Resumo de Drona: 12. Mahabharata

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Drona was the son of Bharadwaja, a brahmana. After
completing his study of the Vedas and the Vedantas, he went
on to master the art of archery. Drupada was the son of the
King of Panchala and a classmate of Drona. The two of them
became such close friends that Drupad promised Drona half
his kingdom when he assumed kingship.

Drona married the sister of Kripacharya, and a son,
Aswatthama, was born to them. Although Drona himself had
never yearned for wealth, he now desired to acquire some
for the sake of his family. For this, he turned to
Parasurama, who was supposed to be indulging in charity at
that point of time. But Drona was a little too late, as
Parasurama?s session of charity was over even before the
former approached him. Nevertheless, Parasurama gracefully
offered to train Drona in weaponry, which paved the way for
Drona to become unrivalled in the martial arts.

Drupada had by now ascended the throne of Panchala. Drona
remembered his intimacy with Drupada in the days gone by
and went and met him with the hope of receiving his
generosity. But that was not to be, as Drupada at the helm
of the throne of Panchala, was a transformed man. He made
it clear to Drona in an insulting manner that they were no
longer equals. Disappointed and hurt, Drona left the palace
with the promise to punish the arrogant king in time.

Next, he went to Hastinapura and spent some time with
Kripacharya, his brother-in-law. One day, as the princes of
Hastinapura were playing with a ball, Drona stood watching
them. The ball, in the course of play, happened to fall
down into a well and the boys were at a loss how to
retrieve it. Drona, the brahmana stranger, picked up a
blade of long and stiff grass and propelled it inside the
well with great alacrity. The blade sped through the water
and pierced the ball down below. The brahmana visitor then
took a second blade of grass and threw this one in such a
way that it pierced the top end of the first blade. He
repeated this exercise till the succession of blades formed
a chain long enough to be within reach. Drona pulled the
ball out to the great delight and amazement of the princes
of Hastinapura. Impressed beyond words, the boys gratefully
asked Drona if there was something they could do in return.
Dona told them to go and narrate to Bhishma what they had
just observed.

On hearing out the boys, Bhishma instantly knew that the
stranger was none other than Drona, the maestro. The grand
old man received Drona with commensurate respect and
employed him to train the princes in the use of arms.

Once the Kauravas and the Pandavas had mastered the art of
warfare, Drona sent Karna and Duryodhana to capture Drupad
and bring him to Hastinapura. This would be the price of
his training. But Karna and Duryodhana failed in their
assignment. Drona then awarded the task to Arjuna, who
defeated Drupada in a battle and brought him a captive.

Drona did not mistreat Drupada, but paid him back with his
own coin. He told Drupada that now that they stood on equal
grounds, Drupada would have to part with half his kingdom,
which would belong to Drona.

Drupada had no choice but to comply. But hate cannot be
conquered by retaliation and he did so with a pang of
wounded vanity. He fervently prayed to the gods, practised
austerity and was eventually blessed with a son,
Dhrishtadyumna, who would later slay Drona at the Battle of
Kurukshetra, and a daughter Draupadi, who would choose
Arjuna for her husband.

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