aSvatTAman m. [ aSvasyeva sTAma balamasya, pfzo° samAsaH ; cf. Mb. aSvasyevAsya yatsTAma nadataH pradiSo gatam .. aSvatTAmEva bAloyaM tasmAnnAmnA Bavizyati .. ] N. of a celebrated Brāhmaṇa warrior and general on the side of the Kauravas, son of Droṇa and Kṛpī. [After the last great battle in which Duryodhana was mortally wounded, Aśvatthāman, with two other surviving Kauravas, entered the Pāṇḍava camp at night, where he stamped Dhṛṣṭadyumna, the slayer of his father, to death and killed the five young sons of the Pāṇḍavas, killing even Parīkṣit while yet in the mother's womb who was, however, restored to life by Kṛṣṇa. The next morning Draupadī clamoured for revenge upon the murderer of her children, but she consented to forego her demand for his blood if the precious jewel he wore on his head were brought to her. Bhīma, Arjuna, and Kṛṣṇa overtook Aśvatthāman and compelled him to yield the jewel which Yudhiṣṭhira afterwards wore on his head. He is represented as a very brave, fiery-tempered, young warrior, the embodiment of Brāhmaṇic and saintly lustre, and his altercation with Karṇa about the nomination of a general to succeed Droṇa clearly brings out the chief ( pb ) features of his character; see Ve. 3 rd act. He is one of the 7 Cirajīvins ‘ever living persons’].