Shloka 3
तमधर्मेण धर्मिष्ठं धृष्टद्युम्नेन संयुगे । श्रुत्वा निहतमाचार्य सो<श्व॒त्थामा किमब्रवीत्,जिनमें मानव, वारुण, आग्नेय, ब्राह्म, ऐन्द्र और नारायण नामक अस्त्र सदा प्रतिष्ठित थे, उन धर्मात्मा आचार्यको धृष्टद्युम्नद्वारा अधर्मपूर्वक युद्धमें मारा गया सुनकर पराक्रमी अश्वृत्थामाने क्या कहा?
tam adharmeṇa dharmiṣṭhaṃ dhṛṣṭadyumnena saṃyuge | śrutvā nihatam ācāryaṃ so 'śvatthāmā kim abravīt ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra dit : «Ayant appris que le maître—le plus inébranlable dans le dharma—avait été tué au combat par Dhṛṣṭadyumna par un acte injuste, que dit le vaillant Aśvatthāmā ?»
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames Droṇa’s death as a moral rupture: even in war, actions are judged against dharma. By calling Droṇa “most righteous” and the killing “by adharma,” the text highlights the ethical weight of means, not only outcomes, and foreshadows the cycle of vengeance that follows when dharma is perceived to be violated.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra asks Sañjaya to report Aśvatthāmā’s response after hearing that Droṇa, the revered teacher, has been killed in battle by Dhṛṣṭadyumna in a manner characterized as unrighteous. The question sets up Aśvatthāmā’s ensuing words and actions.