Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Mahabharata, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Dharma
Pursuing Enlightenment
Heroism and Warfare
Grief, Loss, and Mourning
Stories and Storytelling
Summary
Analysis
THE NIGHT-RAID. Samjaya continues telling the story of the war to Dhritarashtra. That night, after Duryodhana’s defeat, Aśvatthaman witnesses an owl hunting, and he gets the idea of a night-time attack. Some of his allies want to consult Dhritarashtra or Vidura first, but eventually, Aśvatthaman convinces them to go along with his plan. He, Kripa, and Kritavarma approach the enemy camp, where Aśvatthaman prays for protection from Śiva.
Aśvatthaman’s night-raid raises some of the biggest moral questions in the poem. On the one hand, Aśvatthaman ignores the advice of his elders and decides to attack his enemies when they aren’t ready, suggesting something dishonorable about the raid. On the other hand, Aśvatthaman takes inspiration for the raid from nature (by watching an owl) and prays to Śiva before going through with it, suggesting that, despite its brutality, there may be something natural and justified about Aśvatthaman’s attack.
Themes
Aśvatthaman stations Kripa and Kritavarma by the gate of the camp, while he goes in himself. He sneaks into the quarters of Dhrishtadyumna, wakes him up, then refuses to give him a warrior’s death by the sword, instead stomping him to death. He then goes out and kills all of Dhrishtadyumna’s followers. He goes on to kill many more sleeping soldiers. With his sharp sword, he kills the sons of all the Pandavas: Prativindhya, Sutasoma, Śatanika, Śrutakirti, and Śrutasena.
Although Aśvatthaman’s treatment of Dhrishtadyumna is dishonorable, it has clear parallels to the way that Bhima trampled Duryodhana. Similarly, Aśvatthaman’s killing of the five Pandava sons that they had with Draupadi parallels how the elder Pandavas killed the sons of Karna and other Kauravas. The night raid brutally balances the scale for much of the Pandavas earlier success.
Themes
Next, Sikhandin challenges Aśvatthaman, attacking him from all sides with all the weapons he has, but Aśvatthaman slices him in half down the middle. He continues slaying every Pandava ally he sees with his sword, then he gets in his chariot and starts firing off arrows. He causes chaos across the camp, and some warriors get trampled by their allies or elephants. Those that try to flee get slain by Kripa and Kritavarma by the gate. They then set the camp on fire.
When Aśvatthaman splits Sikhandin down the middle, it symbolizes that Sikhandin was born female but became a man through a boon. Although Aśvatthaman kills Sikhandin with a sword, he does so in battle, unlike his killing of Dhrishtadyumna, whom he killed by stomping. And so, while Sikhandin loses the sword fight, Aśvatthaman nevertheless acknowledges Sikhandin’s status as a warrior by dueling him fairly, something that Bhishma and others were unwilling to do.
Themes
Aśvatthaman walks with his sword around the burning camp, cutting off all sorts of body parts. Warriors begin killing each other so that they don’t have to die by fire or by Aśvatthaman’s hand. By midnight, the Pandava army is gone. Rakshasas and other demons come to feed on the corpses, bringing their wives and children. At dawn, Aśvatthaman finally leaves the camp, his sword-hilt glued to his hand by blood.
Even in a war in which heroes regularly kill tens of thousands of nameless enemies, the scale of Aśvatthaman’s destruction is shocking for just one person. The purpose of the night-raid is not, however, to suggest that Aśvatthaman is the most powerful fighter of all but instead to suggest how powerful Śiva’s aid is, as well as portraying a restoration of balance, with the Pandavas suffering after inflicting so many casualties on the Kauravas in battle.
Themes
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Dhritarashtra asks Samjaya why Aśvatthaman didn’t just do this earlier. Samjaya explains that the timing was important, and it was only possible because the five Pandava brothers, Krishna, and Satyaki were away. Samjaya continues the narrative, explaining how Aśvatthaman went back to find Duryodhana still barely alive. Duryodhana bids him farewell, hoping to meet him again in heaven, and then he dies. Samjaya then says he’s finished—he has lost the gift of divine sight that allowed him to observe the whole battle.
As Samjaya’s answer to Dhritarashtra’s question shows, everything in the Kurukshetra War must happen at its appointed time. While Samjaya gives a practical answer for why Aśvatthaman didn’t strike earlier, perhaps the larger reason for why Aśvatthaman’s attack only came at the end is because the night raid is an act of revenge and of re-balancing the scales—had Aśvatthaman attempted the same thing earlier, he might not have received the support of Śiva, which was so crucial to his operation’s success.
Themes
THE REED WEAPON. With Samjaya no longer the narrator of the story, Vaiśampayana continues telling the story of the war to Janamejaya. Yudhishthira hears what happened from Dhrishtadyumna’s charioteer and faints with grief. He dreads telling Draupadi that she lost her sons, her brother, and her father. Draupadi also faints at the news. She tells Yudhishthira that if he doesn’t kill Aśvatthaman immediately, she’ll fast to death. She says Aśvatthaman was born with a jewel in his head, and if she sees that jewel, she’ll stop fasting.
Although the Pandavas have won the war, they have done so at great cost, despite their valiant fighting in the previous days. Many figures in the poem bring about their downfall by acting too rashly, but in this case, Draupadi’s swift desire for revenge is actually a positive character trait—because it shows that unlike her husbands, she is determined not to be paralyzed by grief and instead to take action.
Themes
Bhima, with Nakula driving his chariot, goes out to find Aśvatthaman. Yudhishthira fears for Bhima’s life, so he, Krishna, and Arjuna hop in a chariot to follow him. Aśvatthaman has a special celestial weapon called Brahma’s Head, which can take many shapes but always has four heads, like Brahma. Aśvatthaman isn’t supposed to use Brahma’s head against humans because it’s so powerful it could destroy gods or even the whole universe. Arjuna has a similar celestial weapon, and when he and Aśvatthaman meet up, each draws their weapon and threatens to use it, putting the whole world in danger. Narada and Vyasa each appear to condemn both of them for their recklessness.
With each confrontation, the stakes get higher, and so it’s only natural that this climactic face-off between Arjuna and Aśvatthaman threatens to destroy the entire universe. Although the passage involves the weapons of the gods, it is arguably more about humanity’s own potential for self-destruction and how rash actions in the heat of the moment have the potential to have catastrophic outcomes. By showing the dangers of passionate action, this passage shows why it’s necessary to act with detachment, as Krishna advised in the Bhagavadgita.
Themes
Arjuna withdraws his celestial weapon, but Aśvatthaman’s weapon is so powerful that he physically can’t withdraw it, so he tries to defend why he drew it. Vyasa says Arjuna’s drawing of his weapon was more justified, since he was just defending himself from Aśvatthaman. He advises Aśvatthaman that if he just gives Arjuna the jewel from his head, the Pandavas will spare his life. Although the jewel is more precious to Aśvatthaman than any other possession, he gives it up. Since he can’t withdraw his Brahma’s Head celestial weapon without using it, he releases it into the wombs of the Pandava women.
Although Arjuna is tempted to unleash his powerful weapon, he has internalized enough of Krishna’s messages about detachment to prevent himself from acting rashly. By contrast, the passionate Aśvatthaman can’t control the power he yields. He tries and mostly succeeds in directing that weapon toward his enemies, trying to obliterate the Pandava lineage as revenge for what the Pandavas did to the Kauravas.
Themes
Krishna says that Aśvatthaman’s release of his celestial weapon into the Pandava wombs fulfills a prophecy—when the Kuru lineage fails, Virata’s daughter (and the late Abhimanyu’s wife) will bear a son named Parikshit. Aśvatthaman says the weapon will make the child stillborn, but Krishna says the child will live anyway. Krishna curses Aśvatthaman to wander remote wastelands for 3,000 years without speaking to anyone. Aśvatthaman hands over his jewel and says he’ll be glad to stay in the mortal world for a long time.
Krishna, whose motives are often mysterious, always looks at the big picture, focusing not on the suffering among all the Pandava women suffering miscarriages but instead on how this suffering leads to the fulfillment of a prophecy. And so, while the end of the war emphasizes the brutality of all-out violence, the aftermath of the war begins to explore how violence can lead to renewal. While it might seem unfair that Aśvatthaman escapes death after killing so many Pandavas, in fact, the punishment Aśvatthaman receives is arguably worse than death, since a glorious death in battle is actually a good thing in this poem, and Aśvatthaman’s anonymity means he can’t earn fame like a warrior should.
Themes
The Pandavas hurry back with the jewel to Draupadi to stop her fast. They explain that they’ve defeated Aśvatthaman, even though his body technically still lives. Draupadi is satisfied with this. Yudhishthira wears Aśvatthaman’s jewel as his own. Krishna explains to Yudhishthira that Aśvatthaman’s rage was only possible due to the help of Śiva, whose moods can affect the whole earth.
The final passage of this book gets at the idea that a person is more than their mortal form—an idea that’s particularly relevant in Hinduism, where an individual’s current mortal form is just one incarnation in a line of many. By banishing Aśvatthaman, the Pandavas prevent him from reincarnating for at least 3,000 years, arguably doing more to stop his influence than simply killing him would do.
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