We’re at a crucial juncture wherein Ashwatthama has destroyed Utthara’s child, which is the next generation of Abhimanyu and Arjuna. However, Bhagawan Krishna is not going to allow the destruction to happen and He unleashes yet another divine “Leela” in front of everyone – As the baby comes out of Utthara’s womb in the form of a lifeless burnt stick, Bhagawan Krishna slowly touches it with His divine toe, caresses it gently and with this, the child comes back to life! As this happens, Bhagawan Krishna claims in front of everyone that if it is true that He is a “Brahmachari” beyond any question and if He hasn’t uttered even a single lie during His entire lifetime, let this child come alive once again! To everybody’s utter amazement, the child springs back to life and is named by Bhagawan Krishna as “Parikshit”. Thus, it is clear now that Parikshit will be the next successor of Yudishtra, in the absence of Abhimanyu and the other Upa-Pandavas.
As this unfolds, Ashwatthama quietly leaves the place, thanks to Bhagawan Krishna’s intense curse and a few hard-hitting words and with this, Ashwatthama is gone forever! He lived in this world for the next three thousand years, and there are a sect of people even today who believe that Ashwatthama is still alive somewhere. Now, as this happens, Yudishtra questions Bhagawan Krishna for the reason of such a disastrous happening. Bhagawan Krishna gives an important reply to Yudishtra by revealing some facts. He says thus, “Oh Yudishtra! Everything has a timing in this world. As I continue to create and protect living beings in this world, there is definitely a job called “Destruction” (“Samhaaram”) which has to be done. This job of “Samhaaram” is performed ably by Bhagawan Shiva. In fact, the time for such a vast destruction had come earlier itself and Bhagawan Shiva was gearing up to spring into action. However, I had requested Bhagawan Shiva to wait for some time and upon my request, Bhagawan Shiva was quiet. However, He had given me a deadline of protection and had questioned me for how long I would keep protecting all of them. Bhagawan Shiva’s point was very valid and thus, I had given Him a deadline. Now this deadline has come to an end, and Bhagawan Shiva has sprung into action. He came in the form of Ashwatthama and ensured that your entire generation of family and relatives were killed. Oh Yudishtra! Please understand – Everything that is being created and protected in this world has to face destruction at some point in time. This is inevitable. Bhagawan Shiva is just doing His duty and there’s no point in brooding over it. We’ve to move on with life and see what best can be done at the present moment. If not for Ashwatthama to come and unleash his activities, destruction would have happened in some other form. Hence, Ashwatthama was just an instrument in the hands of Bhagawan Shiva, who entered into his powerful “Asthrams” and weapons. Even if you would have fought him in the battlefield today, none of you would have survived Ashwatthama’s wrath! Hence, whatever happens, happens for good and it is better to move on from this, rather than thinking too much about it!”
Saying thus, Bhagawan Krishna consoles Yudishtra and Draupati over the loss of their sons and relatives to Ashwatthama. With this, we come to the end of the “Soutthika Parva” and we now enter into the next “Parva” called “Sthree Parva”. This is a very short “Parva” and here, all the women mourn the loss of their husbands in the war. All the women go to a nearby lake and perform the “Jala-Tarpanam” for all the departed souls. This is a very short “Parva”, but at one point, Vidura is going to give a very important message, which we are going to witness in a bit of detail as that context arrives. So for today, let us understand up to this point and in the next episode, we shall formally commence the “Sthree Parva” and continue with our discussion further! Stay tuned!
The Indian Dharma 