A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion, Geography, History, and Literature c5.526

c5.526

DRONA. ‘A bucket.’ A Brāhman so named from his having been generated by his father, Bharadwāja, in a bucket. He married Kripā, half-sister of Bhīshma, and by her was father of Aswatthāman. He was āchārya, or teacher of the military art, both to the Kaurava and Pāndava princes, and so he was called Dronāchārya. He had been slighted by Drupada, king of Panchāla, and became his enemy. Through the instrumentality of the Pāndavas he made Drupada prisoner, and took from him half of his kingdom; but he spared his life and gave him back the other half of his country But the old animosity rankled, and ended in the death of both. In the great war Drona sided with the Kauravas, and after the death of Bhīshma he became their commander-in-chief. On the fourth day of his command he killed Drupada, and in his turn he was unfairly slain in combat by Dhrishta-dyumna, who had sworn to avenge his father’s death. In the midst of this combat Drona was told that his son was dead, which so unnerved him that he laid down his arms and his opponent decapitated him. But Drona was a Brāhman and an Āchārya, and the crime of killing him was enormous, so it is glossed over by the statement that Drona “transported himself to heaven in a glittering state like the sun, and Dhrishta-dyumna decapitated merely his lifeless body.” Drona was also called Kūṭa-ja. The common meaning of Kūṭa is ‘mountain-top,’ but one of its many other meanings is ‘water-jar.’ His patronymic is Bhāradwāja.