Mahabharata: Chapter 7. Drona Summary & Analysis

THE INSTALLATION OF DRONA. Samjaya narrates to Dhritarashtra how, without Bhishma, the Kauravas struggled against the Pandavas in battle on the eleventh day of fighting. But the first appearance of Karna on the battlefield raises their spirits. Duryodhana asks Karna who should replace Bhishma’s position as commander, and Karna recommends Drona. Drona accepts but warns that he can’t defeat Dhrishtadyumna, the man who is destined to kill him. Drona fights fiercely, like a man much younger, but Yudhishthira orders his own army to focus on stopping Drona, and after taking many casualties, they finally manage to kill him.

After hearing of Drona’s death, Dhritarashtra is full of grief. He asks Samjaya to go back and tell him the story of Drona’s death in more detail, which Samjaya does. He begins narrating.

THE KILLING OF THE SWORN WARRIORS. In Samjaya’s recounting of the battle, Drona makes plans with Duryodhana to separate the invincible Arjuna from the rest of the army so that Drona can capture Yudhishthira. They arrange a challenge that Arjuna can’t refuse, with their allies from the kingdom of Trigarta drawing Arjuna to the far southern part of the field of battle. Arjuna rains devastation down on the Trigartas.

Meanwhile, while Arjuna is away, Yudhishthira warns his ally Dhrishtadyumna not to let Drona capture him. Drona manages to devastate the Pandavas while Arjuna is gone, but he fails to capture Yudhishthira. Duryodhana attacks Bhima fiercely, and a false rumor springs up that Bhima is dead. All sides fight fiercely, with the Pandavas regrouping and Arjuna slaying three of Karna’s brothers before the armies withdraw to their camps for the evening.

THE KILLING OF ABHIMANYU. After a long night, on the 13th day of battle, Duryodhana gets angry with Drona for failing to capture Yudhishthira on the previous day. Drona argues that Arjuna, with Krishna as his charioteer, is just too powerful. Drona promises that if Duryodhana can keep Arjuna occupied, he will kill one Pandava chief. By the end of the day, Drona manages to slay Arjuna’s son, Abhimanyu. Dhritarashtra interrupts the story to ask Samjaya to tell this part in more detail, which he does.

In Samjaya’s more detailed recounting of events, all the leaders of both armies clash on the field of battle that 13th day. No one can get at Drona because of how many arrows he keeps firing out. Yudhishthira sees how strong Drona is and puts Abhimanyu in charge of stopping him, since Arjuna himself is occupied with Duryodhana.

Abhimanyu rides toward Drona to attack, and all the Kauravas in the area focus their attacks on him. Abhimanyu fights valiantly, almost as strong as Arjuna himself as he repels the enemy army. Angry at the heavy losses, Duryodhana himself turns to fight Abhimanyu. But Abhimanyu continues to fight fiercely, slaying the younger brother of Karna. A son of Duryodhana also fights Abhimanyu, and Abhimanyu shoots his head off.

Abhimanyu continues to slay great heroes, even after taking many arrows to his own body. Drona and Karna discuss how to slay Abhimanyu, with Drona suggesting that Karna and others try to ride Abhimanyu out of his chariot. Eventually, the Kauravas succeed in unseating Abhimanyu from his chariot, all while Jayadratha’s forces keep the other Pandavas from intervening. Abhimanyu grabs a club and keeps fighting. A son of Duhśasana manages to hit Abhimanyu over the head, and several other chariot-fighters led by Drona and Karna attack him, killing him. Celestial beings seem to cry out that this death is not dharma, but the combatants continue to fight skillfully for the rest of the day.

Yudhishthira gives a speech to his army about Abhimanyu’s bravery. He regrets sending the young Abhimanyu to his death. When Arjuna returns that evening and learns of the death of his son, he mourns and vows that he will either kill Jayadratha by the end of the next day or will walk into fire.

THE PROMISE. When Jayadratha hears the noise from the Pandavas’ camp, he fears what Arjuna will do to him and asks to leave the battle. But Duryodhana and Drona promise to protect him, saying that even if he dies in battle, that is the highest honor for a Kshatriya. Meanwhile, in his dreams, Arjuna receives a visit from Krishna who advises him to go praise Śiva. He does so in the dream, then wakes up the next day ready to seek out Jayadratha.

THE KILLING OF JAYADRATHA. On the morning of the 14th day of battle, both sides make preparations for the upcoming fighting—especially the expected attack of Arjuna against Jayadratha. Arjuna fights fiercely that day, killing both elephants and warriors. Worried about Arjuna’s attacks, Duryodhana comes to Drona, and Drona recites mantras to make Duryodhana invincible with his armor.

The battle splits off in many directions, but eventually, Arjuna, with Krishna as his charioteer, starts to make his way toward Jayadratha, killing whoever stands in his way. Just as all the Kauravas fear that Arjuna will surely kill Jayadratha, Duryodhana comes to stop him in his invincible armor. Fierce battles continue everywhere, as Satyaki tries to make his way through the fray to help Arjuna, killing everyone in his path. Meanwhile, although Drona is in his 80s, he continues to fight like a young man.

Bhima manages to get Karna off the battlefield by killing his charioteer. Duryodhana and Drona regroup, devoting all the Kaurava resources to protecting Jayadratha. Dhritarashtra interrupts Samjaya’s story to ask more about Bhima and Karna’s battle, so Samjaya tells it in more detail.

In Samjaya’s retelling, Bhima goes after Karna and manages to kill five of Dhritarashtra’s 100 sons. Karna manages to knock Bhima out of his chariot, but he refuses to kill Bhima while he’s unarmed. Satyaki welcomes Bhima into his own chariot. A warrior named Buriśravas challenges Satyaki, managing to destroy his weapons, strike him down to the ground, and drag him around the battlefield by his hair. Arjuna takes offense at this and severs Buriśravas’s sword arm with an arrow. Buriśravas gets angry, accusing Arjuna of ignoring dharma by striking him by surprise.

Arjuna gets angry at Buriśravas, saying that he struck Buriśravas fairly while he was fighting Satyaki, and that it was even worse that the Kauravas killed Abhimanyu while he was out of his chariot. Buriśravas prepares to die as he bleeds out. Satyaki wants to kill Buriśravas himself, and although his whole army advises him against it, Satyaki decapitates Buriśravas. While some scold Satyaki, others believe he was only following fate.

After this, Arjuna urges Krishna to take him toward Jayadratha. Karna is the last defense, but Arjuna manages to slay his horses. Aśvatthaman takes Karna into his chariot, and the fighting continues. Krishna informs Arjuna that it is finally the right time to kill Jayadratha. Arjuna fires an arrow that decapitates Jayadratha, carrying his head as if it were a hawk and dropping it in the lap of Jayadratha’s father. Cheered by this victory, the Pandavas try to press their advantage.

THE KILLING OF GHATOTKACA. Fighting continues, with Arjuna continuing to seem invincible. Duryodhana blames Drona for going too easy on Arjuna, but his advisors continue to blame Duryodhana’s own pride for starting a feud with the Pandavas in the first place.

As the battle continues into the night, all of the Pandavas rush toward Drona. Despite fierce resistance, Bhima kills many great warriors. That night, everyone in the Pandava army honors Bhima for his strong fighting. The fighting doesn’t stop, however, as both sides continue in bloody battle, with Ghatotkaca getting hit with an arrow and dragged off the field of battle unconscious. Bhima manages to kill 10 more of Dhritarashtra’s 100 sons, as well as one of Karna’s brothers.

Fighting goes late, and Duryodhana instructs his men to light lamps. Eventually, the Pandavas have a clear advantage, and many Kauravas have to retreat. Arjuna wants to battle to the death against Karna, but Krishna says it’s not time and that Ghatotkaca, now revived, should go instead. Ghatotkaca goes on a rampage. Duryodhana sends a Rakshasa warrior named Alamabala to fight him, but Ghatotkaca defeats him and throws Alamabala’s head back to Duryodhana, saying that he and Karna are next.

Ghatotkaca and Karna fight fiercely, with Ghatotkaca using illusions to distract his opponent, but Karna dispels these illusions by catching a thunderbolt that Ghatotkaca throws and hurling it back. Ghatotkaca vanishes, but he soon rejoins the battle elsewhere and continues killing, which worries Duryodhana.

Karna doesn’t back down, however, and he destroys a shower of arrows headed at him. Ghatotkaca gets angry and is eager to strike Karna down. The two fight directly with each other. All of a sudden, Ghatotkaca vanishes, and everyone fears he will kill Karna while invisible. Hundreds of illusory weapons start coming at Karna from every angle. The other Kaurava fighters see this carnage and retreat in fear. Karna stands firm, but Ghatotkaca kills his horses, unseating him from his chariot.

The destruction around Karna seems so great that many encourage him to use his special celestial weapon Spear from Indra. Although Karna has been saving the Spear for Arjuna, at last he agrees to use it on Ghatotkaca. The Spear immediately turns all of Ghatotkaca’s illusions to ashes and rips through his heart. As Ghatotkaca dies, his giant form falls down and smashes a section of the Kaurava army.

THE KILLING OF DRONA. All of the Pandavas grieve the fall of Ghatotkaca except Krishna, who rejoices. While Arjuna feels Krishna’s behavior is inappropriate, Krishna explains that now that Karna is without his Spear, Arjuna can finally defeat him. Additionally, if Ghatotkaca had not died in battle just then, Krishna himself would have had to kill him for the sake of dharma.

When battle starts up on the 14th day, Yudhishthira fears what the loss of Ghatotkaca will do to his army and says they must take out the mighty enemy warriors like Drona and Karna. Many of the fighters are weary, but after a short break, the battle continues through the night and goes into the 15th day. Dhrishtadyumna leads an attack toward Drona, causing Duryodhana to rush to Drona’s reinforcement. As Duryodhana comes forward, Satyaki attacks him.

Satyaki and Duryodhana exchange both sharp words and many volleys of arrows with each other. Yudhishthira commands Arjuna to try to drive away all the Kauravas fighting near Drona. Krishna advises Arjuna to temporarily put aside dharma and to use whatever trick it takes to get rid of Drona—specifically, he tells Arjuna to falsely tell Drona that his son Aśvatthaman has died. Although he’s reluctant, Arjuna agrees to this.

Bhima kills an elephant from his own army named Aśvatthaman, then tells Drona that “Aśvatthaman” is dead. Drona is heartbroken, believing his son is dead, although a part of him wonders if it’s a lie, since he believes no enemy could overcome Aśvatthaman. Drona continues to rain down destruction on the battlefield, killing tens of thousands of opponents. The Pandavas move in to attack Drona. Still unsure if his son is alive, Drona asks Yudhishthira if it’s true that Aśvatthaman has been slain. Reluctantly, Yudhishthira lies and says Aśvatthaman is dead. Drona believes the noble Yudhishthira and loses his will to live.

Drona can’t fight like he used to. Dhrishtadyumna, who is destined to kill Drona, rushes forward to attack. The two of them engage in fierce battle, firing arrows back and forth. Drona manages to kill Dhrishtadyumna’s horses, forcing him out of his chariot. In turn, Dhrishtadyumna takes his sword and goes to slay Drona on foot. Drona readies an arrow to kill Dhrishtadyumna, but Satyaki intervenes to cut it off.

Yudhishthira readies all his soldiers to charge at Drona. But Drona’s weapons blaze, and he keeps his many enemies at bay. He uses his Brahmin power to kill 100,000 Kshatriyas. Dhrishtadyumna advances toward Drona undeterred. Drona hits him with several arrows. Just then, Bhima comes up behind Drona and scolds him for supposedly being a Brahmin but neglecting dharma and non-violence. Ashamed, Drona puts down his weapons.

Seeing Drona vulnerable as he is absorbed in Yoga, Dhrishtadyumna takes the opportunity to attack. Dhrishtadyumna is shocked as he sees Drona take on his final state, but only a few other mortals see this change. For everyone else, it just appears that Drona’s body bleeds out, pierced by arrows. Dhrishtadyumna approaches the corpse and severs Drona’s head. He throws the head into the Kaurava army, and many of them lose their will to fight. Meanwhile, the Pandavas celebrate. When the still-alive Aśvatthaman hears of his father’s death, he is full of anger.

THE WEAPON OF NARAYANA. Dhritarashtra asks Samjaya to tell more about when Aśvatthaman heard about Drona’s death, and so Samjaya tells the story. After hearing of his father’s death, Aśvatthaman wants to use the celestial weapon that Drona received as a boon from Narayana (a form of Vishnu). He uses the weapon, and a mighty storm gathers. Aśvatthaman kills many of the battlefield but doesn’t succeed in killing Arjuna or Krishna. Meanwhile, the Pandavas argue among themselves about whether Drona’s killing was justified.