hunger, thirst, fatigue, old age and all sorts of diseases, weapons and deities. The powerful gem almost makes Ashwatthama invincible and immortal. Though an expert in warfare, Drona lives a simple life, with little money or property. As a result, Ashwatthama has 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. 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.

About this result

This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.

Related concepts (16)

Astra (weapon)

In Hinduism, an (Sanskrit: अस्त्र) was a supernatural weapon, presided over by a specific deity and imbued with spiritual and occult powers that caused its effect or impact. Later the word came to denote any weapon which was used by releasing it from one's hand (e.g. an arrow), compared to keeping it one's hand (e.g. a sword) (Shastra). In Ramayana and Mahabharata, Rama had more astras than any other warrior. It is believed that Rama possessed all the astras. The bearer of the weapon is called an Astradhari (Sanskrit: अस्त्रधारी).

Kripa

Kripa (Kṛpa), also known as Kripacharya (Kṛpācārya), is a figure in Hindu History. According to the epic Mahabharata, he was a council member of Kuru Kingdom and a teacher of the Pandava and Kaurava princes. Born to warrior-sage Sharadvan and nymph Janapadi in an extraordinary manner, Kripa and his sister Kripi were adopted by King Shantanu of Kuru Kingdom. Kripa was trained by his birth father and became a great archer like him. Later in the epic, he fought on the Kauravas's side against the Pandavas in the Kurukshetra war and was among the few survivors of the war.

Kurukshetra War

The Kurukshetra War (कुरुक्षेत्र युद्ध ), also called the Mahabharata War, is a war described in the Hindu epic poem Mahabharata (महाभारत ). The conflict arose from a dynastic succession struggle between two groups of cousins, the Kauravas and the Pandavas, for the throne of Hastinapura. The war laid the foundation for the Bhagavad Gita. The historicity of the war remains the subject of scholarly discussion. The Battle of the Ten Kings, mentioned in the Rigveda, may have formed the core of the Kurukshetra war's story.