‘Guru Dronacharya and Ekalavya’ is a famous story of the Mahabharata era. This episode gave enough space to Indian secularists, reformists and historians to abuse Guru Dronacharya with caste slurs. It is a different matter either they deliberately criticizes the famous guru or are completely ignorant about the real essence behind it.
Guru Dronacharya was a very legendary and illustrious teacher of the Mahabharata era. He taught royal princes of both the clans, Pandavas and Kauravas. It is his teachings which made all his disciples from both the princely clan, masters of all the arts-related with warfare.
Once Arjuna was hunting in a forest. He was chasing a wild boar. Arjuna shot a number of arrows, targeting the wild boar but he could not succeed in killing the wild boar. All of a sudden an arrow hit the boar and the boar collapsed. Arjuna was surprised but angry also, as who killed his hunt and looked for the unknown and expert hunter. From the forest appeared Ekalavya in lion clothes, who claimed of killing the wild boar.
On the killing of his own hunt by someone else, Arjuna became very angry. But soon senior fellows from both the sides cooled down the situation and avoided a big disaster. But this incident disturbed the inner peace of Prince Arjuna that there is another archer who is superior to Arjuna.
In the Hindu epic Mahabharata, Ekalavya is a young prince of the Nishadha, a forest tribe, which is considered as low caste in Hindu caste hierarchy. Ekalavya wished to learn archery in the Gurukul of Dronacharya. But Guru Dronacharya rejected his request as his Gurukul was meant for princes and royal children.
Ekalavya embarks upon an idea of self-study by installing the clay statue of Drona. Surprisingly he attained a level of skill equivalent to that of Arjuna, Dronacharya’s most preferred and talented pupil.
Once a wild dog was barking very furiously. It disturbed the concentration of Ekalavya in his practice. Angry and furious Ekalavya, filled the mouth of the dog with seven arrows in fast succession, without injuring the dog which silenced the dog’s barking. On this miraculous act of archery, Dronacharya and Pandav princes were surprised and shocked.
Searching the forest, they found a dark-skinned man dressed all in black, his body besmeared with filth and his hair in entangled locks. It was Ekalavya, who introduced himself to them as a pupil of Drona. Jealous and worried that Ekalavya had excelled him in the skill of bow, Arjuna suggested Drona take action for this treachery. Arjuna also reminded Drona of his promise that he would allow no other pupil to be the equivalent of Arjuna. Drona acknowledged Arjuna's claim and went with the princes to look for Ekalavya. He found Ekalavya, as always, diligently practising archery. Seeing Drona, Ekalavya prostrated himself and clasped the teacher's hands, awaiting his order.
Drona asked Ekalavya for a guru dakshina that a student owes his teacher upon the completion of his training. Ekalavya replied that there was nothing he would not give his teacher. Drona asked for Ekalavya's right thumb, knowing that its loss will hamper Ekalavya's ability to pursue archery. Ekalavya, however, cheerfully and without hesitation severed his thumb and handed it to Drona. For his part, Arjuna was relieved to find that the crippled Ekalavya could no longer shoot with his former skill and facility.
For this act, Dronacharya is accused by secularist, communist, reformist and Ambedkarite scholars with caste slurs. But these scholars are totally ignorant about Drona’s farsightedness and his concern for the welfare of the human race. He had divine sight.
See and compare the violent and ruthless nature of Eaklavya with hesitation and despondency of Arjuna in the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Arjuna refused to fight because his participation might have resulted in the total destruction of humanity; although Kauravas headed by Duryodhana usurped Pandavs’ entire kingdom and they were insulted, humiliated and harassed by Kauravas in all possible manners and in most oppressive ways. Arjuna declared against war and its horrors although he had faced many battles and fought many enemies. He had no fear of war.
Here the welfare of humanity was paramount for Arjuna but for Eaklavya, this consideration was meaningless. He silenced the innocent barking dog whose nature was to bark only. This shows Eaklavya was a ‘Kupatra’, for a place in the Gurukul of Guru Dronacharya and possessing all the knowledge and expertise of archery. If Eaklavya had got expertise in archery and warfare like Arjuna, it would have been a danger to the entire humanity.
Eaklavya was not alone who failed this test of compassion and humanity. Dronacharya did not give best of knowledge to his own son Ashwatthama, whom Dronacharya considered a ‘Kupatra’ for the best knowledge of archery and warfare and he did not give all his knowledge to his own son. So Arjuna was a ‘Supatra’ and Eaklavya was a ‘Kupatra’.
The views of Dronacharya have become buried by the lapse of ages and by the great efflux of time. With his denial the entry of Eaklavya in his Gurukul, Dronacharya tried to restore the faith for the welfare of humanity. The teacher confirmed that he was not stating any new doctrine but was only restoring the divine tradition, the eternal verity handed down from master to pupil. The great teachers do not teach which can lead to the destruction of humanity. This is the ancient truth and eternal source of all the religions and philosophies.
Purpose of teaching should be seen as an issue between right and wrong. Guru works for the side of right. Love and mercy are more powerful than hatred and cruelty. Eaklavya’s manners make the teacher thinks of the loneliness of man oppressed by doubt, the dread of waste and emptiness, from whose being the riches of heaven and earth and the comfort of human affectionate slipping away. The intolerable sadness is generally the experience of all those who aspire for the vision of high success and Eaklavya was a victim of this sadness which Guru Dronacharya recognized.
