Shloka 43
विक्रोशमाने हि मयि भृशमाचार्यगृद्धिनि । अपाकीर्य स्वयं धर्म शिष्येण निहतो गुरु:,मैं आचार्यके प्राणोंकी रक्षा चाहता हुआ बारंबार पुकारता ही रह गया, परंतु स्वयं शिष्य होकर भी धृष्टद्युम्नने धर्मको लात मारकर अपने गुरुकी हत्या कर डाली
vikrośamāne hi mayi bhṛśam ācārya-gṛddhini | apākīrya svayaṃ dharmaṃ śiṣyeṇa nihato guruḥ ||
Even as I cried out loudly—intent on protecting the Teacher’s life—Dṛṣṭadyumna, though himself a disciple, cast dharma aside and slew his guru. It was a moral rupture: the sanctity of the teacher–student bond was violated amid the frenzy of war.
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a grave ethical breach: even in war, certain bonds—especially the guru–śiṣya relationship—are traditionally protected by dharma. Arjuna’s lament frames the killing of one’s own teacher as a deliberate abandonment of moral restraint, showing how battlefield necessity and personal vows can collide with foundational ethical norms.
Arjuna says that while he was repeatedly crying out, wishing to safeguard Droṇa’s life, Dṛṣṭadyumna—despite being Droṇa’s disciple—ignored dharma and killed the teacher. The line presents Arjuna’s perspective on Droṇa’s death as both a personal tragedy and a moral scandal within the war’s chaos.