Shloka 48
धृष्टद्युम्नो द्रोणमृत्युरिति विप्रथितं वच: । मद्वधाय श्रुतो5प्येष लोके चाप्यतिविश्रुत:,'धृष्टद्युम्न द्रोणकी मौत है, यह बात सर्वत्र फैल चुकी है। मेरे वधके लिये ही उसका जन्म हुआ है। यह भी सब लोगोंने सुन रखा है। धृष्टद्युम्न स्वयं भी संसारमें अपनी वीरताके लिये विख्यात है
dhṛṣṭadyumno droṇamṛtyur iti viprathitaṃ vacaḥ | madvadhāya śruto 'py eṣa loke cāpy ativisrutaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “The report has spread everywhere that ‘Dhṛṣṭadyumna is the death of Droṇa.’ It is also widely known among the people that he was born for the very purpose of slaying me; and Dhṛṣṭadyumna himself is famed in the world for his prowess.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how public reputation and prophetic narratives shape ethical and strategic perceptions in war: a warrior becomes socially ‘fixed’ as another’s destined slayer, and that widespread belief influences fear, resolve, and the moral framing of impending violence.
The narrator reports a widely circulated claim that Dhṛṣṭadyumna is fated to be Droṇa’s killer, that his birth is known to be for Droṇa’s death, and that Dhṛṣṭadyumna’s valor is already renowned—setting the stage for the tension surrounding Droṇa’s vulnerability and the coming conflict.