Ashwatthama

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.

After this incident and seeing the plight of Dronacharya, Kripacharya, invited Drona to Hastinapur. There, he came upon the attention of his co-disciple Bhishma. Thus, Dronacharya became the guru of the Pandavas and of the Kauravas in Hastinapur. Ashwatthama was trained in the art of warfare along with them.