(The pronunciation of this name is peculiar. The SH is pronounced like one between the 's' in 'sand' and 'sh' in 'shaft'. The first TH is pronounced like 'th' in 'with' and the second TH is pronounced like 'th' in 'thick'.)
( An elephant belonging to the Maalava king Indravarma was also named Ashvaththaama, which was killed by Bheema on the fifteenth day of the war. Much drama was played on that incident that lead to Drona's fall. Be careful in noting the same names for different persons or things.)
Asvaththaama was the son of Drona . He was one of the Braahmana trio on the Kouravas' side (his maternal uncle Kripa and his father were the other two). He was born by the gift of Lord Shiva to his mother Kripi who was sister of Kripa. It was told that, soon after he was born, he cried like a neighing horse in a loud voice and hence the divine voice named him Asvaththaama (Ashva=horse).
When he was a young boy, Drona was very poor. So, he approached his one-time classmate Drupada, the king of Paanchaalam, for help. But Drupada arrogantly insulted him and denied his pray.It was because of his father's love towards him that the former resorted to go to Drupada. Drona then went to Hasthipuram with his wife and son , settling there as teacher of paandavas and kouravas. Asvaththaama too learnt archery from his father alongwith the princes. Occasionally he himself taught the princes too. He was a fitting son to his father as far as valour and skill are concerned but he was not the master of his own mind. A bit egoist and irate. As a student, his competetive spirit was of such level that he urged upon the royal butlers not to serve food to Arjuna in darkness, lest he should learn blindshooting and surpass him.
While rekoning the grades of fighters on either side, Bheeshma gave him an esteemed grade as that of Arjuna. In the war, he played a prominent role by taking up crucial positions in the arrays. Few on the enemy side could stand before him . On the 15 th day, when his father was killed in the field , he turned furious and invoked his great Naaraayana asthra which of course was foiled by Krishna's tact before it could bring much destruction . Many times he fought with Arjuna, especially during the sixteenth and seventeenth days. He was surely a brave and gallant archer of no match .But, his arrogant temperment earned him a bad rank in general. He was a man of sincerity. He vehemently opposed Karna for his immoral policies. He was a staunch supporter of Duryodhana's cause, yet he all the while voted for Paanadavas and urged his king to make truce with them even on the 17 th day of war. But, it was he who delivered the final blow on the enemies on the night of the 18 th day of the war while the enemy camp was dead to the world and avenged not only his father's killing but even his king's. After Duryodhana fell to Bheema's mace, Asvaththaama, Kripa and Krithavarma, the only survivors on their side went to find Duryodhana. Seeing his king's pitiable state, Ashvaththaama grew furious and vowed to kill paandavas. Duryodhana sent him as his chief genaral to achieve that cause. Ashvaththaama went to paandavas' camp the same night with his two followers. In the midway, his companions rested for a while, while he himself was awake. Then he saw an owl attacking the sleeping chicks of crow in the dark night. He took that cue and attacked the sleeping enemy camp, despite objections from his followers. He entered the camp with a knife given by Lord Shiva in his hand and began to kill one by one, Dhrishtadyumna, Shikhandi, Uththamoujas, Yudhaamanyu, junior Paandavas etc. A clamour resulted and the enemies woke up but could not stand before him in the confusion. Those who slipped from his knife and fled were killed by the other two waiting at either end of the camp. The entire camp was burnt down to ashes leaving no man, no elephant and no horse. Thus Ashvaththaama could do what Bheeshma, Drona and Karna too could not do for Duryodhana. Luckily, Krishna took away Saathyaki and five Paandavas the evening before with him to river Oghavathi, away from the camp. Thus they survived the nocturnal attack.
After the massacre of the eighteenth day's night was reported to the paandavas, Arjuna ran after Ashvaththaama to teach him a lesson for his cruel act. Out of his helplessness, Ashvaththaama used his great asthra Brahmashiras against Arjuna who countered with his own Brahma asthra. When Vyaasa and others urged them to withdraw their asthras, Ashvaththaama couldn't do that. Arjuna did withdraw his own and Ashvaththaama's as well, though such a withdrawal of others' asthra would result in a famine of twelve years. Still spiteful, Ashvaththaama directed his missile towards the baby in princess Uththara's(Abhimanyu's widow) womb. Vyaasa and Krishna were very angry with him for that inhuman act and Krishna cursed him to be caught by a terrible skin desease (like leprosy) for three thousand years. Unwilling to kill a braahmana despite his great offence, as a symbolic killing, Arjuna took away Ashvaththaama's gem that he wore on his head. Thus losing his respect, fame and resplendence, Ashvaththaama then finally retired into the Himaalayas. Nothing was mentioned about his whereabouts therafter. His asthra killed the foetus and a dead child was born to Uththara but krishna vivified the dead boy, who was named Pareekshith.
Ashvaththaama was a bachelor and was reckoned as one of the six eternal livers (Vyaasa, Kripa, Bali,Kripa, Parashuraama and Ashvaththaama.).He was a plain and outspoken person. Any loose talk of Karna belittling the elders would make him burst against him. Yet, he was not reckoned as an ideal character, due to his spiteful nature which was unbecoming of a true Braahmana. Just being commited to a cause cannot justify one's stand. The way adopted to accomplish the target and the quality of the target itself should be plausible. Then only does the world approve it. That is what we should learn from this person in Mahaabhaaratham .
But for him, his father Drona would not have gone to Drupada for help and other developments would have been impossible. Thus his role is very pivotal in the epic. Also, only due to his father's excessive love towards him that Paandavas played a trick on Drona by falsely proclaiming that Ashvaththaama was killed and thereby making Drona renounce the war. Yudhishthira played pun on the name of Ashvaththaama using that name seemingly as Drona's son's but he actually meant by that name an elephant of the same name Ashvaththaaa which was killed by Bheema just then. That elephant belonged to Maalava king Indravarma.
"After praying to Naaraayana, Nara, Sarasvathi and Vyaasa, then one should read the Jayam."
DEDICATED TO MY DEAR NIECE VYSHNAVI KRISHNA