न चाद्भुतम् इदं मन्ये यद् द्रौणिः शुद्धगर्जया ॥
घातयिष्यति कौरव्यान् परित्रातुम् अशक्नुवन् ॥
यच् च मां धार्मिको भूत्वा ब्रवीषि गुरुघातिनम् ॥
तदर्थम् अहम् उत्पन्नः पाञ्चाल्यस्य सुतो ऽनलात् ॥
यस्य कार्यम् अकार्यं वा युध्यतः स्यात् समं रणे ॥
तं कथं ब्राह्मणं ब्रूयाः क्षत्रियं वा धनंजय ॥
na cādbhutam idaṃ manye yad drauṇiḥ śuddhagarjayā ||
ghātayiṣyati kauravyān paritrātum aśaknuvan ||
yac ca māṃ dhārmiko bhūtvā bravīṣi gurughātinam ||
tadartham aham utpannaḥ pāñcālyasya suto 'nalāt ||
yasya kāryam akāryaṃ vā yudhyataḥ syāt samaṃ raṇe ||
taṃ kathaṃ brāhmaṇaṃ brūyāḥ kṣatriyaṃ vā dhanaṃjaya ||
"Nor do I think it a marvel that Drauni, with nothing but empty roaring, will bring destruction on the Kauravyas, unable as he is to save them. And as for your having turned righteous and calling me a slayer of the guru -- for that very purpose was I born, the son of the Panchala king, out of fire. One for whom the proper and the improper are alike when he fights in battle -- how could you call such a one a brahmin, or a kshatriya, Dhananjaya?"
7abb02c5af36 · published Jul 19, 2026, 5:08:17 PM UTC
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Dhrishtadyumna recalls that his very birth from the sacrificial fire was for Drona's destruction: he has only fulfilled what was ordained. It is telling how he scorns Ashvatthaman's roar as "empty bluster" that will only raise false hope among the doomed. The verse teaches that some lives seem cast for a single purpose; yet appeal to destiny does not settle the question of means -- for even the instrument of fate remains free to serve it honestly or dishonorably.