Mahabharata · 1.155.51–52
॥
Devanāgarī
धृष्टद्युम्नं तु पाञ्चाल्यम् आनीय स्वं विवेशनम् ॥
उपाकरोद् अस्त्रहेतोर् भारद्वाजः प्रतापवान् ॥
अमोक्षणीयं दैवं हि भावि मत्वा महामतिः ॥
तथा तत् कृतवान् द्रोण आत्मकीर्त्य् अनुरक्षणात् ॥
Transliteration (IAST)
dhṛṣṭadyumnaṃ tu pāñcālyam ānīya svaṃ viveśanam ||
upākarod astrahetor bhāradvājaḥ pratāpavān ||
amokṣaṇīyaṃ daivaṃ hi bhāvi matvā mahāmatiḥ ||
tathā tat kṛtavān droṇa ātmakīrty anurakṣaṇāt ||
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
धृष्टद्युम्नं तु पाञ्चाल्यम् आनीय स्वं विवेशनम्dhṛṣṭadyumnaṃ tu pāñcālyam ānīya svaṃ viveśanamhaving brought Dhrishtadyumna, the Panchala prince, to his own dwelling,
उपाकरोत् अस्त्रहेतोः भारद्वाजः प्रतापवान्upākarot astrahetoḥ bhāradvājaḥ pratāpavānthe mighty son of Bharadvaja accepted him [as a pupil] for the sake of [teaching him] weaponry;
अमोक्षणीयं दैवं हि भावि मत्वा महामतिःamokṣaṇīyaṃ daivaṃ hi bhāvi matvā mahāmatiḥfor, having reasoned that the coming fate was inescapable,
तथा तत् कृतवान् द्रोणः आत्मकीर्ति अनुरक्षणात्tathā tat kṛtavān droṇaḥ ātmakīrti anurakṣaṇātthe wise Drona acted accordingly, safeguarding his own honor;
उपाकरोद्upākarodoriginal form "upākarod", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
अस्त्रहेतोर्astrahetororiginal form "astrahetor", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
द्रोणdroṇaoriginal form "droṇa", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
आत्मकीर्त्य्ātmakīrtyoriginal form "ātmakīrty", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
Translation
"The mighty son of Bharadvaja, having brought the Panchala prince Dhrishtadyumna to his own dwelling, accepted him as a pupil for the teaching of weaponry. For, having reasoned that the coming fate was inescapable, the wise Drona acted accordingly, safeguarding his own honor."
Version
4a991c1ea651 · published Jul 12, 2026, 5:19:51 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Here Drona takes as his pupil the very one born for his own destruction. His greatness of spirit is telling: knowing that Dhrishtadyumna has come into being for his death, he nonetheless teaches him, refusing knowledge to no one out of fear for himself. Here we see, first, the nobility of a teacher who does not demean his station by evasion, and second, an acceptance of fate: 'what is coming is inescapable,' and the wise do not fight what is foreordained out of faintheartedness. Telling, too, is that he is moved by the guarding of his own honor: to refuse a pupil would be beneath his dignity. The verse thus shows submission before the inevitable (daiva) and fidelity to duty even in the face of one's own destruction; and Drona, by teaching his future slayer, displays a rare fearlessness of spirit.