Shloka 22
Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout
तस्याव्यक्तां तु तां वाचं संभश्रुत्य द्रौणिरब्रवीत् । आचार्यघातिनां लोका न सन्ति कुलपांसन
tasyāvyaktāṃ tu tāṃ vācaṃ saṃbhraśrutya drauṇir abravīt | ācāryaghātināṃ lokā na santi kulapāṃsana ||
Hearing those indistinct words, Droṇa’s son spoke out: “For those who slay their own teacher there are no worlds (no blessed hereafter). O disgrace of your lineage!” The line underscores the Mahābhārata’s ethical tension: even amid war’s brutality, the killing of one’s preceptor is treated as a transgressive act that severs one from righteous posthumous attainments, and it is condemned as a stain upon family honor.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in wartime, certain acts are treated as grave adharma; killing one’s teacher is condemned as a deed that destroys one’s claim to auspicious ‘worlds’ (posthumous merit) and brings disgrace upon the family line.
Sañjaya reports that Aśvatthāmā, hearing someone’s unclear words, responds sharply by denouncing the killer of an ācārya and branding the person as a ‘kulapāṃsana’—a disgrace to the lineage.