न्यस्यायुधं रणे द्रोण समेत्यास्मान् अवस्थितान् ॥
नातः क्रूरतरं कर्म पुनः कर्तुं त्वम् अर्हसि ॥
वेदवेदाङ्गविदुषः सत्यधर्मपरस्य च ॥
ब्राह्मणस्य विशेषेण तवैतन् नोपपद्यते ॥
न्यस्यायुधम् अमोघेषो तिष्ठ वर्त्मनि शाश्वते ॥
परिपूर्णश् च कालस् ते वस्तुं लोके ऽद्य मानुषे ॥
इति तेषां वचः श्रुत्वा भीमसेनवचश् च तत् ॥
धृष्टद्युम्नं च संप्रेक्ष्य रणे स विमनाभवत् ॥
nyasyāyudhaṃ raṇe droṇa sametyāsmān avasthitān ||
nātaḥ krūrataraṃ karma punaḥ kartuṃ tvam arhasi ||
vedavedāṅgaviduṣaḥ satyadharmaparasya ca ||
brāhmaṇasya viśeṣeṇa tavaitan nopapadyate ||
nyasyāyudham amogheṣo tiṣṭha vartmani śāśvate ||
paripūrṇaś ca kālas te vastuṃ loke 'dya mānuṣe ||
iti teṣāṃ vacaḥ śrutvā bhīmasenavacaś ca tat ||
dhṛṣṭadyumnaṃ ca saṃprekṣya raṇe sa vimanābhavat ||
"There is no deed more cruel than this; it is not fitting for you to commit it again. For a knower of the Vedas and Vedangas, devoted to truth and dharma, for a brahmin above all — this is not fitting for you. Lay down your weapon, O unerring archer, and stand upon the eternal path; your time to live in the world of men is now fulfilled." Hearing that word of theirs, and that word of Bhimasena, and seeing Dhrishtadyumna, he lost heart in battle. He, burning with grief, shaken, [asked] the son of Kunti, Yudhishthira.
2a014b78e422 · published Jul 19, 2026, 5:08:17 PM UTC
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The rishis remind Drona who he is: a brahmin, a knower of the Vedas, devoted to truth — this slaughter does not become him. It is telling that it is not enemies who rebuke him but holy sages, appealing to his true calling. The verse teaches that a person is judged by his highest calling: the warrior-brahmin is reminded that the path of blood is foreign to his nature; and an earthly span ends precisely when to live longer would mean only multiplying an evil alien to oneself.