द्रोणस् तु दिवम् आस्थाय नक्षत्रपथम् आविशत् ॥
अहम् एव तदाद्राक्षं द्रोणस्य निधनं नृप ॥
ऋषेः प्रसादात् कृष्णस्य सत्यवत्याः सुतस्य च ॥
विधूमाम् इव संयान्तीम् उल्कां प्रज्वलिताम् इव ॥
अपश्याम दिवं स्तब्ध्वा गच्छन्तं तं महाद्युतिम् ॥
droṇas tu divam āsthāya nakṣatrapatham āviśat ||
aham eva tadādrākṣaṃ droṇasya nidhanaṃ nṛpa ||
ṛṣeḥ prasādāt kṛṣṇasya satyavatyāḥ sutasya ca ||
vidhūmām iva saṃyāntīm ulkāṃ prajvalitām iva ||
apaśyāma divaṃ stabdhvā gacchantaṃ taṃ mahādyutim ||
Drona, having ascended to heaven, entered upon the path of the stars; only I then saw the death of Drona, o sovereign. By the grace of the sage Krishna [Dvaipayana], son of Satyavati, [we] saw -- like a smokeless, rising, blazing meteor -- that greatly radiant one piercing the sky, departing.
5d3978e0d973 · published Jul 19, 2026, 5:08:17 PM UTC
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Sanjaya beholds Drona's departure "by the grace of the sage" -- Vyasa, son of Satyavati: divine vision is granted as grace, not won by effort. Significant is that the same grace that opened to Sanjaya the whole war also opens to him the mystery of Drona's ascent. The verse teaches that insight into the higher is a gift from above; and to behold the posthumous glory of the righteous is granted only to one whose eye has been opened by the grace of the knower.