Shloka 26
कृपोपदेशः — द्रौणेरनिद्रा च
Kṛpa’s Counsel and Drauṇi’s Sleepless Resolve
द्रोणो हतेति यद् वाच: पञ्चालानां शृणोम्यहम् | धृष्टद्युम्नमहत्वा तु नाहं जीवितुमुत्सहे
droṇo hateti yad vācaḥ pañcālānāṃ śṛṇomy aham | dhṛṣṭadyumnam ahatvā tu nāhaṃ jīvitum utsahe ||
Kṛpa said: “I hear the Pañcālas proclaim, ‘Droṇa has been slain.’ But unless I myself slay Dhṛṣṭadyumna, I have no heart to go on living.”
कृप उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the warrior-ethic of loyalty and retributive justice as understood in the epic: Kṛpa frames continued life as dishonorable unless he answers his teacher’s death by punishing the perceived principal agent, Dhṛṣṭadyumna. It also exposes the moral tension of vengeance—how grief and duty can harden into a single, consuming resolve.
After Droṇa’s death, the Pañcāla side is heard announcing it. Kṛpa, aligned with the Kauravas and devoted to Droṇa, reacts with intense resolve: he declares he cannot bear to live unless he kills Dhṛṣṭadyumna, who is held responsible for Droṇa’s slaying.