Shloka 15

Jatugṛha-dāhānantara-vṛttāntaḥ

Aftermath of the Lac House Fire

Devanagari script

आचार्य: कलशाज्जातो द्रोण: शस्त्रभूतां वर: । गौतमस्यान्ववाये च शरस्तम्बाच्च गौतम:,“समस्त शस्त्रधारियोंमें श्रेष्ठ हमारे आचार्य द्रोणका जन्म कलशसे हुआ है। महर्षि गौतमके कुलमें कृपाचार्यकी उत्पत्ति भी सरकंडोंके समूहसे हुई है

Transliteration

ācāryaḥ kalaśāj jāto droṇaḥ śastrabhūtāṁ varaḥ | gautamasyānvavāye ca śarastambāc ca gautamaḥ |

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: „Unser Lehrer Droṇa—der Vortrefflichste unter denen, die die Waffenlehre verkörpern—wurde aus einem Wasserkrug geboren. Und auch im Geschlecht Gautamas entstand Gautama (Kṛpa) aus einem Büschel Schilf.“

Word by Word

आचार्यःthe teacher (preceptor)

कलशात्from a pot

जातःborn

द्रोणःDrona

शस्त्रभूताम्among those who are armed (weapon-bearers)

वरःthe best, excellent

गौतमस्यof Gautama

अन्ववायेin the lineage (family succession)

चand

शरस्तम्बात्from a clump of reeds

चand

गौतमःGautama (here: Kripa, of the Gautama lineage)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Droṇa

Gautama (sage/lineage)

Kṛpa (implied as Gautama/Kṛpācārya)

kalaśa (pot)

śarastamba (clump of reeds)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights that true authority in instruction—especially in powerful disciplines like weapon-science—can be rooted in extraordinary, dharma-linked origins and revered lineages, not merely in conventional birth or social status.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana is describing the remarkable origins of the Kuru preceptors: Droṇa’s birth from a pot and Kṛpa’s emergence from a clump of reeds within the Gautama lineage, establishing their eminence among martial teachers.