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On the 14th night (as the kuravas were not ready to stop) of the Mahabharata war, Drona is instigated by [[Duryodhana|Duryodhana's]] remarks of being a traitor as he was not able to protect Jaidrath. Sensing his end is near, he used the [[Brahmastra]] against the common Pandava soldiers. At that moment, all the [[Saptarshi|Sapta Ṛṣis]] appeared on the sky and requested Drona to retract this ultimate weapon used on ordinary soldiers. Dronacharya obeyed, retracting the weapon. The rishis continue and berate Drona for violating the rules of war, criticizing him for using divine weapons so indiscriminately. Drona reiterates that he is sworn to do all he can to protect [[Hastinapur]], and that, moreover, he wants to do so for all that [[Dhritarashtra]] has given him.<ref name ="GangulyDrona" /> | On the 14th night (as the kuravas were not ready to stop) of the Mahabharata war, Drona is instigated by [[Duryodhana|Duryodhana's]] remarks of being a traitor as he was not able to protect Jaidrath. Sensing his end is near, he used the [[Brahmastra]] against the common Pandava soldiers. At that moment, all the [[Saptarshi|Sapta Ṛṣis]] appeared on the sky and requested Drona to retract this ultimate weapon used on ordinary soldiers. Dronacharya obeyed, retracting the weapon. The rishis continue and berate Drona for violating the rules of war, criticizing him for using divine weapons so indiscriminately. Drona reiterates that he is sworn to do all he can to protect [[Hastinapur]], and that, moreover, he wants to do so for all that [[Dhritarashtra]] has given him.<ref name ="GangulyDrona" /> | ||
On the 15th day, Drona kills many Pandava soldiers, including [[Virata|Virat]] in arrow-play and [[Drupada]] in a sword fight. Lamenting the deterioration of their friendship, Drona pays his respect to Drupada's corpse. Drona and his son Ashwatthama unleashed havoc upon the entire Pandava army that day. | On the 15th day, Drona kills many Pandava soldiers, including [[Virata|Virat]] in arrow-play and [[Drupada]] in a sword fight. Lamenting the deterioration of their friendship, Drona pays his respect to Drupada's corpse. Drona and his son [[Ashwatthama]] unleashed havoc upon the entire Pandava army that day. | ||
Knowing it would be impossible to defeat an armed Drona and his son Ashwatthama that day, Krishna suggested the Pandavas a plan to disarm their teacher. His idea was that [[Bhima]] first kill an elephant named Ashwatthama, and then claim to Dronacharya that he has killed Dronacharya's son with the same name while keeping [[Ashwatthama]] the real son of Drona busy in battle somewhere else far from his father so that he can't save his father and ruin their plan. After killing the elephant, Bhima loudly proclaimed that he had killed "Ashwatthama". Disbelieving his claim, Drona approached Yudhishthira, knowing of Yudhishthira's firm adherence to [[Dharma]] and honesty. When Dronacharya asked for the truth, Yudhishthira responded with the cryptic "Ashwatthama is dead. But the elephant and not your son." Krishna also knew that it would be impossible for Yudhishthira to lie outright. So under his instructions, the other warriors blew trumpets and conchs, raising a tumultuous noise in such a way that Dronacharya only heard that "Ashwatthama was dead", and could not hear the latter part of Yudhishthira's reply. In other versions of the story, it is told that: Yudhishthira was just not loud enough in purpose when he spoke the latter part of his words, or that Drona, in shock and grief, simply could not process the latter part of Yudhishthira's statement.{{citation needed|date=April 2017}}<ref>"Ashwatthama is dead" has become a proverbial phrase for a half-lie or half-truth intended to confuse the opponent or the public.</ref> | Knowing it would be impossible to defeat an armed Drona and his son Ashwatthama that day, Krishna suggested the Pandavas a plan to disarm their teacher. His idea was that [[Bhima]] first kill an elephant named Ashwatthama, and then claim to Dronacharya that he has killed Dronacharya's son with the same name while keeping [[Ashwatthama]] the real son of Drona busy in battle somewhere else far from his father so that he can't save his father and ruin their plan. After killing the elephant, Bhima loudly proclaimed that he had killed "Ashwatthama". Disbelieving his claim, Drona approached Yudhishthira, knowing of Yudhishthira's firm adherence to [[Dharma]] and honesty. When Dronacharya asked for the truth, Yudhishthira responded with the cryptic "Ashwatthama is dead. But the elephant and not your son." Krishna also knew that it would be impossible for Yudhishthira to lie outright. So under his instructions, the other warriors blew trumpets and conchs, raising a tumultuous noise in such a way that Dronacharya only heard that "Ashwatthama was dead", and could not hear the latter part of Yudhishthira's reply. In other versions of the story, it is told that: Yudhishthira was just not loud enough in purpose when he spoke the latter part of his words, or that Drona, in shock and grief, simply could not process the latter part of Yudhishthira's statement.{{citation needed|date=April 2017}}<ref>"Ashwatthama is dead" has become a proverbial phrase for a half-lie or half-truth intended to confuse the opponent or the public.</ref> | ||