Shloka 723
ऋषे: प्रसादात् कृष्णस्य सत्यवत्या: सुतस्य च । नरेश्वर! द्रोणाचार्य आकाशमें पहुँचकर नक्षत्रोंके पथमें प्रविष्ट हो गये। उस समय सत्यवतीनन्दन महर्षि श्रीकृष्णद्वैपायनके प्रसादसे मैंने भी द्रोणाचार्यकी वह दिव्य मृत्यु प्रत्यक्ष देख ली
ṛṣeḥ prasādāt kṛṣṇasya satyavatyāḥ sutasya ca | nareśvara droṇācārya ākāśaṁ prāpya nakṣatrāṇāṁ pathi praviṣṭo 'bhavat | tadā satyavatīnandana-maharṣi-śrīkṛṣṇadvaipāyanaprasādāt mayāpi droṇācāryasya sā divyā mṛtyuḥ pratyakṣaṁ dṛṣṭā ||
Sañjaya berkata: Dengan rahmat sang resi, dan dengan rahmat Kṛṣṇa serta putera Satyavatī, wahai raja, Droṇācārya terangkat ke angkasa lalu memasuki laluan bintang-bintang. Pada saat itu, melalui kurnia Maharsi Śrī Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana—putera Satyavatī—aku sendiri turut menyaksikan dengan mata kepalaku pemergian Droṇa yang bersifat ilahi itu. Peristiwa ini menempatkan akhir Droṇa bukan sekadar kematian di medan perang, melainkan keberangkatan yang sarat daya rohani, terlihat melalui penglihatan luhur yang dianugerahkan para resi mulia.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes that certain pivotal events—especially a great warrior’s end—are framed as occurring under higher sanction: ‘prasāda’ (grace) enables true seeing. Ethically, it suggests that the meaning of death in the epic is not exhausted by violence alone; it is also interpreted through spiritual authority (ṛṣi, Vyāsa) and divine presence (Kṛṣṇa), shaping how one understands duty, consequence, and transcendence.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Droṇācārya, at the time of his end, rose into the sky and entered the celestial path of the stars. Sañjaya adds that he could directly witness this ‘divine death’ only because Vyāsa (Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana, son of Satyavatī) granted him the extraordinary capacity to see it.