Drona Parva
The Drona Parva is the seventh of the eighteen parvas of the Indian epic Mahabharata. Drona Parva traditionally has 8 parts and 204 chapters. The critical edition of Drona Parva has 8 parts and 173 chapters.
Drona Parva describes the appointment of Drona as the commander-in-chief of the Kaurava alliance on the 11th day of the Kurukshetra War, the next four days of battles, and his death on the 15th day of the 18-day war. The parva recites how the war became more brutal with each passing day; how agreed rules of a just war began to be ignored by both sides as loved ones on each side were slain; how the war extended into the night; and how millions of soldiers and major characters of the story—Abhimanyu, Jayadratha, Drona, Ghatotkacha—died during the war.
Structure and chapters
The Drona Parva traditionally has 8 upa-parvas and 204 adhyayas.Dronābhisheka Parva
With Bhishma fatally injured and on his death bed of arrows, Kauravas remembered the mighty warrior Karna. Karna meets Bhishma with tearful eyes and seeks the blessings to participate in the War. Bhishma blessed him. Karna meets Kauravas and consoles them on the loss of Bhishma. As per Karna's advice, Duryodhana appoints Drona, their teacher, as replacement commander-in-chief for the war. Thus, Drona is crowned as the new chief of the Kauravas army.11th day of war
Drona arranges his army in the form of a sakata, while their illustrious foes take on the form of krauncha. Duryodhana asks Drona to seize Yudhishthira alive. Drona promises him, with certain limitations, to divert Arjuna from the battlefield, as he cannot defeat Arjuna himself. King Yudhishthira learns of this through his spies and addresses Arjuna. Arjuna assures him not to worry, declaring that even if the wielder of the thunderbolt or Vishnu, along with the gods, assists them, they will not succeed against him, as he is undefeated. Drona begins slaughtering the Panchalas, invoking many celestial weapons in a very short time, causing all to tremble. Dhrishtadyumna battles Drona but is defeated, and his army flees. Arjuna engages in a long duel with Drona. Drona cannot defeat Arjuna, and Arjuna has no motive to kill his own guru. Shakuni, accompanied by 100 followers, rushes toward Sahadeva. Sahadeva cuts Shakuni's bow and destroys his chariot. Shakuni hurls a mace, killing his charioteer. Both then descend and fight with maces. Bhima battles Vivinsati, and Shalya fights Nakula. After vanquishing Shalya, Nakula blows his conch. Karna defeats Satyaki, and Drupada battles Bhagadatta. King Virata of the Matsya engages in battle with the mighty Kritavarma and the Narayani Sena. Bhurisrava and Sikhandin encounter each other, with Sikhandin causing Bhurisrava to tremble with his shafts. Ghatotkacha battles Alamvusha. Abhimanyu knocks down Purava, dragging him helplessly. Jayadratha comes to help, armed with a shield and sword, and battles Abhimanyu. Abhimanyu knocks Jayadratha down and then confronts Salya's division. Salya hurls an iron dart, and Abhimanyu seizes it, hurling it back and slaying his driver. All applaud Abhimanyu as his foes surround him. Then Abhimanyu, along with 22 Maharathis, attacks Drona, but Drona defeats them all. Dhrishtadyumna engages in battle with Ashwatthama but is also defeated. Bhima joins Abhimanyu and destroys the Kaurava forces, causing their army to flee. Drona rallies his troops and charges at Yudhishthira. Drona cuts off Yudhishthira's bow and slays Kumara. Then, Bhardwaja's son pierces all in his vicinity and fells Yugandhara. Virata, Drupada, Satyaki, Dhrishtadyumna, and many others pierce Drona. Drona roars aloud and beheads Singhasena and Vyaghradatta. All cry out for protection. Arjuna arrives, routing the Kauravas with a shower of arrows. A river of blood, created by the carnage, flows with bones and bodies. At sunset, a withdrawal of troops occurs on both sides. All praised Partha, commending him for vanquishing his foes.Samsaptakabadha Parva
12th day of warDuryodhana sends the Narayani Sena. The Narayani Sena was powerful, with each soldier being equivalent to 10,000 soldiers. During the preparations for battle, Duryodhana chose this army, leaving Krishna to assist Arjuna. Arjuna cleverly shot the weapon called Tvashtra, creating thousands of illusions, which confused the enemy troops. They began to strike at each other, each mistaking the other for Arjuna. After the chaos, Arjuna withdrew his special weapon, Tvashtra. Recovering, they showered diverse kinds of arrows, overwhelming both sides. Arjuna used the Vayavya weapon, scattering crowds of foes along with their steeds, elephants, and weapons, as if they were mere dry leaves. Drona proceeded toward Yudhishthira, arraying his forces in the form of a garuda, while Yudhishthira countered by positioning his troops in the shape of a semi-circle. Dhrishtadyumna rushed at Drona, but Durmukha intervened, checking Dhrishtadyumna, and Drona slaughtered Yudhishthira’s host. Then, Satyajit, invoking a mighty weapon, pierced Drona, injuring him and damaging his chariot and driver. Drona retaliated by cutting Satyajit’s bow and slaying Vrika by destroying his chariot, which had supported Satyajit. Drona repeatedly cut off Satyajit’s bow before killing him. Upon Satyajit's slaughter, Yudhishthira, fearing Drona, fled away. Satanika, leading his army, came to confront Drona, but Drona swiftly cut off Satanika’s head with a sharp arrow, causing all the warriors to flee. Drona then vanquished the armies, instilling fear and making a river of blood flow. Many Pandava warriors, led by Kunti's son, surrounded Drona on all sides, piercing him from every direction. Drona felled Dridhasena, King Kshema, Vasudana, Kshatradeva, and pierced many others. Drona approached Yudhishthira, but that best of kings quickly fled from his preceptor. Drona then felled Panchalya, destroying his chariot. All cried out, "Slay Drona! Slay Drona!" Drona mangled and vanquished all, including Satyaki. Seeing the Kauravas routing the Pandavas, Duryodhana rejoiced and spoke with Karna, who advised support for Drona. The Pandavas returned with celestial bows. The two old men, Drupada and Drona, encountered each other. The son of Duhsasana resisted the son of Arjuna, Draupadi’s son, Srutakirti. Vikarna resisted Sikhandin, and Karna faced the five Kekaya brothers. Bhurisrava resisted King Manimant, while Ghatotkacha confronted Alamvusha. Duryodhana, with his elephant division, charged against Bhimasena. He broke that elephant division, routing them and turning them back. Duryodhana battled Bhima, and they mangled each other. Bhima cut Duryodhana's bow. The ruler of Anga came on an elephant but was killed by Bhima, causing his division to flee and crush the foot-soldiers in their retreat. King Bhagadatta rushed at Arjuna, overwhelming him with a shower of arrows. Janardana protected Arjuna’s chariot from the elephant charge, which crushed many soldiers. Bhagadatta then pierced Krishna, and Partha cut his bow, slaying the warriors protecting his flank. Indra's son cut open the elephant's armor, damaged its standard, and pierced Bhagadatta. In response, Bhagadatta hurled some lances that displaced Arjuna's diadem. Arjuna taunted him, cut his bow, and afflicted his vital limbs. Filled with rage, Bhagadatta turned his hook into a Vaishnava weapon with mantras and hurled it at Arjuna. Kesava protected Arjuna, receiving the weapon on his chest, which turned into a garland. Arjuna asked Krishna why he had intervened, and Krishna explained the boon he had given to Bhagadatta: as long as the Vaishnava weapon was kept by its user, they would not be slain, but now Bhagadatta was exposed. Arjuna suddenly overwhelmed Bhagadatta, slaying his elephant and then the king himself. Arjuna showed respect to King Bhagadatta, then faced Shakuni's army and used explosive weapons to fell them. Shakuni employed illusions to confuse them and shower weapons upon Arjuna. Arjuna countered with celestial weapons, shooting clouds of arrows and slaying Shakuni's followers. Then, a thick darkness enveloped them, and from within that gloom, harsh voices rebuked Arjuna. However, by means of the weapon called Jyotishka, he dispelled the darkness. When the darkness was lifted, frightful waves of water appeared. Arjuna used the weapon called Aditya, drying up the water. Destroying the various illusions repeatedly created by Suvala, Arjuna laughed at him. Once all of his illusions were destroyed, unmanned by fear, Shakuni fled. Arjuna then slaughtered the Kaurava host, causing them to flee. With a single arrow, he afflicted multiple enemies. Drona's son, Ashwatthama, fought a terrible battle with King Nila and beheaded him. The Pandava host trembled at Nila's death. Abhimanyu began slaughtering the Kauravas, and Karna rushed against him. Drona started a duel with Yudhishthira, while Abhimanyu engaged Drona in battle. Arjuna fought Karna, but Karna gravely injured him. However, Bhima, Satyaki, and Dhrishtadyumna came to Arjuna's rescue, and all four warriors attacked Karna, but he forced them to flee. With all his might, Abhimanyu resisted Bhagadatta but was ultimately defeated. Then, 17 Maharathis attacked Bhagadatta, but he defeated them all. Finally, Bhagadatta faced Arjuna in a tough fight but was killed.
Abhimanyu-vadha Parva
The Kaurava commander-in-chief Dronacharya planned to divert Arjuna and Krishna away to chase an army of the samsaptakhas whom Arjuna defeated that very day. The Kaurava army was grouped into the giant discus formation, which caused great loss for the Pandavas. If the formation continued till end of that day, the pandavas would have no army by sunset. The only two people on the Pandava army who completely knew about how to enter and break this formation were Arjuna and Krishna, who were away. Abhimanyu's story came to prominence when he entered the powerful Chakravyuha battle formation of the Kaurava army. Abhimanyu claimed that he could decimate the entire Kaurava army.Abhimanyu was trained in all types of warfare by Krishna and Balrama themselves, and later by Pradyumna. Abhimanyu learnt the art of breaking into the Chakravyuha when he was in Subhadra's womb. It was then Arjuna was narrating the art of breaking into Chakravyuha to Subhadra. But he did not know how to destroy the formation once he was inside, as Subhadra fell asleep while listening to the story and could learn only half of the technique. This is the reason why he was only able to enter and break but not come out of the Chakravyuha.
As soon as Abhimanyu entered the formation, Jayadratha, the ruler of Sindh blocked the other Pandavas, so that Abhimanyu was left alone. Inside the Chakravyuha, the trapped Abhimanyu went on a killing rampage, intending on carrying out the original strategy by himself and killing tens of thousands of Kaurava soldiers. Abhimanyu killed many prominent heroes including Duryodhana's son Lakshmana, Shalya's sons Rukmanagaa and Rukmanaratha, younger brothers of Karna, and many advisers of Karna, Rukmaratha, Kritavarma's son Matrikavata, Shrutanjaya, Ashavketu, Chandraketu, Mahavega, Suvarcha, Suryabhasa, Kalakeya, Vasatiya, and rathas from the Brahma-Vasatiyas and Kekayas, King of Kosala - King Brihadbala, King of Amvashtas and his son and many others. Due to the Boon of Lord Chandra, Abhimanyu defeated the mighty warriors of Kauravas side including Duryodhana, Ashwatthama, Dushasana, Kritvarma, Shalya, Drona, Kripa and Karna. No Kaurava warrior could escape his arrows. Drona ordered Karna to break the divine bow of Abhimanyu. In a cowardly act, Karna then attacked Abhimanyu from behind and broke his bow and his impenetrable armour. Then Kripa killed the Abhimanyu's charioteers and Kritavarma killed the horses of Abhimanyu's chariot. Then Abhimanyu took the sword and shield which destroyed by Drona and Ashwatthama. Abhimanyu hurled the chariot wheel towards Drona, Ashwatthama and Kripa destroyed the wheel. Abhimanyu broke Ashwatthama's chariot with the mace and attacked Dushasan's son. Dushasan's son kills Abhimanyu in a mace fight.
Sage Vyasa come with new stories to tell Yudhishthira. He tells him to not suffer and become stupefied by calamities, brave heroes ascend to heaven at death, death takes all, this law is incapable of being transgressed.