Mahabharata Character Who Is Still Alive ?

Yes, you all heard it right.A character from mahabharata era still alive .
Even i was shocked when came across such story. I wondered how can someone from kurukshetra war i.e Mahabharata era be still alive?

He was "ASHWATHAMA"

Who was he ?

Ashwathama was the son of DRONACHARYA,who was the guru of both kauravas and the pandavas in the dwapar yuga( the third age of the four ages sat yuga,treta yuga,dwapar yuga and kali yuga).

Guru Dronacharya did many years dhyan and penance of lord shiva in order to obtain a son who possesses the same valiance in human form as lord shiva .

His mother's name was krupi. It is said that at the time of his birth he produced horse like sound from his throat that's the reason he was named as ASHWATHAMA(ashwa means horse in sanskrit ).

Ashwathama had a valuable gem or "mani" on his forehead,the wearer of which ceases to have any fear from weapons or diseases or hunger ,have no fear from gods,danavas( a race of the demons ) and nagas  ( a deity or class of entity or form of a very large snake ,found in hinduism and buddhism).

Ashwathama is the avatar of one of the eight Rudra's .It is said the he is the lone survivor still living ,who actually fought in the kurukshetra war.

He was very heroic and an expert archer. Droncharya thought him all vidyas and turned him into a great warrior. In the war of mahabharata , he was the commander of the army of the kauravas.

Dronacharya's Death:

In the war to defeat Dronacharya sri krishna planned a clever tactic .On the side of the pandavas there was an elephant by the name Ashwathama.sri krishna told Yudhishthira to spread the rumour that Ashwathama was dead.The elephant was killed and everyone shouted "Ashwathama is dead", Dronacharya heard these words and suspected his lone son Ashwatham was killed in th battle.Gloomy at the loss of his son he approached Yudhishthira and asked about his son .
Yudhisthira said "yes aswathama is dead" but added in whisper ."i do not know whether he is a man or an elephant ".Dronacharya didn't hear the second half of the sentence and thinking that his loving son has died gave up the fight and was susequently killed by Dhristayumna ,son of Drupad.

Here Ashwathama ,son of Dronacharya ,learnt about the trick played by sri krishna and Yudhishthira in the killing his father .To take his revenge , at the end of the mahabharata ,one night Ashwathama went to the pandavas camp.pandavas were not present in the camp at that time . Thinking that the pandavas were sleeping ,Ashwathama killed  all the five sons of the pandavas in their sleep and went to rishi Vyas's Ashram. 

Pandavas , upon return , got enraged seeing the deed done by Ashwathama and went to Sage Vyas’s Ashram.

Battle ensued and Ashwathama evoked Brahmashirsa Astra and fired, Arjun did the same. But, Sage Vyas interrupted and asked both the warriors to withdraw their weapons. Arjuna was able to withdraw his Astra but Ashwathama had not learnt to withdraw. Hence, Ashwathama directed his Astra towards the womb of pregnant Uttara (Abhimanyu’s wife). Seeing this Lord Krishna got enraged and cursed Ashwathama to  roam about the earth till eternity with blood and puss oozing out of his body, and also made ashwathama to surrender his Gem on his forehead.

 Ashwathama is still alive due to his curse and is also considered as one of the 7 Chiranjeevis in Hindu Mythology. There are various stories that suggest that he is still alive and is roaming around the Narmada river.

• Incident 1 :Ashwathama seen by Railway Employee

A more than a decade old newspaper article ran about a railway employee on leave. During his wanderings in the jungles of Navsari (Gujarat) he had reported a very tall man of about 12 feet with a wound on his head. He claimed to have conversation with him and learnt that Bheem was much taller and stronger than him.

• Incident 2: Prithviraj Chouhan Hindu King Meeting Ashwathama 

When in 1192, Prithveeraaj Chauhaan lost the battle from Mohammad Gauree, he left for jungle. There he met one old person with a scar on his head. Being a very good doctor Prithveeraaj Chauhaan confidently asked him that he can cure his scar. The old man agreed. But even after week’s medication it remained as it is. Prithveeraaj was surprised and understood the details. He asked old man if he is Ashwatthaamaa. Because only the scars that is created through taking up the “MANI” the gem from forehead cannot be cured. The old man told that he was Ashwatthaamaa and then he went away. This description is given in “Prithviraj Raso” the book written in 12th century on him.

• Incident 3: Ashwathama Encounter with saint Naranappa

In late 14th, early 15th century there lived in Gadag, Karnaatak, a poor Braahman called Naranappa. Later, because of the Mahabharata epic “Karnata Bharata Kathamanjari” that he wrote in Kannada, he came to be called as Kumara Vyasa. His greatest desire was to write Mahaabhaarat based on original sources, and to this end he prayed day-in and day-out in the Temple of Veera Naaraayan, temple of Trikooteshwar. One day the Almighty decided to answer his prayers and appeared in his dream and said: “Attend the forthcoming Dwaadashee Paaran (Dwaadashee feast) in the Veera Naaraayan Temple. Watch out for one lone Braahman who would leave the feast earliest. He is none other than Ashwathaamaa of MBH. Fall at his feet and ask him to narrate the MahaBharat as it happened. You can record it in writing and claim your share of fame”.

Promptly Naranappa attended the following Dwaadashee Paaran at the Veera Narayan Temple, and then followed the Brahmin who finished his feast the earliest and started walking out of the Temple. He approached him and fell at his feet saying, “I know who you are, you are the very same Ashwatthaamaa of MahaBharat, please help me”. At this Ashwathaamaa was taken aback and asked him how do you know this? Naranappa responded saying “The Veera Naaraayan Swamy” appeared in his dream and told me so. Ashwatthaamaa was mightily pleased hearing this and asked Naranappa, OK, tell me what can I do for you. Naranappa responded saying he would like to write the Mahaabhaarat in Kannada as it happened.

To this Ashwathama agreed under two conditions .he said that naranappa should start writing the mahabharata everyday after he finished his bath,wearing a wet veshti(Dhotee).Ashwathama said " you can keep writing till such time your veshti is wet and the mahabharata would flow from your pen as it happened .The moment your clothes gets dried up ,the flow would stop. He also put a condition that he should not disclose this secret to anyone failing which the flow would stop forever.But,Naranappa was excited about this and he kept secret till the time he reached the gadaa parv ("the time when Duryodhan and Bheem fought ).Naranappa overcome with excitement disclosed this secret to his wife and his flow stopped immediately.That is why his mahabharata ends with Gadaa parv only.

• Incident 4: Ashwathama meeting parents of Swaminarayan

Dharmdev and Bhaktimataa(parents of swaminarayan) were cursed over two hundred years ago by Ashwathama .This is described in Satsangi Jivan written by Shatanand Muni .
Hw was tall and well built robed in orange clothes as  a brahmin.His head was strapped just above his eyebrows and he was covered with ash.He had big red eyes full of angerness .Mother Bhaktimaa and father Dharmdev were on their back from Vrindavan where sri krishna proclaimed to them that their troubles would soon end afterhe himseld would be born to them.
they said everything to Ashwathama on their way in jungle .
with this Brhamin spoke with anger in his voice "krishna my arch enemy?will be born to you ?i curse him for the pain i have borne as of him ,that he as your son will never be able to bear weapons and neither shall be able to fight in any way "saying this he left pushing dharmdev aside. 


Incident 5: Aswathama Seen in Ludhiana, Punjab
        During 1968-69: A doctor narrated an incident of meeting a person with an injured forehead. He had never seen such a dent before as if the brain was taken away from the forefront, yet the skin was tight as if nothing had happened. By the time the doctor tried to bring his stuff from the Almira, that man had left, never to be found again. But he said that his eyes always haunted him.

Incident 6:Aswathama seen nearby Narmada river (Gujarat)

           Numerous people that others have spotted someone with a dent in the forehead roaming around the Narmada river (Gujarat). He was described as a tall person, and that there were tons of flies, bugs surrounding him all the time.

Incident 7:Vasudevanand Saraswati Met Ashwathama in Shoolpaneeshawar
                  
  Vasudevanand Saraswati, a saint who is considered as an incarnation of Dattatreya by his followers, saw Ashwatthama in the dense forest of Shulpaneeshawar near Katarkheda, in the year 1912.

Mountains Inside Us!

In the modern world,as more and more people face stress, loneliness, depression and mental breakdowns.
So,mental health becomes the important topic to be discussed and spread the awareness regarding mental health.
A person may look fit from outside but inside he/she may be fighting some inner battle.

What is Depression? 

Depression is a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest.
It affects how you feel, think and behave and can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems.
Depression is generally associated with desolation, perpetual sadness and restlessness.
Doctor’s say depression is the denouement of a combination of factors like over-expectation from parents, friends and self,  an unusual dependence on technology and friendship and an inability to handle setbacks.
Does every mood swing is a sign of depression? 
No .
Not every mood swing is a  sign of depression.
Generally, Depressed people exhibit reduced interest in things that cause happiness.
Genetic Basis :
Research has revealed that the genetic basis of depression overlaps significantly with that of other psychiatric disorders such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia .
Few Symptoms of Depression :

• feelings of sadness, tearfulness,emptiness or hopeless ness .

-Angry outbursts, frustration even in small matters.

• frequent or recurrent thoughts of death, suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts of suicide.
• feelings of worthlessness or guilt, fixating on past failures of self blame.
• Anxiety, agitation or restlessness.

-Tiredness and lack of energy, even small tasks take efforts.
-Developing insomniac.
For many people with depression symptoms are severe enough to be noticeable.
Some may feel miserable or unhappy without really knowing why.
They may have mood swings through out day, they may be happy at one moment ,sad at the next.
According to World Health Organisation (WHO),
globally ,more than 264 million people of all ages suffer from depression.
More women are affected by depression than men.
How to deal with it? 
As not all mood swing is a depression,But continuous fall in mental health may lead to it.
After my failed attempts at UPSC,i felt such mood swings.so my parents suggested me take a break from preparation and work on things I like.
I was not under depression.. But continuous feeling of guilt, unworthiness might throw you into depressed state.
I kept myself busy by reading books which can help me to overcome such mood swings.
I felt I was not under depression but may be on  the verge of falling into it.
Two things helped me to deal with such swings :
They are
First is Books :

1. Man’s search for meaning in life by Vector.E.Frankl
2. Life is what you make it by preeti shenoy.

3.The power of your subconscious mind by Dr. Joseph Murphy.
4.Zen and the Art of Happiness by Chris Prentiss.
Second is
Talking to my mother, this helped me a lot. She listened to me patiently .
Lending an ear to your loved ones may help them to overcome their inner battle.
For different people different things may work.so,instead of judging one can help them to fight their inner battles.
As every human carries “Mountains inside them ”