Drona

Drona is a figure for analysis in many academic texts.

In particular, his partiality towards Arjuna is frequently examined. Drona's demand of guru dakshina from Ekalavya, in the form of his right thumb, is also scrutinized. In some folklore, Saraswati cursed Dronacharya with an unarmed and humiliating death for Drona's actions. Saraswati said that knowledge belonged to all, and that it was an acharya's duty to spread that knowledge everywhere.[1] Despite whatever reasons he gave, Drona cheated Ekalavya and Karna to achieve something for himself-to protect his promise to Arjuna that he would make Arjuna the world's greatest archer, as well as his oath to Hastinapur.

Drona was somewhat parallel to Bhishma both in martial prowess, and, compelled by the refuge they had given him, in his unwavering commitment to fighting for Hastinapur irrespective of who the ruler was and whether or not the cause was just. Like Bhishma, Drona is criticized for his pride and conceit, siding with adharma despite knowing of and acknowledging the righteousness of the Pandava cause. Krishna criticized this reasoning as mere pride-Drona wanted to put his obligation to Hastinapur over dharma so that no one questioned his honor.[2]

Dronacharya was criticized for many of his actions during the war:[2]

• First, as a Brahmin, and secondly, as the princes' teacher, he should have removed himself from the battlefield.
• Dronacharya tried to use divine weapons against the Pandavas' common foot-soldiers. As he does so, a voice from the heavens told him not to use divine weapons so carelessly. However, Drona argued that his first obligation was to defeating his enemy and defending his soldiers, by whatever means he possessed.
• His responsibility for the devious and brutal murder of Abhimanyu, as he was the Kaurava army chief at the time.
• Symbol of casteism: As Drona asked Ekalavya to cut off his right thumb as Guru Dakshina. Ekalavya cut off the thumb and presented it as Gurudakshina to Dronacharya. In reality, he was not a teacher of Eklavya, still he asked right thumb from an archer.

Droncharya's overarching actions during the war are portrayed differently. When he became commander-in-chief, the rules of war were averted. Divine weapons were used against ordinary soldiers, war continued throughout the night, warriors no longer engaged each other one-on-one, etc. Specifically, he was willing to try to end the war by capturing Yudhishthira, while Karna was not, as he considered it lacking honor. He is compared directly to Karna, who, not even knowing that he was a kshatriya, still intuitively understood the kshatriya code/way-of-life. In other versions, Drona's differences in strategy are shown as a difference in philosophy- Drona believed, that as the commander-in-chief of the Kaurava army, his goal was to ensure the protection of his soldiers through any means necessary. By choosing to uphold the rules of war and the concept of honorable acts over his soldiers' lives, he would be doing them a disservice.[2]

He remains a revered figure in Hindu history, and a pillar of the Indian tradition of respecting one's teacher as an equal not only of parents, but even of God. The Government of India annually awards the Dronacharya Award for excellence in sports tutelage to the best sports teachers and coaches in India.[3]

It is believed that the city of Gurgaon (literally - "Village of the Guru") was founded as "Guru Gram" by Dronacharya on land given to him by Dhritarashtra, the king of Hastinapura in recognition of his teachings of martial arts to the princes, and the 'Dronacharya Tank', still exists within the Gurgaon city, along with a village called Gurgaon.[4] Indian Government (Haryana), on 12 April,2016 decided to reinstate and change the name of Gurgaon to 'Gurugram'.

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• Hindu mythology
• Hinduism
• Wars of Hindu Mythology