Story: Ekalavya's Tale

I was almost there! Years of training and dedication had gotten me this close to the temple. I could see the palace where the great guru, Drona, resided. It was late in the evening when I reached the top of the mountain, so I decided to make camp in a nearby cave and go see the great guru early in the morning. Arriving early would show my dedication to the art, right? He would surely accept me as soon as he saw how eager I was to be his pupil.

I sat by the fire and looked on to the temple. The stories of the great Drona reached my home in the depths of the forest. Drona was known to be the most skilled warrior, archer, and thinker ever. My father had told me awe-inspiring stories of Drona fighting battles and conquering beasts three times his size. As I thought of Drona’s conquests, my arm started throbbing again. I looked down to see the blood had seeped through the bandage. With my stronger hand, I quickly unwrapped it and placed the tip of one of my arrows into the fire. After the stone started to burn red, I gently placed the arrowhead onto my cut. I fought back the urge to remove the searing stone from my arm, knowing that if this tiger bite became infected, it would be the end of me. I tore another piece of cloth and bandaged my arm once again. I took one last look at the palace and laid down to rest.

The sunlight shone through the cave opening, waking me. I rose and went to the stream to wash my face and tried to look presentable. My future rested on today. I packed up the rest of my pack and headed to the great palace. The palace that held my future.

I finally reached the steps leading to the guru. Since he had come here to be alone, he only required a few helpers, so the temple was nearly empty. I walked into a great auditorium expecting the guru to be there, but to my disappointment, he was nowhere to be seen. As I turned to leave, I saw someone sitting outside on the balcony. This had to be the guru! Overjoyed, I rushed to greet him. When I reached the doorway, I saw it was the great Drona, but he was in deep meditation. I quietly set my pack down and walked over to sit across from him and waited. I closed my eyes to honor his meditation.

I don’t know how much time passed but I opened my eyes when I heard him stir. He quietly looked at me and I bowed to the ground.

“Guru, my name is Ekalavya. I have traveled away from my home, trekked dangerous terrain, and fought off beasts of the jungle to come ask you a simple question,” I said. Since my face was to the ground, I couldn’t tell how the guru had reacted to my statement, but he remained silent.

“I wish to be trained by you. I am a skilled archer and I believe with your training, I can be the best,” I said with my heart pounding in my chest. I had practiced these words continually over the past few years. I had trained just so I would be good enough to be eligible, and here I was. I was finally about to get my dream.

“No,” he said. I did not expect the guru to be so straightforward with his answer. I lifted my head to look up at him, wondering what I had done wrong.

“Child, I have devoted myself to the warrior class. Therefore, I can only train you if you are a Kshatriya, and from your silence, I assume you do not meet these qualifications,” Drona said in a very direct tone. He did not wait to see if I had a response and walked away into the auditorium I came from. As he left me on the floor of his balcony, I sat staring at the floor. Thoughts raced around in my head. How could this have happened? I had trained all my life and I thought I was more than qualified. Did my caste really matter that much? How could he judge me in an instant? He had no idea of my skill with the bow, or the potential that I knew I had.

I knew  I could  be the best archer there ever was. Once I realized this, the thoughts stopped filling my head and I could see clearly. If  Drona wasn’t going to train me, I will just have to do it on my own. I stood up, grabbed my pack, and walked straight out of the palace, not looking back. Drona and I will cross paths in the future, and when we do, I will show him what he missed. I will become the greatest archer without his help.

Ekalavya

Author’s Note: The final scene of the story I read this week ended with the story of Ekalavya. He met the Pandava brothers as they were traveling through the forest. The brothers were amazed at his incredible archery skills. However, Arjuna was frustrated because this stranger challenged his archery skills. Arjuna asked who Ekalavya's guru was, and he said it was Drona. Furious that Drona would betray him, Arjuna took Ekalavya back to their camp to ask Drona about the whole thing. Drona said he had no knowledge of this pupil. Ekalavya explained how he had once come to Drona to become a pupil, but Drona rejected him because of his social standing. Ekalavya decided to teach himself, and he used a cut out of Drona as encouragement. The story ends on a sad note because Drona asks Ekalavya to cut off his right thumb. Drona did this because he knew that without his thumb, Ekalavya could not be the greatest archer. This would allow Arjuna to take that title.

For the above story, I expanded on the meeting between the guru and the eager student from Ekalavya's point of view. I was surprised when I heard Ekalavya's story. We often read a story and think the protagonists wouldn't do anything wrong. This story shows that even though the great Drona was Arjuna's hero, he was Ekalavya's obstacle.

Bibliography: Epified Mahabharata: Ekalavya's Story