"Eklavya – ‘The Great Warrior’ and the Story of Greatest Betrayal in Indian history"
(मेरे प्रस्तुत लेख को अंग्रेजी में ट्रांसलेट करने का श्रेय मेरे मित्र व क्लाइंट अमेरिका निवासी डॉक्टर संदीप कॉल जी को जाता है)
Written some 5000 years ago, Mahabharata, has time and again proved to be the greatest epic, not only of India, but of the whole world. Its impact has been felt in over the ages and in all parts of the world. ‘Gita’, the ocean of knowledge, emanates from it as well. During the time of Mahabharata, a very important background information is overlooked while revisiting it during the present times. Arjuna, considered to be the ‘Greatest Warrior (Archer)’ during that period, was groomed to such greatness by two Gurus. It did not happen by accident. The first person directly responsible for this was Kripacharya, the royal teacher of the Kauravas and Pandavas appointed by Bheeshma and the second was Dronacharya, which weapon master of Hastinapur court. Dronacharya had trained under the great Parashurāma himself, thus ensuring the divine greatness of his expertise having trained in all weaponry, conventional and divine. Kripacharya by recommending the latter, ensured Arjuna became the ‘Greatest Warrior (Archer)’. To his credit, Arjuna, through his hard work and dedication, pleased Dronacharya to such an extent that it exceeded the love of his own son, Ashwatthama. Out of this love, he taught him not only to become master archer but also gave him the power to invoke the divine super-weapons such as ‘The Brahmastra’. Such deep was his love for Arjuna that even Ashwatthama was not taught the complete procedure of invoking ‘The Brahmastra’ (He could not recall this divine weapon once it left his bow).
During the present times, such stories do crop up in modern culture such as films and dramas. One such example is the Hollywood movie Star Wars – New Hope (1977), which happened to be the first installment of hugely successful movie series. In it the main protagonist and hero, Luke Skywalker, rose from a very humble beginnings to become the ‘Greatest Jedi Warrior’ the galaxy had ever known. His gurus (mentors), Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Grand Master, Yoda, ensured that this tag ‘Greatest Warrior’ was bestowed on Luke Skywalker through rigorous training. At first sight, it might look as an unnecessary comparison to Vedic Epic like Mahabharata here but such stories strike at the heart of people’s psyche where heroes are celebrated down the ages, where subsequent generation remember them. And if such explanation does not satisfy the critics of this unnecessary comparison, consider the fact Luke Skywalker’s father, Darth Vader, went down the evil path to become a main villain in this film series. It explains the power of a ‘Guru’ (or his absence) as a person guiding and nurturing the future of his disciple.
But then Mahabharata is an unusual epic. Perhaps this is where the comparison with contemporary folklore or similar other epics end. There is a dark secret associated with Arjuna being bestowed the title of ‘Greatest Warrior’. If one digs deep enough, innumerable characters, innumerable faces, countless seasons and innumerable stories can be had from Mahabharata. As an avid reader, a person could be exposed to and remember each and every character from different sources and documents. But today I am not willing to talk about ‘Yogashwar’ Krishna or shower praises on ‘Mahabali’ Bheem, neither the aim is to put ‘Gāṇḍīvadhārī’ Arjuna as the object of this article nor am I willing to talk about ‘Suryaputra’ Karna. I am interested in talking about that person who is a forgotten hero, possibly faced the greatest betrayal of history, whose place in history was treated like a stone that need to be kicked around. His painful tears and the pain emanating from his heart was overlooked because of his ‘low caste’ birth. Even the savior of the religion, Chakrapāṇi Vasudeva (Lord Krishna), did not oppress this injustice and nature, for good or for worse, has hidden this betrayal from plain sight of everyone. Yes friends, today the pen is to sing praises about the story of the same legendary person, who without any blessing, without being the son of a God and without the help of any divine weapon, was indeed the best archer of the world, the best disciple there was, and the performer of greatest sacrifice that anyone could ask for. Yes, today the pen is interested in singing great praises for Veer Eklavya, praises for his knowledge, praises for his immense capability that was stinging like a thorn in the eyes of his contemporaries.
During one of his training sessions he put twelve arrows in the mouth of a dog to stop it from barking which was creating distraction for him during those practice sessions. He dealt it with such a precision that not a single drop of blood came out of that dog’s mouth. In the science of archery, this was a perfect example of ‘stopping a living being from having a preoccupation with empty talk’. In the entire universe at that time, there were a lot of people who had the ability to perform such a feat, but only Eklavya’s ability far out shone that of others. In fact it was such an impossible feat that no ordinary human with all the knowledge of archery could achieve it. This is based, as we shall see, on the subsequent testimony of Dronacharya himself, as he witnessed Eklavya’s remarkable feat, which lead him to believe that such a person was no ordinary person.
News reached the royal palace and curiosity among the Pandava princes took center stage. “Who is this person who is a master of archery?”, “Who is this near perfect archer?” These were the sort of questions that were coming in their mind. Led by their Guru Dronacharya, the Pandava princes reached the forest where Eklavya was residing and practicing archery. To their surprise they found an ordinary ‘Bhil’ (low caste) boy was practicing with a very ordinary wooden bow. In front of him was a bunch of arrows and barking dog’s mouth full of arrows bore testimony of his finesse in the art of archery. Dronacharya could not believe his own eyes. This could not have been some kind of deceptive magic as that deception in the boy’s capabilities could be instantly recognized by him. Perhaps it could be his own guru, the great Parashurāma himself, or some divine person/Devata in the garb of human being. But deep in his heart Dronacharya knew that he could instantly recognize his own guru, the great Parashurāma. That was not a possibility. The option of this boy being a divine person could easily be ruled out because Dronacharya knew the caliber of all the contemporary divine gurus, as he himself was one of the masters of divine weaponry. So the question remained: “Who is this boy?”
He asked “Who is your Guru? (Nasataṁ Pratijagrāha Naiṣādiriti Chintayan…..Shiṣhyaṁ Dhānuṣadhārmajña)”. “Who is it that has made you such a versatile person in archery?” To this Eklavya replied, “I am your disciple, Gurudev, and you are my adorable lord”. Bowing his head in great adulation, he pointed towards the nearby stone statue of Dronacharya. Finding his Guru in front of him made Eklavya ecstatic and he could not help the feeling of being at the feet of Rudra (Lord Shiva) himself. What could be a greater luck or honor for him to have impressed his Guru with his knowledge. For him he had accomplished the ‘honor of a disciple’ in the eyes of the world. He had indeed proved worthy of being the disciple of the great Guru. His mind was crisscrossed with a lot of these thoughts while paying obeisance to Dronacharya.
As opposed to this, Dronacharya was thinking that for Arjuna to reach such a finesse and an advanced level in the art of archery would take time and a lot of practice. But this ‘Bhil’ (low caste) boy had achieved such a rare feat that Dronacharya was amazed to a point that it became a wakeup call for him. His efforts were directed in making Arjuna the ‘Greatest Warrior (Archer)’ but the way this ‘Bhil’ boy was handling the bow, let alone shooting the arrows with such precision, bore testimony to the fact that he was miles ahead of his ‘chosen one’ disciple. He had indeed poured water on all his efforts in making Arjuna the master Archer. “Tamabravīt Tvayāṅguṣṭhō Dakṣiṇō Dīyatāmiti (I want my Dakshina)”. With these insulting words Dronacharya addressed Eklavya, shrewdness in his words being quite perceptible. It is true that he had learned the art of archery by installing the statue of Dronacharya in front of him, but there is no doubt he had a natural, inborn talent which propelled him to such heights that he could achieve such superlative finesse in archery with a simple bow. A master archer would require a whole set of sophisticated weaponry to accomplish this feat. For the Kuru princes, apart from their extraordinary archery facilities, there was a constant roving presence of the master teacher, Dronacharya. It was amply clear that the entire pride of son of Pāṇḍū, Arjuna being greatest archer, was going to go down in veritable drain of tears. Out of the corner of his eye Arjuna was looking suspiciously at Dronacharya as if asking him what happened to the promise Dronacharya had made that would ensure he, Arjuna, would be the greastest living archer in the Aryavrata (country). Here is a ‘jungle boy’ who is directly challenging that stand. Furious with jealousy and anger Arjuna appeared as though he would be consumed in those flames and Dronacharya very well knew his future lay waste as a result of this jealousy. Nobody would take his word, the word of divine Guru, as unshakable truth.
But then the world favors the strong. Or so the saying goes. The weak and coward get obliterated just as a strong draft of air extinguishes a flickering flame of a candle. What can a small ‘Bhil’ jungle boy do in presence of people with illustrious lineage, eminent caste, well respected royalty? His claim to fame was in jeopardy as soon as the Kuru princes took notice of his extraordinary talent. It was quite clear that Eklavya had no right to be extraordinary even though truth suggested otherwise. If one compares Eklavya as that candle then Dronacharya’s subsequent actions were like the strong draft of air (in fact Dronacharya ensured continuation of the tradition of his own guru, great Parashurāma) which blew hard enough to extinguish the flame. It seemed as though the deity of the jungle, Vanadevi, cried out in despair. In the heavens, Lord Shiva, also let out a drop of tear seeing such great injustice, such great wrongdoing. At the spur of that moment, the lord forebode the demise of ‘House of Kurus’ in the near future. History bears testament to the fact that the entire royal lineages, dynasties and entire nations have been wiped out when righteous and capable people have been sidestepped by a few favored persons.
Jyōtiṣhaśāṣtra is witness to the fact that the natives born in the constellation of ‘Uttarafalguni’ have always succeeded in fulfilling their wishes with their ‘feminine’ stubbornness. Arjuna, who himself was born in the constellation of ‘Uttarafalguni’, has proved this over once again. The jist is that with one’s ego and stubbornness, a person can retain the tag of ‘Greatest Warrior (Archer)’.
“Give me your thumb of your right hand as Guru Dakshina”. This statement has forever remained as a blemish on Dronacharya’s character. He was bound by his own pledge that he would only teach princes of Kuru lineage. He had once broken a pledge to King Dhrupada. As a result of that he had to feed his own son, Ashwatthama, soup of rice flour labelling it as milk. The mere thought of breaking another pledge would send shiver down his spine. He knew he could not displease Bheeshma at any cost. Destiny was literally sealed for Eklavya at that moment. He had to be pushed back and brought down. The dakshina of right thumb would ensure this. “Tamabravīt Tvayāṅguṣṭhō Dakṣiṇō Dīyatāmiti (I want the thumb of your right hand as my Dakshina, i.e charity)”. It was impossible to comply with such charity without the thought of the consequence gleaming in one’s eyes. Eklavya’s future was pegged on it. But it is said that Eklavya acted without a hitch, which was even faster than what the master philanthropist, Daanveer Karna, achieved when he donated his Kavachha and Kundalas to Devraja Indra. Within minutes the thumb of right hand was at the feet of Dronacharya. A feat that needed a new definition here because there is no other glaring example in the history of mankind at the speed of its compliance. The entire universe cried at this injustice. Even Ashwatthama, who was old enough to understand the greatness of the act, felt ashamed in his heart. He knew his own father, Dronacharya, loved Arjuna more than he himself. That fact had not escaped anyone but that love had transcended to a new level. It made him cringe and detest Arjuna, as he himself was the son of the illustrious guru. He was well aware of the grueling process that ensured the making of the great warrior, that too without any help or without any suitable facility available in Eklavya’s case. There was no divine boon, only self-practice of the individual that had ensured Eklavya mastery at the art of archery. But when the time came to admit who was his guru, he with all his simplicity, put his entire talent and natural ability at the feet of his father, Dronacharya. This selfless act even surprised the gods and forever etched Eklavya’s name into annals of history. But then the world favors the strong every time. This, without a doubt, will be repeated in the future as well and people like Eklavya will find no value in this world for their inborn talents. The weak will always be brought down. It has happened now and will keep happening in the future as well.
History only remembers the winners. There is only a scant mention of Eklavya in other works. Legend has it, that one day Arjuna and couple of his friends surreptitiously went to the forest where he saw Eklavya practicing the art of archery with only four fingers of his hand. Like a kid who is learning to use the bow for the first time, the arrows which shot out of his bow dropped only a few yards in front of him. Arjuna smirked and felt very satisfied with what he saw and returned to the palace subsequently. Indeed, what he saw that day were the tears in the eyes of Eklavya, but what he unable to see was the yearning to excel in adverse of the circumstances.
Eklavya does get mentioned in Vishnu Purana and Harivansh Purana. He is supposed to the king of Nishad lineage, the jungle people. He had supposedly led an attack on the Kingdom of Mathura, ruled by Jarasandha, and ensured complete rout of his Yadava army. During the course of the battle, when there was utter confusion in the battlefield, Lord Krishna himself was from Yadava lineage, saw that the part of the battlefield which was at the center of the rout had a ‘Great Warrior’ riding a chariot. But the person just had four fingers on his right hand. Such great was his finesse that even a divine being as Lord Krishna himself was dumbfounded. With his archery talent he was able to hold back his rivals generals and with each pull of the bow, numerous arrows would fly off to pierce their targets without fail. Lord Krishna could have easily mistake this person to be Kunti Putra, Arjuna, since he wielded his bow with such deftness. But four fingers probably gave up his identity and spelt doom for this person who eventually was killed in the battlefield by Lord Krishna himself. This gives the clearest proof that even though Eklavya donated his right thumb, he still attained his former mastery at the art of archery. It could be debated, subsequent to his thumb donation, he might not have attained the level of mastery in the art but the way he wiped out his rival Yadava generals in the battlefield leaves no room for his grip at the art of archery.
After the end of the great war of Mahabharata, all the great surviving people started to relate their valorous stories. It was then Lord Krishna revealed the truth to Arjuna. It was his love for him that ensured the tag of ‘Greatest Warrior’ forever was stuck to his name. With his divine powers he ensured the ultimate death of his guru, Dronacharya, weakened Karna and without Arjuna’s knowledge killed Eklavya. This is the ultimate tribute to this great warrior. Even today the ‘Bhil’ tribal people in Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh continue to fight for their right with bow and arrows.
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The Original Hindi version of this article appears here:
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Eklavya – ‘The Great Warrior’ and the Story of Greatest Betrayal in Indian History
(This is my favorite article and is presented again here)
Written some 5000 years ago, Mahabharata, has time and again proved to be the greatest epic, not only of India, but of the whole world. Its impact has been felt in over the ages and in all parts of the world. ‘Gita’, the ocean of knowledge, emanates from it as well. During the time of Mahabharata, a very important background information is overlooked while revisiting it during the present times. Arjuna, considered to be the ‘Greatest Warrior (Archer)’ during that period, was groomed to such greatness by two Gurus. It did not happen by accident. The first person directly responsible for this was Kripacharya, the royal teacher of the Kauravas and Pandavas appointed by Bheeshma and the second was Dronacharya, which weapon master of Hastinapur court. Dronacharya had trained under the great Parashurāma himself, thus ensuring the divine greatness of his expertise having trained in all weaponry, conventional and divine. Kripacharya by recommending the latter, ensured Arjuna became the ‘Greatest Warrior (Archer)’. To his credit, Arjuna, through his hard work and dedication, pleased Dronacharya to such an extent that it exceeded the love of his own son, Ashwatthama. Out of this love, he taught him not only to become master archer but also gave him the power to invoke the divine super-weapons such as ‘The Brahmastra’. Such deep was his love for Arjuna that even Ashwatthama was not taught the complete procedure of invoking ‘The Brahmastra’ (He could not recall this divine weapon once it left his bow).
During the present times, such stories do crop up in modern culture such as films and dramas. One such example is the Hollywood movie Star Wars – New Hope (1977), which happened to be the first installment of hugely successful movie series. In it the main protagonist and hero, Luke Skywalker, rose from a very humble beginnings to become the ‘Greatest Jedi Warrior’ the galaxy had ever known. His gurus (mentors), Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Grand Master, Yoda, ensured that this tag ‘Greatest Warrior’ was bestowed on Luke Skywalker through rigorous training. At first sight, it might look as an unnecessary comparison to Vedic Epic like Mahabharata here but such stories strike at the heart of people’s psyche where heroes are celebrated down the ages, where subsequent generation remember them. And if such explanation does not satisfy the critics of this unnecessary comparison, consider the fact Luke Skywalker’s father, Darth Vader, went down the evil path to become a main villain in this film series. It explains the power of a ‘Guru’ (or his absence) as a person guiding and nurturing the future of his disciple.
But then Mahabharata is an unusual epic. Perhaps this is where the comparison with contemporary folklore or similar other epics end. There is a dark secret associated with Arjuna being bestowed the title of ‘Greatest Warrior’. If one digs deep enough, innumerable characters, innumerable faces, countless seasons and innumerable stories can be had from Mahabharata. As an avid reader, a person could be exposed to and remember each and every character from different sources and documents. But today I am not willing to talk about ‘Yogashwar’ Krishna or shower praises on ‘Mahabali’ Bheem, neither the aim is to put ‘Gāṇḍīvadhārī’ Arjuna as the object of this article nor am I willing to talk about ‘Suryaputra’ Karna. I am interested in talking about that person who is a forgotten hero, possibly faced the greatest betrayal of history, whose place in history was treated like a stone that need to be kicked around. His painful tears and the pain emanating from his heart was overlooked because of his ‘low caste’ birth. Even the savior of the religion, Chakrapāṇi Vasudeva (Lord Krishna), did not oppress this injustice and nature, for good or for worse, has hidden this betrayal from plain sight of everyone. Yes friends, today the pen is to sing praises about the story of the same legendary person, who without any blessing, without being the son of a God and without the help of any divine weapon, was indeed the best archer of the world, the best disciple there was, and the performer of greatest sacrifice that anyone could ask for. Yes, today the pen is interested in singing great praises for Veer Eklavya, praises for his knowledge, praises for his immense capability that was stinging like a thorn in the eyes of his contemporaries.
During one of his training sessions he put twelve arrows in the mouth of a dog to stop it from barking which was creating distraction for him during those practice sessions. He dealt it with such a precision that not a single drop of blood came out of that dog’s mouth. In the science of archery, this was a perfect example of ‘stopping a living being from having a preoccupation with empty talk’. In the entire universe at that time, there were a lot of people who had the ability to perform such a feat, but only Eklavya’s ability far out shone that of others. In fact it was such an impossible feat that no ordinary human with all the knowledge of archery could achieve it. This is based, as we shall see, on the subsequent testimony of Dronacharya himself, as he witnessed Eklavya’s remarkable feat, which lead him to believe that such a person was no ordinary person.
News reached the royal palace and curiosity among the Pandava princes took center stage. “Who is this person who is a master of archery?”, “Who is this near perfect archer?” These were the sort of questions that were coming in their mind. Led by their Guru Dronacharya, the Pandava princes reached the forest where Eklavya was residing and practicing archery. To their surprise they found an ordinary ‘Bhil’ (low caste) boy was practicing with a very ordinary wooden bow. In front of him was a bunch of arrows and barking dog’s mouth full of arrows bore testimony of his finesse in the art of archery. Dronacharya could not believe his own eyes. This could not have been some kind of deceptive magic as that deception in the boy’s capabilities could be instantly recognized by him. Perhaps it could be his own guru, the great Parashurāma himself, or some divine person/Devata in the garb of human being. But deep in his heart Dronacharya knew that he could instantly recognize his own guru, the great Parashurāma. That was not a possibility. The option of this boy being a divine person could easily be ruled out because Dronacharya knew the caliber of all the contemporary divine gurus, as he himself was one of the masters of divine weaponry. So the question remained: “Who is this boy?”
He asked “Who is your Guru? (Nasataṁ Pratijagrāha Naiṣādiriti Chintayan…..Shiṣhyaṁ Dhānuṣadhārmajña)”. “Who is it that has made you such a versatile person in archery?” To this Eklavya replied, “I am your disciple, Gurudev, and you are my adorable lord”. Bowing his head in great adulation, he pointed towards the nearby stone statue of Dronacharya. Finding his Guru in front of him made Eklavya ecstatic and he could not help the feeling of being at the feet of Rudra (Lord Shiva) himself. What could be a greater luck or honor for him to have impressed his Guru with his knowledge. For him he had accomplished the ‘honor of a disciple’ in the eyes of the world. He had indeed proved worthy of being the disciple of the great Guru. His mind was crisscrossed with a lot of these thoughts while paying obeisance to Dronacharya.
As opposed to this, Dronacharya was thinking that for Arjuna to reach such a finesse and an advanced level in the art of archery would take time and a lot of practice. But this ‘Bhil’ (low caste) boy had achieved such a rare feat that Dronacharya was amazed to a point that it became a wakeup call for him. His efforts were directed in making Arjuna the ‘Greatest Warrior (Archer)’ but the way this ‘Bhil’ boy was handling the bow, let alone shooting the arrows with such precision, bore testimony to the fact that he was miles ahead of his ‘chosen one’ disciple. He had indeed poured water on all his efforts in making Arjuna the master Archer. “Tamabravīt Tvayāṅguṣṭhō Dakṣiṇō Dīyatāmiti (I want my Dakshina)”. With these insulting words Dronacharya addressed Eklavya, shrewdness in his words being quite perceptible. It is true that he had learned the art of archery by installing the statue of Dronacharya in front of him, but there is no doubt he had a natural, inborn talent which propelled him to such heights that he could achieve such superlative finesse in archery with a simple bow. A master archer would require a whole set of sophisticated weaponry to accomplish this feat. For the Kuru princes, apart from their extraordinary archery facilities, there was a constant roving presence of the master teacher, Dronacharya. It was amply clear that the entire pride of son of Pāṇḍū, Arjuna being greatest archer, was going to go down in veritable drain of tears. Out of the corner of his eye Arjuna was looking suspiciously at Dronacharya as if asking him what happened to the promise Dronacharya had made that would ensure he, Arjuna, would be the greastest living archer in the Aryavrata (country). Here is a ‘jungle boy’ who is directly challenging that stand. Furious with jealousy and anger Arjuna appeared as though he would be consumed in those flames and Dronacharya very well knew his future lay waste as a result of this jealousy. Nobody would take his word, the word of divine Guru, as unshakable truth.
But then the world favors the strong. Or so the saying goes. The weak and coward get obliterated just as a strong draft of air extinguishes a flickering flame of a candle. What can a small ‘Bhil’ jungle boy do in presence of people with illustrious lineage, eminent caste, well respected royalty? His claim to fame was in jeopardy as soon as the Kuru princes took notice of his extraordinary talent. It was quite clear that Eklavya had no right to be extraordinary even though truth suggested otherwise. If one compares Eklavya as that candle then Dronacharya’s subsequent actions were like the strong draft of air (in fact Dronacharya ensured continuation of the tradition of his own guru, great Parashurāma) which blew hard enough to extinguish the flame. It seemed as though the deity of the jungle, Vanadevi, cried out in despair. In the heavens, Lord Shiva, also let out a drop of tear seeing such great injustice, such great wrongdoing. At the spur of that moment, the lord forebode the demise of ‘House of Kurus’ in the near future. History bears testament to the fact that the entire royal lineages, dynasties and entire nations have been wiped out when righteous and capable people have been sidestepped by a few favored persons.
Jyōtiṣhaśāṣtra is witness to the fact that the natives born in the constellation of ‘Uttarafalguni’ have always succeeded in fulfilling their wishes with their ‘feminine’ stubbornness. Arjuna, who himself was born in the constellation of ‘Uttarafalguni’, has proved this over once again. The jist is that with one’s ego and stubbornness, a person can retain the tag of ‘Greatest Warrior (Archer)’.
“Give me your thumb of your right hand as Guru Dakshina”. This statement has forever remained as a blemish on Dronacharya’s character. He was bound by his own pledge that he would only teach princes of Kuru lineage. He had once broken a pledge to King Dhrupada. As a result of that he had to feed his own son, Ashwatthama, soup of rice flour labelling it as milk. The mere thought of breaking another pledge would send shiver down his spine. He knew he could not displease Bheeshma at any cost. Destiny was literally sealed for Eklavya at that moment. He had to be pushed back and brought down. The dakshina of right thumb would ensure this. “Tamabravīt Tvayāṅguṣṭhō Dakṣiṇō Dīyatāmiti (I want the thumb of your right hand as my Dakshina, i.e charity)”. It was impossible to comply with such charity without the thought of the consequence gleaming in one’s eyes. Eklavya’s future was pegged on it. But it is said that Eklavya acted without a hitch, which was even faster than what the master philanthropist, Daanveer Karna, achieved when he donated his Kavachha and Kundalas to Devraja Indra. Within minutes the thumb of right hand was at the feet of Dronacharya. A feat that needed a new definition here because there is no other glaring example in the history of mankind at the speed of its compliance. The entire universe cried at this injustice. Even Ashwatthama, who was old enough to understand the greatness of the act, felt ashamed in his heart. He knew his own father, Dronacharya, loved Arjuna more than he himself. That fact had not escaped anyone but that love had transcended to a new level. It made him cringe and detest Arjuna, as he himself was the son of the illustrious guru. He was well aware of the grueling process that ensured the making of the great warrior, that too without any help or without any suitable facility available in Eklavya’s case. There was no divine boon, only self-practice of the individual that had ensured Eklavya mastery at the art of archery. But when the time came to admit who was his guru, he with all his simplicity, put his entire talent and natural ability at the feet of his father, Dronacharya. This selfless act even surprised the gods and forever etched Eklavya’s name into annals of history. But then the world favors the strong every time. This, without a doubt, will be repeated in the future as well and people like Eklavya will find no value in this world for their inborn talents. The weak will always be brought down. It has happened now and will keep happening in the future as well.
History only remembers the winners. There is only a scant mention of Eklavya in other works. Legend has it, that one day Arjuna and couple of his friends surreptitiously went to the forest where he saw Eklavya practicing the art of archery with only four fingers of his hand. Like a kid who is learning to use the bow for the first time, the arrows which shot out of his bow dropped only a few yards in front of him. Arjuna smirked and felt very satisfied with what he saw and returned to the palace subsequently. Indeed, what he saw that day were the tears in the eyes of Eklavya, but what he unable to see was the yearning to excel in adverse of the circumstances.
Eklavya does get mentioned in Vishnu Purana and Harivansh Purana. He is supposed to the king of Nishad lineage, the jungle people. He had supposedly led an attack on the Kingdom of Mathura, ruled by Jarasandha, and ensured complete rout of his Yadava army. During the course of the battle, when there was utter confusion in the battlefield, Lord Krishna himself was from Yadava lineage, saw that the part of the battlefield which was at the center of the rout had a ‘Great Warrior’ riding a chariot. But the person just had four fingers on his right hand. Such great was his finesse that even a divine being as Lord Krishna himself was dumbfounded. With his archery talent he was able to hold back his rivals generals and with each pull of the bow, numerous arrows would fly off to pierce their targets without fail. Lord Krishna could have easily mistake this person to be Kunti Putra, Arjuna, since he wielded his bow with such deftness. But four fingers probably gave up his identity and spelt doom for this person who eventually was killed in the battlefield by Lord Krishna himself. This gives the clearest proof that even though Eklavya donated his right thumb, he still attained his former mastery at the art of archery. It could be debated, subsequent to his thumb donation, he might not have attained the level of mastery in the art but the way he wiped out his rival Yadava generals in the battlefield leaves no room for his grip at the art of archery.
After the end of the great war of Mahabharata, all the great surviving people started to relate their valorous stories. It was then Lord Krishna revealed the truth to Arjuna. It was his love for him that ensured the tag of ‘Greatest Warrior’ forever was stuck to his name. With his divine powers he ensured the ultimate death of his guru, Dronacharya, weakened Karna and without Arjuna’s knowledge killed Eklavya. This is the ultimate tribute to this great warrior. Even today the ‘Bhil’ tribal people in Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh continue to fight for their right with bow and arrows.
Please do comment. Waiting for your valuable opinion towards this article.
The Original Hindi version of this article appears here:
www.astrologerindehradun.com
Rightsunshineforu.blogspot.com
(मेरे प्रस्तुत लेख को अंग्रेजी में ट्रांसलेट करने का श्रेय मेरे मित्र व क्लाइंट अमेरिका निवासी डॉक्टर संदीप कॉल जी को जाता है)
Written some 5000 years ago, Mahabharata, has time and again proved to be the greatest epic, not only of India, but of the whole world. Its impact has been felt in over the ages and in all parts of the world. ‘Gita’, the ocean of knowledge, emanates from it as well. During the time of Mahabharata, a very important background information is overlooked while revisiting it during the present times. Arjuna, considered to be the ‘Greatest Warrior (Archer)’ during that period, was groomed to such greatness by two Gurus. It did not happen by accident. The first person directly responsible for this was Kripacharya, the royal teacher of the Kauravas and Pandavas appointed by Bheeshma and the second was Dronacharya, which weapon master of Hastinapur court. Dronacharya had trained under the great Parashurāma himself, thus ensuring the divine greatness of his expertise having trained in all weaponry, conventional and divine. Kripacharya by recommending the latter, ensured Arjuna became the ‘Greatest Warrior (Archer)’. To his credit, Arjuna, through his hard work and dedication, pleased Dronacharya to such an extent that it exceeded the love of his own son, Ashwatthama. Out of this love, he taught him not only to become master archer but also gave him the power to invoke the divine super-weapons such as ‘The Brahmastra’. Such deep was his love for Arjuna that even Ashwatthama was not taught the complete procedure of invoking ‘The Brahmastra’ (He could not recall this divine weapon once it left his bow).
During the present times, such stories do crop up in modern culture such as films and dramas. One such example is the Hollywood movie Star Wars – New Hope (1977), which happened to be the first installment of hugely successful movie series. In it the main protagonist and hero, Luke Skywalker, rose from a very humble beginnings to become the ‘Greatest Jedi Warrior’ the galaxy had ever known. His gurus (mentors), Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Grand Master, Yoda, ensured that this tag ‘Greatest Warrior’ was bestowed on Luke Skywalker through rigorous training. At first sight, it might look as an unnecessary comparison to Vedic Epic like Mahabharata here but such stories strike at the heart of people’s psyche where heroes are celebrated down the ages, where subsequent generation remember them. And if such explanation does not satisfy the critics of this unnecessary comparison, consider the fact Luke Skywalker’s father, Darth Vader, went down the evil path to become a main villain in this film series. It explains the power of a ‘Guru’ (or his absence) as a person guiding and nurturing the future of his disciple.
But then Mahabharata is an unusual epic. Perhaps this is where the comparison with contemporary folklore or similar other epics end. There is a dark secret associated with Arjuna being bestowed the title of ‘Greatest Warrior’. If one digs deep enough, innumerable characters, innumerable faces, countless seasons and innumerable stories can be had from Mahabharata. As an avid reader, a person could be exposed to and remember each and every character from different sources and documents. But today I am not willing to talk about ‘Yogashwar’ Krishna or shower praises on ‘Mahabali’ Bheem, neither the aim is to put ‘Gāṇḍīvadhārī’ Arjuna as the object of this article nor am I willing to talk about ‘Suryaputra’ Karna. I am interested in talking about that person who is a forgotten hero, possibly faced the greatest betrayal of history, whose place in history was treated like a stone that need to be kicked around. His painful tears and the pain emanating from his heart was overlooked because of his ‘low caste’ birth. Even the savior of the religion, Chakrapāṇi Vasudeva (Lord Krishna), did not oppress this injustice and nature, for good or for worse, has hidden this betrayal from plain sight of everyone. Yes friends, today the pen is to sing praises about the story of the same legendary person, who without any blessing, without being the son of a God and without the help of any divine weapon, was indeed the best archer of the world, the best disciple there was, and the performer of greatest sacrifice that anyone could ask for. Yes, today the pen is interested in singing great praises for Veer Eklavya, praises for his knowledge, praises for his immense capability that was stinging like a thorn in the eyes of his contemporaries.
During one of his training sessions he put twelve arrows in the mouth of a dog to stop it from barking which was creating distraction for him during those practice sessions. He dealt it with such a precision that not a single drop of blood came out of that dog’s mouth. In the science of archery, this was a perfect example of ‘stopping a living being from having a preoccupation with empty talk’. In the entire universe at that time, there were a lot of people who had the ability to perform such a feat, but only Eklavya’s ability far out shone that of others. In fact it was such an impossible feat that no ordinary human with all the knowledge of archery could achieve it. This is based, as we shall see, on the subsequent testimony of Dronacharya himself, as he witnessed Eklavya’s remarkable feat, which lead him to believe that such a person was no ordinary person.
News reached the royal palace and curiosity among the Pandava princes took center stage. “Who is this person who is a master of archery?”, “Who is this near perfect archer?” These were the sort of questions that were coming in their mind. Led by their Guru Dronacharya, the Pandava princes reached the forest where Eklavya was residing and practicing archery. To their surprise they found an ordinary ‘Bhil’ (low caste) boy was practicing with a very ordinary wooden bow. In front of him was a bunch of arrows and barking dog’s mouth full of arrows bore testimony of his finesse in the art of archery. Dronacharya could not believe his own eyes. This could not have been some kind of deceptive magic as that deception in the boy’s capabilities could be instantly recognized by him. Perhaps it could be his own guru, the great Parashurāma himself, or some divine person/Devata in the garb of human being. But deep in his heart Dronacharya knew that he could instantly recognize his own guru, the great Parashurāma. That was not a possibility. The option of this boy being a divine person could easily be ruled out because Dronacharya knew the caliber of all the contemporary divine gurus, as he himself was one of the masters of divine weaponry. So the question remained: “Who is this boy?”
He asked “Who is your Guru? (Nasataṁ Pratijagrāha Naiṣādiriti Chintayan…..Shiṣhyaṁ Dhānuṣadhārmajña)”. “Who is it that has made you such a versatile person in archery?” To this Eklavya replied, “I am your disciple, Gurudev, and you are my adorable lord”. Bowing his head in great adulation, he pointed towards the nearby stone statue of Dronacharya. Finding his Guru in front of him made Eklavya ecstatic and he could not help the feeling of being at the feet of Rudra (Lord Shiva) himself. What could be a greater luck or honor for him to have impressed his Guru with his knowledge. For him he had accomplished the ‘honor of a disciple’ in the eyes of the world. He had indeed proved worthy of being the disciple of the great Guru. His mind was crisscrossed with a lot of these thoughts while paying obeisance to Dronacharya.
As opposed to this, Dronacharya was thinking that for Arjuna to reach such a finesse and an advanced level in the art of archery would take time and a lot of practice. But this ‘Bhil’ (low caste) boy had achieved such a rare feat that Dronacharya was amazed to a point that it became a wakeup call for him. His efforts were directed in making Arjuna the ‘Greatest Warrior (Archer)’ but the way this ‘Bhil’ boy was handling the bow, let alone shooting the arrows with such precision, bore testimony to the fact that he was miles ahead of his ‘chosen one’ disciple. He had indeed poured water on all his efforts in making Arjuna the master Archer. “Tamabravīt Tvayāṅguṣṭhō Dakṣiṇō Dīyatāmiti (I want my Dakshina)”. With these insulting words Dronacharya addressed Eklavya, shrewdness in his words being quite perceptible. It is true that he had learned the art of archery by installing the statue of Dronacharya in front of him, but there is no doubt he had a natural, inborn talent which propelled him to such heights that he could achieve such superlative finesse in archery with a simple bow. A master archer would require a whole set of sophisticated weaponry to accomplish this feat. For the Kuru princes, apart from their extraordinary archery facilities, there was a constant roving presence of the master teacher, Dronacharya. It was amply clear that the entire pride of son of Pāṇḍū, Arjuna being greatest archer, was going to go down in veritable drain of tears. Out of the corner of his eye Arjuna was looking suspiciously at Dronacharya as if asking him what happened to the promise Dronacharya had made that would ensure he, Arjuna, would be the greastest living archer in the Aryavrata (country). Here is a ‘jungle boy’ who is directly challenging that stand. Furious with jealousy and anger Arjuna appeared as though he would be consumed in those flames and Dronacharya very well knew his future lay waste as a result of this jealousy. Nobody would take his word, the word of divine Guru, as unshakable truth.
But then the world favors the strong. Or so the saying goes. The weak and coward get obliterated just as a strong draft of air extinguishes a flickering flame of a candle. What can a small ‘Bhil’ jungle boy do in presence of people with illustrious lineage, eminent caste, well respected royalty? His claim to fame was in jeopardy as soon as the Kuru princes took notice of his extraordinary talent. It was quite clear that Eklavya had no right to be extraordinary even though truth suggested otherwise. If one compares Eklavya as that candle then Dronacharya’s subsequent actions were like the strong draft of air (in fact Dronacharya ensured continuation of the tradition of his own guru, great Parashurāma) which blew hard enough to extinguish the flame. It seemed as though the deity of the jungle, Vanadevi, cried out in despair. In the heavens, Lord Shiva, also let out a drop of tear seeing such great injustice, such great wrongdoing. At the spur of that moment, the lord forebode the demise of ‘House of Kurus’ in the near future. History bears testament to the fact that the entire royal lineages, dynasties and entire nations have been wiped out when righteous and capable people have been sidestepped by a few favored persons.
Jyōtiṣhaśāṣtra is witness to the fact that the natives born in the constellation of ‘Uttarafalguni’ have always succeeded in fulfilling their wishes with their ‘feminine’ stubbornness. Arjuna, who himself was born in the constellation of ‘Uttarafalguni’, has proved this over once again. The jist is that with one’s ego and stubbornness, a person can retain the tag of ‘Greatest Warrior (Archer)’.
“Give me your thumb of your right hand as Guru Dakshina”. This statement has forever remained as a blemish on Dronacharya’s character. He was bound by his own pledge that he would only teach princes of Kuru lineage. He had once broken a pledge to King Dhrupada. As a result of that he had to feed his own son, Ashwatthama, soup of rice flour labelling it as milk. The mere thought of breaking another pledge would send shiver down his spine. He knew he could not displease Bheeshma at any cost. Destiny was literally sealed for Eklavya at that moment. He had to be pushed back and brought down. The dakshina of right thumb would ensure this. “Tamabravīt Tvayāṅguṣṭhō Dakṣiṇō Dīyatāmiti (I want the thumb of your right hand as my Dakshina, i.e charity)”. It was impossible to comply with such charity without the thought of the consequence gleaming in one’s eyes. Eklavya’s future was pegged on it. But it is said that Eklavya acted without a hitch, which was even faster than what the master philanthropist, Daanveer Karna, achieved when he donated his Kavachha and Kundalas to Devraja Indra. Within minutes the thumb of right hand was at the feet of Dronacharya. A feat that needed a new definition here because there is no other glaring example in the history of mankind at the speed of its compliance. The entire universe cried at this injustice. Even Ashwatthama, who was old enough to understand the greatness of the act, felt ashamed in his heart. He knew his own father, Dronacharya, loved Arjuna more than he himself. That fact had not escaped anyone but that love had transcended to a new level. It made him cringe and detest Arjuna, as he himself was the son of the illustrious guru. He was well aware of the grueling process that ensured the making of the great warrior, that too without any help or without any suitable facility available in Eklavya’s case. There was no divine boon, only self-practice of the individual that had ensured Eklavya mastery at the art of archery. But when the time came to admit who was his guru, he with all his simplicity, put his entire talent and natural ability at the feet of his father, Dronacharya. This selfless act even surprised the gods and forever etched Eklavya’s name into annals of history. But then the world favors the strong every time. This, without a doubt, will be repeated in the future as well and people like Eklavya will find no value in this world for their inborn talents. The weak will always be brought down. It has happened now and will keep happening in the future as well.
History only remembers the winners. There is only a scant mention of Eklavya in other works. Legend has it, that one day Arjuna and couple of his friends surreptitiously went to the forest where he saw Eklavya practicing the art of archery with only four fingers of his hand. Like a kid who is learning to use the bow for the first time, the arrows which shot out of his bow dropped only a few yards in front of him. Arjuna smirked and felt very satisfied with what he saw and returned to the palace subsequently. Indeed, what he saw that day were the tears in the eyes of Eklavya, but what he unable to see was the yearning to excel in adverse of the circumstances.
Eklavya does get mentioned in Vishnu Purana and Harivansh Purana. He is supposed to the king of Nishad lineage, the jungle people. He had supposedly led an attack on the Kingdom of Mathura, ruled by Jarasandha, and ensured complete rout of his Yadava army. During the course of the battle, when there was utter confusion in the battlefield, Lord Krishna himself was from Yadava lineage, saw that the part of the battlefield which was at the center of the rout had a ‘Great Warrior’ riding a chariot. But the person just had four fingers on his right hand. Such great was his finesse that even a divine being as Lord Krishna himself was dumbfounded. With his archery talent he was able to hold back his rivals generals and with each pull of the bow, numerous arrows would fly off to pierce their targets without fail. Lord Krishna could have easily mistake this person to be Kunti Putra, Arjuna, since he wielded his bow with such deftness. But four fingers probably gave up his identity and spelt doom for this person who eventually was killed in the battlefield by Lord Krishna himself. This gives the clearest proof that even though Eklavya donated his right thumb, he still attained his former mastery at the art of archery. It could be debated, subsequent to his thumb donation, he might not have attained the level of mastery in the art but the way he wiped out his rival Yadava generals in the battlefield leaves no room for his grip at the art of archery.
After the end of the great war of Mahabharata, all the great surviving people started to relate their valorous stories. It was then Lord Krishna revealed the truth to Arjuna. It was his love for him that ensured the tag of ‘Greatest Warrior’ forever was stuck to his name. With his divine powers he ensured the ultimate death of his guru, Dronacharya, weakened Karna and without Arjuna’s knowledge killed Eklavya. This is the ultimate tribute to this great warrior. Even today the ‘Bhil’ tribal people in Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh continue to fight for their right with bow and arrows.
Please do comment. Waiting for your valuable opinion towards this article.
The Original Hindi version of this article appears here:
www.astrologerindehradun.com
Rightsunshineforu.blogspot.com
Eklavya – ‘The Great Warrior’ and the Story of Greatest Betrayal in Indian History
(This is my favorite article and is presented again here)
Written some 5000 years ago, Mahabharata, has time and again proved to be the greatest epic, not only of India, but of the whole world. Its impact has been felt in over the ages and in all parts of the world. ‘Gita’, the ocean of knowledge, emanates from it as well. During the time of Mahabharata, a very important background information is overlooked while revisiting it during the present times. Arjuna, considered to be the ‘Greatest Warrior (Archer)’ during that period, was groomed to such greatness by two Gurus. It did not happen by accident. The first person directly responsible for this was Kripacharya, the royal teacher of the Kauravas and Pandavas appointed by Bheeshma and the second was Dronacharya, which weapon master of Hastinapur court. Dronacharya had trained under the great Parashurāma himself, thus ensuring the divine greatness of his expertise having trained in all weaponry, conventional and divine. Kripacharya by recommending the latter, ensured Arjuna became the ‘Greatest Warrior (Archer)’. To his credit, Arjuna, through his hard work and dedication, pleased Dronacharya to such an extent that it exceeded the love of his own son, Ashwatthama. Out of this love, he taught him not only to become master archer but also gave him the power to invoke the divine super-weapons such as ‘The Brahmastra’. Such deep was his love for Arjuna that even Ashwatthama was not taught the complete procedure of invoking ‘The Brahmastra’ (He could not recall this divine weapon once it left his bow).
During the present times, such stories do crop up in modern culture such as films and dramas. One such example is the Hollywood movie Star Wars – New Hope (1977), which happened to be the first installment of hugely successful movie series. In it the main protagonist and hero, Luke Skywalker, rose from a very humble beginnings to become the ‘Greatest Jedi Warrior’ the galaxy had ever known. His gurus (mentors), Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Grand Master, Yoda, ensured that this tag ‘Greatest Warrior’ was bestowed on Luke Skywalker through rigorous training. At first sight, it might look as an unnecessary comparison to Vedic Epic like Mahabharata here but such stories strike at the heart of people’s psyche where heroes are celebrated down the ages, where subsequent generation remember them. And if such explanation does not satisfy the critics of this unnecessary comparison, consider the fact Luke Skywalker’s father, Darth Vader, went down the evil path to become a main villain in this film series. It explains the power of a ‘Guru’ (or his absence) as a person guiding and nurturing the future of his disciple.
But then Mahabharata is an unusual epic. Perhaps this is where the comparison with contemporary folklore or similar other epics end. There is a dark secret associated with Arjuna being bestowed the title of ‘Greatest Warrior’. If one digs deep enough, innumerable characters, innumerable faces, countless seasons and innumerable stories can be had from Mahabharata. As an avid reader, a person could be exposed to and remember each and every character from different sources and documents. But today I am not willing to talk about ‘Yogashwar’ Krishna or shower praises on ‘Mahabali’ Bheem, neither the aim is to put ‘Gāṇḍīvadhārī’ Arjuna as the object of this article nor am I willing to talk about ‘Suryaputra’ Karna. I am interested in talking about that person who is a forgotten hero, possibly faced the greatest betrayal of history, whose place in history was treated like a stone that need to be kicked around. His painful tears and the pain emanating from his heart was overlooked because of his ‘low caste’ birth. Even the savior of the religion, Chakrapāṇi Vasudeva (Lord Krishna), did not oppress this injustice and nature, for good or for worse, has hidden this betrayal from plain sight of everyone. Yes friends, today the pen is to sing praises about the story of the same legendary person, who without any blessing, without being the son of a God and without the help of any divine weapon, was indeed the best archer of the world, the best disciple there was, and the performer of greatest sacrifice that anyone could ask for. Yes, today the pen is interested in singing great praises for Veer Eklavya, praises for his knowledge, praises for his immense capability that was stinging like a thorn in the eyes of his contemporaries.
During one of his training sessions he put twelve arrows in the mouth of a dog to stop it from barking which was creating distraction for him during those practice sessions. He dealt it with such a precision that not a single drop of blood came out of that dog’s mouth. In the science of archery, this was a perfect example of ‘stopping a living being from having a preoccupation with empty talk’. In the entire universe at that time, there were a lot of people who had the ability to perform such a feat, but only Eklavya’s ability far out shone that of others. In fact it was such an impossible feat that no ordinary human with all the knowledge of archery could achieve it. This is based, as we shall see, on the subsequent testimony of Dronacharya himself, as he witnessed Eklavya’s remarkable feat, which lead him to believe that such a person was no ordinary person.
News reached the royal palace and curiosity among the Pandava princes took center stage. “Who is this person who is a master of archery?”, “Who is this near perfect archer?” These were the sort of questions that were coming in their mind. Led by their Guru Dronacharya, the Pandava princes reached the forest where Eklavya was residing and practicing archery. To their surprise they found an ordinary ‘Bhil’ (low caste) boy was practicing with a very ordinary wooden bow. In front of him was a bunch of arrows and barking dog’s mouth full of arrows bore testimony of his finesse in the art of archery. Dronacharya could not believe his own eyes. This could not have been some kind of deceptive magic as that deception in the boy’s capabilities could be instantly recognized by him. Perhaps it could be his own guru, the great Parashurāma himself, or some divine person/Devata in the garb of human being. But deep in his heart Dronacharya knew that he could instantly recognize his own guru, the great Parashurāma. That was not a possibility. The option of this boy being a divine person could easily be ruled out because Dronacharya knew the caliber of all the contemporary divine gurus, as he himself was one of the masters of divine weaponry. So the question remained: “Who is this boy?”
He asked “Who is your Guru? (Nasataṁ Pratijagrāha Naiṣādiriti Chintayan…..Shiṣhyaṁ Dhānuṣadhārmajña)”. “Who is it that has made you such a versatile person in archery?” To this Eklavya replied, “I am your disciple, Gurudev, and you are my adorable lord”. Bowing his head in great adulation, he pointed towards the nearby stone statue of Dronacharya. Finding his Guru in front of him made Eklavya ecstatic and he could not help the feeling of being at the feet of Rudra (Lord Shiva) himself. What could be a greater luck or honor for him to have impressed his Guru with his knowledge. For him he had accomplished the ‘honor of a disciple’ in the eyes of the world. He had indeed proved worthy of being the disciple of the great Guru. His mind was crisscrossed with a lot of these thoughts while paying obeisance to Dronacharya.
As opposed to this, Dronacharya was thinking that for Arjuna to reach such a finesse and an advanced level in the art of archery would take time and a lot of practice. But this ‘Bhil’ (low caste) boy had achieved such a rare feat that Dronacharya was amazed to a point that it became a wakeup call for him. His efforts were directed in making Arjuna the ‘Greatest Warrior (Archer)’ but the way this ‘Bhil’ boy was handling the bow, let alone shooting the arrows with such precision, bore testimony to the fact that he was miles ahead of his ‘chosen one’ disciple. He had indeed poured water on all his efforts in making Arjuna the master Archer. “Tamabravīt Tvayāṅguṣṭhō Dakṣiṇō Dīyatāmiti (I want my Dakshina)”. With these insulting words Dronacharya addressed Eklavya, shrewdness in his words being quite perceptible. It is true that he had learned the art of archery by installing the statue of Dronacharya in front of him, but there is no doubt he had a natural, inborn talent which propelled him to such heights that he could achieve such superlative finesse in archery with a simple bow. A master archer would require a whole set of sophisticated weaponry to accomplish this feat. For the Kuru princes, apart from their extraordinary archery facilities, there was a constant roving presence of the master teacher, Dronacharya. It was amply clear that the entire pride of son of Pāṇḍū, Arjuna being greatest archer, was going to go down in veritable drain of tears. Out of the corner of his eye Arjuna was looking suspiciously at Dronacharya as if asking him what happened to the promise Dronacharya had made that would ensure he, Arjuna, would be the greastest living archer in the Aryavrata (country). Here is a ‘jungle boy’ who is directly challenging that stand. Furious with jealousy and anger Arjuna appeared as though he would be consumed in those flames and Dronacharya very well knew his future lay waste as a result of this jealousy. Nobody would take his word, the word of divine Guru, as unshakable truth.
But then the world favors the strong. Or so the saying goes. The weak and coward get obliterated just as a strong draft of air extinguishes a flickering flame of a candle. What can a small ‘Bhil’ jungle boy do in presence of people with illustrious lineage, eminent caste, well respected royalty? His claim to fame was in jeopardy as soon as the Kuru princes took notice of his extraordinary talent. It was quite clear that Eklavya had no right to be extraordinary even though truth suggested otherwise. If one compares Eklavya as that candle then Dronacharya’s subsequent actions were like the strong draft of air (in fact Dronacharya ensured continuation of the tradition of his own guru, great Parashurāma) which blew hard enough to extinguish the flame. It seemed as though the deity of the jungle, Vanadevi, cried out in despair. In the heavens, Lord Shiva, also let out a drop of tear seeing such great injustice, such great wrongdoing. At the spur of that moment, the lord forebode the demise of ‘House of Kurus’ in the near future. History bears testament to the fact that the entire royal lineages, dynasties and entire nations have been wiped out when righteous and capable people have been sidestepped by a few favored persons.
Jyōtiṣhaśāṣtra is witness to the fact that the natives born in the constellation of ‘Uttarafalguni’ have always succeeded in fulfilling their wishes with their ‘feminine’ stubbornness. Arjuna, who himself was born in the constellation of ‘Uttarafalguni’, has proved this over once again. The jist is that with one’s ego and stubbornness, a person can retain the tag of ‘Greatest Warrior (Archer)’.
“Give me your thumb of your right hand as Guru Dakshina”. This statement has forever remained as a blemish on Dronacharya’s character. He was bound by his own pledge that he would only teach princes of Kuru lineage. He had once broken a pledge to King Dhrupada. As a result of that he had to feed his own son, Ashwatthama, soup of rice flour labelling it as milk. The mere thought of breaking another pledge would send shiver down his spine. He knew he could not displease Bheeshma at any cost. Destiny was literally sealed for Eklavya at that moment. He had to be pushed back and brought down. The dakshina of right thumb would ensure this. “Tamabravīt Tvayāṅguṣṭhō Dakṣiṇō Dīyatāmiti (I want the thumb of your right hand as my Dakshina, i.e charity)”. It was impossible to comply with such charity without the thought of the consequence gleaming in one’s eyes. Eklavya’s future was pegged on it. But it is said that Eklavya acted without a hitch, which was even faster than what the master philanthropist, Daanveer Karna, achieved when he donated his Kavachha and Kundalas to Devraja Indra. Within minutes the thumb of right hand was at the feet of Dronacharya. A feat that needed a new definition here because there is no other glaring example in the history of mankind at the speed of its compliance. The entire universe cried at this injustice. Even Ashwatthama, who was old enough to understand the greatness of the act, felt ashamed in his heart. He knew his own father, Dronacharya, loved Arjuna more than he himself. That fact had not escaped anyone but that love had transcended to a new level. It made him cringe and detest Arjuna, as he himself was the son of the illustrious guru. He was well aware of the grueling process that ensured the making of the great warrior, that too without any help or without any suitable facility available in Eklavya’s case. There was no divine boon, only self-practice of the individual that had ensured Eklavya mastery at the art of archery. But when the time came to admit who was his guru, he with all his simplicity, put his entire talent and natural ability at the feet of his father, Dronacharya. This selfless act even surprised the gods and forever etched Eklavya’s name into annals of history. But then the world favors the strong every time. This, without a doubt, will be repeated in the future as well and people like Eklavya will find no value in this world for their inborn talents. The weak will always be brought down. It has happened now and will keep happening in the future as well.
History only remembers the winners. There is only a scant mention of Eklavya in other works. Legend has it, that one day Arjuna and couple of his friends surreptitiously went to the forest where he saw Eklavya practicing the art of archery with only four fingers of his hand. Like a kid who is learning to use the bow for the first time, the arrows which shot out of his bow dropped only a few yards in front of him. Arjuna smirked and felt very satisfied with what he saw and returned to the palace subsequently. Indeed, what he saw that day were the tears in the eyes of Eklavya, but what he unable to see was the yearning to excel in adverse of the circumstances.
Eklavya does get mentioned in Vishnu Purana and Harivansh Purana. He is supposed to the king of Nishad lineage, the jungle people. He had supposedly led an attack on the Kingdom of Mathura, ruled by Jarasandha, and ensured complete rout of his Yadava army. During the course of the battle, when there was utter confusion in the battlefield, Lord Krishna himself was from Yadava lineage, saw that the part of the battlefield which was at the center of the rout had a ‘Great Warrior’ riding a chariot. But the person just had four fingers on his right hand. Such great was his finesse that even a divine being as Lord Krishna himself was dumbfounded. With his archery talent he was able to hold back his rivals generals and with each pull of the bow, numerous arrows would fly off to pierce their targets without fail. Lord Krishna could have easily mistake this person to be Kunti Putra, Arjuna, since he wielded his bow with such deftness. But four fingers probably gave up his identity and spelt doom for this person who eventually was killed in the battlefield by Lord Krishna himself. This gives the clearest proof that even though Eklavya donated his right thumb, he still attained his former mastery at the art of archery. It could be debated, subsequent to his thumb donation, he might not have attained the level of mastery in the art but the way he wiped out his rival Yadava generals in the battlefield leaves no room for his grip at the art of archery.
After the end of the great war of Mahabharata, all the great surviving people started to relate their valorous stories. It was then Lord Krishna revealed the truth to Arjuna. It was his love for him that ensured the tag of ‘Greatest Warrior’ forever was stuck to his name. With his divine powers he ensured the ultimate death of his guru, Dronacharya, weakened Karna and without Arjuna’s knowledge killed Eklavya. This is the ultimate tribute to this great warrior. Even today the ‘Bhil’ tribal people in Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh continue to fight for their right with bow and arrows.
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