The Story of Ekalavya
Once, when Arjuna, the celebrated Pandava, was still a boy, he, his brothers, and his cousins studied the military sciences from the great master Dronacharya. At that time, Ekalavya, the son of Hiranyadhanu, the king of an aboriginal tribe, was moved by his faith to approach Dronacharya and request him for instruction in archery. Dronacharya refused to teach his prospective disciple because he wanted to test his faith, but Ekalavya was stubbornly determined to learn archery from the master. So unbeknownst to Drona, Ekalavya went to the forest and fashioned an image of him out of clay. He then began to practice archery in front of this image all day long. Concentrating his mind on Dronacharya in this way, Ekalavya gradually became the most expert archer in the world, more skillful than even Arjuna. Arjuna was not only Krishna’s intimate friend but also Dronacharya’s dearest disciple. The master had once promised him, “No one will ever excel you in this art. You will become the best archer on this earth and so will you remain, I promise you!” One day, the Kauravas and the Pandavas went together for a walk in the forest when they suddenly saw something quite astonishing. Lying peacefully on the ground was a dog whose mouth had been sewn closed by seven arrows. The boys thought that one who could perform such an extraordinary feat was undoubtedly the best archer in the world. They also thought that perhaps he was even better than Arjuna. As they continued to penetrate deeper into the dense forest, they came across an unknown archer tirelessly practicing his marksmanship.
It was he who had shot the arrows at the dog because the animal had been barking and disturbing his concentration. When the boys returned to the palace, they related the incident to Dronacharya in detail. Arjuna humbly reminded Dronacharya of his promise that no one would ever excel him in archery. Dronacharya, who was very surprised to hear of the existence of such an expert bowman, went to the forest with Arjuna to meet him. When they reached Ekalavya’s cottage, they saw him sitting down before the clay image of Dronacharya and shooting arrows with great expertise. As soon as Ekalavya saw them, he paid them their due respects, honoring Dronacharya as his master. When Dronacharya heard that Ekalavya considered him to be his guru, he requested dakshina from him. Dakshina is the donation or gift given to a priest or one’s own guru. In ancient times, masters used to demand their due dakshina from their disciples at the time of initiation. Ekalavya stood with folded palms in front of Dronacharya, and told his master that he was ready to do whatever he ordered. Dronacharya then demanded that Ekalavya give him the thumb of his right hand. Though the loss of the thumb meant that he would no longer be able to shoot, Ekalavya cut it off without hesitation.
Haribol
HDG Srila Bhakti Bibudha Bodhayan Goswami Maharaj
President, Sri Gopinath Gaudiya Math
