StateMaster - Encyclopedia: Ashwathama

In the Hindu epic Mahabharata, Ashwatthama was the son of guru, Dronacharya. Dronacharya loved him dearly. Rumors about his death in the Kurukshetra war led to the death of his father in the hands of Prince Dhrishtadyumna. A vengeful Ashwathama obtained permission from the dying Duryodhana to brutally murder Dhrishtadhyumna after the war had officially ended. Ashwathama at the end of the war promised Duryodhana that he would kill the Pandavas, and attacked the Pandava camp in the middle of the night, but by error ended up murdering the 5 sons of Pandavas by Draupadi. The Pandavas, incensed by this act, chased him resulting in his fight with Arjuna. During the fight, Ashwatthama unleashed the 'Bramhastra' and Arjuna in response unleashed the 'Pashupatastra'. Fearing the destruction of the world, the sages advised both to take back their weapons. While Arjuna could do so, Ashwathama could not and was given the option of choosing any single target to destroy. Out of spite, Ashwathama directed the weapon at the womb of Uttara who was carrying the unborn child of Abhimanyu, who upon birth would be the future heir to all the Pandava brothers. Krishna saved the unborn child from the horrible weapon and Ashwatthama was cursed with leprousy and to roam the world as an unloved immortal. A Hindu is an adherent of Hinduism, the predominant religious, philosophical and cultural system of Bharat (India). ... The Mahabharata (Devanagari: à¤®à¤¹à¤¾à¤à¤¾à¤°à¤¤, phonetically MahÄbhÄrata - see note), sometimes just called Bharata, is one of the two major ancient Sanskrit epics of India, the other being the Ramayana. ... A guru (à¤—à¥à¤°à¥‚ Sanskrit) is a teacher in Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism. ... In the epic Mahabharata, Drona is the royal guru to the Kauravas and the Pandavas. ... Kurukshetra may refer to: The Kurukshetra war described in the Mahabharata, an Indian epic The town and district of Kurukshetra in the Indian state of Haryana This is a disambiguation page â€” a navigational aid which lists pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... In the Mahabharata, Dhristadyumna is the adopted son of King Drupada of Panchala. ... In the Mahabharata Duryodhana is the eldest son of the blind king Dhritarashtra by Queen Gandhari, and the eldest of the Kaurava brothers. ... In the Mahabharata Duryodhana is the eldest son of the blind king Dhritarashtra by Queen Gandhari, and the eldest of the Kaurava brothers. ... In Hinduism, the Pandavas are the five acknowledged sons of Pandu. ... Uttara in Hindu mythology is the name of the son of King Virata who went into battle with Arjuna, in disguise, as his charioteer. ... In the epic Mahabharata, Abhimanyu is the son of Arjuna and Subhadra. ... In Hinduism, the Pandavas are the five acknowledged sons of Pandu. ... Lord Krishna Krishna (à¤•à¥ƒà¤·à¥à¤£, Sanskrit for black), is, according to common Hindu tradition, the eighth avatar of Vishnu. ...

Categories: Mahabharata epic Hinduism (à¤¸à¤¨à¤¾à¤¤à¤¨ à¤§à¤°à¥à¤®; also known as SanÄtana Dharma, and Vaidika-Dharma ) is a worldwide tradition that encompasses several religions and ideologies. ... The term Hindu mythology refers collectively to a large body of Indian literature (essentially, the mythology of Hinduism) that detail the lives and times of legendary personalities, deities and divine incarnations on earth interspersed with often large sections of philosophical and ethical discourse. ... Itihasa (Sanskrit: thus verily happened) refers collectively to the epic Hindu scriptures, detailing the actions of divine incarnations on earth while interspersing them with often large sections of philosophical and ethical discourse. ... This is the Devanagari symbol for the Hindu sacred syllable Aum. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... This article concerns the Hindu creator god, Brahma. ... For other uses of the name Vishnu, see Vishnu (disambiguation). ... Lord Åšiva. ... This article is about a Hindu incarnation of God (i. ... Lord Krishna Krishna (à¤•à¥ƒà¤·à¥à¤£, Sanskrit for black), is, according to common Hindu tradition, the eighth avatar of Vishnu. ... Lord Ganesha In Hinduism, Ganesha (or lord of the hosts, also spelled as Ganesa and sometimes referred to as Ganapati in Marathi, Gujarati and other Indian languages) is a son of Shiva and Parvati, and the husband of Bharati, Riddhi and Siddhi. ... Indra (à¤‡à¤¨à¥à¤¦à¥à¤°), god of weather and war, and Lord of Heaven or Swargaloka, was the supreme deva of Hinduism during the early Vedic period. ... Gayatri (gāyatrī) is the feminine form of gāyatra, a Sanskrit word for a song or a hymn. ... Popular image of Lakshmi In Hinduism, Lakshmi or Laxmi (Sanskrit: à¤²à¤•à¥à¤·à¥à¤®à¥€) is the goddess of wealth and fortune, as well as (secondarily) luck, beauty and fertility. ... This article is about Saraswati, the Hindu goddess. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Lord Hanuman In Hinduism, Hanuman is a vanara who aided Rama (an avatar of Vishnu) in rescuing his wife, Sita, from the Rakshasa king Ravana. ... The Vedas (also referred to as Vedam) are part of the Hindu Shruti; these religious scriptures form part of the core of the Brahminical and Vedic traditions within Hinduism and are the inspirational, metaphysical and mythological foundation for later Vedanta, Yoga, Tantra and even Bhakti forms of Hinduism. ... Lord Ram, Laxman, Sita and Hanuman(crouching) The Ramayana (Sanskrit: march (ayana) of Rama) is part of the Hindu smriti, written by Valmiki. ... The Mahabharata (Devanagari: à¤®à¤¹à¤¾à¤à¤¾à¤°à¤¤, phonetically MahÄbhÄrata - see note), sometimes just called Bharata, is one of the two major ancient Sanskrit epics of India, the other being the Ramayana. ...