The Son of Droṇa Punished

Verse 45 (SB 1.7.45)

SB 1.7.44

SB 1.7.46

SB 1.7.45 • मूल श्लोक

स एष भगवान्द्रोण: प्रजारूपेण वर्तते । तस्यात्मनोऽर्धं पत्‍न्‍यास्ते नान्वगाद्वीरसू: कृपी ॥ ४५ ॥

Transliteration

sa eṣa bhagavān droṇaḥ prajā-rūpeṇa vartate tasyātmano ’rdhaṁ patny āste nānvagād vīrasūḥ kṛpī

Synonyms (Word-for-Word)

saḥ — he; eṣaḥ — certainly; bhagavān — lord; droṇaḥ — Droṇācārya; prajā-rūpeṇa — in the form of his son Aśvatthāmā; vartate — is existing; tasya — his; ātmanaḥ — of the body; ardham — half; patnī — wife; āste — living; na — not; anvagāt — undertook; vīrasūḥ — having the son present; kṛpī — the sister of Kṛpācārya.

Translation

“He [Droṇācārya] is certainly still existing, being represented by his son. His wife Kṛpī did not undergo a satī with him because she had a son.”

Bhaktivedanta Purport

By Śrīla Prabhupāda

The wife of Droṇācārya, Kṛpī, is the sister of Kṛpācārya. A devoted wife, who is according to revealed scripture the better half of her husband, is justified in embracing voluntary death along with her husband if she is without issue. But in the case of the wife of Droṇācārya, she did not undergo such a trial because she had her son, the representative of her husband. A widow is a widow only in name if there is a son of her husband existing. So in either case Aśvatthāmā was the representative of Droṇācārya, and therefore killing Aśvatthāmā would be like killing Droṇācārya. That was the argument of Draupadī against the killing of Aśvatthāmā.