Drona: Promise vs Desperation

The battle of virtue and envy went on for many years and Drona always found himself fighting on the side of envy, though like Bheeshma, his heart was with the carriers of virtue.

The first instance of fighting against his favorite pupil, Arjuna, for Drona, was in the battle of Virata when it was suspected that the Pandavas were in hiding there, and Duryodhana decided to attack Virata. It was the first time that the teacher lost badly, but one might say gladly, to his blue eyed boy, Arjuna, who stood up to all the hype that had been created thus far around his skills and reputation. It was in that battle that it was established that, on his day or even otherwise, Arjuna was insurmountable as a warrior for even his own teacher Drona and, perhaps, the grandsire Bheeshma.

The role of Dronacharya in the final war was that of the second in command for the first ten days, till Bheeshma was the commander. He played that role to perfection destroying warriors in the Pandava army by tens and thousands. But when Bheeshma fell, and Karna entered the battle, Drona had the apprehension of fighting under Duryodhana’s friend. This was put to rest by Karna himself, who suggested to Duryodhana that, for the sake of the army, it would be appropriate to put Drona in charge. Once in charge, Drona, surprised and pleased, asked Duryodhana what he can do for him. To his astonishment, Duryodhana told Drona that he had realised, after ten days of fierce war, that it was impossible to defeat the Pandavas and hence, told Drona that he would like him to capture Yudhishthira alive. For a moment, Drona thought that Duryodhana had a change of heart and wanted to negotiate with Yudhishthira for a truce. But it turned out that it was short-lived as Duryodhana explained that he would invite Yudhishthira for another game of dice and pack him off to another twelve years of exile so that he could rule in peace. Be that as it may, Drona thought, but he did end up promising Duryodhana that he will do his best to capture Yudhishthira alive.

The next two days, the eleventh and twelfth, saw Dronacharya in full swing coming up with all kinds of strategies to capture Yudhishthira. The news of Drona’s resolve had reached the Pandavas and on day eleven, Yudhishthira was flanked all the time by Arjuna. Fierce fighting ensued between the teacher and his favorite student again, and despite distractions from Susharma and other warriors, Arjuna successfully defeated Drona and protected Yudhishthira on day eleven. On day twelve, Arjuna left Satyaki in charge of protecting Yudhishthira and he did an excellent job too. The net result was that despite two days of intense effort, Drona had failed in his promise to capture Yudhishthira. It was at that time that the insecurities of Duryodhana came to the fore and questioned where Drona’s loyalties and commitments lie. Duryodhana wasn’t convinced despite Karna passing his judgement that the issue was not of loyalty but of a tougher opposition. Irrespective of the rejection from Drona as a student, Karna did have respect for the teacher.

It was then that the pressure might have got to Drona. On day thirteen, he devised the strategy of chakravyuh knowing fully well that Arjuna was the only one who knew how to break into and out of it. He instructed Duryodhana to have his best warriors engage Arjuna so that the chakravyuh formation could capture Yudhishthira. The strategy worked. The Kaurava army had got closer and found Yudhishthira and Bhima wondering what to do, as both of them had no idea how to counter attack the chakravyuh formation.

It was Bhima who then said that he had heard Arjuna explain it to his son Abhimanyu and decided to check with him. Indeed Abhimanyu knew how to crack open and enter the chakravyuh but alas, he didn’t know how to find his way out. Bhima and Yudhishthira said that he need not worry as they will both follow him and together, the three of them could destroy the Kaurava army from inside. Abhimanyu agreed and stepped up to the task. What followed was the bravest onslaught in any battle ever seen in any war by anyone so young. But what followed that was the most abominable counter attack ever seen from the enemy, orchestrated by Dronacharya, the commander of the Kaurava forces.

It turned out that while on paper, Bhima and Yudhishthira had the right ideas, the execution was found lacking. While Abhimanyu cracked the chakravyuh formation and marched ahead, Bhima and Yudhishthira didn’t keep pace with him. On the way, they were blocked by Jayadrata and in trying to overcome him, they lost time during which Abhimanyu went inside and the chakravyuh formation closed behind him. So while the idea was to capture Yudhishthira, the person who ended up trapped was Abhimanyu. But the young warrior fought with all his might and finished so many warriors, that Dronacharya secretly felt happy inside, that the son of his favorite pupil was almost as good as him, if not better, at that age. When Ashwatthama and Dushasan failed in surmounting Abhimanyu individually, Drona couldn’t stop himself from uttering words of appreciation for the young lad’s prowess. Karna and Duryodhana weren’t amused and told Drona curtly that they weren’t here to listen to the enemy’s accolades. They reminded Drona that he himself was the commander of the Kaurava army and he better do something about it.

It was then that Dronacharya, in desperate pursuit of protecting his reputation, committed a lapse and came up with a strategy that he himself wouldn’t have approved of, in saner times. He admitted that Abhimanyu can’t be defeated by ethical means but he had a plan, which though not approved by Kshatriya law, would successfully bring Abhimanyu down.

He asked Ashwatthama, Dushasan and Kritivarma to attack Abhimanyu’s bow, chariot and charioteer, and get him on the ground without any weapons. He then said that Duryodhana, Karna and, he himself Drona, would attack Abhimanyu from three different directions. This unethical plan was lapped up by Duryodhana. With six mighty warriors attacking Abhimanyu from six directions, he still gave a valiant fight. Even then, those warriors had to run for replenishment of their weapons. It was then that Dushasan’s son Durjay engaged in a mace hand combat with a tired Abhimanyu, and with a huge bang on his head brought the mighty brave warrior down and killed him.

Dronacharya regretted his actions while the other Kaurava warriors celebrated in glee. The teacher of warfare, in his desperation to capture the virtuous Pandava, had used means outside his book to bring down the brave son of his favorite student. In the process, he had ensured that deceit would be used by even the virtuous on him to bring about his end very soon.

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