Ancient India had her own atomic theory propagated by sage KaNaada. That theory talked about atoms, sub-atomic particles and their combinations. But did those Indians have nuclear missiles too? Based on superficial similarities, many commentators of ancient Indian scriptures tend to believe so. What they really had is something difficult to guess, but it appears as if they had more fierce weapons than our present-day nuclear missiles.
One such missile was the so called Brahmastra. In some places it is called Brahmashiras. Quite like our present-day nuclear missiles, it was used more as a deterrent. The one who had such a missile was never supposed to deploy it except under exceptional circumstances.
A Brahmastra was supposed to be a missile that was sure to hit any target it is directed to. Normally, it could not be intercepted by any other weapon than another Brahmastra. The weapon spewed fire and inflicted mass destruction by scorching the entire region around the target. The descriptions say that when one such missile is deployed, the entire area within its range would turn barren for 12 years!
If you jump to the conclusion that it is indeed a nuclear missile, then probably you are wrong. Unlike a nuclear missile which is a physical device made of physical components, a Brahmastra was a ‘Mantric’ missile. That means it belonged to a realm outside the material world, to the mystical world of Mantras. Anything could be turned into a Brahmastra if you have mastery over appropriate Mantras. Just chant specific mantras, you can instantly bring to life a Brahmastra!
Was it just a figment of poetic imagination? We never know. But one comes across descriptions of such missiles in many of the ancient Indian scriptures. So much so that, I came across a YouTube video which talked about the remnants of one such missile discovered in Afghanistan - Pakistan border. The Youtuber claimed it to be a confirmed evidence of existence of such missiles in ancient India. The video even talks about nuclear radiation still emanating from those remnants, and how many of the people who went near that ‘thing’ just vanished in thin air! Well, anything is possible in today’s YouTube world -😉
Why am I talking about Brahmastra here? That is because the story from Mahabharata that I am going discuss today, revolves around one such missile.
I was discussing about how Ashwatthama, a close friend of Duryodhana and son of his preceptor Drona, vowed to wipe out the entire clan of Pandavas. Ashwatthama was not only furious for the deceitful way in which his friend Duryodhana was slain by Bhima, but also the way his own father Drona was killed. So, Ashwatthama headed towards the Pandava camp to take his revenge.
It was a dark night. Everyone was fast asleep in the camp. Having conquered the Kauravas and killed all of them, they had no fear of any enemy. So, they were off the guard. Krishna and the Pandavas were spending that night on the bank of the river as it was customary to do so, after winning a great war.
Ashwatthama stealthily moved into the camp. He invoked special divine powers to lull all those warriors into a deep sleep state and started massacring them. He did not spare even the sons of the Pandavas who were also in the same camp. Ashwatthama accomplished his heinous act without any hindrance and proudly left the place with soldiers lying in a pool of blood. He was happy that he had taken his revenge and wiped out all his enemies as he vowed. But thanks to Krishna, Pandavas were not in that camp and they were safe.
On day break, when the Pandavas returned, they were shocked to see wailing ladies mourning over the dead bodies of soldiers scattered all over. All of Pandava’s children were slain too. Draupadi was uncontrollable with grief. Soon, Pandavas could guess what actually could have happened at night. Bhima immediately setout in search of the perpetrator, namely Ashwatthama.
Ashwatthama had anticipated this, and was hiding in a remote place. But Bhima traced him there. Seeing Bhima from a distance, Ashwatthama had no choice but to deploy a Brahmashira missile to safeguard himself. The missile, once deployed, would rush towards its target. It was moving fast, wreaking havoc on its way.
Krishna understood what was happening. Krishna knew that it was a Brahmashira missile which could not be intercepted by anything other than another Brahmashira missile. But Bhima did not know how to intercept a Brahmashira missile. It was only Arjuna who could deploy a Brahmashira missile. So, Krishna asked Arjuna to deploy a Brahmashira missile from his side to destroy the Brahmashira missile fired by Ashwatthama. And Arjuna did so without any delay. So, the calamity was almost averted.
Meanwhile, Bhima traced Ashwatthama and dragged him along, with an intention to kill him. He dropped Ashwatthama before Draupadi and asked her to take her revenge for whatever Ashwatthama had done. Cruel Ashwatthama had mercilessly killed all her sons while they were asleep. If she so wished, Draupadi could have asked Bhima to behead Ashwatthama at that very moment. And he deserved such a punishment.
But Draupadi was a mother after all. She knew very well the pain a mother goes through when she loses her child. Even in such a situation, Draupadi thought about Ashwatthama’s mother. That poor lady had lost her husband in the war and Ashwatthama was her only solace. If Bhima killed Ashwatthama, definitely it would be unfair to his mother who would have none left with her. So, Draupadi asked Bhima not to kill Ashwatthama but let him free.
But Krishna did not want to allow Ashwatthama to go scot free without paying for his sins. So, Krishna hinted to Arjuna to punish Ashwatthama in an appropriate way. The right punishment for the crime committed by Ashwatthama was death penalty.
But Ashwatthama was a Brahmin and killing a Brahmin was considered to be a great sin. Besides, Ashwatthama was Arjuna’s preceptor’s son. When a preceptor died, the ancient Indian convention was to look upon his successor as one’s preceptor. And that way, Ashwatthama was Arjuna’s preceptor too. And killing a preceptor was a greater sin.
As per the ancient Indian law, a Brahmin should never be killed, even if he commits a great crime. Insulting a Brahmin publicly was considered to be equivalent to capital punishment. With such a punishment, a Brahmin would lose all his respect and honor and it was as good as his death. So, Arjuna pulled out the jewel which always adorned Ashwatthama’s head, and shaved his head clean. That was as bad as beheading him. And then Ashwatthama was driven away in such a humiliating state.
But Pandava’s problems were far from over.
Just then Uttara, the widow of Arjuna’s son Abhimanyu came running in agony. Her husband Abhimanyu was killed by the Kauravas in the war. She was pregnant at that time. The child in her womb was the sole survivor who could continue Pandava clan. She came running with great pain since she was about to get aborted.
It was the Brahmashira missile that had created her condition. Ashwatthama had after all targeted that missile to annihilate the entire Pandava clan. Though Arjuna had intercepted that missile, it was not completely neutralized. The remnants of that missile had already attacked Uttara’s womb. Finally, Krishna protected the fetus in her womb which was almost dead. That fetus later became the sole surviving progeny of the Pandavas and was called Parikshita.
With the elimination of the last offender namely Ashwatthama, Yudhishthira’s path was open to ascend the throne of Hastinapur. He became the king of Hastinapur. Krishna returned to Dwarika after everything was settled down.
Let us shift our focus to Dwarika next. What is happening there?
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