Mahabharata 7.196.3 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 196, Shloka 3
तमधर्मेण धर्मिष्ठं धृष्टद्युम्नेन संयुगे । श्रुत्वा निहतमाचार्य सो<श्व॒त्थामा किमब्रवीत्
tam adharmeṇa dharmiṣṭhaṃ dhṛṣṭadyumnena saṃyuge | śrutvā nihatam ācāryaṃ so 'śvatthāmā kim abravīt ||
قال دِهْرَتَرَاشْتْرَا: «لما سمع أن المعلّم—الأثبت في الدَّرْمَا—قد قُتل في ساحة القتال على يد دْهْرِشْتَديومْنَا بفعلٍ غيرِ بارّ، فماذا قال أَشْوَتْثَامَا الشجاع؟»
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames Droṇa’s death as a moral rupture: even in war, actions are judged against dharma. By calling Droṇa “most righteous” and the killing “by adharma,” the text highlights the ethical weight of means, not only outcomes, and foreshadows the cycle of vengeance that follows when dharma is perceived to be violated.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra asks Sañjaya to report Aśvatthāmā’s response after hearing that Droṇa, the revered teacher, has been killed in battle by Dhṛṣṭadyumna in a manner characterized as unrighteous. The question sets up Aśvatthāmā’s ensuing words and actions.
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