Watching the Mahabharat TV series, my husband and I were intrigued by the character of Ashwatthama. As disciples of Paramahamsa Nithyananda, who have seen too many miracles with our own eyes to count, watching the story of Mahabharat is more like history unfolding before our eyes. So both of us started to discuss about this great character from Mahabharat and the extraordinary curse he was given by Lord Krishna to stay alive until the end of Kali Yuga. I had previously read somewhere that Ashwatthama has been sighted by many people. I decided to do a google search. My objective was to ascertain whether there is some truth behind these stories, some common thread that runs through all or most of the accounts, which would lend credibility to the sightings that were reported.
https://www.quora.com/What-happened-to-Aswathama-Is-he-still-alive
https://www.quora.com/If-Ashwathama-is-alive-then-where-is-he-now
http://narmadaparikamawithme.blogspot.in/2016/01/first-and-foremost-my-sincere-pranam-to.html
I found more than 10 accounts on blogs/websites and one youtube video by zee tv, about an attempt to find Ashwatthama. Here are the ones which provided details about the place and time.
- Locals claim to have seen him in Chandod near Bharuch in Gujarat
- Seen by a railway employee in the jungles of Navsari (Gujarat) (around 2006?)
- By Prithviraj Chauhan in a jungle (1192 AD)
- Saint Narnappa in Gadag, Karnataka (late 14th, early 15th century)
- On the way from Vrindavan to Chappaiya by Bhagwan Swaminarayan’s parents (200 years ago)
- In Ludhiana, Punjab by a vaidya (1968-69)
- By saint Vasudevanand Saraswati in the dense forest of Shulpaneeshawar, somewhere in Dhar district, MP (1912)
- By Pilot baba on Narmada Parikrama, living amongst Bhilas in Shulpaneshwar forest. In this account, Ashwatthama mentions that “Once in a while I go to the Himalayas to meet ” Kripa Charya’ and Vidhur. “.
- Asirgarh fort near Burhanpur, MP. According to locals, he visits the Shiva temple there every day. This place is near Narmada and Tapti rivers and Omkareshwar temple.
- Near Hafeshwar temple by a blogger on Narmada Parikrama. This temple is very close to Shulpaneshwar forest. (2016?)
- Khaireshwar temple at a place called Shivrajpur near Kanpur, he is said to visit a temple every night (Zee news story)
- Lilotinath Temple near Lakhimpur (Zee news story)
At first it may look like he has been sighted all over India. However, a very interesting theme soon became apparent in the written accounts. Most of the recent sightings were in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, near by the Narmada river. Specifically, 6 out of the total 12 accounts have occured in the vicinity of Narmada river.
The descriptions vary to some extent, but in almost all cases he is described as tall, well-built, with intense eyes and charismatic personality, and with festering wounds that do not heal which is his characteristic recognizable trait. In almost all accounts, he is found near Shiva temples either worshiping Lord Shiva, or guiding lost pilgrims. In most cases, he disappears as soon as someone recognizes him, the exception being the encounters with Pilot Baba and Saint Narnappa.
The conclusions I can draw from these is that it is highly likely that Ashwatthama is alive. Narmada river forests seem to be the favorite hiding place of Ashwatthama. He can appear and disappear at will, possibly even change his appearance to some extent, but by most accounts appears to be significantly taller than normal human beings. He, after all, was an exalted being with many siddhis. So it is no surprise that he reveals himself to people only when they are in dire need and disappears as soon as he is recognized by them.
He seems to favor worship of Lord Shiva, probably as penance. Some of the other sightings that have happened, can easily be explained by his occasional visits to other religious places. He avoids being seen publicly, and travels through forests and other deserted areas. All of these are in line with the curse that he was given in Mahabharata by Lord Krishna.
Next up – planning a trip to Burhanpur, one the of places where he has been sighted quite frequently 🙂
Na Guror Adhikam! 