This episode of Mahabharata begins with Draupadi lounging in the Kauravas’ tent savoring her side’s victory. Her moment is interrupted when Gandhari comes in, groveling, begging forgiveness for her sons’ transgressions.
But Duryodhan still lives. He is moaning in agony as his life slowly ebbs away, but he is still lucid. After insulting the Pandavas one last time, the only other surviving warriors in his army come to him - Ashwathama, Kripacharya and Kritavarma. Duryodhan appoints Ashwathama his new commander of the military and orders him to slay the Pandavas as they sleep. A few moments after they leave to arrack, Duryodhan breathes his last.
Ashwathama assaults the Pandavas tent. He finds a sleeping Dhrishtadyumna and stabs him to death. Dronacharya is avenged. Ashwathama then finds five males sleeping in juxtaposed beds. Thinking they’re the Pandavas, Ashwathama fires arrows into their hearts killing them. Kripacharya and Kritavarma annihilate the camp guards, after which they leave to inform Duryodhan of their success. But Duryodhan is dead. Ashwathama cremates him, disbands the army and goes to Sage Vyasa’s ashram to do penance.
Except Ashwathama failed to achieve his attack’s primary objectives. The Oandavas were sleeping in the Kauravas tent that night, so Ashwathama killed Draupadi’s five sons known as Uppa-Pandavas instead. Vyasa informs him of this, but before Ashwathama can take his leave to go and attack the Pandavas, they catch up to him. And, boy are they pissed!
And then, Ashwathama and Arjun almost destroy the entire universe by firing brahmastra weapons at each other. Vyasa intercepts them both and admonishes both sides for using such weapons and commands them to retract their arrows. Arjun does it, but Ashwathama doesn’t know how to do this. An angry Vyasa yells at him to change its direction instead. Ashwathama directs it ... to kiiiilll ... the unborn in the woooooommmb!!
For this act, Ashwathama is cursed with a Wound That Will Not Heal and a Fate Worse than Death. And Krishna revives baby Parikshith.
Tropes found here are
- Incompletely Trained: Ashwathama knows how to invoke and deploy the Brahmastra but not how to retract it. Sage Vyasa really lets him have it for using it that way.
- Death of a Child: It appears as though baby Parikshit is going to die in the womb just before he is born. Subverted when Krishna resuscitates him.
- Dying Declaration of Hate: Duryodhan declares his loathing at the entire Lunar Chandravansh dynasty for having produced the Pandavas, just before he dies.
- Fate Worse than Death: Ashwathama is cursed to forever wander the earth with a painful bleeding putrefying wound, pleading everyone he sees for sympathy, but never receiving any.
- The Grovel: Gandhari tearfully grovels at Draupadi to forgive her sons.
- Ashwathama’s punishment is to tearfully grovel at everyone, for eternity.
- Insult to Rocks: When Ashwathama kills Parikshit the baby, Krishna berates him, saying “Ashwathama, you’re so vile that even swamp bog is repelled by you!”
- Mutually Assured Destruction: What two Brahmastra weapons fired at each other will cause.
- Nice Day, Deadly Night: The eighteenth day of the war went very well for the Pandavas’ army. None of them except Bhim fought, he won his fight and everyone appears to celebrate their hard earned victory. Then night falls and Ashwathama attacks, murdering people in their sleep.
- No Sympathy: Ashwathama is punished to get this reaction from everyone, eternally.
- The Remnant: Ashwathama, Kripacharya and Kritvarma are all that’s left of the Kauravas’ army.
- Slain in Their Sleep: Duryodhan orders Ashwathama to kill all five Pandavas this way. Ashwathama misses them, but instead kills Dhrishtadyumna and Draupadi’s five sons in their sleep.
- Tragic Stillbirth: Played straight, thanks to Ashwathama’s Brahmastra. Ultimately subverted as Krishna revives the baby.
- Wound That Will Not Heal: Ashwathama is ordered to cut out the jewel in his forehead, inflicting a flaying wound there. Krishna then decrees that the wound just inflicted will bleed and putrefy for eternity, causing Ashwathama unending agony.
- You Fool!: Vyasa calls Ashwathama one for deploying a Brahmastra without knowing how to retract it.
- You Killed My Father: Why Ashwathama rationalizes slaying Dhrishtadyumna and the Oandavas in their sleep - as retribution for the dishonorable manner in which they killed his father, Dronacharya.
