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Some questions to ponder about Dhrishtdyumn

(1) Where was Dhrishtdyumn when Paandav attacked Drupad under Drone's direction? no mention of Dhrishtdyumn.....

Since Drupad wished to have a son who could kill Drone because he insulted him, so it seems that he asked that son to kill Drone after he got insulted by Drone through Paandav.

(2) Where was Dhrishtdyumn when Shikhandee had already completed woman-man cycle? It is mentioned that Shikhandee was sent twice to Drone for learning weaponry - first as a woman and then as a man.

MBH says that Drone's father Bharadwaaj and Drupad's father were friends, so both, Drone and Drupad used to play and study together at Bharadwaaj's place, but there is  no mention  of Dhrishtdyumn's going to Drone's Aashram to learn weaponry.

(3) When did Dhrishtdyumn got educated from Drone? The time lapse between paying Guru Dakshinaa to Drone (by bringing Drupad tying with the chariot) and Draupadee's Swayamvar was very little - announcing Yudhishthir as Crown Prince, Baaranaavat incident, and some time passed in Ekchakraa Nagaree. In the meantime Drupad arranged to do the Yagya also, so he also took time.
Is it during this time Dhrishthtdyumn was trained at Drone's Gurukul? It seems very little time left to train Dhrishtdyumn. When Paandav are going to Ekchakraa Nagaree, they seemed to learn for the first time that Dhrishtdyumn was Drone's disciple. In fact Kuntee and Paandav did not know that Drupad's had even a marriageable daughter whose Swayamvar could be arranged so soon. Rather Kuntee asked Braahman that how Drupad had such a grown-up daughter that he was organizing her Swayamvar.

They came to know about the birth of both Draupadee and Dhrishtdyumn through the Braahman they met after they let Ekchakraa Nagaree. Then how could they know about Dhrishtdyumn's learning from Drone? And when was Dhrishtdyumn was the disciple of Drone? (it is highly improbable). Knowing from a Braahman that Dhrishtdyumn is destined to kill Drone, how could Arjun still proceed to Paanchaal to marry their Guru-killer's sister?

Besides, this also means that Krishn and Arjun were aware that they did not have to worry about killing Drone, because Dhrishtdyumn was there to kill him. Then why Bheem and Yudhishthir had to play such a drama to kill him?

(4) It is not tenable that Dhrishtdyumn and Draupadee suddenly burst forth as a full-grown fully armed, because Draupadee had a childhood on Drupad's lap. Besides, if Dhrishtdyumn was already fully armed, why did he need to learn from Drone? Was it just the art of killing Guru?

Where it is written that Draupadee had a childhood on Drupad's lap? Did I miss the reference somewhere?

(5) Dhrishtdyumn seems to be elder and more powerful than Shikhandee, while Drupad had Shikhandee before than Dhrishtdyumn.

(6) Saatyaki seems to have learnt from Drone at the same time when Dhrishtdyumn learnt under Drone. Paandav's ignorance of him seems more improbable in this light.
[Indrajit Bandyopadhyay - 9/18/07]

Who Created Shikhandee?
[ Drone, 199], while arguing on "why Dhrishtdyumn killed Drone", Saatyaki says to Dhrishtdyumn - "Your father created Shikhandee to kill Bheeshm." Saatyaki's these words do not seem right for Dhrishtdyumn. Because Drupad had no enmity with Bheeshm and he never asked for any son to kill Bheeshm. He asked a son only to kill Drone and he got him in the form of Dhrishtdyumn. It was only Ambaa who wanted to kill Bheeshm, and since she had to be born somewhere, she took birth in Drupad's house as per Shiv's boon and her own situations. Drupad asked for a son who could kill only Drone for whom he did a Yagya and got Dhrishtdyumn in return of it.
[see Mahabharata]

I didn't understand this, as how and why Drupad should create Shikhandee to kill Bheeshm? What was their enmity? Bheeshm himself told Duryodhan about Ambaa and her incarnation as Shikhandee. Otherwise it is known that Ambaa vowed to take any number of births to be the cause of the death of Bheeshm. So it was Ambaa who herself took birth in Drupad's house, not that Drupad created Shikhandee to kill Drone.

In fact Drupad wanted to kill Drone and for the same reason he did a Yagya to get a son who could kill him. So he got Dhrishtdyumn [along with Draupdee]. Bheeshm also knew that Drishtdyumn has born to kill Drone. Even Drone himelf was aware of it, still he taught Drishtdyum. Then why Saatyaki said that?
[G-6-War/27]