Shloka 42
Gāndhārī’s Battlefield Survey: The Fallen and the Onset of Funeral Rites (शल्य-भगीरथ-भीष्म-द्रोणादि-दर्शनम्)
गच्छन्त्यभिमुखा गड़्ां द्रोणशिष्या द्विजातय: । अपय्व्यां चितिं कृत्वा पुरस्कृत्य कृपी च ते,चिताकी अग्निमें अग्निहोत्रसहित द्रोणाचार्यको रखकर उनकी आहुति दे उन्हींके शिष्य द्विजातिगण कृपीको आगे और चिताको दायें करके गंगाजीके तटकी ओर जा रहे हैं
gacchanty abhimukhā gaṅgāṃ droṇaśiṣyā dvijātayaḥ | apavyaṃ citiṃ kṛtvā puraskṛtya kṛpī ca te ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Drona’s twice-born disciples proceeded toward the Gaṅgā. Keeping the funeral pyre to their right in reverential circumambulation and placing Kṛpī in front, they went on—bearing the sacred fire and the rites due to their teacher. The scene underscores the dharmic duty of students to honor the guru through proper funerary observances, even amid the devastation of war.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in the wake of catastrophic violence, dharma requires honoring relationships and obligations—here, the disciples’ duty to their guru—through correct and respectful rites. The verse highlights reverence (keeping the pyre to the right, leading with the honored person) and the ethical continuity of ritual responsibility amid grief.
Droṇa’s disciples are taking the funeral pyre toward the river Gaṅgā for the concluding rites. They proceed with Kṛpī placed in front as the honored elder, and they keep the pyre to their right in a gesture of respect while moving toward the riverbank.