Ashvatthama

Ashwatthama
Ashwatthama uses Narayanastra
Information
Family	Drona (father), Bharadwaja (grandfather)

Ashwatthama (Sanskrit: अश्वत्थामा, Aśvatthāmā) or Ashwatthaman (Sanskrit: अश्वत्थामन्, Aśvatthāman) or Drauni was the son of guru Drona and he is the grandson of the Brahmin sage Bharadwaja. Ashwatthama is a mighty Maharathi who fought on the Kaurava side against the Pandavas. Ashwatthama is considered as avatara of one of the eleven Rudras and one of the seven Chiranjivi. Along with his maternal uncle Kripa, Ashwatthama is believed to be a living survivor of the Kurukshetra War. The rumours about his death led to the death of Drona by Prince Dhrishtadyumna. The final commander-in-chief of the Kauravas, Ashwatthama slaughters many in the Pandava camp in a sneak attack.

According to The Mahabharata, Ashwatthaman means "the horse-voiced". It is so called because when he was born he cried like a horse.

Ashwatthama was the son of Dronacharya and Kripi. Drona did many years of severe penance to please Lord Shiva in order to obtain a son who possesses the same valiance as Lord Shiva. Born a Chiranjivi, Ashwatthama was born with a gem in his forehead which gives him power over all living beings lower than humans; it protected him from hunger, thirst, and fatigue.

Once, when Ashwatthama was a child, he desired to drink milk, like he had seen friends drink. Not even owning a cow, Ashwatthama painted his lips with a mixture of wheat flour with water, making it seem as if he had drank milk. This scene saddened Dronacharya. He remembered his childhood friend Drupada, who in a spurt of youthful exuberance, had promised to give Drona half of whatever he had. Dronacharya went to the court of Drupada to make good on that promise, but instead, was rebuked and humiliated by Drupada.