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DRONACHARYA : THE INVINCIBLE

Dronacharya



Name: Dronacharya
Father: Rishi Bharadwaj
Wife: Rishi Kripi
Son: Ashwathama

Dronacharya was born and raised in poverty. He started his education under his father and guru Rishi Bharadwaj along with price Dhrupad and became best friends

He studied Dharma and military arts.

When the Prince of Panchal, Dhrupad, returned to his kingdom, he promised Dronacharya that the time when he became the king he will give half of his kingdom to Dronacharya and left. Dronacharya left for further education under Lord Parshuram and studied martial arts and celestial weapons.

Dronacharya got married to Rishi Kripi, sister of guru Kripacharya.
Dronacharya did tough penance to please Shiva to have a valiant son like him. Since there is no one like Lord Shiva, Shiva ought to born in the human form and was named 'ASHWATHAMA'.


Dhrupad- Drona


Dronacharya being a husband and a father wanted to give a better life to his family so he approached his childhood friend Dhrupad for help (1 cow), Dhrupad didn't offer any help but he insulted Dronacharya in front of his royal friends. But Poor Dronacharya keeps on trying to remind him about their friendship but Dhrupad insulted Drona again by saying friendship is possible with people of equal status. Dhrupad offered help on a condition if Drona asks for donations like an ordinary Brahmin and not as a friend. Dronacharya left the court without saying a word.

Kripacharya the royal family priest of Hastinapur and brother in law of Dronacharya, recommended Dronacharya as the teacher to Kuru Prince.



Drona - Acharya



Dronacharya taught all the Kuru Prince and other princes from the Allied kingdoms including his son Ashwathama, but Arjuna became his favorite.

Arjuna was humble, focussed, hardworking, extremely respectful towards his teacher.

During the post-graduation ceremony, Dronacharya for his Guru Dakshina asked his pupils to defeat Dhrupad. Kauravas failed to fulfill the guru Dakshina but Pandavas manage to defeat Dhrupad and Arjuna captured Dhrupad for Dronacharya.

Now Dronacharya was the new king of Panchal (after defeating Dhrupad), but as a loyal friend he fulfill the promise on Dhrupad's behalf and gave the half kingdom back to Dhrupad and as a part of punishment he demanded the partition of cows in the royal shed as well. And took one cow from Dhrupad's share and fulfill his second promise to Kripi to bring one cow from his childhood friend.

Dronacharya witnessed:
  • House of wax 
  • Draupadi's humiliation
  • Greatest war
  • Duryodhan denying to return Indraprastha
  • Rejection of peaceful Messenger.

But didn't said against Duryodhan because of his loyalty towards Hastinapur.

In the Kurukshetra war,
  • Dronacharya was fighting on behalf of Kauravas
  • On the 11th day after Bheeshma fall, he was appointed as commander in chief of the Hastinapur army.
  • Duryodhana got the idea to attack Abhimanyu simultaneously when Dronacharya said it's impossible to stop Abhimanyu alone on the 14th day.

Dronacharya killed many warriors from Pandavas side but didn't kill any of the Pandavas due to his affection towards them. Lord Krishna knew it's almost impossible to kill Dronacharya and without which it's impossible to win the war. Krishna advised Bheem ko kill the elephant named ''Ashwathama'' and spread the news that you killed Ashwathama. Dronacharya was shocked to hear the news but he didn't believe Bheem could kill Ashwathama so he moved towards Yudhishthira to confirm the news, Krishna knew that Yudhishthira won't lie so the moment Dronacharya asked ' oh Yudhishthir, please tell me is it true that Ashwathama is killed'? To which Yudhishthira replied, 'yes, Gurudev Ashwathama if definitely killed by Bheem but it's the elephant not human' but Krishna blew the conch so loud that Dronacharya couldn't hear the other half. He dropped his weapons and came down from his chariot and started mediation and started looking for his son in heaven. Dhrishtdyumn took this as an opportunity and killed Dronacharya.

Finally on the 16th days of the Kurukshetra war, Dronacharya the Invincible was killed.

Untold Stories:

Though the world remembers Bhishma as the resolute guardian of the Kuru throne—steadfast, sharp, and composed—there were moments when even his iron will gave way to quiet grief. On the night Vichitravirya died, Bhishma sat alone beneath the stars, atop the palace terrace. The wind carried his sighs, but only the oldest maid of the court saw him weep—not with loud lamentation, but with the weight of a life built on duty. He had renounced his right to marry, to raise sons, all for the throne—and yet, the very bloodline he preserved stood barren again. It was the sorrow of a man who had given everything, and received silence in return.

Years before the great war, when Amba came to him—scorned, rejected, and consumed by fury—Bhishma felt the sting of helplessness. He had abducted her in the name of royal tradition, but could offer her neither marriage nor justice. Bound by his oath, he stood unmoved. Yet within, he broke. That night, he wandered the banks of the Ganga and whispered into the river’s flow, “Let her curse come true. Let my end be hers to command.” It was the first time Bhishma longed for death—not in battle, but in shame.

During the Kurukshetra war, a moment arrived when the battle paused, not because of weapons, but because of revelation. Krishna, enraged by Arjuna’s hesitation, lifted a chariot wheel like a discus and charged at Bhishma. Krishna had sworn not to fight, yet his love for Arjuna overpowered that vow. Bhishma dropped his weapons, knelt, and opened his arms—not in surrender, but in recognition. In that flash of divine fury, Bhishma no longer saw a mortal ally, but Vishnu himself. He was ready to die, not by an enemy's hand, but at the feet of God.

In some forgotten versions of the tale, there’s a story of Bhishma unknowingly meeting Karna in disguise. They exchanged thoughts on dharma, warfare, and the loneliness of honor. Both men felt a kinship neither could explain, as if they shared a wound that never healed. Bhishma later suspected the truth—this was Kunti’s firstborn, the one warrior who bore both nobility and bitterness in equal measure. Still, he chose silence, perhaps because he saw in Karna what he himself might have become, had life allowed him the dignity of choice.

Long after the war had ended, as Bhishma lay on his bed of arrows, Draupadi visited him. No longer the queen who had been humiliated before the court, she stood beside him as a daughter might before her elder. Bhishma, weakened yet lucid, asked for her forgiveness. He admitted his silence during her insult had haunted him more than any sword. Draupadi, strong and solemn, touched his feet and replied softly, “A daughter forgives where a queen cannot.” That moment, more than any hymn or salutation, brought him peace.

His end, too, was not a fall of defeat, but a fulfillment. When Shikhandi stood before him in battle, Bhishma lowered his bow. To others it seemed like a tactical decision. But within, Bhishma saw destiny unfold. He recognized the soul of Amba in Shikhandi’s body. He knew this was not vengeance—it was balance. He once told Dronacharya, “I do not fear death. I fear pride that cloaks itself in justice. Let the one I wronged deliver what I deserve.”

These were the moments that made Bhishma more than a warrior. They made him human. A man not only of vows and victories, but of wounds, regrets, and rare glimpses of tenderness that history rarely speaks of.


    _Vikram M

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