Is Asvatthama still alive today?

There are many legends connected with Asvatthama. However, if we accept the account of the Srimad Bhagavatam, these legends are proved false. He is alive, but not as people think.

Asvatthama is one of the popular characters of the Mahabharata. The curse he received from Krsna tends to capture people's imagination and many wonder if he is still roaming around today. For some, he is just a vain villain, who killed innocent children, while for others he is a great hero. However, if we hear the opinion of the scriptures, his character is much more nuanced.

Asvatthama was born as the son of Dronacarya after he and his wife performed penances for many years. Just like Dronacarya was originally a Brahmana but later became a Ksatriya, Asvatthama is also a Brahmana who was acting like a Ksatriya. Not only was he born with a natural jewel in his head, that gave him powers to resist hunger, thirst, and other difficulties, giving him the power to execute great austerities, but he was also blessed to live "eternally", until the end of creation, just like Parasurama, Vyasa and other great sages.

However, although being such an exalted personality, Asvatthama committed a sequence of grave crimes, starting with the killing of the five teenage sons of the Pandavas during their sleep as a way to revenge for the death of his father during the battle of Kuruksetra.

Seeing Draupadi crying in distress due to the loss of her sons, Arjuna made a solemn promise to her: "O gentle lady, when I present you with the head of that brāhmaṇa, after beheading him with arrows from my Gāṇḍīva bow, I shall then wipe the tears from your eyes and pacify you. Then, after burning your sons’ bodies, you can take your bath standing on his head."

When Asvatthama saw Arjuna approaching him at great speed in his chariot, Asvatthama was in a panic. He tried to escape, but when he saw the horses were tired, he tried, in desperation a last resort measure, shooting a Brahmastra to try to save himself, even though he didn't know how to retract the weapon. This created an extremely dangerous situation because unless the weapon is retracted timely, the explosion of a Brahmastra can expand unlimitedly and destroy the whole universe. This catastrophe was avoided only because Arjuna, following the guidance of Krsna, was able to neutralize the explosion by throwing his own Brahmastra and then simultaneously retracting both weapons.

After defeating Asvatthama, Arjuna bound him with ropes and brought him to their camp to discuss what to do with him with the other Pandavas. Draupadi, as well as King Yudhisthira, and others were in favor of pardoning him since he was originally a Brahmana and the son of their guru. However, Bhima argued strongly that he should be killed for his crimes. Arjuna had also promised to kill him, and for a Ksatriya, a promise like that is a serious thing.

Krsna summarized the situation in his iconic instruction to Arjuna: "A friend of a brāhmaṇa is not to be killed, but if he is an aggressor he must be killed. All these rulings are in the scriptures, and you should act accordingly. You have to fulfill your promise to your wife, and you must also act to the satisfaction of Bhīmasena and Me."

Understanding Krsna's mysterious instruction, Arjuna severed the hair and the natural jewel Asvatthama had in his head and sent him away. Suta Goswami supported this decision, commenting that "Cutting the hair from his head, depriving him of his wealth, and driving him from his residence are the prescribed punishments for the relative of a brāhmaṇa. There is no injunction for killing the body."

However, this didn't stop Asvatthama, who after being freed released another Brahmastra, this time at Uttara, to kill Pariksit, the last descendant of the Pandavas while he was still in the womb. This led Krsna to personally intervene to save the life of his pure devotee. Because of this incident, Pariksit could have a brief darshan of the Lord, which created a deep impression on him. The name Pariksit means "examiner" because he was constantly examining everyone he saw in search of the personality he could briefly see while in the womb.

Due to all these mistakes, Krsna personally cursed Asvatthama to wander alone for three thousand years during the initial centuries of Kali-Yuga, suffering alone as an indigent. Affected by incurable diseases, with sores all over his body and the wound caused by the removal of the jewel from his forehead never healing, he would wander without being able to find shelter or sympathy from the people.

The situation of Asvatthama is unique. If he was just an ordinary demon or just an ordinary supporter of Duryodhana, Krsna would have just organized for him to be killed during the battle of Kuruksetra, and he would thus have achieved impersonal liberation. However, because he was originally a Brahmana, not just by birth, but also by qualification, Krsna didn't want to have him killed since Krsna is always favorable to the Brahmanas. Despite all the mistakes committed by Asvatthama, Krsna was still not prepared to get rid of him.

Why then did Krsna curse him? The point is that curses when uttered by Krsna or his pure devotees have the goal of correcting one's mentality, so a blessing can be received. When Narada Muni cursed Nalakuvara and Manigriva to become trees, he did so to correct their consciousness, so they could have the blessing of having the personal dharshan of Krsna later on. Similarly, the curse of Krsna had the goal of purifying Asvatthama, allowing him to go back to his good consciousness and thus continue his path of service and purification. After cursing him, Krsna gave him the blessing of becoming one of the seven sages in the next Manvantara.

After the 3000 years of the curse of Krsna expired, Asvatthama recovered his original form and went to live in Badarikashrama, along with Srila Vyasadeva and other sages, where he is still living, waiting for the end of the current manvantara to assume his allotted position as one of the seven great sages of the universe. He will have then the opportunity to work for the upliftment of all souls, and thus use his abilities as a Brahmana for a good cause.

On SB 8.13.15-16 its mentioned: "O King, during the eighth manvantara, the great personalities Gālava, Dīptimān, Paraśurāma, Aśvatthāmā, Kṛpācārya, Ṛṣyaśṛṅga and our father, Vyāsadeva, the incarnation of Nārāyaṇa, will be the seven sages. For the present, they are all residing in their respective āśramas."

On SB 9.12.6, Srila Prabhupada comments: "Sometimes we hear from the Vedic literature that some personalities from the Vedic age, such as Vyāsadeva and Aśvatthāmā, are still living. Here we understand that Maru is also still living. We are sometimes surprised that a mortal body can live for such a long time. The explanation of this longevity is given here by the word yoga-siddha. If one becomes perfect in the practice of yoga, he can live as long as he likes. The demonstration of some trifling yoga-siddha does not constitute perfection. Here is a factual example of perfection: a yoga-siddha can live as long as he likes."

There are many legends connected with Asvatthama. Many believe that he was treated by a doctor in Madhya Pradesh, and that he currently lives with tribes at the foothills of the Himalayas, with some going as far as claiming to have spoken with him. However, if we accept the account of the Srimad Bhagavatam, these legends are proved false. It's true that Asvatthama is still alive, but he is now far from the curious eyes of Kali-yuga people, living in a subtle form in Badarikashrama, together with Vyasa and other great sages.

Just like the celestial planets, the gardens of Kuvera, and other places described in the Vedas, Badarikashrama exists in a subtle level of reality that is accessible only to great sages and demigods. It's believed that Madhvacharya went there and got personally instructed by Vyasadeva, but surely that's not the case with ordinary people. One can go to Badarikashrama in North India, but it doesn't mean one will automatically gain access to the subtle dimension where Vyasadeva lives.