Дрона
यच् च पित्रानुशिष्टो ऽसि तद् वचः परिपालय ॥
आनृशंस्ये दमे सत्ये आर्जवे च स्थिरो भव ॥
धर्मार्थकामकुशलो धर्मार्थाव् अप्य् अपीडयन् ॥
धर्मप्रधानः कार्याणि कुर्याश् चेति पुनः पुनः ॥
चक्षुर्मनोभ्यां संतोष्या विप्राः सेव्याश् च शक्तितः ॥
न चैषां विप्रियं कार्यं ते हि वह्निशिखोपमाः ॥
yac ca pitrānuśiṣṭo 'si tad vacaḥ paripālaya ||
ānṛśaṃsye dame satye ārjave ca sthiro bhava ||
dharmārthakāmakuśalo dharmārthāv apy apīḍayan ||
dharmapradhānaḥ kāryāṇi kuryāś ceti punaḥ punaḥ ||
cakṣurmanobhyāṃ saṃtoṣyā viprāḥ sevyāś ca śaktitaḥ ||
na caiṣāṃ vipriyaṃ kāryaṃ te hi vahniśikhopamāḥ ||
"And as you have been instructed by [your] father, keep to that word: be firm in non-cruelty, self-restraint, truth, and straightforwardness. Skilled in dharma, artha, and kama, not violating dharma and artha, placing dharma first, perform [your] deeds — so I say again and again. Let brahmins be gratified with eye and thought, and honored according to [your] strength; and nothing unpleasant should be done to them, for they are like tongues of flame."
4df56a1baed4 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:31:38 PM UTC
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Amid despair Drona gives his son a moral testament: non-cruelty, self-restraint, truth, straightforwardness, dharma above all, reverence for brahmins. It is telling that the teacher, going to his death, cares not for vengeance but for his son's virtue. The verse teaches that a true teacher sows good even in his final hour; and a dying man's testament, turned toward dharma rather than revenge, is the highest inheritance — for it heals, rather than multiplying evil.