Sauptika Parva

Leaving Duryodhana lying on the ground in that exceedingly terrible, pitiable state, Ashwatthama, Kripacharya, and Kritavarma, filled with deep grief and unbearable anger, set out from there, far away, toward a desolate forest, not knowing what to do next.

Ashwatthama, remembering his king and friend Duryodhana's final, heart-rending state, and also recalling his father Dronacharya's deceitful end once again, began burning with an exceedingly terrible fire of vengeance.

The three warriors, after this terrible fatigue and grief of the whole day, decided, when night fell, to rest for a time beneath a vast banyan tree, thinking that when morning came they would make some concrete plan for what to do next.

Kripacharya and Kritavarma, being exceedingly exhausted, soon fell into deep sleep, but Ashwatthama, because of that unquenched fire of vengeance burning within him, unable to sleep, remained sitting awake beneath that tree.

In this very state, a terrible, exceedingly extraordinary plan began to take root in Ashwatthama's mind, to take vengeance upon the Pandavas for this defeat — a plan that would go on to give rise to an exceedingly tragic, nocturnal event.

Ashwatthama, sitting beneath that very banyan tree, sunk in that unbearable inner pain and anger, then saw a strange, exceedingly terrible sight — an owl, attacking many crows sleeping on that same tree, mercilessly killing them one by one.

Ashwatthama saw that this owl, unable to face those crows during the day, in the darkness of night, when all of them were sleeping peacefully, using its full strength, easily slaughtered them all.

This sight gave rise, in Ashwatthama's mind, to an exceedingly terrible, thought-provoking idea — that just as this owl, though helpless during the day, could slaughter its sleeping enemies at night, so too could they, after being defeated in open battle by day, attack the sleeping Pandava camp at night.

Ashwatthama, at first, was himself disturbed by this thought, knowing that attacking sleeping, disarmed enemies is considered an exceedingly reprehensible act, entirely contrary to Kshatriya dharma.

But before his father's death, Duryodhana's pitiable state, and that unbearable fire of vengeance within him, Ashwatthama finally decided, casting aside all these thoughts of dharma, to plan this terrible, nocturnal attack.

Ashwatthama, waking his companions, informed them of this terrible plan of his, and, before setting out toward the Pandava camp, decided to worship Lord Shiva for the success of this endeavor.

Ashwatthama, meditating on Lord Shiva with exceedingly deep concentration, prayed to him to grant him success in this terrible, decisive task, whatever violation of his dharma and honor it might require.

Lord Shiva, appearing before this exceedingly fierce, vengeance-driven worship of Ashwatthama's, bestowed upon him a divine, exceedingly powerful sword, and granted him the strength and courage necessary for this coming, terrible task.

This event established, in Ashwatthama's mind, the firm belief that Mahadeva himself agreed with this task of vengeance, and with exceedingly firm resolve, along with his companions, he set out toward the Pandava camp.

Thus, the backdrop was set for this terrible, tragic night, in which, in complete violation of the established rules of the battlefield, such a terrible massacre was about to occur that it would forever be remembered as one of the most sorrowful events of the entire Mahabharata.

Ashwatthama, Kripacharya, and Kritavarma advanced toward the Pandava camp in the deep darkness of night, with exceeding caution and secrecy, where, from the exhaustion following their victory, all the soldiers and warriors were sleeping peacefully in deep slumber.

It was the Pandavas' good fortune that on that night, Yudhishthira himself, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, Sahadeva, and Krishna and Satyaki were resting at some distance from the camp, at another place outside the battlefield, and were not present within the camp.

Ashwatthama, ordering Kripacharya and Kritavarma to guard the camp's entrance gates and prevent anyone from fleeing, himself entered the camp with exceeding caution, and began his search for his principal enemy — Dhrishtadyumna.

Ashwatthama, reaching Dhrishtadyumna's sleeping place, finding him in deep slumber, remembering his father Dronacharya's deceitful end, exceedingly cruelly, strangled him to death with his own hands while he was still unarmed.

This was that exceedingly terrible, heart-rending moment, in which all the established rules and codes of war were violated all at once, and the beginning was made of a night that is counted among the most tragic events of the Mahabharata.

After this terrible end of Dhrishtadyumna's, Ashwatthama, with that divine sword of his, advancing further within the camp, began mercilessly slaughtering the other warriors sleeping in the darkness as well, without seeing who they were.

In this very course, Ashwatthama came upon Draupadi's five sons — Prativindhya, Sutasoma, Shrutakarma, Shatanika, and Shrutasena — who were sleeping together in one tent, and Ashwatthama, because of the darkness, mistook them for the Pandavas themselves.

Ashwatthama, in that blind fire of vengeance within him, could not even consider that these five were still exceedingly young, innocent princes, and, exceedingly mercilessly, slew all five of them as well, while they slept.

This was that exceedingly tragic, heart-rending act, which transformed this entire campaign of vengeance of Ashwatthama's from a heroic act into an exceedingly despicable, unforgivable massacre, whose shadow remained forever cast over the whole of the Mahabharata.

After this, Ashwatthama, Kripacharya, and Kritavarma, setting fire to the entire camp, and indiscriminately slaughtering the remaining sleeping soldiers as well, brought about the almost complete destruction of the Pandava army on this terrible night.

As morning came, when Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, Sahadeva, and Krishna returned toward their camp, an exceedingly terrible, heart-rending sight presented itself before them — the entire camp lay drenched in the blood of their own soldiers and warriors.

The Pandavas, on the very morning after this extraordinary victory of theirs, seeing this exceedingly cruel, unexpected massacre of their beloved commander Dhrishtadyumna and Draupadi's five sons, broke down in deep grief and unbearable pain; it was exceedingly difficult for them even to believe it.

Draupadi, when she heard this terrible news, sank into deep grief and unbearable anger at this exceedingly cruel, rule-violating killing of her five sons, and began lamenting exceedingly sorrowfully, asking what crime her innocent sons had committed.

Yudhishthira and all the Pandavas, even after this extraordinary victory, amid this exceedingly deep, immense grief, began to feel that this victory in war, whatever great price it may have come at, however great a loss it had cost.

Draupadi, amid this unbearable grief and anger, finally took the vow that until that divine jewel from Ashwatthama's head was brought and presented before her, she would not partake of food or water.

Bhima and Arjuna, to fulfill Draupadi's exceedingly poignant vow, and to avenge this exceedingly cruel killing of their sons, at once set out on their chariots toward the forest in search of Ashwatthama.

Ashwatthama, by this time, frightened by his own terrible act, was hiding in the deep darkness of the forest, near a hermitage of Vedavyasa and other great sages, in an exceedingly frightened and helpless state, oppressed by the weight of this very act he had committed.

Arjuna and Krishna reached that hiding place of Ashwatthama's, and became ready to confront him, in order to punish him at once for this exceedingly heinous, rule-violating act.

Ashwatthama, seeing himself surrounded in this manner, and finding no other means to protect his life, in exceeding desperation, invoked an exceedingly terrible, all-destroying divine weapon — the Brahmashirastra — and released it toward the Pandavas.

This weapon was so terrible and all-destroying that its effect could give rise to the possibility of the destruction of the entire creation, and in this exceedingly critical, life-or-death situation, Arjuna too had to take a decisive step at once.

Arjuna, seeing this terrible Brahmashirastra released by Ashwatthama coming toward him, and understanding its possible all-destroying consequence, on the advice of Maharishi Vyasa and Krishna, invoked his own Brahmastra as well, and released it in answer to that weapon.

Both these divine, exceedingly powerful weapons, colliding with each other in the sky, began creating such a terrible, apocalyptic sight that fear and trembling spread throughout all three worlds, and the gods themselves grew anxious at this sight.

Maharishi Vyasa and the other sages present, to protect the entire creation from the consequences of this terrible, all-destroying clash, appeared there at once, and ordered both warriors — Arjuna and Ashwatthama — to withdraw their respective weapons.

Arjuna, because of his extraordinary skill in weaponry, succeeded completely in withdrawing his Brahmastra, but Ashwatthama, not being so accomplished in this art, was completely unable to withdraw his weapon.

Ashwatthama, in his obstinacy at not letting his weapon go entirely to waste, exceedingly cruelly turned its direction toward Uttara's womb, to root out and destroy the Pandavas' entire lineage — she who at that time carried Abhimanyu's child in her womb.

Seeing this exceedingly cruel, reprehensible act of Ashwatthama's, in which he attempted to take the life of an unborn child, Krishna himself grew exceedingly angry, and at once, using his divine power, took the firm resolve to protect Uttara's womb from the effect of that Brahmastra.

Krishna, through his yogamaya, rendered the effect of that terrible weapon ineffective before it could reach Uttara's unborn child, and gave the divine promise that he himself would always protect the life of that unborn child — Parikshit.

Maharishi Vyasa, exceedingly distressed by this entire course of events, declared, for this unforgivable, heinous act of Ashwatthama's, an exceedingly harsh, long-lasting curse — that for three thousand years, he would wander alone in desolate forests, with incurable wounds on his body and unbearable pain.

Along with this, Arjuna forcibly seized that divine jewel from Ashwatthama's forehead, which had been embedded in his forehead from birth, and which gave him protection from hunger, thirst, and fear, and this jewel was presented before Draupadi.

Draupadi, seeing this partial vengeance for the death of her five sons, and seeing Ashwatthama punished with this long-lasting, painful curse in place of a death sentence, somewhat satisfied, finally, fulfilling her vow, agreed to partake of food and water.

After the events of this exceedingly terrible, tragic night, the entire Pandava army, which had been victorious in eighteen days of terrible war, was now almost completely destroyed, and the joy of this victory turned into deep grief and emptiness.

Yudhishthira, even after this extraordinary victory, sank into deep grief and self-reflection over this exceedingly cruel loss of Draupadi's five sons, Dhrishtadyumna, and his entire army; the question kept arising again and again in his heart of whether this victory had truly been worthwhile.

Ashwatthama, with that long-lasting curse of his, sunk in exceedingly deep pain and humiliation, was forced to wander alone toward the forest — this was an end that forever tarnished even the name of his father Dronacharya.

Krishna, even amid this entire tragic course of events, by protecting Parikshit, ensuring the protection of that final, only offspring of the Kuru dynasty, had already kindled a new ray of hope for the coming generation.

Thus the Sauptika Parva reaches its conclusion with that terrible, nocturnal massacre of Ashwatthama's, the death of Draupadi's sons, and finally the protection of Parikshit. In the next parva, the Stri Parva, the story of the women's poignant lament on the battlefield will be told.