The Brahmastra and Ashwatthama's Jewel

When the news came in the morning, Draupadi was shattered. She said, 'Until Ashwatthama is punished and the jewel from his forehead is brought before me, I will not eat or drink.' Bhima set off at once in his chariot. Krishna, Arjuna and Yudhishthira followed, for Krishna knew Ashwatthama had a terrible weapon.

Ashwatthama was sitting at Vyasa's hermitage on the bank of the Ganga. Seeing the Pandavas, he picked up a blade of grass, called the Brahmashira weapon into it and released it: 'Let the Pandavas be destroyed!' At Krishna's word, Arjuna released his own weapon to calm it.

As the two great weapons clashed, the world began to burn. Then Vyasa and the sage Narada stepped between them. Arjuna, who lived with self-control, withdrew his weapon at once. But Ashwatthama did not even know how to call his back.

He turned it towards the wombs of the Pandava women, especially that of Abhimanyu's wife Uttara. Krishna said, 'That child will be born dead, but I will give him life.' And he cursed Ashwatthama to wander the earth for three thousand years, covered in wounds, alone and without any companion.

Ashwatthama took the jewel from his forehead, handed it over and went into the forest. Bhima gave the jewel to Draupadi. She said, 'The son of our teacher deserves respect from me too. I only wanted justice.' She gave the jewel to Yudhishthira, who wore it on his head.