Shloka 18
द्रोण: शिष्यांस्तत: पार्थानिदं वचनमब्रवीत् । समानीय तु ताज्शिष्यान् द्रपदस्यासुखाय वै,तब द्रोणने सब शिष्योंको एकत्र करके, जिनमें कुन्तीके पुत्र तथा अन्य लोग भी थे, द्रपदको वष्ट देनेके उद्देश्यसे इस प्रकार कहा--
Droṇaḥ śiṣyāṁs tataḥ pārthān idaṁ vacanam abravīt | samānīya tu tāñ śiṣyān drupadasyāsukhāya vai |
Then Droṇa addressed his disciples—especially the Pārthas (Kuntī’s sons)—and, having gathered all the students together, spoke with the deliberate intention of bringing distress upon Drupada. The verse frames Droṇa’s instruction as purposeful retaliation, setting a moral tension between a teacher’s authority and the use of disciples as instruments of personal vengeance.
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights an ethical fault-line: a teacher’s power over students can be misused when personal resentment becomes the motive. It invites reflection on dharma in leadership—whether authority should serve justice and duty, or private vengeance.
Droṇa gathers his pupils, including the Pāṇḍavas, and speaks to them with the aim of causing harm to King Drupada—foreshadowing the move to subdue Drupada as repayment for past humiliation and as a demand tied to Droṇa’s expectations from his students.