Ekalavya - The star crossed

Ekalavya

Every Indian child has read the story of Ekalavya from the great epic of Mahabharata. The story is presented to children to illustrate the greatness of devotion towards ones teacher .Here we will try to look at the story from a different angle.

Chapter1
Ekalavya was holding his father’s hand to help him cross the stream on their way to the sports ground after tying up their horses. Guru Dronacharya had made special arrangements for them They felt really refreshed after a wash in the stream. Now they looked forward to a very entertaining day at the sports stadium where the famous Guru was scheduled to present a display of martial art skills by the students under his care. This display was specially meant for the royal family from Hastinapur as all the 100 Kaurava princes and the 5 pandavas were studying in his academy. As a chieftain of the tribal forces from the forests around Hastinapur , Ekalavya’s father had received a special invitation and now he was walking towards the main gates of the sports ground.A security guard spotted them and hurried to meet them halfway and conduct them to the allotted seats in the sports pavilion.
The pavilion was tastefully decorated with colourful drapes, flags and festoons. The royal box was full with the presence of the blind king Dhritarashtra ,his queen Gandhari , Kuntidevi , loyal Sanjay , wise Vidhur, and the ever vigilant grand old man of kuru Race Bheeshma, the son of king Shantanu of great fame.
It was winter morning .The ground was green and the mist was still rising in the glow of early morning sun. The birds flew across the blue sky and air was cool. People from all over the kingdom had gathered at the ground sitting all around the ground .They were eagerly waiting for the display to begin Every one had his own hero but most of them were keen to see Arjuna and the bulky Bheema whose reputation for great fighting skills were already wellknown far and wide.
Guru Drona made his appearance at the royal box to seek permission to start the proceedings and Bheeshma gave him the signal. Guru thanked him and rushed away to the center of the ground,He raised a flag and through the main gates, came 100 horsemen, all sons of the King Dritharashtra, led by he handsome and strong Lad Duryodhana, His broad shoulders and long arms were rippling with muscles. He was astride a strong white Arabian horse, holding aloft a long sword and striking a very impressive pose. They rode round the ground at great speed and thrilled the spectators in the ground with scintillating display of equestrian drills criss crossing each other at high speed with precise timing. Then they showed their skills in raising the pegs , from the ground at high speed. Guru Drona had arranged for a number of steel pegs to be driven in to the ground. Every peg had a silver ring attached to it, which was visible to the horsemen. They were expected to ride fast to the peg and with out stopping ,to scoop the peg out of the ground at the tip of their spears , . It was test of their eye hand co ordination , their balance on a speeding horse as they bent to scoop up the peg at the tip of spear and power of their fore arms to lift the peg clear off the ground all in one quick silver movement. The kaurava princes did this very correctly except the handsome vikarna who at the last moment picked up a crawling snake instead of steel peg. With a cry of triumph he threw the snake in the air and it was slashed to pieces by the flashing blades of the princes. The crowd said AH AAH and the princes rode away nonchalantly.
After the kaurava princes vacated the ground , young band of Pandavas appeared clad in white dress and riding white horses. The wise Yudhishtira was in the lead followed by his brothers. They went through a vigorous drill with their swords glinting in the early morning sun. The sword points went up , down and sideways in a flash as they demonstrated the offensive and defensive modes in sword fighting.
Yudhishtira well known more for his wisdom than muscular prowess demonstrated his throwing skills. Bheema thrilled everybody by taking on 5 fierce looking wrestlers at once and bundling them up in no time. The younger brothers Nakul and Sahadev demonstrated their skills in sword fighting.The crowd was eagerly waiting for Arjuna to show his skills.Drona had made special arrangements for Arjuna. Now Arjuna showed every one why he was regarded as the finest warrior in the country.A trained flying eagle was carrying a dangling target board which Arjuna could hit from different positions After showing off his shooting skills he drove his horse towards the pavilion and stopped to take the blessings of Bheeshma and other elders
Ekalavya was watching every move made by Arjuna like a hawk.He tried to match Arjun’s actions in his mind and wondered how he would fare if they had to confront each other. He also wanted to show of his skills but this was an exhibition specially for the royalty and a mere tribal boy had no place in the agenda.
Guru Drona , then made an announcement about an archery contest in the afternoon.He said that it was open to all and best bowman would match his skills with Arjuna. The winner would receive from the hands of queen Ghandhari a very handsome gift.This announcement was greeted by the people with loud shouts of joy and clapping of hands. Ekalavya too heard the announcement and jumped out of his seat all excited. He grabbed the hands of his father and pleaded with him “father, let me also participate please. Here is a chance to show that Arjun, what I can do.”His father smiled at him and patted his back in encouraging manner and said “calm down youngman, Let me talk to the Acharya”
Together they walked upto where the Acharya was standing, the Acharya greeted Ekalavya’s father making pleasant enquiry.. Ekalavya promptly touched his feet ,seeking his blessings, an action which pleased the Acharya immensely. He heartily blessed the young man .When Ekalavya expressed his desire to participate in the tournament, the Acharya said “why not, it is open for all. We want to see how the princes react when they face stiff competition. You must pit your talent against the best. Do come and participate. My best wishes to you.”
Thus encouraged Ekalavya, rushed outside to get his equipment required for the contest. It was tied to the back of horses tied to the trees near his tent outside the sporting grounds. He took his horse to a secluded spot in a nearby forest area and inspected his equipment. He had three sets of bows and an assortment of arrows of different length . The bow strings were slack. He rubbed the bows with care and tightened the strings. He picked up one bow and tightened the string.He pulled the string to test the tautness and there was a sound of a clap of thunder when he let go the string. The sound disturbed the birds in the trees and they flew away terrified. Ekalavya laughed softly and said to himself,”Arjuna beware, here comes Ekalavya!” He kissed the bows one by one and packed them all together.He was now ready for Arjuna
At the sporting grounds , there was lot of excitement.among the as they began betting on their heroes. The contestants were also eager. The Acharyas Drona and kripa were giving instruction on how the contest was to be conducted.
The first part of contest involved testing of shooting skills over different distances , with targets kept at different heights.Shooting to be done from sitting and standing stances to be followed by shooting from horse back and from moving chariots.
Then came the test of shooting at moving targets. So far the targets were singular , asset of concentric rings painted on a black board. The Acharya also had arranged for shooting at multiple targets as the last test .The contestants were graded as per hits scored
The tournament started with nearly 150 participants, including many kaurava princes and three Pandavas including the great Arjuna. systematically many were eliminated. Ekalavya impressed every one with his shooting skills. The participants were divided into 4 groups and to the satisfaction of Ekalavya , he and Arjuna were in different groups. This gave Ekalavya time to observe how Arjuna performed. Quickly both Arjuna and Ekalavya emerged as leaders in their groups.
There was a pause when the Acharyas wanted to set up the multiple target shooting exercise. During this recess Arjuna and Ekalavya were together.Arjuna was very surprised that this dark skinned tribal boy had progressed so far in the tournament. The accuracy of this boy’s shooting. Impressed Arjuna very muchand he had a desire to look at the boy’s equipment. He noted that Ekalavya was shy by nature. Arjuna was very friendly and put Ekalavya at ease by talking pleasantly. slowly Ekalavya began to respond and soon found himself talking excitedly with Arjuna.When Arjuna expressed a desire to look at his equipment, Ekalavya obliged immediately.
Arjuna looked at the spread of three bows and a hundred arrows of different lengths and finish. They were meticulously hand crafted. There was no extra material in the form of gold embellishment at the bow grip or at the tips.
He lifted one bow to test it for weight and balance. He felt the smooth grains of the wood that can come only after great deal of rubbing and oiling. The hand holds were beautifully carved and finished. It was so easy to hold. He had learned dhanur vidhya from a great master called Drona .so he could easily recognize the excellance of EKALAVYA ‘s equipment.
Then he looked at the arrows. The arrows were beautifully balanced, The arrow points were finely honed steel blades The feathers at the end were not decorations but real high flying eagle feathers. They added weight and stability in flight. All along the length of arrows he found a spiral engraved. This made the arrow spin while maintaining direction.Arjuna had noted that during long shots, Ekalavya’s arrows seemed to have a different type of swishing sound that was not found anywhere else.. Arjuna felt that the secret behind extra ordinary accuracy of Ekalavya’s long shots was the arrow design. Slowly a sense of respect began to grow in Arjuna towards Ekalavya and his skill. This respect became a friendship in the given context.
Ekalavya was watching the play of emotions in the face of arjuna as he went about his assessment of the equipment. He knew that Arjuna liked what he saw. Ekalavya said in a light vain, ”nothing flashy in this, all functional and good”Arjuna nodded and said “They are very good. They belong to a great bowman .Today the whole world will know about it. you watch out Ekalavya. It will be very hard to beat you but I will not give up so easily. All the same , I WISH YOU SUCCESS.” then Arjuna did some thing which Ekalavya never expected of Arjuna. He grabbed Ekalavya by hand and hugged him to his bosom in a very warm and affectionate manner. Ekalavya’s heart simply melted as he had never experienced such emotions before.
Their talks had to stop as the acharya called them to the centre to receive instructions on the mutiple target shooting skills test. The contestants were listening carefully. Drona had placed six shooters at different distances in a line. When the Acharya gave a signal all the six shooters began to shoot outcoloured discs up in air. The contestants were to shoot the flying discs down before they came down to ground . It demanded great deal of skill and consideration of weights of discs , wind speed and heights from where they were dropping. It was not at all a straight forward shooting .One had to choose a right weight of bow and matching arrows when every thing was ready Drona called up Ekalavya to take the first shot. Ekalavya acknowledged the call and began to gather his equipment. He thought fast. He will choose a heavy bow for stable hold and short arrows as distances were short. He decided on his stance and sequence of shooting. Drona was in a hurry and called out to Ekalavya to take his position. His tone was harsh. Ekalavya did not see any reason for haste unless the Acharya was trying to pressurize him, He took his time to settle and waited for the signal. suddenly the six shooters were shooting and the targets were up in air. Ekalavya found the bow was too heavy and his selection was wrong and he decided on snap shooting from a kneeling stance holding the bow horizontally... One after another he shot six arrows as fast as he could and with a sinking feeling that he was too slow. But what the people saw was six arrows emerging almost at once and crashing into the six spinning discs.Five arrows carried the discs with them Sixth was grazed,,with the arrow going clean,,There was a thunderous applause from the crowd and Arjuna shouted Bravo , young lad.
The attendants ran to the spot where the arrows had dropped to pick up the discs and examine them for hits. They rushed the discs with arrows still stuck , to the Acharya. Ekalavya also ran towards the Acharya to see for himself and so did Arjuna. Acharya’s eyes widened at what he saw, five clean hits and one graze. He called out “five hits and one miss” to the official scorer. Ekalavya tried to protest by pointing out at the sixth disc.It was not a total miss. Acharya would not look at it. He said sternly “It is a miss ,boy. Never the less, it was fantastic shooting . Most people would not have done any thing more than three”He patted Ekalavya on the back and asked to make way for Partha
Arjuna took his position and signaled his readiness. The Acharya ran towards him to examine the bow. He said “change over to a lighter bow and take a kneeling stance.” When Arjuna said he was comfortable with what he had, the Acharya insisted that he changed the bow. Reluctantly he changed his bow and the stance. He concentrated hard and Acharya gave him enough time to settle down. When he felt sure that Arjuna got it all right he signaled. The targets were up in air and Arjuna brought them down one by one by cracking every disc into two. The Acharya shouted triumphantly” six clean hits” and ran forward to embrace the prince. “That was fabulous shooting Partha, today you saved my honour” said the Acharya. Arjuna was watching Ekalavya from a corner of his eyes and saw him clapping his hands mechanically but looking at the Acharya with a trace of suspicion. Deliberately Arjuna freed himself from Acharya’s hold and ran towards Ekalavya. He held his hand and said” the Acharya was unfair today. I am sorry. You are the real winner ,even if the Acharya declares differently. You must bear with me.” Ekalavya could not believe what he heard.He grabbed Arjuna by his shoulder and said with lot of emotion”It does not matter. Anytime, anywhere six hits beat five and a miss fair and square. But to me , you have proved what a great warrior you are, by apologizing for your teacher’s conduct. That calls for lot of inner strength. Please accept my hearty compliments.” Arjuna shook his head. There was a hint of a tear in his eyes which he really did not want to hide. “Not in front of Ekalavya ,no , no” he said to himself and broke away from Ekalavya to rush towards Bheeshma.
Bheeshma was very happy with Arjuna’s display.They exchanged some words between them and then looked towards Ekalavya and waved to him to come to them.Ekalavya had never met the famous guardian patriarch of kuru House , so ran like an eager child towards him.Bheeshma received him with a warm affection which Ekalavya had never experienced before. He fell at the great oldman’s feet. Bheeshma helped him to his feet and blessed him by holding him very close to his chest. He said” Partha here, has said some very good things about you. I also saw how well you have developed your skills. I know your father very well.I am sure he has taught you very well all that he knows. You have made him a proud father today.” Then he looked around and spotted Ekalavya’s father standing at a distance and watching them. He called out to him cheerfully and when he was near he said ‘Nishadha Raja,did you see what your son did today. Great shooting. Iam very happy to see your son perform so well today. He will receive the award from the queens hands .It is my decision , recognize talent of this caliber in archery. Your son is making you very proud.” NishadaRaja had tears of joy and gratitude and said in all humility”You are the protector and guardian angel for all of us. Whatever you say makes me happy. If Kuntidevi also blesses my child I will feel really honoured.”
In the meanwhile Drona and Kripa joined them, to inform him about the final results. Bheeshma did not give him any chance by saying in a pre emptive manner that he has decided that honours for the day should go to Ekalavya. Drona did not make any objection .He put his hand on Ekalavya’s head and said “He surprised me with his skills, absolutely superb snap shooting, absolutely superb.”
Ekalavya looked at Arjuna with new respect and a new bond of friendship started gaining strength from that moment. Ekalavya swore to himself that if there was an occasion to protect Arjuna he would not mind giving his life also .
Ghandhari and Kuntidevi were extremely affectionate to the tribal boy who had never experienced such adulation from the royalty before.The wise vidhur suggested to Nishada Raja that for over all development of Ekalavya , he should be sent to some good guru.When Nishadha raja enquired if any guru would take a tribal boy as a student , nobody replied

Chapter3

Back at their home in the forests Ekalavya and his father opened the elaborately decorated and silk wrapped container, that was given as award by queen Ghandhari at the sports ground.On opening , they were thrilled to find there in , a string of pearls, a head gear with silk,, a long sword with a beautifully carved scabbard, a small shining cutting knife, a set of clothes and some gold coins. Both father and son simply sat looking at those fabulous gifts for sometime. then , Ekalavya lifted the long sword out of the container , with his two hands and offered it to his father, who was delighted. He said gracefully “ no, son, you won the sword, so only you must keep it.”In the box , he found the straps that could be used to tie the scabbard to the torso, so that the sword will hang properly on his left hand side. Ekalavya knelt in front of his father striking an impressive pose ,holding the sword with both hands and offering it to his father, who with great dignity becoming a tribal chief , took it in his right hand holding the sword handle.The finely carved handle felt smooth in his hand.The sword was made of shining steel,with a slight curve.The cutting edge was sharp.Nishada raja came from a long line of tribal chieftains and the contact with a grand sword seemed to bring about a transformation in his personality.He held it aloft and uttered his tribes famous war cry and slashed the air with a swing of his sword.There was whisper of swishing sound.He exclaimed “ son , this is not an ordinary sword.Only warriors with mighty arms and pure heart can wield this divine sword meant for sacred wars.”
Ekalavya was speech less.He nodded his head and turned his attention to the short cutting knife.It was a work of exquisite craftsmanship.he tested the point for sharpness by pressing it with his right hand thumb and drew blood immediately.He shouted “ my god, it is sharp”He quickly cleaned the knife and put it back in its leather cover.
Father and son remained silent for some time reliving that moment of honour. Their chests rose up in pride.Nishadaraja recalled the words of Vidhur and Bheeshma and their suggestion that Ekalavya must spend some time in some ashram of a good teacher to learn the martial arts properly.Ekalavya prodded his father.”Father , can you please ask Guru Drona to take me in as his student. I will do anything for him if only he agrees to teach me. He treated me very kindly today even though he could not help being partial towards Arjuna.If you ask him nicely he will surely agree.Please father , let us go Hastinapur again and try meeting with Dronacharya.
Nishada Raja knew better. He knew no body would want to teach a tribal boy sacred secrets of martial arts.But he did not want to spoil the day for Ekalavya by telling him harsh realities of this cruel world.With a wry smile he said to himself ‘he will find out soon enough’.Out wardly he promised his son,that he would speak to the revered Guru soon.
Then came the day when the father told the son ,” today we will visit GURU DRONA”
Waking up fairly early , they dressed for the occasion and mounted their horses well prepared for the long journey to DRONA’S ashram.Ekalavy carried the container received from the queen to show the Acharya what he had received.When they reached the ashram it was afternoon and , they were told that the Acharya had retired for his lunch ,assigning various duties to his students. Arjun was also there and on seeing Ekalvya he dropped whatever he was doing and came running to greet his friend and his father.He offered to run upto Acharya’s house to inform about their arrival

Acharya had already noticed them He looked at Arjun and Ekalavya standing to gether , hand in hand, obviously very friendly. The acharya had a very uneasy feeling seeing them together. For Him Arjun was something special and he did not want to encourage a relationship that was not approved by princely protocol. He however did not voice his objection and treated them with utmost courtesy and making enquiries about their comfort and inviting them to refresh themselves and join them for lunch
After food and some rest they all met again. Nishadaraja thanked the Acharya for his splendid hospitality and said “ Ekalavya wanted to show the Acharya the gifts he had received from the queen. There is a great battle sword in that package. It would be a great honour , if the Acharya would personally handover the sword to the boy.and bless him.The Acharya liked to hear such requests and always was ready to oblige. He stood up and received the sword with great dignity and called Ekalavya to come and receive it from his hands. It was a very poignant ceremony. Ekalavya fell at the teacher’s feet and squatted on his heels and slowly rose on his knees. With his arms spread in front, ready to receive the sword.The Acharya delicately placed the sword on the two outstretched hands, with sword handle correctly on the right side of Ekalavya. He bowed his head and received the sword .Then he slowly got up to his feet.He held the sword upright and took an oath which pleased the Acharya immensely,’sir .the sword that you have given me shall be used only for the protection of the weak, safeguarding our king and all that is right and proper” Acharya kissed the young boy in his head and said “ may the gods help you to grow from strength to strength”. Then the acharya called his son Aswattama to take Ekalavya out to meet other students. The young boy eagerly went out feeling quite at home in that ashram.

Left to themselves the elders had other points for discussion. They talked about certain administrative problems relating to the forests under his charge and difficulties he had dealing with the poachers. He also said that the wild animals had grown in number and before they became menace to nearby townships , some sort of organized culling must be taken up. The matter was resting with Vidhur and Nishdaraj was not getting to meet with him. The Acharya offered to discuss the matter with Vidhur. Then the conversation veered around to Ekalavya. Nishadhrja said “you may recall that during the award ceremony many of the elders had suggested advanced training to be made available to Ekalavya under some Guru. I can not think of a guru better than Dron.what would you say to my request to take Ekalavy under your care?”
The Acharya considered the question seriously and after some thinking he said ”it is very true that Ekalavya can benefit great deal by spending some time with learned teacher. I believe , as a father , you have taught all that you know very well. I will find out something suitable for him.About my taking him under my wing presently, I am afraid the answer is no.My ashram is already over crowded with all the kaurava princes spending their time here.Iam really running out of schedule and I can not take any more just now. You must look elsewhere.”
Even though the Acharya made above statement very politely, to Nishadraja it sounded like a prepared speech. He knew exactly why the Acharya did not want to take up EKLAVYA. He did not want a tribal boy to rub shoulders with royalty.Slowly Nishadraja found dislike for the Brahmin teacher.He wanted to get out of that ashram immediately.
The Acharya continued “ Nishada , you must realize one important thing. There are certain aspects of life that are beyond your comprehension. This land is going to see some very unpleasant developments and hitherto unseen rivalry and enmities and hatred.This is going to turn the world as we know into very different place with altogether new value systems. Forces of evil will don the masks of righteousness and challenge all that is right. The princes have to be prepared to face and perform in that sort of world. It is my duty to prepare the princes especially Arjun and his brothers for special roles.Ekalavya will be a distraction that I can not afford or allow. He will be better off elsewhere. Please try to understand. These are the words of a pious Brahmin torn between conflicting loyalties and obligations. Keep Ekalavya away from me.Nishadaraja was shocked to hear such an outburst of emotion from the Acharya.He got up and looked out of the window. In the distance he could see his son and Arjun sitting together and admiring he shining sword.He felt sorry for the two friends. They were blissfully ignorant of terrible future their Acharya was talking about. How can they continue with their innocent friendship founded on mutual admiration of one anothers skill and not on basis of birth or environment. Here was an Acharya all set to destroy their fragile bonds of friendship.
Nishadharaja walked out with dignity, with out uttering any word and holding his head high. He had sensed the animosity in the heart of the Brahmin towards his young son and wanted to get as far away as possible. He has to protect his son just as the Achrya was protecting Arjun He signaled to his son that it was time for them to leave. Arjun and Ekalavya came together. Arjun greeted Nishadha raja warmly and requested him to bring Ekalavya to the ashram as frequently as possible..Nishadha smiled at him and thanked for being so kind to his son. The two friends hugged each other before parting.
They rode for some time in total silence, Ekalavya recalling the talks he had with Arjun and others while the father was trying to understand the meaning of the Acharya’s out burst and his own uneasy feeling of threat to his son. Suddenly his thoughts were disturbed by the question posed by his son. First time the question came, the father seemed not to hear but when the son almost shouted in his ear , he could not ignore. The son asked “father , what did Drona say. Did he agree to take me in.”Father took a long time to reply then he said , “ no , he can not take you presently. He already has more than what he can handle.” The boy’s face fell and rest of the travel was done in total silence.
They reached their abode late in the night and neither of them spoke that night as they hit their beds in their own rooms. The boy had made up his mind. He had already mentally registered Drona as his guru and he could not accept any one else in his place as his mentor. He resolved that it should not matter if he was not allowed to join the ashram, he would still find a way to learn from the acharya. From now onwards he will watch his master in action secretly, and learn from his observation of acharya’s actions seen from a distance.. He decided to put up a life size image of his teacher , outside his house and practice in front of his teacher’s image.
From that day onwards he began to go to the vicinity of the ashram and with out attracting any of inmate’s attention , he began to observe his acharya’s action from a distance and cover of leaves of trees.Every feature of his teacher was firmly implanted in his mind. Then he began making a clay image of his teacher. Slowly , over next few days of sustained labour he succeeded in making life size image of his teacher. He made the clay image strong by putting in the fire and then painted it using vegetable colours obtained from crushed fruits and raw vegetables.When he was satisfied that the image was right for his purpose he placed it on high pedestal. He thought the image was very lively giving the impression that from his pedestal the Guru was watching him.
From then onwards he set for himself a punishing schedule of work outs, with his bow , sword and knife. every day started with ritual of worship and ended again in a thanks giving ritual. He honed his skills in the forests confronting wild animals and killing them. Soon he realized that he was becoming physically very strong and mentally very alert. He thought it was all because of his guru’s blessings.

CHAPTER4

One day the five Pandavs along with their Acharya entered the forests to indulge in some big game hunting. It was supposed to be part of their training , to expose the young princes to real life situation existing in the forests ,to feel for themselves the thrill of hunting down animals and experience risks and hazards involved in confronting wild animals in their own domain. The youngsters liked the idea and came prepared for an enjoyable outing away from the closed environs of the ashram. Drona explained to them all that was required, how to move with out raising too much noise, what is down wind and upwind, how animals sense presence of outsiders, how to stalk animals , how to shoot at small animals and how to tackle big animals. He had very willing listeners. He made sure that every one carried bugle or a conch so that incase of any problem they can raise an alarm. He instructed Yudhishtira to bring them back to the ashram before sundown. He said he was going to leave them alone for the first time with out their body guards as he was returning to the ashram. Ekalavya heard all this from his position unseen by any of the visitors. After the departure of their teacher, the brothers decided to strike independently making their own trail and to return to the starting point once they were through with their hunting.

They all split up and took different direction. Ekalavya waited till he knew which direction Arjun was heading. Then he emerged from his hide out and , he began to stalk . First he followed Bheema who was not very particular about maintaining silence,. He thrashed about scaring the daylights out of small animals who ran helter skelter before falling as easy targets for his brothers Bheema enjoyed himself immensely confronting big games and testing his brute force. Ekalavya lost interest in Bheema as there was nothing subtle about his approach. He quickly changed to follow Nakula who was showing good skills as a sophisticated hunter displaying alertness and patience required to lure the targets out in the open before shooting them down. After a few hits Nakul found a strange thing happening to him. Every time he aimed at a target and shot , the animals used to drop even before the arrow reached them . He looked around him and found no one around him. He examined the fallen animal and studied the arrow.It was not the kind used by any of his brothers. He realized that somebody more skillful than him was stalking him. He decided to be careful about exposing himself, but he was determined to nail him. Ekalavya was enjoying himself for sometime.
Then he turned his attention to where Arjuna was heading. Arjun was expertly stalking a big cat. The cat was playing his own game leading arjuna deeper and deeper into the bush. Ekalvya followed Arjun keeping him and the big cat in his sight. Arjuna shot couple of arrows to force the cat to take particular direction where he thought he could nail it with single shot from upfront. This was a dangerous thing to do but the thrill was more. Ekalavya still not showing himself , was admiring Arjun for displaying enormous courage. Then he saw another movement and froze. While Arjuna was concentrating on stalking something that was in front of him , another Animal was stalking him. It was big sized fierce looking tiger.Ekalavya decided to pay attention to this new menace to ARJUN’S safety. Ekalavya raced through the bushes to get ahead of the tiger, keeping his bow ready . Once he was sure that he could watch its movement , he relaxed a little. There was gap of nearly 30 meters between the tiger and Arjuna , while Arjun was closing in on his prey. The cat was finding that he was nicely boxed in between the rocks with no more to space to move.So he turned suddenly around deciding to take on Arjun . Arjun expected this and was very wary and was not going to offer himself as meal for this hungry cat. He chose his time well to dart outside but his timing was very wrong as the cat also decided to take a running leap on ARJUN . For a moment ,they were face to face , the cat in full flight springing up and Arjun crouching to find right angle for clear shot. He did not have much chance as the gap between them was closing down very fast. Arjuna let loose two arrows one was deflected by the cat’s paw while other went straight to the heart. The stricken animal let out a terrible roar and landed pretty close to where Arjuna was crouching.. Arjuna stayed calm , found that there was no space to try another arrow, dropped his bow and took out from his waist a dagger. The cat thrashed about trying to reach ARJUNA who was ready to stab the cat if it made any move to reach him. He could see that his arrow had gone through the heart and animal was dying . His roars became feeble as every effort to move made him weaker and he put his head down and died with his eyes still staring at Arjuna.. Arjuna cried out in triumph and heard Ekalvya ‘s high pitched voice alerting him to a new danger as he heard the warning cry “look out Arjun”.He turned around only to see a huge tiger jumping in his direction He saw Ekalavya from the side shooting arrows at the tiger. The arrows caught the tiger below the jaw and as he was shooting from the ground , the arrows were pointing up. Through the jaws the arrows went piercing through the wide open mouth and reaching the roof of the mouth effectively closing its mouth.. The tiger was in full leap and his growl was subdued due to arrows sealing his mouth” Arjuna rolled on the ground hoping that the stricken animal would not land on him. Ekalavya had not stopped shooting .He still had two arrows crashing into the tigers side, killing him..It was a dead tiger that landed close to Arjuna who was badly winded in his desperate dive to safety and rolling over. Ekalavya raced towards Arjuna , jumping over bush and the dead body of tiger and asked anxiously if he was alright. He saw that the tiger had three arrows in the side and was lying dead with one hand over ARJUNA. He reached out to Arjun extending his hand and helping him to his feet. He saw Arjun was grinning at him and saying “ man , am I glad to see you” .He hugged Ekalavya , who was telling “Thank God you are okay” In jest ARJUN replied “ do not thank the god , he was too busy sending big cats to hunt me down. Thank Ekalavya and his great shooting skills” Just then they heard the booming voice of Nakula , who was exclaiming in real wonder “ Brother , I thought you were a goner, really , till this hero here started SHOOTING. That tiger had no chance. Where the hell did you learn to shoot like that ? He asked in genuine admiration. In the mean while the other brothers also converged. Bheema lifted Ekalavya on his shoulders and made a war dance around the dead body of the tiger, while others clapped hands.. Yudhishtira embraced Ekalavya in genuine gratitude for saving Arjuna from sure death. Arjun put an arm around Eklavya and said “ as matter of fact I was in no danger , you know. I was ready for him with this dagger. You came and spoiled all the fun , you spoil sport!” He showed off his small dagger, Bheema grabbed the dagger from his hand showed it to others,saying “ Partha is great joker. He would have waved this toy in front of this cat and it would have dropped dead. Man, show your gratitude to my hero or else I will have to teach you some manners. Bheema hugged his younger brother and every one had a hearty laugh . There was happiness in that laughter. . There was gratitude in the way they played it down .They knew Ekalavya had saved the day for all of them. Ekalavya enjoyed all the attention and got busy skinning the cat and cleaning it. When it was ready he presented the shining skin to Bheema who was ecstatic. The tiger’s skin around his waist made him look more menacing. They started up a fire for roasting the red meat . They had a glorious time till it was time to go home.

Drona very much worried over the delay in their return and sounded his alarm by blowing on his conch. The brothers heard the call and decided to break the party. One by one they shook hands with Ekalavya .He asked them , not to mention to the ACHARYA about meeting him and what happened. They were surprised by his request. EKALAVYA said , ‘please do not mention my name. The acharya believes it is not proper for tribals to strike friendship with the princes.’ They said in unison , to hell with Achrya. Yudhishtira assured Ekalavya that they will not mention about him . One by one they left, with Arjun being the last. In fact he did not want to leave the hand of his glorious friend who appeared from no where as his saviour. He kept recalling those tense moments and savouring that special feeling of relief and gratitude to be alive .He recalled those fleeting images of rapid fire shooting that had felled the great tiger. He asked in genuine wonder”Tell me Ekalavya , where did you learn to shoot like that. I would like to switch over to your teacher. I am sure I can also learn few things.” Ekalavya was silent. He really did not want to reveal the name of his teacher. Arjun could not understand his friend’s hesitation in mentioning the name of his teacher . Impatiently he asked” is it such great secret , that you do not want to inform your friend the identity of your teacher. Am I not a worthy friend?”
‘No , No nothing like that at all. Please do not speak so lightly about what your friendship means to me.You are the touchstone of worthiness. You recognized and honoured my skills and made me a friend. Yes , for some more time , I would like to keep the identity of my teacher secret. I have valid reason for keeping it so , as I know that knowing his identity will affect many things . so please leave that question alone’
Then Arjun said some thing which the tribal boy could not comprehend Arjuna said “ they say water cleanses externally while heart is purified by the truth. Why are you making it big mystery . all I want to do is to enhance my skills also to your level”. There was hurt in his voice. It pained Ekalavya to see the great prince feeling so down and out. would Arjuna believe him if he said , he had no teacher at all and that all he knew was self taught. Arjuna and his kind believed that excellance of all forms come only to those who train under a guru. He mentioned softly to Arjuna “ friend , it would be true , if I say that all that you saw was all self taught. It would also be true if I say that you and I worship the same guru” Arjun heard Ekalavya with out any reaction. He hugged Ekalvya and thanked him Then he rushed away to join his brothers who had already covered great distance. He never turned back to wave. EKALAVYA was hoping he would turn back. He had a lump in his throat. That moment he knew he lost his friend.
Ekalavya was saddened. His mind was asking mutiple questions. Has he sowed in the innocent mind of ARJUN doubts about his teacher .Would Arjuna go back to ashram and accuse the acharya of differential treatment. Would that be proper. Especially when the Acharya was totally ignorant of the fact that only ekalavya had manasically adapted Drona as a teacher while the blessed teacher had no idea of that. Would the sacred bond between student Arjuna and teacher Drona be affected on account of what ekalavya had revealed. Ekalavya cursed himself for starting something that would consume some one dear.
That night Ekalavya sat in front of his teachers’s clay image and prayed very hard for proper understanding of the relationship he had cutivated and sanctified.His innocent tribal mind could not distinguish between safe guarding a friendship and a teacher student relationship. He got the feeling that he had sacrificed one at the altar of other. He cried like confused child, not knowing what exactly he had to protect.

Chapter5

The five brothers reached Drona and talked enthusiastically bout their hunting expedition and thrills enjoyed by them in confronting wild animals in their own domain The Acharya was relieved to see all of them return safe.He noticed tht Arjun was unusually silent. Normally he would be the first telling about how he enjoyed any sporting event.The Acharya also cought him looking at him with blank eyes.It disturbed Achrya somehow.He told all of them except yudishtira , to go bAck to their quarters And rest for the night.
Left alone he enquired with Yudhishtir what exactly happened to Arjuna . Yudhishtira thought for sometime before replying. He remembered the request by EKALAVYA about not mentioning his name to the Acharya and about their meeting with him.Yudhishtira admired how perceptive EKALAVYA was about Acharya . Yudhishtira decided to stick to the trut with out revealing Ekalavya’s name. He said’ We all believe Arjun is fearless.Like all normal human beings he also gets rattled now and then He hides his fears well.Today in the forest he was attacked by a tiger.Fortunately a passing tribal boy who was also hunting in that vicinity killed the tiger and saved ARJUN. Ithink Arjun is going through what you normally call after shock. He will be alrigt after night’s rest. Iwill take care of him”The Acharrya had anumberv of questions to ask but he decided to let the matter rest for the present. He was so relieved that nothing serious happened to Arjun.These children were his responsibility. If anything had gone wrong he would have tough time explaining to Bheeshma and the wise Vidhur.. He walked upto Arjun’s quarters and talked to him The boy was in no mood to talk.At the end , the Acharya said “ you look very tired. Go to bed early and sleep well we will tlk again tomorrow.

Next morning the Acharya got up earlier than usual and walked upto the river for his morning ablutions. On the way he saw Arjun swinging an axe to break logs for firewood. He was swinging like man possessed. up and down swung the axe and logs cracked under savage impact. The Acharya wondered why Arjun was so angry , on whom was he so angry. He had a mind to stop and enquire . But he let it go thinking it would be after he returned from the river
Later in the day he gathered all the students together to discuss a new topic on ethics of labour. He thought his boys would show some interest.He was tossing for discussion many gems of wisdom but nobody seemed to care.He said to start with, “ shrink not from any work saying ‘it is not possible ‘for labour will give strength to achieve anything and every thing.” Nobody seemed to show any interest . He tried differently “industry is mother of prosperity but indolence brings forth penury and destitution.” He looked around to see if any of them comprehended what he was saying. To his surprise arjun spoke softly saying “it is no shame if fortune fails a man. But it is disgrace if he abstains deliberately from exertion.” The acharya was jolted. He knew the saying and thought Arjun was not putting it in proper context .Encouragingly he said “well , well Arjun , you have started talking,
Now tell me what you meant by that?” Arjun looked up at the Acharya in a somewhat belligerent mood and burst out “I was referring to labour as a profession and ones commitment to the profession. I believe one should be truthful in ones commitment to profession. I am linking labour , profession and commitment.”Acharya did know what Arjun was saying . so he wanted
Him to continue talking , he said ‘ go on complete what you want to say’Arjuna waited. Drona asked “ where is the question of disgrace in labour”
Arjun replied “ to my thinking labour has many form , teaching is also labour to a professional teacher .I was saying truthfulness towards commitment to chosen labour / profession is also important other wise it leads to disgrce.”
Drona thought he knew where arjun was getting to . He probed some more “ are you aware of any situation where you had to suspect such a truthfulness towards committed labour”
‘It has not happened so far.Iwish it should never happen’.The Acharya did not like the sound of it at all. He dismissed the class holding only Arjuna Yudhishtira stayed back to support his younger brother. Only Yudhishtira clearly understood Arjun’s problem. It had to with his equation with Ekalavya. He kept himself silent , watching his younger brother take on the ACHARYA head on .The Acharya stopped pulling his punches . He asked Arjuna to explain what was bothering him “ you seem to be pointing out a question about my commitment to my profession as you referred to teaching as a form of labour .Do you have any complaint against any thing that I have taught you . please speak up and put your question properly.”The Acharya’s tone was not at all kind.
A calm Arjun spoke up , he was now standing . ‘Yesterday a tribal boy saved me from a leaping tiger.I had just shot another animal in another direction , so did not see the tiger till it was almost on me. . My bow was knocked out of my hand in the scuffle and I had no time to fit an arrow and shoot. All I had was small dagger.This boy had all the time to fire three arrows into the body of tiger, while it was up in air , closing in on me.Tell me how could he do it”
The Acharya calmly replied “he could do it because , the tiger was not attacking him. You were under attack and you were unarmed.”
‘no ‘cried ARJUNA. ‘He would have shot those arrows even if he were under attack.He had learnt that trick shot.I could not , because , you had not taught me that trick shot’
Who was that Boy”
Ekalavya
Who??
Ekalavya. He was in the same forest. He saved me from real death and I am grateful to him for what he did. He told me that that trick shot was taught by you. Why could you not teach me that? What is so special in Ekalavya which makes you teach him things that are not taught to us.?
Ekalavya is my friend and I want to keep his friendship But I can do so if only I am equal in skills with him, not otherwise. Now I have become obliged to him.”It was an outburst from a proud prince and a person wanting to hold on to some thing that seemed to be slipping away .
The Acharya was aghast. He had not seen or heard from Ekalavya after his meeting with Nishdharaja some months back.How can Arjun make such an accusation. For Long Arjun was his favorite student and he treated him as he treated his own son ASWATTAMA.
He addressed Arjun “ Son , believe me when I say that I have not taught Ekalavya anything. I have made a commitment to Bheeshma that I WOULD MAKE YOU WARRIOR UNPARALLELLED IN OUR HISTORY., make you reach highest levels of proficiency in dhanur Vidhya and there wont be any one equal to you. I promise you that I will live up to my commitment Now please go back to your quarters. Yudhishtira had sized up the situation. He was in a hurry and he led a dazed Arjuna outside. He had to discuss this matter calmly. Yudhishtira pointed out to Arjun that he had erred in accusing the acharya so blatantly.Yudhishtira then said something that stunned Arjun “ you fool , you do not realize what you have started. For your sake , the acharya will kill ekalavya. You have foolishly put Ekalvya’s life in peril. If you think , he is your friend you have to save him from the ACHARYA’S FURY. GO AND APOLOGISE NOW.” Yudhishtira was screaming. The two brothers raced to wards Achrya’s quarters

Acharya took a deep breath , trying to calm himself down. He had to meet Nishadha immediately . he ran for his horse and made a running jump. Yudhishtira watched him spur the horse to greater speed.He guessed where the Acharya could be heading for . He urged Arjuna to find the horses. They could not locate any horses . All the horses had been taken to the river for wash Yudhishtira, was furious , as time seemed to be flying they raced towards the river.
Chapter 6

From His window Nishdharaja saw the galloping horse and recognized the rider.He called out to Ekalavya to drop every thing and come up front to see who the visitor was. Ekalavya did as told and was surprised to see Drona get down from a speeding horse in motion.His Hair was disheveled and breathing unsteady The Acharya was in great anger. Ekalavya realized that he was not bringing up any happy tidings. He remembered his warning to yudhishtira, not to tell anything about his meeting with them Guru’s sudden visit indicated that some thing had gone very wrong.He felt extremely uncomfortable.
Politely the father and son made the Acharya rest and offered him a high seat and placed a pitcher of water in front. The acharya ignored it and was trying very hard to calm down and start the conversation in formal manner.Nishadha and Ekalavya waited patiently. Then the Acharya smiled. He was calm. Ekalavya was alert. Drona said “ Nishdha , I have come to speak to my disciple.” Ekalavya stepped forward , touched the acharya’s feet and said ‘yes sir , here I am . can I be of any service’
“ Son , did you tell arjun that I taught you, the trick shot.”
‘No sir, all that I told was that we all worship the same GURU’
“Son , answer me, how did you learn all the skills, if I was not teaching you in person?”
‘Sir , you were always with me , not only in my heart but also physically.Come I will show you.”Ekalavya led the Acharya to the back yard of their house where on a pedestal was a magnificient image of the Acharya, sporting a fresh garland of flowers. THE Achrya saw an incenceburner and other material used by tribals for worsip of their deities. The Acharya was stunned to see the likeness and remarked admiringly “ son , apart from archery , you seem to have many other skills too.Your skills as sculptor is remarkable indeed.” All the anger had gone from the guru’s face.
‘It is all your blessings, sir’said the young man.
“ Son , do you remember , when you came to my place with your father and he asked me to take you in as my disciple , I said no”
‘Yes, sir . I do remember that .It was a very painful moment for us’
“In that case “, the Acharya enquired in a very kind voice ‘ how could you assume my approval for this” he pointed out towards his statue”have’nt you adapted unfair means to make me your guru?”
Sir , there was no deceit intended. I had already accepted you as my guru , in my mind and heart. You said , you had no time for me busy as you were with other students. Hence I made this arrangement.Iam sure you would not disapprove this arrangement being a kind master , that you are’
Drona cursed inwardly , boy you are making it difficult for me. Outwardly Drona said “ will it be proper on my part , to demand a guru dakshina , seeing that you have presumed my approval.Answer me please”. Nishadha suddenly became very alert. He looked at his son to be careful with his reply. Nishada never trusted Drona after his out burst in the ashram
The boy did not show any fear ‘ yes sir, what ever you want , I shall furnish’
The Acharya took his time. He felt personally very very disgusting even to think what he was going to ask for .but ask he must. He had a promise to live upto and he can not be weak at this moment .He closed his eyes and prayed to god to forgive him for what he was going to say in the next few seconds.
Then he asked very calmly , ‘then , can you offer me as GURU DAKSHINA , YOUR RIGHT HAND THUMB, please”
Nishadha reacted as though he was slammed with a sledge hammer and hurried to stop his son from responding . but the boy did not need any support. There was a hurt smile , sense of disappointment in his teacher for asking something so petty . Of what earthly use could be my thumb/H e replied ‘ yes sir , with out any hesitation, I will offer you what you want.Ihave only one question to ask and you must answer me , If your demand is going to negate all that I profess to have learnt from you, on the basis of which , you wish to exercise your proprietory right over me ,and expect the demand to be fulfilled, will it be fair on the part of the esteemed teacher
“Yes’ said the Acharya with out a second thought. “The divinity has granted me the right to ask guru dakshina if ever you have heartily accepted me as your master.”Then as an after thought he added”There is another justification that I can make after I receive my DAKSHINA”

There was an awkward silence. Nishadha was rudely shaken up but the boy appeared calm. They retired to ante room for consultation leaving the Acharya alone.

Chaper7
Back in his room , the young boy was pondering on what he had to do to comply with his master’s demand.He looked at his father , who was seriously objecting to all these pretentions of civilized customs of Guru DAKSHINA .There was no help from that quarter. Boy went through the question answer session in his mind. There were several other questions for which he desperately wanted answers.He played these questions again and again in his mind ,with apassion that was frightening
SIR, will you please answer me
Taking you up as my teacher is my own decision and Iwill be true to that decision and stand committed to meet all attendant obligations including that of meeting your present wish.Now my question is whether the propritory right to accept Guru Daakshina can only be vested in teacher who has also accepted the student heartily. Now answer me please, are you accepting me heartily ,.as your disciple. Beware , please. Once you answer yes to this question you are binding your self to countless obligations towards welfare of that student.You are also binding your self to certain code of conduct.
May I say what I know about these obligations?
To the honest teacher goes the responsibility to treat all his students as his own sons and not display any differential to any of the wards. Now tell me , with your heart holding Partha so close to you , are you true to above responsibility/.
Secondly will you allow yourself to harm one student for sake of uplifting another.?
Ekalavya wanted to scream to his Acharya .’ sir please , IWOULD LIKE TO HEAR YOU CALL ME AS YOUR STUDENT ATLEAST ONCE AND HOLD MY HEAD IN YOUR HAND AND BLESS ME . YOUR DAKSHINA IS SURE.

You said , you have a divine right to demand guru dakshina. IAM TOO SMALL SOUL TO MAKE AN ISSUE OF THAT CLAIM.
But if meeting that demand means forgoing the use of all the imparted skills for the life time of the student , will that be a fair demand.?
Ekalavya knew he would not get satisfactory answers to any of above questions. He was simply a student and has no right to ask such questions to a revered Acharya.
He must not demur . his duty is to comply.
Who set such conventions?. Do they apply to a tribal boy whom no one to take up as student?
His father was watching his helpless son , with misery written large on his face.
Ekalavya took out a silver plate from its chest and the cutting knife he had received as a gift at the time of sport festival,It was in fact an award for display of great skills. Now that very knife is going to be used to negate all his achievements. The cruelty of that irony seemed to laugh at him.He remembered testing the knife for the first time that evening and drawing a drop of blood. Today how much blood he was going to shed?
He held up the knife in the light and marveled at its bright steel. He said pathetically , “time has come to put you to use for a good cause”.The satire seemed to stab him in his heart and he vinced.
Without my right thumb , I will not be able to hold you tight , leave alone the damned bow
A tear was gathering at the corner of his eyes and he took a deep breath.
What would be more painful?The sharp edge cutting through flesh and bone or the memories of conquests and the thrills of so many exciting sessions of archery in the wild forests. The kills he rejoiced making in so many hunting expeditions. Would he now be missing the joy of shooting an arrow, the swishing sound of his arrows in flight, the pull of a taut bow string , the slap of the string on his hand holding the bow immediately after release of an arrow. Would the pain of missing all above be less than the hurt of cutting out major part of your body.He kept staring at his thumb
WHY SHOULD HE DO IT?
To hell with the teacher and other ideals of devotion towards an honourable teacher. Where is a question of honour in this blatant treachery.Should he do it for a teacher who had no consideration for his well being?Should he lose all skills to satisfy the whims of royal kid who hated to be second best?Thousand such questions flooded the poor boy’s head tormenting him about the ill fated decision to comply with a wretched teachers demand..

The smiling face of arjun sprang in front of his tearful eyes.A friendly face,a true friend who demanded and refused to accept anything but truth. Did he send the acharya here to get even with him?

He remembered Arjun saying something about friendship, which seemed relevant now.Even men of rare learning and pure of heart, will not be found when tested , to be absolutely free of innocence.
There was another theme advocated by Arjun on test of friendship. When you have a friend whom you do not completely know,and want to assess him , do a simple exercise.Weigh that man’s good attributes and weigh his negatives, which ever is more assign that to him
Know that conduct is the touchstone of character
Ekalavya said aloud “Arjun . you called me a friend and treated me as a friend. I will not be found wanting if you are the one testing me now.If my losing my thumb means your elevation to glory , let this thumb be gone this very minute.” There was peace in his face. He knew for whom he was doing and why he was doing it.
There was nothing more to it.

Chapter 8
After afew moments Ekalavya returned to the main hall were Drona was waiting nervously. Ekalvya was holding the silver plate and there in a pool of blood was his right hand thumb.Drona stood up and with great dignity accepted the proffered plate containing still throbbing thumb.He kept the plate aside and grabbed the boy and hugged him to his bosom and cried out “ my son, my son,I am so very sorry. For reasons that your young mind can not comprehend, your sacrifice was necessary.
In the times to come , there will be major war between the forces of Right and the forces of evil.All sane people with multiple obligations and false sense of loyalties would be compelled to fight on the side of forces of evil
Against the forces of right.
Young arjuna is pre ordained to lead the forces of right and for him to reach that elevated status, he needs to be un comparable in skills of warfare.It is my pre ordained duty to ensure that he is uncomparably superior to rest of the world , in all martial arts including archery where you excelled.For something required in future , I have to marginallise you.The history will paint Me black for this treachery heaped on you today.
You with your superior skills would be a threat to Arjun in future due to conflicts of loyalties.I have removed that threat today.
For the sacrifice you made today , this world will regard you highly for your devotion to an unknown teacher and as long as name of Arjun is uttered as it definitely would, your name would also prevail. Believe me , it is the will of the lord.
Outside Arjun and yudhistira came crashing in , on their fast horses. Ekalavya stopped them at the door showing his right hand minus the thumb.
Arjun stared at it and screamed, “ it is unfair , Acharya, it is so very unfair.All I wanted you to do was to enhance my skills and not rob some one of his.What you did today is despicable in every sense of the word.Ekalavya knew very well how our sophisticated mind would work , if he revealed his teacher’s name. He never wanted to reveal .I like a fool swore on the tenets of sacred friendship and compelled him to reveal your name and in turn you had to prove something that rationally does not exist and how treacherous ly all our wishes have affected this poor boy.
We all have fallen down from our perch of unholy high handedness.This is a disgrace that will remain uncovered for all times to come I will never have the courage to look dear Ekalavya in his face. For him I am a deadman.
Ekalavya smiled. There was no hint of hatred or regret.Surprisingly Arjun did not mean anything to him anymore,.He had already passed into history.
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