Dhrshtadyumna

In the Mahabharata, the later of the two
great Hindu epics, Dhrshtadyumna is
the son of King Drupada and the brother
of Draupadi, King Drupada’s daughter.
Dhrshtadyumna and Draupadi are magically born by emerging from a sacrificial fire. Their father sponsors this rite of
sacrifice to give birth to a hero who will
kill Drona, who has taken away half of
Drupada’s kingdom after being insulted
by Drupada. Drona accepts the boy as a
pupil and teaches him the martial arts.
Even though a heavenly voice has
announced that the boy will eventually
kill him, he does this under the conviction that fate cannot be avoided.
Dhrshtadyumna is instrumental in
arranging Draupadi’s marriage to the
five Pandava brothers, the epic’s protagonists, and he fights on their side during
the Mahabharata war. Dhrshtadyumna
fights fiercely in the war and eventually
kills Drona by cutting off his head, thereby avenging his father’s defeat. Yet his
triumph is short-lived, for that very
night Dhrshtadyumna is killed by
Drona’s son Ashvatthama, who secretly
gains entry to the Pandava camp and
kicks Dhrshtadyumna to death.