Shloka 44
Droṇa’s Conditional Boon: The Plan to Capture Yudhiṣṭhira (द्रोणेन युधिष्ठिरग्रहणोपायः)
न होव ब्रह्मचर्येण न वेदाध्यपयनेन च
na hova brahmacaryeṇa na vedādhyāpanena ca
ಬ್ರಹ್ಮಚರ್ಯಾಚರಣೆಯಿಂದ ಮಾತ್ರವಲ್ಲ, ವೇದಗಳನ್ನು ಬೋಧಿಸುವುದರಿಂದಲೂ ಅಲ್ಲ…
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse begins a negation: external markers of religiosity—strict brahmacarya and even the authoritative act of teaching the Vedas—are not, by themselves, adequate to accomplish the higher ethical or spiritual aim being discussed. It points toward the necessity of inner virtue, right intention, and dharmic conduct beyond mere discipline or scholarship.
Vaiśampāyana, as the narrator, introduces a reflective statement (continued in subsequent pādas/verses) that evaluates the limits of ascetic practice and scriptural pedagogy. In the Drona Parva’s war-context, such remarks typically function to judge character and merit, contrasting outward qualifications with the deeper demands of dharma amid crisis.