Shloka 19
Vāraṇāvata-praveśa and Jatugṛha-saṃdeha
Entry into Vāraṇāvata and Suspicion of the Lac-House
ततः शुक्लाम्बरधर: शुक्लयज्ञोपवीतवान् | शुक्लकेश: सितश्मश्रु: शुक्लमाल्यानुलेपन:,तदनन्तर श्वैत वस्त्र और श्वेत यज्ञोपवीत धारण किये आचार्य द्रोणने अपने पुत्र अश्वृत्थामाके साथ रंगभूमिमें प्रवेश किया; मानो मेघरहित आकाशमें चन्द्रमाने मंगलके साथ पदार्पण किया हो। आचार्यके सिर और दाढ़ी-मूँछके बाल सफेद हो गये थे। वे श्वेत पुष्पोंकी माला और श्वेत चन्दनसे सुशोभित हो रहे थे
tataḥ śuklāmbara-dharaḥ śukla-yajñopavīta-vān | śukla-keśaḥ sita-śmaśruḥ śukla-mālyānulepanaḥ ||
Then Droṇa, clad in white garments and wearing a white sacrificial thread, entered the arena together with his son Aśvatthāmā. His hair and beard had turned pale; he was adorned with a garland of white flowers and anointed with white sandal paste—appearing like the moon, accompanied by auspicious Mars, in a cloudless sky. The scene underscores the teacher’s dignified, ritual purity and the solemn authority with which he steps into a public contest that will shape the princes’ future and, indirectly, the moral trajectory toward war.
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the authority and sanctity of the teacher (ācārya) through symbols of ritual purity (white clothing, sacred thread, anointing). Ethically, it frames education and public demonstration of skill as a dharmic responsibility—training that must be guided by disciplined, socially recognized authority, even though it may later be entangled with ambition and conflict.
Droṇa, accompanied by his son Aśvatthāmā, enters the public arena where the princes’ martial skills are to be displayed. His appearance is described in auspicious, luminous imagery (like the moon with Maṅgala), emphasizing the solemnity of the occasion and his commanding presence.