him to his kingdom. Even though Drona knew about Dhrishtadyumna's prophecy, he happily accepted him as a student, and taught him advanced military arts, making him a very powerful warrior, and highly knowledgeable about celestial weapons. Dhrishtadyumna became a maharathi under the tutelage of Drona. Draupadi's Svayamvara Dhrishtadyumna hosted his sister Draupadi's svayamvara and told its rules to the kings and princes. When a young Brahmin won Draupadi in front of all the princes and nobility, Dhrishtadyumna secretly followed the Brahmin and his sister, only to discover that the Brahmin was in fact Arjuna, one of the five Pandava brothers. Marriage and children Dhrishtadyumna had multiple wives. He had four sons - Kshatradharman, Kshatravarman, Kshatranjaya, and Dhrishtaketu. The first three were killed in the Kurukshetra War by Drona, whereas Dhrishtaketu was killed by Karna. Kurukshetra War Dhristadyumna was appointed as the Senapati (commander-in-chief) of the Pandava Army in the Kurukshetra War against the Kauravas. He maintained his position till the end of the war. On the 15th day of the war, Drona killed Drupada. The Pandavas conceived a plot to capitalise on Drona's only weakness, his son Ashwatthama. The Pandava Bhima killed an elephant named Ashwatthama. The Pandavas spread the rumour of Ashwatthama's death. Hearing the terrible news, Drona approached the eldest Pandava Yudhishthira in disbelief, who confirmed that Ashwatthama had been killed, but murmured that it had been the elephant named Ashwatthama; the latter part of his reply was overshadowed by conches of Pandava warriors. Thinking his son had died, Drona was shocked and heartbroken, he surrendered his weapons and sat down. Drona started to meditate, and his soul left his body in quest of Ashwatthama's soul. Dhristadyumna, taking advantage of the situation, took his sword and decapitated Drona, killing him. Death On the 18th night of the war, Ashwatthama attacked the Pandava camp during the night, and killed Dhristadyumna. As Dhristadyumna begs for an honourable death, asking to die with a sword in his hand, Ashwatthama ignores him, proceeding to beat and smother him to death rather than beheading him. Analysis In one of the many side-stories of the Mahabharata, there is a drama centred around the fact that Dhrishtadyumna, despite not being Drupada's eldest, is his heir. While Drupada and others give many reasons for this, it is implied that the real reason is that Dhristadyumna has a godly parent, and thus more coveted as a ruler