Epics of India Storybook

Aswatthaman is the son of Drona. He learned his skills in war from his father, training alongside the Pandavas and the Kauravas. At the end of the training, he participated with the others in the exhibition. Although not the greatest warrior in his training group, he was definitely skilled and competent. He does not appear much in the Mahabharata after the exhibition up through the exile of the Pandavas, but he plays a major role from the great battle through the end of the epic.

Aswatthaman’s role begins with the death of his father, Drona. Drona’s death has a large impact on Aswatthaman. First, he has a strong desire for revenge against his father’s killer. This response is not an unusual one: Drona’s death came about as a result of Dhrishtadyumna’s similar response to his own father’s death. Second, Aswatthaman undergoes a disillusionment of sorts. Prior to his father’s death, he had respected the morality of the Pandavas. When he learns that the death resulted from Yudhistira deceptively telling Drona “Aswatthaman is dead” and that even the son of Dharma lies to defeat his enemy in battle, his own moral sense is completely disoriented.

The combination of these two effects lead Aswatthaman to perform actions that are completely out of proportion to the usual (and somewhat acceptable) desire for revenge, and his actions violate the warrior’s code in which Drona would have trained him. (He launches a powerful weapon to wipe out the entire Pandava army, not just his father’s killer Dhrishtadyumna. He leads the night raid to wipe out the entire Pancala army — again, not just Dhrishtadyumna. The goal of the night raid is to kill his enemies while they sleep, violating the kshatriya dharma.)

Aswatthaman was originally a faithful son and a valiant ally. However, this changed after his father’s death. In the name of avenging Drona, he committed acts which Drona would not have approved and of which he would not have been proud. When Duryodhana hears of the night raid, he is not happy that Aswatthaman exceeded his desire for revenge against Dhrishtadyumna and wiped out the entire Pancala army. The severity and disproportion of his actions made him dangerous and disgraceful as a son and ally.