ASHWATHAMA.

Ashvatthama (Sanskrit: अश्वत्थामा, Aśvatthāmā) or Ashvatthaman (Sanskrit: अश्वत्थामन्, Aśvatthāman) or Drauni was the son of Guru Drona and he is the grandson of the sage Bharadwaja. Ashvatthama is a mighty Maharathi who fought on the Kaurava side against the Pandavas. Ashvatthama is considered as avatar of one of the eleven Rudras and one of the seven Chiranjivi. Along with his maternal uncle Kripa, Ashvatthama is believed to be a living survivor of the Kurukshetra War.The rumours about his death led to the death of Dronaby Prince Dhrishtadyumna. The final commander-in-chief of the Kauravas, Ashwvtthama slaughters many in the Pandava camp in a sneak attack. After Arjuna, Ashvatthama killed the highest number of warriors in the Kurukshetra war.

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. Though an expert in warfare, Dronacharya lived the simple life of a Brahmin, with little money or property. As a result, Ashwatthama had 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, King 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, 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.

Bhishma himself declared that it will be virtually impossible for anyone to kill or defeat Ashwatthama in war as he is the part incarnate of Lord Shiva and because he was born to become a Chiranjivi. Bhishma said when Ashwatthama becomes angry then it will be impossible to fight him as he becomes a second Shiva. No one can handle his wrath and fury. Bhishma told Duryodhana

“

Amongst the warriors of both armies, there is no one who can be regarded as his peer.

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Death of Drona

On the 10th day of the war, Bhishma falls, and Drona is named the supreme commander of the armies. He promises Duryodhana that he will capture Yudhishthira, but then he repeatedly fails to do so. Duryodhana taunts and insults him, which greatly angers Ashwatthama, causing friction between Ashwatthama and Duryodhana. Krishna knew that it was not possible to defeat an armed Drona. So, Krishna suggested to Yudhishthira and the other Pandavas, if Drona were convinced that his son was killed on the battlefield then his grief would leave him vulnerable to attack.

Krishna hatched a plan for Bhima to kill an elephant by the name Ashwatthama while claiming to Drona it was Drona's son who was dead. Ultimately, the gambit works (though the details of it vary depending on the version of the Mahabharata) and Dhristadyumna beheads the grieving sage.

Enraged, Ashwatthama unleashed the Narayanastra, a weapon gifted to him by his father, on the Pandava army. Krishna tells the Pandavas and their warriors to drop their weapons and lie down on the ground so that they all surrender completely to the power of this weapon. Though some like Bhima resist, Krishna and the others manage to restrain or pacify the dissenters, and the weapon is rendered ineffective.