Drona Parva — Section 2 of 2 in this original, condensed prose retelling of the eighteen-parva Mahabharata.
Arjuna vows to defeat Jayadratha before sunset in response to Abhimanyu’s death. A fierce struggle follows, and Jayadratha is slain. The war grows still more desperate. Drona lays down his weapons after a painful and morally complicated report about Ashvatthama, and he is killed, leaving lasting questions about truth in wartime.
Read this episode in sequence with the other parvas to understand the full storyline, including its moral ambiguity and tragic consequences.