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Aśvatthaman
Drona is a warrior Brahmin who instructs both the Kauravas and the Pandavas in the ways of war. He is also the father of Aśvatthaman. During the Kurukshetra war, he sides with Duryodhana, despite still having respect for the Pandavas. Although he’s in his 80s, he remains a powerful fighter, and he takes command of the Kaurava army, where he kills great warriors like Drupada. Eventually, the Pandavas manage to trick Drona into believing his son Aśvatthaman is dead, and while Drona processes this news, Dhrishtadyumna kills him. Drona represents how knowledge and strength combine in battle, using his martial intelligence to fight at an advanced age but ultimately being undone by a trick.
Drona Quotes in Mahabharata
The Mahabharata quotes below are all either spoken by Drona or refer to Drona. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 7. Drona Quotes
The hero who had laid waste the entire Kuru army, like an elephant in a lotus pond, now lay resplendent in death, like a wild elephant slain by hunters.
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Chapter 9. Salya Quotes
Seeing these most wonderful happenings, and the honour paid to Duryodhana, the Pandavas felt ashamed; they grieved mightily to hear it said that Bhishma, Drona, Karna, and Buriśravas had been killed unfairly. But Krishna, seeing them anxious and downcast, proclaimed in a voice sounding like thunder or drums, ‘Duryodhana here with his swift weapons, and those other valiant chariot-fighters, could not have been slain by you on the battlefield in a fair fight. That is why I devised these stratagems, lords of men—otherwise the victory of the Pandavas could never have happened.’
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Chapter 10. The Night-Raid Quotes
Drona’s son Aśvatthaman watched that owl carry out its guileful attack at night. The bird’s behaviour filled him with new resolve, and he said to himself, ‘This bird has given me good advice in warfare!’
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‘Here is the jewel, and here am I.’
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Drona Character Timeline in Mahabharata
The timeline below shows where the character Drona appears in Mahabharata. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1. Beginnings
...deeds of the mortal incarnations of gods and demons, and Vaiśampayana does so. There is Drona, a tiger-like king who wasn’t born from the womb. Then there’s Aśvatthaman, the lotus-eyed destroyer,...
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Bhishma is looking for a tutor for the five Pandavas, and he finds one in Drona. Drona accepts the position on the condition that once the five princes have learned how...
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THE BURNING OF THE HOUSE OF LAC. Drona arranges for the five Pandavas to put on a public display of their new weaponry...
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Drona finally asks the five Pandavas for his fee for acting as a tutor: to capture...
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Chapter 2. The Hall
...Pandavas, but he nevertheless assures Duryodhana that he has many allies of his own, like Drona and Karna.
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Chapter 4. Virata
...chariot, and they come to a Kuru army that includes Karna, Duryodhana, Kripa, Bhishma, and Drona. Uttara jumps off the chariot and tries to run away, but since Arjuna believes it...
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...the sound of his conch and the appearance of his bow hint at his identity. Drona hears the conch and fears bad news. Duryodhana and the other Kauravas, who finally recognize...
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...army and begin attacking. Meanwhile, gods like Indra come to watch the spectacle. Arjuna attacks Drona, who is unable to defeat Arjuna, although Drona’s son Aśvatthaman is able to break Arjuna’s...
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Chapter 5. Perseverance
...if they try to challenge them. Bhishma gives his own speech agreeing with Krishna, then Drona does the same. Vidura and even Dhritarashtra all tell Duryodhana that it is dharma to...
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Chapter 6. Bhishma
Samjaya describes to Dhritarashtra what happened on the battlefield, including the fierce rivalry between Drona and Drupada. Drupada gets injured and has to leave, and Drona continues to terrorize all...
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...the special celestial weapon he got from Indra to slay many foes. Meanwhile, Virata and Drona fight each other. Drona fires a poison arrow that hits Virata’s son Śankha, killing him....
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...he isn’t able to. Bhishma strikes back and kills hundreds of thousands of Pandava allies. Drona senses that Arjuna is going to use Sikhandin to kill Bhishma.
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Chapter 7. Drona
...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...
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After hearing of Drona’s death, Dhritarashtra is full of grief. He asks Samjaya to go back and tell him...
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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...
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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...
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...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...
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...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...
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Abhimanyu rides toward Drona to attack, and all the Kauravas in the area focus their attacks on him. Abhimanyu...
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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...
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...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...
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...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.
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...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.
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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...
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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...
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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...
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...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...
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...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...
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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...
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Drona can’t fight like he used to. Dhrishtadyumna, who is destined to kill Drona, rushes forward...
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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...
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Seeing Drona vulnerable as he is absorbed in Yoga, Dhrishtadyumna takes the opportunity to attack. Dhrishtadyumna is...
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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...
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Chapter 8. Karna
THE KILLING OF KARNA. After the Kauravas finish mourning the death of Drona, Karna gets appointed as his successor in command. But two days later, Karna dies at...
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Samjaya begins his new retelling of the events. After the death of Drona, Duryodhana rallies the troops to hold on until nightfall before withdrawing back to their camp....
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