Shloka 71
आचार्यो वृष्णिवीराणां कौरवाणां च यो द्विज: । सर्वक्षत्रस्य चाचार्य: सर्वशस्त्रभूृतां वर: । तेन द्रोणेन ते तात कथमासीत् समागम:
ācāryo vṛṣṇivīrāṇāṃ kauravāṇāṃ ca yo dvijaḥ | sarvakṣatrasya cācāryaḥ sarvaśastrabhṛtāṃ varaḥ | tena droṇena te tāta katham āsīt samāgamaḥ ||
ไวศัมปายนะกล่าวว่า “ลูกเอ๋ย พราหมณ์โทรณะผู้นั้น—อาจารย์ของวีรชนแห่งวฤษณิและเหล่ากุรุวงศ์ เป็นครูของกษัตริย์ทั้งปวง และเป็นยอดแห่งผู้ถืออาวุธ—การเผชิญหน้าของเจ้ากับท่านโทรณะเกิดขึ้นได้อย่างไร?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the ethical weight of the guru’s role in kṣatriya society: a single preceptor can shape the conduct and capabilities of many royal lineages. By highlighting Droṇa as ‘foremost among weapon-bearers’ and teacher to multiple clans, it frames martial skill as something transmitted through disciplined instruction, carrying responsibility beyond any one faction.
Vaiśampāyana pauses to identify Droṇa with honorific epithets and then asks how the addressed person’s encounter/meeting with Droṇa occurred. The question functions as a narrative bridge, inviting an account of the circumstances that led to contact with this renowned teacher.