The Arrival of Dronacharya

Rishi Sharadvan's son, Kripacharya, had been appointed to educate the princes, who quickly mastered various disciplines under his guidance. Bheeshma then began searching for an even more learned guru.

One day, while the princes were playing, their ball fell into a well. Despite their best efforts, they were unable to retrieve it. Just then, they noticed a tall, lean Brahmin smiling at them.

"What sort of Kshatriya princes are you, who can't even retrieve a ball from a well?" the Brahmin asked them.

"Can you?" the boys asked, half-jokingly.

"I can retrieve not just the ball, but this ring as well," replied the Brahmin as he removed a ring from his finger and tossed it into the well.

The Brahmin plucked several blades of grass from the ground, recited some mantras, and voilà—the blades immediately attached themselves end to end, forming a long chain. He dropped one end of the grass chain into the well; the ball stuck to it, and he pulled the ball out. Then, he shot an arrow into the well, and the arrow returned with the ring. The princes saluted him and requested him to become their guru.

Later that day, the princes described the Brahmin's marvelous skills to Bheeshma, who instantly realized that the Brahmin was none other than Dronacharya. Bheeshma found Dron at Kripacharya's residence. No introduction was necessary between them.

"Why have you come to Hastinapur?" asked Bheeshma.

"I have come in search of students to teach, so I may earn money," answered Dron.

"How strange! A Brahmin has come to earn money."

"There is nothing strange about this. I am in need of money," said Dron in a grave tone.