Some basic information about Ashwathama
Ashwathama: all those who have seen Mahabharata must be knowing this person. I find him the most important and the most talked about personality along with Karna. From the last few months, I have been reading a lot about him. He fascinates me a lot, as when I think that an individual is still alive with an age more than 5000 yrs. He is one of the 8 chiranjeevis that we have in Hindu mythology. Here is a list of all:
Ashwathama -a man cursed to immortality and extreme suffering without love from anybody for his role in the murder of the five sons of the Pandavas and his attempted murder of Arjuna's grandson
Bali (demon) -a righteous demon king who conquered heaven, earth, and the underworld, but was forced to give it back by Vamana
Vyasa -a sage who narrated the Mahabharata, he was also a sage in the epic
Hanuman -a monkey deva who served Rama
Vibhishana -Ravana's brother who was made King of Lanka by Rama
Kripacharya -a teacher of the princes in the Mahabharata
Parashurama -an avatar of Vishnu
Markandeya -a great rishi
It is very interesting to know that the man still revolves around jungles and villages. I have also heard that there is a Shiv temple somewhere in MP, where he comes daily for a penance and offers a rose to Lord Shiva. Couple of people has seen him as well, and have identified him as a man with a hole in the forehead. People who have seen him report that he is a 12 feet long man with broad shoulders. Ashwathama comes from dwapar yuga, where man used to be like that. Over the years, he has developed a kind of ability that he only gives DARSHAN to those people who are actually destined to meet him. So, I believe that if I or someone else has that kind of destiny, than we would surely get a chance to meet him. It is said from the mythological beliefs that he is suffering from leprosy, as because of the curse given by Lord Krishna and and mani taken out from his head. There is this small story that goes like this:
There was a vaidhya (doctor) in the jungles of rishikesh and he used to cure leprosy of any kind. So, one day a man came to his kutia/ashram and asked the rishi ji as who all in this world can he cure, by offering them a treatment of leprosy? Rishi ji replied: I can cause any kind of leprosy patient in this world, be it the person suffering from it from 50 yrs, however there is only person on whom my treatment would not make any effect at all. And that person is Ashwathama. Then that guy smiled and said to rishi: well in that case probably your medicine is of no use to me and he went away. That guy was Ashwathama.
According to the Hindu text known as Srimad Bhagavatam, Ashwathama, Vyasa, Kripa and Parashurama are destined to be future saptarishis (seven sages), Bali is destined to become the next Indra, Hanuman was blessed by Brahma to live as long as him and Vibhishana was blessed by Rama to live for one kalpa (ie. one full Day Of Brahma).
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Also there is a lot of confusion in people. Some people believe that he is immortal, which is not true. He is only cursed to live to the end of this world, which means that he has already lived for around 5000 yrs so far, and would be living for some 2300 yrs or more, as Kalki Bhagwan (10th incarnation of Vishnu Ji is believed to take birth in the 4320th century). After that the kaliyuga will end with one kalpa (day) of Brahma Ji. And Ashwathama will become one of the seven sages of the coming Satyuga.
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