Dhrishtadyumna

Dhrishtadyumna
Information
Family	Drupada (father)

Dhrishtadyumna (Sanskrit: धृष्टद्युम्न, dhṛṣṭadyumna, lit. he who is courageous and splendorous), also known as Draupada (Sanskrit: द्रौपद, lit. son of Drupada), was the son of Drupada and brother of Draupadi and Shikhandi in the epic Mahabharata. He was the commander of the Pandava army during the Kurukshetra War. Dhrishtadyumna killed Drona, the royal guru, when he was meditating which was against the rules of engagement.

Story

Dhristadyumna in Javanese Wayang

The king of Panchala, Drupada undertook a putrakami yagna, a sacrifice to please the gods and obtain offspring by their blessing. Drupada desired a son who could kill Guru Dronacharya, who had humiliated Drupada in battle and taken half his kingdom.

With the help of two saints (Maharishis Yaja and Upayaja), Drupada undertook the sacrifice. After his wife made the sacrificial offerings, Dhrishtadyumna emerged from the fire, a fully grown powerful young and armed man, together with his sister Draupadi. He already had martial and religious knowledge. Despite being younger than them, Dhristadyumna is appointed as the heir over his two siblings due to his heavenly parents.

Even though he was the prophesied killer of Drona, he was accepted as a student by Drona, and he learned advanced military arts. When his sister Draupadi was won in an archery competition by a young Brahmin at her swayamvara, in front of all the princes and nobility, Dhrishtadyumna secretly followed the Brahmin and his sister, only to discover that the Brahmin was in fact Arjuna, one of the five Pandava brothers.

In the war

Drishtadumnya announces about the Draupadi Swayamvara

At the great battle of Kurukshetra, on the advice of Krishna and Arjuna, Dhrishtadyumna was appointed the commander of the Pandava army. He fought bravely in the war.

Drishtadyumna as Commander in chief of Pandava's Army

At a point when Drona, as the Kuru commander was killing numbers of Pandava troops, Krishna advised Yudhishthira to adopt a plan to kill him. As it is known that as long as Drona has raised his weapons he is invincible to all other warriors, Krishna advised that it be proclaimed that Drona's son, Ashwathama had just died in the battle. It is known that out of the grief of such an eventuality, Drona will at least temporarily drop his arms.

Krishna justified this lie to Yudhishthira as necessary to the victory of morality in the war. As Yudhishthira hesitated, his brother Bhima killed an elephant in the Kuru army named Ashwathama and celebrated, shouting "Ashwathama is dead! Ashwathama is dead!".

Shocked with disbelief when the news reaches him, Drona sought out Yudhishthira to ascertain the news, believing that he would never speak a lie. Yudhishthira said "Ashwathama is dead but not your son; it is the elephant..." ( Sanskrit: Aśvatthāmā hatho hataḥ, अश्वत्थामा हतोहतः), but Lord Krishna asked the drummers to play their drums ( Sanskrit: naro vā kuñjaro vā, नरो वा, कुञ्जरो वा) such that Guru Drona could not listen to the last part of the sentence.

With Lord Krishna's plan a success; a now convinced, Drona laid down his arms and sat in meditation. Dhrishtadyumna took this opportunity, and beheaded him. After the killing of Drona, Dhristadyumna was attacked by Arjuna, who was a devoted student of Drona, but was defended by Draupadi.

On the 18th night of the war, Ashwathama attacked the Pandava camp during the night, and killed Dhristadyumna. As Dhristadyumna begs for an honorable death, asking to die with a sword in his hand, Ashwathama ignores him, proceeding to beat and smother him to death.