Drona

In the Mahabharata, the later of the
two great Hindu epics, Drona is
famous as a teacher of all the arts of
war, but particularly for teaching
archery. He is the martial preceptor to
both the Pandavas and the Kauravas,
the two royal factions whose battle
for power is at the heart of the
Mahabharata. Drona is the son of the
sage Bharadvaja, born through an
involuntary seminal emission when
the sage sees a celestial nymph
(apsara). Drona’s skill in weapons is
gained from the god Vishnu’s Parashuram
avatar, who bequeaths both his
weapons and his skills to Drona as a
boon. Drona’s skill as an archer is legendary, as is his prowess as an archery
teacher. Among his pupils he has a particular fondness for Arjuna (a
Pandava brother), whose commitment and concentration so outstrip
his peers that Drona promises Arjuna
that he will be the world’s greatest
archer. This support for Arjuna can be
seen in the story of Ekalavya, a tribal
boy whom Drona refuses to teach
because of his low status, but who
becomes Arjuna’s equal as an archer by
worshiping a clay statue of Drona. When
Drona discovers this, he demands that
Ekalavya give him his right thumb as a
preceptor’s fee, to ensure that no one will
be Arjuna’s equal.
During the Mahabharata war, Drona
fights valiantly on the side of Duryodhana
(eldest son of Dhrtarashtra), but is
finally killed by King Drupada’s son
Dhrshtadyumna. In the epic, Drupada
and Drona have a long history of conflict. They have lived together as students, but after their student life ends
Drupada becomes the king of Panchala,
whereas Drona is so poor he cannot
afford to feed his family. On one occasion, when Drona asks Drupada for
alms, Drupada upbraids him most
insultingly. Drona vows revenge, and
after teaching the arts of war to the
Pandavas and Kauravas, Drona demands
Drupada’s kingdom as his teacher’s fee
(dakshina) from his students. When
Drupada is defeated, Drona takes half of
his kingdom; Drupada vows to get
revenge on Drona. Drupada subsequently performs a great fire sacrifice to
give birth to a son who will kill Drona.
Out of the fire come two luminous children, one of whom is Dhrshtadyumna,
and the other his sister, Draupadi.
206
Drona
207
Drupada