From Curse to Redemption: Ashwatthama as True Hierophany against Yaskin’s False Transcendence in Kalki 2898 AD

Though both Ashwatthama and Supreme Yaskin in Kalki 2898 AD embody immortality, they approach it in radically different ways. Ashwatthama, drawn from the Mahabharata, endures a cursed immortality that, despite its suffering, is ultimately sanctified through his renewed purpose in serving the Kalki avatar. Yaskin, by contrast, embodies a technocratic quest for artificial transcendence, simulating divinity through power and technology. Informed by Mircea Eliade's categories of The Sacred and the Profane, the study argues that Ashwatthama represents a true hierophany, while Yaskin exemplifies a false one.