Arjuna arrested Asvatthama knowing perfectly well that he was the son of Dronacarya. Krsna also knew him to be so, but both of them condemned the murderer without consideration of his being the son of a brahmana. According to revealed scriptures, a teacher or spiritual master is liable to be rejected if he proves himself unworthy of the position of a guru or spiritual master.
A guru is called also an Acarya, or a person who has personally assimilated all the essence of sastras and has helped his disciples to adopt the ways. Asvatthama failed to discharge the duties of a brahmana or teacher, and therefore he was liable to be rejected from the exalted position of a brahmana. On this consideration, both Lord Sri Krsna and Arjuna were right in condemning Asvatthama. But to a good lady like Draupadi, the matter was considered not from the angle of sastric vision, but as a matter of custom.
By custom, Asvatthama was offered the same respect as was offered to his father. It was so because generally the people accept the son of a brahmana as a real brahmana, by sentiment only. Factually the matter is different. A brahmana is accepted on the merit of qualification and not on the merit of simply being the son of a brahmana. SB 1.7.43
A guru is called also an Acarya, or a person who has personally assimilated all the essence of sastras and has helped his disciples to adopt the ways. Asvatthama failed to discharge the duties of a brahmana or teacher, and therefore he was liable to be rejected from the exalted position of a brahmana. On this consideration, both Lord Sri Krsna and Arjuna were right in condemning Asvatthama. But to a good lady like Draupadi, the matter was considered not from the angle of sastric vision, but as a matter of custom.
By custom, Asvatthama was offered the same respect as was offered to his father. It was so because generally the people accept the son of a brahmana as a real brahmana, by sentiment only. Factually the matter is different. A brahmana is accepted on the merit of qualification and not on the merit of simply being the son of a brahmana. SB 1.7.43