The fall of Droṇa: the elephant named Aśvatthāman

Classical

In the later fighting Droṇa was killing the Pāñcālas in great numbers, and the Pāṇḍavas lost hope. They said that no one could even look at him and that Arjuna, who could face him, would not fight his own teacher. Kṛṣṇa told them that Droṇa could not be beaten by force even by the gods, but that once he laid down his weapons he could be killed even by men. He told them to give up righteousness for a plan and to tell Droṇa that Aśvatthāman had been killed, since he thought Droṇa would stop fighting if his son fell.

Arjuna did not accept the advice. Others did, and Yudhiṣṭhira accepted it with great difficulty. Bhīma then killed with his mace an elephant named Aśvatthāman, belonging to Indravarman, king of the Mālavas. Bhīma went up to Droṇa, a little ashamed, and called out that Aśvatthāman was dead. Sañjaya notes that he kept the truth in his mind while saying something untrue. Droṇa's limbs seemed to melt like sand in water, but then he remembered his son's strength and decided the news was false, and turned on Dhṛṣṭadyumna with a thousand arrows.

Droṇa then used the Brahma weapon and killed twenty thousand Pāñcālas, five hundred Matsyas, six thousand elephants and ten thousand horses. At that point sages came, including Viśvāmitra, Jamadagni, Bharadvāja, Gautama, Vasiṣṭha, Kaśyapa and Atri, with Agni at their head, and said to him that he was fighting unrighteously and that his time had come. They told him to put down his weapons and not to burn people who did not know the Brahma weapon. Hearing them, and seeing Dhṛṣṭadyumna in front of him, Droṇa grew heavy-hearted and asked Yudhiṣṭhira whether his son was dead.

He asked Yudhiṣṭhira alone because he was sure that Yudhiṣṭhira would not lie even for the three worlds. Kṛṣṇa, seeing that Droṇa would destroy the Pāṇḍavas if he fought for half a day, urged Yudhiṣṭhira that in such a case falsehood was better than truth, and said that a lie told to save a life is not a sin. Bhīma added that he had already told Droṇa, who did not believe him, and begged Yudhiṣṭhira to say it himself. Fearing the untruth but wanting victory, Yudhiṣṭhira said loudly that Aśvatthāman was dead, and added indistinctly the word elephant. Until then his car had stayed four fingers above the ground. Now it touched the earth.

Droṇa gave in to despair. His divine weapons would no longer come at his call, and the sages' words weighed on him. He took up a bow given by Aṅgiras but could not fight as before. Bhīma told him that Brāhmaṇas who fight as he did should be ashamed, and that he fought for a son who was already dead. Droṇa laid down his bow and called out to Karṇa, Kṛpa and Duryodhana to fight on, saying that he put down his weapons. Calling the name of Aśvatthāman, he sat on the terrace of his car and gave himself to yoga, with his mind on Viṣṇu and the syllable Om.

Dhṛṣṭadyumna then took a sword, jumped down and ran to him. Arjuna cried out that he must be taken alive and not killed, and all the troops shouted the same, but Dhṛṣṭadyumna cut off the head of the old man, who was eighty-five. Sañjaya says that the light of Droṇa went up into the sky like a second sun, and that only five men saw it: himself, Arjuna, Aśvatthāman, Kṛṣṇa and Yudhiṣṭhira. Dhṛṣṭadyumna threw the head before the Kaurava army, and they ran. Bhīma embraced him and promised to do so again when Karṇa and Duryodhana were dead. This is the act that Aśvatthāman later avenges.

Told by Sañjaya → Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Who: Droṇa, Yudhiṣṭhira, Kṛṣṇa, Bhīma, Dhṛṣṭadyumna, Arjuna, Aśvatthāman (elephant), Indravarman

Bound to

Drona born in a pot; Dhrishtadyumna born from fire to kill him birth

Ekalavya reborn as Dhrishtadyumna to kill Drona mirror

Ashvatthama: neighing birth, Shiva's boon, Krishna's curse of wandering curse

The Narayanastra: stop fighting origin

Places: Kurukṣetra

Where this comes from

read for this telling · Mahabharata, Ganguli translation (read via archive.org copy of the sacred-texts text) Drona Parva, Sections CXCI–CXCIII

See it on the tree · All stories

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