Shloka 353

Devanagari script

तेन शिष्येण सर्वेभ्य: शस्त्रविद्भ्य: परंतप: । भारत! शत्रुओंको संताप देनेवाले द्रोणाचार्य उस शिष्यके द्वारा अपने-आपको भूमण्डलके सभी शस्त्रवेत्ताओंसे श्रेष्ठ मानने लगे

Transliteration

tena śiṣyeṇa sarvebhyaḥ śastravidbhyaḥ parantapaḥ | bhārata! śatrūṇāṃ santāpa-denavāle droṇācāryaḥ usa śiṣyeṇa svayam ātmānaṃ bhūmaṇḍalasya sarva-śastravettṛbhyaḥ śreṣṭhaṃ manyamānaḥ babhūva |

Translation

قال سنجيا: يا بهاراتا! بفضل ذلك التلميذ أخذ دروناآتشاريّا—مُعذِّب الأعداء—يرى نفسه أسمى من جميع سادة السلاح في أرجاء الأرض. وتُبرز هذه الحادثة كيف قد تُربَط سمعة المعلّم وتقديره لذاته ببأس تلميذ واحد، فتثير أسئلةً عن الكِبْر والاستحقاق والثِّقل الأخلاقي للتفوّق القتالي في أتون الحرب.

Word by Word

तेनby him/with that

शिष्येणby the disciple

सर्वेभ्यःfrom all; than all

शस्त्रविद्भ्यःthan the knowers of weapons

परंतपःthe scorcher of foes

भारतO Bharata

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Bhārata (Dhṛtarāṣṭra as addressee)

Droṇācārya

the disciple (unnamed in this verse)

bhūmaṇḍala (the earth/world)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Martial excellence can inflate ego: a teacher may measure his own greatness through a student’s prowess. The verse invites reflection on how reputation, pride, and the pursuit of superiority can distort ethical judgment—especially in a war setting where skill is celebrated but its consequences are grave.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Droṇa, empowered in status by a particular disciple’s achievements, begins to see himself as surpassing all weapon-experts on earth. It situates Droṇa’s self-confidence within the larger Drona Parva war narrative, where teachers and students are tested in lethal combat.