Draupadi

महाभरत

Mahābharata

As retold by

Michael Dolan, B.V. Mahāyogi

 THE SONS OF DRAUPADĪ

The warriors sought in the dark for the avenging marauder. After Aśvatthāmā went the greatest remaining warriors of the Panchalas, headed by Yudhamanyu. Then out of the night rode the son of Drona, enraged, killing all in his path. The Panchalas gave battle in close combat,  but Aśvatthāmā swung mace and sword left and right, killing many. Finally he drew the terrible Rudraksha weapon given him by Shiva.  In this way he slew thousands.

Ashvatthama rampaged through the night until he reached the camp of the Pandavas.
Alighting from his horse well-armed with sharpened sword, he  crept into the quarters where the sons of Draupadī lay sleeping.

And seeing the five sons of Draupadī sleeping, that fiend blind with rage killed them ruthlessly, believing them to be his sworn enemies, the five Paṇḍavas: Yudhiṣthira, Arjuna, Bhīma, Nakula and Sahadeva.

The Pandavas and Draupadi with a small dog. Traditional Indian Painting

In his rage he mistook the sons of Draupadī as his enemies and killed them. And so it was that after the greatest of all battles had finished, as Duryodhana lay dying, the son of Droṇa beheaded the sleeping children of Draupadī.

In the morning, the news reached the Pandavas themselves. After Dristradyumna, son of Drupada had been murdered by Ashvatthama, the very sons of Draupadi were slain in their sleep. Her children, murdered by the cruel and vicious Aśvatthāmā lay dead with their uncles and grandfathers.

With this, the fire-born Draupadī wept.  Arjuna swore, “O fair lady, dry your tears. I shall bring you the head of Aśvatthāmā . And when we bury our sons at last you shall take your bath standing on his head”.

Arjuna and his brothers set out after Aśvattāmā. There was a great duel fought between the Paṇḍavas and Aśvattāmā. Faced with superior force, Aśvattāmā ran like a dog from the field of battle  to lick his wounds and plot his revenge on the  Paṇḍavas.

The allies of the Kauravas were dead. Some had fled the field. Aśvattāmā alone could avenge the death of his father, the great Droṇacharya. He hid for a while and planned his final attack while the women mourned their dead.

The Paṇḍavas returned to camp. The sad-eyed ladies carried the holy water of the Ganges to the ashes of their fallen heroes. They began the funeral ceremonies and wept.

As the ashes of the dead swirled into the winds of time, the souls of great heroes of war departed this world for heavenly planets and beyond. The war had devastated the ranks of the great armies that had overbudened the world with their military might. At the cost of great blood, peace was at hand. With the reign of Arjuna’s grandson, Pariksit, the world would know peace for generations.

The blood of battle was washed clean by the waters of the sacred river.  The sky was clear of smoke.  Widows dried their tears and prepared for a new life with their children in hopes of peace.

And at that time, with the fires of war extinguished, with peace at hand, a small group of friends gathered as the lotus-eyed Kṛṣṇa mounted his chariot and prepared his horses for their journey home for Dwaraka.

He lashed the horses firmly to their yoke, made ready his chariot and bade farewell to his friends and allies - the Paṇḍavas.  He said farewell to all the queens and ladies there present, especially Draupadī, the dark-skinned queen of Yudhiṣthira.  At this the noble Paṇḍavas once again shed tears  at the departure of their friend, ally and worshipful Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Aśvattāmā’s Last Weapon
अश्वत्तामा अस्त्र

But just as peace was upon the land, from his hiding place in the forest where he had worshiped his god Shiva for a fortnight,  the forlorn Aśvattāmā, his horses exhausted, his eyes burning with envy, decided to cast the ultimate weapon.


He drew a blade of holy kusha grass from the earth. Then, focusing his yogic power, this brahmanas son recited the ancient mantras he had learned from Drona,  military guru of the Kaurava armies.  And repeating those mantras with deep intent, he wove a spell and cursed that blade of grass, imbuing it with mystic power. Drawing upon the ancient Vedic science of sound, Ashvatthama conjured the power within the very atoms of the kusha straw. And when he had finished, his brahmastra weapon was ready.

And fixing the cursed blade of straw on a finely pointed shaft, Asvatthama set the arrow on his bow, aimed into the sky and with all the brahminical power he had left directed his weapon at the very womb of Uttara, the wife of Arjuna’s son Abhīmanyu.


Now this daughter-in-law of Arjuna held within her womb the future of the Paṇḍava dynasty, the great Maharaja Parikṣit, father of Janamejaya. And it was against Parikṣit that the weapon of Aśvattāmā was hurled, to destroy the heir of Yudhiṣthira, and thwart the peace of India.

Now, when Kṛṣṇa mounted his chariot to return to Dwaraka, that lady came running for his protection. And falling at the wheel of his chariot, Uttara begged for her life and the life of her child, saying, “O Kṛṣṇa, protect me! You who are the hope of the hopeless and the protector of the poor, the simple brahmaṇas and the earth itself. Protect my unborn child who is the hope of our dynasty!”