एतानि चान्यानि च कौरवेन्द्र; कर्माणि कृत्वा समरे महात्मा ॥
प्रताप्य लोकान् इव कालसूर्यो; द्रोणो गतः स्वर्गम् इतो हि राजन् ॥
एवं रुक्मरथः शूरो हत्वा शतसहस्रशः ॥
पाण्डवानां रणे योधान् पार्षतेन निपातितः ॥
अक्षौहिणीम् अभ्यधिकां शूराणाम् अनिवर्तिनाम् ॥
निहत्य पश्चाद् धृतिमान् अगच्छत् परमां गतिम् ॥
etāni cānyāni ca kauravendra; karmāṇi kṛtvā samare mahātmā ||
pratāpya lokān iva kālasūryo; droṇo gataḥ svargam ito hi rājan ||
evaṃ rukmarathaḥ śūro hatvā śatasahasraśaḥ ||
pāṇḍavānāṃ raṇe yodhān pārṣatena nipātitaḥ ||
akṣauhiṇīm abhyadhikāṃ śūrāṇām anivartinām ||
nihatya paścād dhṛtimān agacchat paramāṃ gatim ||
Having performed these and many other deeds in battle, O lord of the Kurus, the great-souled Drona, having scorched [all] the worlds like the sun of [fateful] Time, departed from here to heaven, O king. Thus this hero of the golden chariot, having slain the warriors of the Pandavas by the hundred thousand in battle, was struck down by Parshata [Dhrishtadyumna]; having slain a whole akshauhini and more of unyielding heroes, unshakeable, he at last attained the supreme destination.
eb7a5383709d · published Jul 19, 2026, 2:46:26 PM UTC
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Sanjaya, unable to contain his grief, runs ahead and proclaims Drona's end before the very telling of it: over all the brilliance of his onslaught the shadow of death is already cast. Herein lies the narrator's wisdom — he bids us remember the end in the midst of triumph, lest we be seduced by fleeting greatness. It is significant that Drona, though fallen on the unrighteous side, nevertheless 'attains the supreme destination': personal righteousness, fidelity to duty, and austerity raise him up, even though the cause for which he fought was unrighteous. The verse teaches that over every earthly triumph the shadow of its end is cast; that the wise remember death even in the hour of greatness; and that a person's fate in the world beyond is determined not by the side he stood for alone, but also by the purity of his own life.