Why Krishna Helped Kill Bhishma and Drona

Dadi: "Guddu, in the Mahabharata war, many great warriors died. But two deaths troubled people deeply - Bhishma, the beloved grandfather, and Drona, the revered teacher. Both were righteous men. So why did Krishna help the Pandavas kill them?"

Guddu: "That is confusing, Dadi. Weren't Bhishma and Drona good people?"

Dadi: "They were respected for their wisdom, their skill, their lifelong dedication to dharma. But after the war, when Krishna's wife Rukmini questioned him about these deaths, Krishna revealed something important."

Guddu: "What did he say?"

Dadi: ""Though they lived righteously, one sin overshadowed all their virtues. When Draupadi was humiliated in the royal court, both of them were present. Both had the power to stop it. Both stayed silent. That silence made all their other virtues meaningless.""

Guddu: "They were there when Draupadi was dragged into the court?"

Dadi: "Yes. Bhishma, the mightiest warrior. Drona, who had trained every prince in that room. They watched as Dussasana pulled Draupadi by her hair. They said nothing as she was called a slave. They remained seated as Dussasana tried to disrobe her."

Guddu: "But why didn't they help?"

Dadi: "They told themselves stories. Bhishma had taken a vow to serve the throne - whoever sat on it. Drona was a servant of Hastinapura, paid by the king. Both decided their oaths of loyalty outweighed their duty to protect an innocent woman."

Guddu: "So they chose duty to their job over duty to what's right?"

Dadi: "And that's where they failed. Draupadi asked them directly for help. She called out to Bhishma, to Drona, to all the elders. They turned their faces away. That moment revealed what all their dharma was really worth."

Guddu: "How did Krishna help defeat Bhishma?"

Dadi: "Bhishma had a boon - he could choose the time of his own death. No one could kill him against his will. He was invincible in battle. But he had also taken a vow never to attack a woman."

Guddu: "How did that help?"

Dadi: "The Pandavas placed Shikhandi in front of Bhishma. Shikhandi had been born female in a previous life, and in some versions was actually Amba reborn - a woman Bhishma had wronged long ago. Bhishma refused to attack Shikhandi, and Arjuna shot arrows from behind."

Guddu: "So they used his vow against him?"

Dadi: "Bhishma himself had told the Pandavas how to defeat him! Even he recognized that he was fighting on the wrong side. When he fell, pierced by so many arrows that his body didn't touch the ground, he accepted it as his karma."

Guddu: "What about Drona?"

Dadi: "Drona was even more devastating on the battlefield. He killed so many Pandava warriors that Krishna realized they couldn't win fairly. He knew Drona would only stop fighting if he believed his beloved son Ashwatthama was dead."

Guddu: "What did they do?"

Dadi: "Bhima killed an elephant named Ashwatthama. Then he shouted, "Ashwatthama is dead!" But Drona didn't believe Bhima - he knew Bhima might lie. So he asked Yudhishthira, who was famous for always speaking truth."

Guddu: "What did Yudhishthira say?"

Dadi: "He spoke half-truth: "Ashwatthama is dead - man or elephant, I'm not sure." But Krishna had drums and conches blown so loudly that Drona only heard "Ashwatthama is dead.""

Guddu: "That was a trick!"

Dadi: "It was. And Drona, believing his son was gone, lost his will to fight. He laid down his weapons, sat in meditation - and was beheaded by Dhrishtadyumna while defenseless."

Guddu: "That seems very harsh, even cruel."

Dadi: "The Mahabharata doesn't hide from these moral complexities, beta. Krishna's actions were controversial even in the story itself. But the teaching is clear: great reputation doesn't erase great failure. Bhishma and Drona spent their lives building dharma - but when dharma needed them most, in that assembly hall, they were silent."

Guddu: "So their silence was their real defeat?"

Dadi: "Long before any arrow struck them. Remember this, beta: it's not enough to be good in comfortable times. True dharma is standing up when standing up costs something. Bhishma and Drona paid for their silence with their lives - and the story remembers both their greatness and their failure."