Drona

The sage's son and the broken promise

Drona was the son of the sage Bharadvaja, named for the vessel in which he was conceived. He grew up in his father's hermitage learning the Vedas and the science of arms beside Drupada, a prince of Panchala, who promised him half his kingdom one day. Drona married Kripi, sister of Kripa, and they had a son, Ashwatthama. They were so poor that the boy once drank rice flour stirred into water and thought it was milk.

Drona went to Parashurama for wealth and arrived after the warrior-sage had given it all away. He left with Parashurama's weapons instead. Then he went to Drupada, now king, to claim the old friendship. Drupada told him in open court that friendship exists only between equals.

Teacher of the princes

At Hastinapura, Drona fished the princes' lost ball out of a well with blades of grass, and Bhishma made him their teacher. He promised Arjuna that no archer would surpass him and tested the class with a wooden bird, where only Arjuna saw nothing but its eye. When the forest-dweller Ekalavya matched Arjuna by practising before a clay image of Drona, the teacher demanded his right thumb as his fee.

The fee he asked of his royal students was Drupada. Arjuna brought the king to him in bonds, and Drona took half of Panchala and offered friendship as an equal. Drupada went home and performed a sacrifice for a son who would kill Drona. From the fire came Dhrishtadyumna, and Draupadi with him.

Commander at Kurukshetra

Drona sat silent in the dice hall and fought for the Kauravas because he lived on their bread. When Bhishma fell on the tenth day, Karna named him commander. He promised Duryodhana to take Yudhishthira alive if Arjuna could be drawn away. On the thirteenth day his wheel formation trapped Abhimanyu, and Drona was among the six warriors who cut the boy down. On the fifteenth day he killed Drupada.

The lie about Ashwatthama

Krishna judged that Drona could not be beaten while he held a bow. Bhima killed an elephant named Ashwatthama and shouted that Ashwatthama was dead. Drona asked Yudhishthira, the one man he trusted never to lie. Yudhishthira said it was true, adding "the elephant" under his breath. Drona laid down his weapons and sat in meditation, and Dhrishtadyumna cut off his head while Arjuna shouted at him to stop.

A teacher's debts

Drona is argued over as a Brahmin who chose arms and a teacher who played favourites, as Ekalavya's thumb shows. He stayed loyal to a side he knew was wrong. Yet his death is the Pandavas' most shameful victory, and his son's revenge for it ends the war in a massacre.