अधीत्य विधिवद् वेदान् अग्नयः सुहुतास् त्वया ॥
इष्टं च बहुभिर् यज्ञैर् न ते मृत्युभयाद् भयम् ॥
दुर्लभं मानुषैर् मन्दैर् महाभाग्यम् अवाप्य तु ॥
भुजवीर्यार्जितांल् लोकान् दिव्यान् प्राप्स्यस्य् अनुत्तमान् ॥
adhītya vidhivad vedān agnayaḥ suhutās tvayā ||
iṣṭaṃ ca bahubhir yajñair na te mṛtyubhayād bhayam ||
durlabhaṃ mānuṣair mandair mahābhāgyam avāpya tu ||
bhujavīryārjitāṃl lokān divyān prāpsyasy anuttamān ||
"Having duly studied the Vedas, you have well tended the sacred fires and offered worship through many sacrifices -- you need have no fear of death's danger. Having won great good fortune, rare for feeble mortals, you shall attain worlds won by the strength of your own arms -- divine worlds, unsurpassed."
bd863bdc4103 · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:36:52 PM UTC
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Drona sets the fear of death within the light of merit and faith: one who has studied the Vedas, honored the sacred fires, and offered sacrifices need not fear destruction -- it leads to "divyān lokān anuttamān," the highest divine worlds. It is telling that the teacher cures the dread of the end not by denying death but by turning the gaze beyond it: to fall in battle, duty fulfilled, is not loss but a gateway to worlds "won by the strength of one's arms." The verse teaches that the fear of death is tamed not by forgetting it but by faith in its fruit: for one who has lived righteously and falls in duty, death is not an abyss but an ascent.