One day, of
old, intending to celebrate the Agnihotra sacrifice he went along with
many great Rishis to the Ganga to perform his ablutions. Arrived at the
bank of the stream, he saw Ghritachi herself, that Apsara endued with
youth and beauty, who had gone there a little before. With an expression
of pride in her countenance, mixed with a voluptuous languor of attitude,
the damsel rose from the water after her ablutions were over. And as she
was gently treading on the bank, her attire which was loose became
disordered. Seeing her attire disordered, the sage was smitten with
burning desire. The next moment his vital fluid came out, in consequence
of the violence of his emotion. The Rishi immediately held it in a vessel
called a drona. Then, O king, Drona sprang from the fluid thus preserved
in that vessel by the wise Bharadwaja. And the child thus born studied all
the Vedas and their branches. Before now Bharadwaja of great prowess and
the foremost of those possessing a knowledge of arms, had communicated to
the illustrious Agnivesa, a knowledge of the weapon called Agneya. O
foremost one of Bharata's race, the Rishi (Agnivesa) sprung from fire now
communicated the knowledge of that great weapon to Drona the son of his
preceptor.
"There was a king named Prishata who was a great friend of Bharadwaja.
About this time Prishata had a son born unto him, named Drupada. And that
bull among Kshatriyas, viz., Drupada, the son of Prishata, used every day
to come to the hermitage of Bharadwaja to play with Drona and study in his
company.
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