English
Ekalavya's Gift to His Guru
Source: Mahabharata, Adi Parva (Sambhava Parva)
In Hastinapura, the teacher Dronacharya was training the Kaurava and Pandava princes in archery. His fame had spread far and wide, and many princes came to learn from him.
One day Ekalavya, son of Hiranyadhanu, king of the Nishadas, came to Drona and said, "Gurudev, please make me your disciple too."
Drona knew dharma well, but he did not accept him. The Mahabharata says he refused thinking that the youth was a Nishada's son, out of regard for the interests of his princely pupils.
Ekalavya neither complained nor grew angry. He placed his head at Drona's feet and returned to the forest. There he made an image of Dronacharya out of clay, accepted it as his guru, and practised before it with complete faith and strict discipline. His faith and effort bore fruit, and his speed in fitting, aiming and releasing arrows became astonishing.
One day the Pandavas came to that same forest to hunt. One of their dogs wandered off, reached Ekalavya, and began to bark at the dark, long-haired youth in soiled clothes.
In the blink of an eye Ekalavya filled the dog's mouth with seven arrows, so skilfully that the dog was not hurt, yet its barking stopped.
When the dog came back, the Pandavas were stunned. Searching, they found Ekalavya and asked, "Who are you?" The answer came: "I am the son of Hiranyadhanu, king of the Nishadas, a disciple of Dronacharya." Hearing this, Arjuna grew uneasy. His guru had told him that no pupil of his would ever surpass Arjuna...
Arjuna went to Drona in private and, with an affectionate reproach, said, "Gurudev, you told me that no pupil of yours would surpass me. Then how is it that a pupil of yours, the son of the Nishada king, is a greater archer than me and the whole world?"
Drona thought for a while. Then, having made up his mind, he took Arjuna with him to the forest. There Ekalavya, in soiled clothes, his hair matted, bow in hand, was shooting arrow after arrow.
Seeing his guru coming, Ekalavya came forward, touched his feet, bowed with his head to the ground, worshipped him, and stood with folded hands: "I am your disciple."
Drona said, "If you are my disciple, give me my guru-dakshina." Ekalavya was overjoyed: "Gurudev, command me. There is nothing I would not give my guru."
Drona said: "Give me the thumb of your right hand."
For an archer, the right thumb is the very foundation of his skill. Yet Ekalavya's face did not darken in the least. Firm in truth and in his word, cheerful, without a moment's thought, he cut off his thumb and offered it to his guru.
After that, when Ekalavya shot with his fingers, he no longer had his former speed. Arjuna's worry was gone, and Drona's word to Arjuna was kept.
But the one who stands tallest in this story is Ekalavya. The guru had not accepted him as a pupil, yet he honoured him as his guru all his life, and when the guru asked, he gave away his greatest treasure with a smile.
What this story teaches
True learning comes from faith and practice, not from privilege. And Ekalavya's surrender shows that a promise given stands above even one's greatest treasure.
The Mahabharata gives Drona's promise to Arjuna as the reason for his demand. Ekalavya's devotion to his guru is especially remembered on Guru Purnima.
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