Mahabharata — Virata Parva, Shloka 72
“तात! जो वृष्णि वीरों और कौरवों दोनोंके आचार्य हैं अथवा दोनोंके ही नहीं, सम्पूर्ण क्षत्रियोंके आचार्य हैं, समस्त शस्त्रधारियोंमें जिनका सबसे ऊँचा स्थान है, उन द्रोणाचार्यके साथ तुम्हारा संग्राम किस प्रकार हुआ? ।।
vaiśampāyana uvāca | tāta! yo vṛṣṇivīrāṇāṃ kauravāṇāṃ ca ubhayor ācāryo 'tha vā na ubhayor api, samastakṣatriyāṇām ācāryaḥ, sarvaśastrabhṛtāṃ madhye yasya paramaṃ sthānam, tena droṇācāryeṇa saha tava saṅgrāmaḥ kathaṃ abhavat? ācāryaputro yaḥ śūraḥ sarvaśastrabhṛtām api śreṣṭhaḥ, aśvatthāmā iti vikhyātaḥ, tena āsīt saṅgaraḥ katham?
قال فَيْشَمْبَايَنَة: «يا بُنيَّ، كيف جرت معركتك مع دْرُونَاتشارْيَة—الذي يُعَدُّ مُعلِّم أبطال فْرِشْنِي والكورَفَة (بل كأنه مُعلِّم الكشَتْرِيَّة جميعًا)، والمتصدِّر بين حملة السلاح؟ وكيف كان القتال مع ابن المعلِّم الشجاع، المشهور باسم أَشْوَتْثَامَا، المعدود خيرَ حملة السلاح؟»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the ethical weight of martial authority: Droṇa is portrayed not merely as a partisan teacher but as an exemplar of kṣatriya military tradition. By asking “how” the combat occurred with such figures, the text invites reflection on conduct in war—how one engages a revered preceptor and his celebrated son while remaining within the bounds of kṣatriya-dharma.
Vaiśampāyana, continuing the narration, poses a pointed question about the details of a confrontation: he asks how the listener’s battle proceeded first with Droṇa—described as preeminent among armed warriors and a teacher to multiple lineages—and then with Droṇa’s son Aśvatthāmā, famed as a foremost fighter.