दृष्ट्वैवाभिपतन्तं तं शूरः परपुरंजयः ॥
उवाच सूतं शैनेयः प्रहसन् युद्धदुर्मदः ॥
एतं वै ब्राह्मणं क्रूरं स्वकर्मण्य् अनवस्थितम् ॥
आश्रयं धार्तराष्ट्रस्य राज्ञो दुःखभयावहम् ॥
शीघ्रं प्रजवितैर् अश्वैः प्रत्युद्याहि प्रहृष्टवत् ॥
आचार्यं राजपुत्राणां सततं शूरमानिनम् ॥
dṛṣṭvaivābhipatantaṃ taṃ śūraḥ parapuraṃjayaḥ ||
uvāca sūtaṃ śaineyaḥ prahasan yuddhadurmadaḥ ||
etaṃ vai brāhmaṇaṃ krūraṃ svakarmaṇy anavasthitam ||
āśrayaṃ dhārtarāṣṭrasya rājño duḥkhabhayāvaham ||
śīghraṃ prajavitair aśvaiḥ pratyudyāhi prahṛṣṭavat ||
ācāryaṃ rājaputrāṇāṃ satataṃ śūramāninam ||
Seeing him swooping down, the hero, conqueror of enemy cities, the grandson of Shini [Satyaki], laughing, fierce in battle, said to his charioteer: "This cruel brahmin, untrue to his own duty, the mainstay of the son of Dhritarashtra, bringing the king grief and fear — quickly, on swift-driven horses, ride out to meet him joyfully, against the teacher of the princes, who ever thinks himself a hero."
20550ff5ff51 · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:52:56 PM UTC
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Satyaki rebukes Drona with the words "svakarmaṇi anavasthitam," "untrue to his own duty": a brahmin, whose calling is knowledge and sacrifice, has become an instrument of war and wrong. Here lies the essence of the reproach: betrayal of one's own dharma. It is telling that the warrior sees the teacher's tragedy as a falling away from his true calling. The verse teaches that the heaviest fall is that of one who has betrayed his own dharma: a brahmin who has become the servant of an unrighteous king is "untrue to his own duty"; and this reproach is aimed not at Drona's valor, but at his betrayal of what he was called to be.