Shloka 443
धृष्टद्युम्न॑ समासाद्य स गत: परमां गतिम् । 'प्रतापी भरद्वाजनन्दन वीर द्रोणाचार्य अपने बाणोंद्वारा शत्रुयोद्धाओंको दग्ध करके धृष्टद्युम्नसे भिड़कर परमगतिको प्राप्त हो गये
dhṛṣṭadyumnam samāsādya sa gataḥ paramāṃ gatim |
Sañjaya said: Having confronted Dhṛṣṭadyumna, he attained the highest end. The valiant son of Bharadvāja—Droṇācārya—after scorching the enemy warriors with his arrows, engaged Dhṛṣṭadyumna in battle and then passed on to his supreme destiny, marking the close of a life spent in fierce duty and martial discipline.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a warrior’s end in terms of 'gati' (destiny/attainment): even amid violent conflict, the epic evaluates death through the lens of duty, reputation, and the moral weight of one’s life-course. It suggests that a life of disciplined action culminates in an 'ultimate end'—a narrative way of judging the quality of one’s departure, not merely the fact of dying.
Sañjaya reports that Droṇācārya, after fiercely striking down enemy fighters with his arrows, directly confronts Dhṛṣṭadyumna and then 'goes to the supreme end'—a concise epic notice of Droṇa’s final departure in the battle sequence.