Mahabharata 7.11.49 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 11, Shloka 49
Droṇa’s Conditional Boon: The Plan to Capture Yudhiṣṭhira (द्रोणेन युधिष्ठिरग्रहणोपायः)
यस्य कोपान्महात्मानौ भीष्मद्रोणौ निपातितौ । युधिष्ठिर इस संसारमें अनन्त ऐश्वर्यके भागी हुए हैं। जिनके कोपसे महात्मा भीष्म और द्रोण मार गिराये गये ।। प्राप्त: प्रकृतितो धर्मो न धर्मो मामकान् प्रति
yasya kopān mahātmānau bhīṣma-droṇau nipātitau | yudhiṣṭhiraḥ iha saṃsāre ananta-aiśvarya-bhāgī bhavati | prāptaḥ prakṛtito dharmo na dharmo māmakān prati ||
Vaiśampāyana sprach: „Wessen Zorn die großherzigen Bhīṣma und Droṇa zu Fall brachte, eben jener Yudhiṣṭhira wird in dieser Welt Teilhaber einer unendlichen Herrschaft. Doch das Dharma, das von Natur aus entsteht und wahrhaft erlangt wird, findet sich nicht, wenn es um die Meinen geht; in der Glut dieses Krieges steht die Gerechtigkeit nicht auf der Seite der Parteilichkeit.“
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse juxtaposes worldly success with moral clarity: even when victory and sovereignty accrue, true dharma is not determined by attachment to “one’s own side.” Righteousness must be assessed beyond partiality, especially amid the moral strain of war.
Vaiśampāyana reflects on the consequences of the conflict: the fall of the great warriors Bhīṣma and Droṇa is linked to a decisive force (described as ‘wrath’), and Yudhiṣṭhira’s ensuing rise to vast sovereignty is noted, while also questioning whether dharma truly supports the speaker’s own party.
Ask anything about this verse
Curious about the meaning, context, or a word? Ask, and continue the conversation in the Vedapath app.
A free Google sign-in keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Mahabharata in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.