Drupada
Defeated
Drona’s
training was starting to become evident in the boys. He pushed
them very hard every day, and they were growing in knowledge, skill and
stature. Arjuna especially was advancing well, far more so than
his brothers and Aswatthama, Drona’s son. When Drona first
noticed Arjuna’s unique abilities as a warrior, thoughts of revenge on
his old friend Drupada entered his mind. It did not take long for
Drona to fully believe Arjuna was capable of defeating Drupada on his
own. Once he realized this, he began gearing the boys’ training
towards revenge, unbeknownst to them.
Having
plotted Drupada’s demise for quite some time, Drona now felt that his
students were ready. After a long day of training, Drona told the
boys to come to home that night for a late supper. The boys
thought this request was strange. Their stone-faced, ruthless
teacher was inviting them for supper? The boys did not dare
question Drona and arrived at his house promptly that evening.
Drona was dressed in white (like always), and was waiting with a great
feast for
them, prepared by his servants. The boys were all seated and he
wasted no time. “My sons, you have all worked very hard for me
and have received your reward in full. The knowledge I have
passed to you is priceless and must never be taken in vain. But I
bring you here tonight to tell you of the payment I now require."
The boys all looked around the table at each other- All except
Arjuna who just stared at Drona while his heart pumped with
excitement. Finally, Arjuna spoke.
“What is it
you require, master? I will happily die for you.”
Drona responded
looking only at Arujuna. “It is my
wish that you, my students, bring to me alive the king of Panchala
whose name is Drupada. He was my friend in childhood, but he has
turned his back on me. I wish to take what is rightfully
mine. Tomorrow you will all rest and regain your strength, then
set out for Panchala the next day.” Drona then bowed his head
slightly to the boys and disappeared suddenly in a cloud of distorted
smoke. The boys looked at each other in disbelief, and then
simultaneously nodded in agreement.
After
resting, the brave Pandavas and Aswatthaman geared up for the day's
ensuing battle. Though Drupada had once single-handedly defeated
an army, they drew upon each other's courage and had faith in their
master’s confidence. They gave each other one final salute, and
off they
raced towards Panchala.
On their
horses
like lightning; they reached Panchala quickly and called out the
warrior king from outside the city gates. Drupada adorned himself
with weathered and trustworthy armor, chuckling at a mere six men
outside his great city. He walked or seemingly floated out of the
gates within range of the boys.
“My young
friends, I beg you to return to your home so that there may be no
bloodshed on this day.”
Drupada
barely finished this sentence when Arjuna, with a booming voice,
declared,
“Warrior
king, you will ride home with me to my master today. You have no
choice in this except how you will ride, as a standing prisoner with
dignity, or in the behemoth arms of my brother Bhima." Bhima
glanced over at Arjuna surprised, then quickly looked back towards
Drupada with a nod of conformation.
Drupada was
not impressed. He moved like the wind leaping high into the air
and firing a storm of arrows at the poised Pandavas. Arjuna and
Aswatthaman chanted a mantra that summoned a great glowing blue shield
that covered the boys, protecting them from the oncoming volley.
The other Pandavas were shocked! When did they learn how to do
that? Faster than light, Arjuna let fly two arrows together that
impaled Drupada’s legs while he was still in the air. He came
crashing to the earth unable to land or escape.
It was over
just like that. Arjuna walked over to Drupada’s crippled body and
grabbed his hair in his powerful fist. He slowly dragged Drupada
back to his brothers relishing his moment of victory. He looked
at Bhima and casually said, “Hold him tight, brother. Squeeze him
so he cannot move, but do not kill him. Drona will be pleased
with us
this day.
The mighty Drona.
Web content: Neomax
Author’s
Note: This is my favorite story of the four I have written.
The original stories I used for reference were so short and vague, I
feel like I had a whole lot of room to do my own thing. I created
the entire action sequence. Arjuna was definitely the focus
because he is Drona’s prized student. I added a shield mantra
that protected the Pandavas. This mantra Arjuna and Aswatthaman
learned from their secret lessons from Drona, so the other boys
were shocked when they saw it. In the original story, the army
that attacked Drupada included the Kaurava princes also. Since
I do not show them as being trained by Drona in my stories, I used
their failed attempt to give Drupada some warrior credit. I also
added a sort of diner scene where Drona explains the mission to the
boys. In this scene I have Drona mysteriously disappearing
(because we need some sage mischief) at the end of his monologue.
I considered putting an ending on that includes Drona only taking half
of the kingdom, but I like the way it is finished right now. It
is a little cold because Drupada and Drona do not have a civil
conversation like Buck’s version, but I like that the last the
reader sees of Drona is disappearance at supper. So who can say
what really came after the Pandavas return to Hastinapura?
Bibliography:
"Mahabharata" by William Buck,
University of California Press, Ltd. (1973).
Wikipedia.com
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