Text 44] The Son of Drona Punished 363

PURPORT

As soon as Agvatthama was brought before Draupadi, she thought it
intolerable that a brahmana should be arrested like a culprit and brought
before her in that condition, especially when the brahmana happened to
be a teacher’s son.

Arjuna arrested Asvatthama knowing perfectly well that he was the son
of Dronacarya. Krsna also knew him to be so, but both of them condemned
the murderer without consideration of his being the son of a brahmana.
According to revealed scriptures, a teacher or spiritual master is liable to
be rejected if he proves himself unworthy of the position of a guru or
spiritual master. A guru is called also an dcarya, or a person who has
personally assimilated all the essence of sastras and has helped his disciples
to adopt the ways. Asvatthama failed to discharge the duties of a brahmana
or teacher, and therefore he was liable to be rejected from the exalted
position of a brahmana. On this consideration, both Lord Sri Krsna and
Arjuna were right in condemning Agvatthama. But to a good lady like
Draupadi, the matter was considered not from the angle of sdstric vision,
but as a matter of custom. By custom, Asvatthama was offered the same
respect as was offered to his father. It was so because generally the people
accept the son of a brahmana as a real brahmana, by sentiment only.
Factually the matter is different. A brahmana is accepted on the merit
of qualification and not on the merit of simply being the son of a brahmana.

But in spite of all this, Draupadi desired that Agvatthama be at once
released, and it was all the same a good sentiment for her. This means that
a devotee of the Lord can tolerate all sorts of tribulation personally, but
still such devotees are never unkind to others, even to the enemy. These
are the characteristics of one who is a pure devotee of the Lord.

TEXT 44
ae wag: afraaiqdaa: |
qamaa aaa Raa aq lvl

sa-rahasvo dhanur-vedah
sa-visargopasamyamah

astra-gramas ca bhavata
sik sito yad-anugrahat

sa-rahasyah—confidential; dhanuh-vedah—knowledge in the art of ma-
nipulating bows and arrows; sa-visarga—releasing; upasariyamah—control-
