Dronacharya

The Story

Born of the sage Bharadwaja, Drona grew up poor and friendless, mocked by his schoolmate Drupada — the prince who swore they would always share everything. When Drona later came to Drupada as a man seeking friendship, the king insulted him, and Drona's burning vow of revenge would one day set the Mahabharata's great war in motion.

Drona became the teacher of the Kuru princes at Hastinapura, and under him Arjuna became the finest archer of his age. But when the low-born Ekalavya sought his tutelage, Drona demanded the boy's thumb as gurudakshina — crippling a potential rival to protect his favourite pupil's pre-eminence.

In the great war, Drona fought for the Kauravas and was nearly invincible — the Pandavas could defeat him only by a deception, when Bhima killed an elephant named Ashwatthama and Yudhishtira, torn between truth and necessity, let Drona believe his son had fallen. Drona laid down his arms at that moment and was slain, a teacher undone by the very value he taught — truth.