“Duryodhana tells Dronacharya that his own pupil, Dhrishtadyumna has planned the deployment (on the Pandava side). They are, on both sides, his pupils, to whom he has imparted the same knowledge. But it depends on them whether they use that knowledge well or for ill.”
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Probable attribution
This saying is widely associated with Mahatma Gandhi, but the attribution is not supported by a reliable primary source.
Likely origin: M. K. Gandhi, commentary in The Bhagavad Gita According to Gandhi (Anasaktiyoga), 1929/1946; gloss on the Mahabharata characters Duryodhana, Drona and Dhrishtadyumna.
About this quote
A teacher hands the same tools to every student; what those tools become is decided later, by the hand that wields them. Knowledge carries no built-in loyalty to good or harm — the same skill can heal or wound. That puts the moral weight squarely on the user, not on the lesson itself.
When to use it
- Two graduates of one coding course build software — one runs a fraud scheme, the other a reading tool for the blind.
- A mentor trains two apprentices identically; one cuts corners for quick profit while the other holds to the craft.
- Siblings raised with the same values choose differently, and their parents accept the choices were the children's own.