The Upapandavas

Dadi: "Guddu, tonight's story is from the very end of the Mahabharata war - after the Pandavas had won. It's called the Sauptika Parva, the Book of the Sleepers."

Guddu: "The sleepers? What does that mean?"

Dadi: "It means what happened to those who were sleeping. It's one of the darkest chapters in the whole epic."

Guddu: "Who was sleeping?"

Dadi: "The war was over. Duryodhana lay dying. The Pandavas and their allies slept peacefully, thinking the fighting was finished. But three warriors had survived on the Kaurava side: Ashwatthama, Kritavarma, and Kripacharya."

Guddu: "Only three?"

Dadi: "Just three, against an entire victorious army. But Ashwatthama was consumed by grief and rage. His father Drona had been killed. His friend Duryodhana was dying. He vowed revenge."

Guddu: "What did he do?"

Dadi: "*voice heavy* In the darkest hour of night, he entered the Pandava camp. Everyone was asleep. He saw an owl swooping down on sleeping crows, killing them one by one. He took this as an omen."

Guddu: "He attacked sleeping people?"

Dadi: "He attacked everyone he found. First, he killed Dhrishtadyumna, who had killed his father. Then... he found the tent where Draupadi's sons slept."

Guddu: "Draupadi had sons?"

Dadi: "Five sons - one from each Pandava husband. They were called the Upapandavas, the junior Pandavas. They were noble young warriors who had fought bravely in the war."

Guddu: "What happened to them?"

Dadi: "*very quietly* Ashwatthama killed them all in their sleep."

Guddu: "*shocked* That's... that's not warrior behavior!"

Dadi: "It was the ultimate violation of dharma. Warriors don't attack the sleeping. Warriors don't attack the unarmed. But Ashwatthama was so consumed by grief and hatred that he abandoned all codes."

Guddu: "Did the Pandavas know?"

Dadi: "They weren't in the camp that night - only Krishna and a few others had left. They survived because they weren't there. But when Draupadi learned... she was shattered."

Guddu: "*very sad* Her children..."

Dadi: "All five sons. Gone in one night. After everything she had suffered - the insults, the exile, the war - she lost her children too."

Guddu: "What happened to Ashwatthama?"

Dadi: "He tried to kill even the unborn child in Uttara's womb - the last heir of the Pandava line. But Krishna protected the baby."

Guddu: "That's evil!"

Dadi: "Krishna cursed Ashwatthama to wander the earth for three thousand years, covered in sores and ulcers, alone and in pain. The Pandavas took the jewel from his forehead and gave it to Draupadi, but nothing could replace what she had lost."

Guddu: "Dadi, why do we have such a dark story?"

Dadi: "*holding him* Because the Mahabharata doesn't hide truth. War doesn't end cleanly. Victory doesn't mean everyone is safe. Good people suffer. Grief makes some people into monsters."

Guddu: "What's the lesson?"

Dadi: "Many lessons. That moral codes exist for a reason - when Ashwatthama abandoned dharma, he became something inhuman. That grief can destroy the griever as much as anyone else. That violence breeds more violence until nothing is left."

Guddu: "It seems hopeless..."

Dadi: "But it isn't. The unborn child Krishna protected - Parikshit - survived and became a great king. The Pandava line continued. From the ashes of that terrible night, new life grew. That's also the truth."

Guddu: "Good can come even from the worst things?"

Dadi: "If we protect what matters. If we refuse to let darkness win completely. The night massacre was horrific, but it wasn't the end. Those who held onto dharma ensured that life continued."

Guddu: "I'll remember the Upapandavas, Dadi."

Dadi: "Remember them as a warning against letting anger consume us, and as a reminder that even in the darkest night, we must protect the innocent and preserve hope for tomorrow."

Guddu: "Goodnight, Dadi."

Dadi: "Sweet dreams, mera bachcha. May we always choose dharma, even when our hearts are breaking."