By Nirooshitha Sethuram

Guru Dronacharya was delighted to witness the talent of his pupils.  He had spent many years teaching and training the cousins, the Kaurava and Pandava princes.   As the Guru of the valiant princes of Hastinapura, he was now living a comfortable life.   The entire kingdom of Hastinapura held him in high esteem.   Especially Grandsire Bhishma was very cordial to him.   He was honored and had been provided with all the facilities.

Despite all this, he was not quite happy.   His mind was not at peace.  Some pain was there in him, deep down, which kept bothering him.   In fact, there was a burning desire to avenge someone.   Yes, his bitter past was consuming his present in the form of revenge.

So, who is Guru Drona? What is this revenge that is consuming his heart all about?

Guru Drona was the son of Rishi Bharadvaja.   It is said that, one fine day on a riverside, Rishi Bharadvaja saw an apsara (celestial nymph) named Ghritachi.   The beauty of her filled his heart with desire and his seed fell into a pot.  A baby boy was born from the pot.   Drona’s name means “a boy who was born in a pot.”

Drona spent all his childhood in his father’s Ashram.   There, he met Drupada, the prince of Panchala.   They became the best of friends.   Before returning to his palace, Drupada promised he would cherish their friendship forever and give Drona anything he desires, even half of his kingdom.   Later Drona went to study under great Parashurama.   There he learnt the skills of all of the weapons and gained many powerful celestial weapons too. 

After learning all those great skills, Drona wanted to live a simple life.   He was not interested in material wealth, so he soon became poor.   He was known as a Brahmin scholar, a renowned master of archery and a great teacher.   He married Kripi, the daughter of Sage Shardwan and sister of Kripacharya.   They had a son named Ashwatthama.   Day by day Drona became very poor and could hardly make ends meet.   He would neither beg nor take any charitable donations.

One day while playing with friends, Drona’s son Ashwatthama saw his friends drinking a bowl of cow’s milk and smacking their lips.  Ashwatthama had never tasted cow’s milk.   He only knew the milk his mother’s breasts produced.  Now Ashwatthama wanted to taste cow’s milk and demanded that he needed it right away.  

Kripi tried to console Ashwatthama in many ways without giving him cow’s milk but failed.   Poor Kripi, helpless and wanting to fulfill her son’s desire, mixed flour with water and gave it to him.  Not knowing the taste of the milk Ashwatthama was thrilled that at last he got to drink cow’s milk.   As Drona was watching this, his heart filled with horror and shame.   He was shaken by this and was so upset. 

He set out of his house determined to earn wealth and glory.   Drona wondered where he could go or in which direction to turn?  He also questioned his destiny.   Suddenly he remembered about his childhood bosom friend & classmate, Drupada, who had now ascended on the throne of Panchala.   He also remembered the promise that Drupada gave him before leaving his father’s Ashram, that he would give anything that Drona desired.  

Drona’s face brightened.   With great expectations, he sped towards Panchala, the capital city that his dear friend ruled.   The journey was troublesome, but the hope he had in his heart made it feel manageable. 

After days of traveling on foot, Drona reached Panchala.   On the way he built up his expectations so high, he expected that his arrival would be a great function.   The news of their king’s bosom friend paying a visit will be the news of the kingdom.  He was thus expecting a huge welcome before being led to the King ceremoniously.  

To his surprise nothing like that happened.  The people of Panchala simply ignored him.  No one cared for him even when he claimed to be the best friend of their king.  They only laughed at his claim, as he was wearing beaten-down rag clothes.  

As Drupada was now a king it was not easy to meet him.   No one would help Drona either.   After several days of efforts, Drona managed to enter the court of king Drupada, his dear friend from school days.  So thrilled to see his dear friend, Drona formally introduced himself and began talking about their good old days. 

The king Drupada looked at him as if he was any other person, showing no signs of friendship.   Drona was shocked and very disappointed, and reminded Drupada of their friendship and all the good days they had together at Drona’s father’s Ashram.   He tried to narrate the stories from the Ashram days, but Drupada said that Drona was merely a classmate.   There was nothing more than that, not such a great friendship between them as Drona had put it.  

Drona reminded Drupada of the promise he’d made while leaving the Ashram but Drupada laughed sarcastically, saying he didn’t remember any of it.   Drona was enraged.   Still controlling his raging anger, he humbly asked Drupada to help him in his hardship.   But Drupada, filled with pride and ego, refused his request and said that he will even give two towns as charity to a Brahmin.   Drona says that he had not come there as a beggar, but as a friend and that he would happily accept anything, even a single cow, as the honor of their friendship.  

Drupada then insulted Drona by saying, how could a beggar be his friend.   Drupada told his soldiers to expel the beggar out of his court.   This really enraged Drona.   Before leaving the court, he made a declaration that he would come back to the same court and take Drupada’s throne, but without using a single weapon.   Instead, Drona would use his pupils to defeat Drupada.  

Drona’s mind refused to be at peace until the betrayal was avenged.  All he wanted was to take revenge on Drupada.  

Humiliated Drona began to hate the world and decided to renounce the world to become an ascetic.   That is when his fate brought him to the grounds of Hastinapura where he met the Kuru princes.   Now he had become the beloved and revered Guru of the Kaurava and Pandava princes.  

Even with all this glory, Drona’s desire for revenge still consumed his heart.   He could not live in peace.   Yes, the desire to avenge King Drupada was fresh in his mind.   Now it was time to act and Guru Drona decided to accomplish this in the form of guru-dakshina. 

Once the princes were fully trained, it was time for Guru Drona to ask for his guru-dakshina, the right of the teacher to demand a payment from his pupils.   A Guru was entitled to a final payment from his pupil in which he could ask for anything.   A true student was supposed to provide whatever the Guru desired as a sacred obligation.   We have already witnessed this with Ekalavya. 

One fine morning, Dronacharya called all the princes together.   Drona said, “I have imparted to all of you the training in various martial skills and the use of weapons.  Now it’s time for me to ask for my guru-dakshina.”

The princes asked Guru Drona what he would like to have as guru-dakshina.  Guru Drona said, “Before I became your Guru, I was insulted by King Drupada in his court through no fault of mine.   Although he had been my classmate and dearest friend, he humiliated me.  I must teach him a lesson.  I want him to be presented before me as a prisoner.  Can any of you do this for your Guru?”

Arjuna immediately bowed his head to his Guru and with confidence said, “Revered Guru, at your command I will bring any king of this earthly realm to you bound in ropes.  I take this as your command!”  Hearing Arjuna’s words, Duryodhana jumped in, seeking permission from his father King Dhritarashtra to allow him to attack Drupada, to take the pride, as he knew this would weigh in toward becoming the crown prince.  With his father’s blessings, all the Kauravas under the leadership of Duryodhana attacked Drupada.

King Drupada was all ready for the battle, expecting the Hastinapura army and its 105 princes.   He formed his famous Drupada Chakra, a military formation that enemies could not easily escape.  He had his eldest born son, Shikhandi, as his commander-in-chief. 

Shikhandi is none other than Amba, who reincarnated to fulfill her revenge against Grandsire Bhishma.  She was born as a baby girl to King Drupada, the king of Panchala.  She was originally named Shikhandini due her female gender.  It is said that, when she was a young girl, she wore the garland which hung at the palace door of King Drupada.  She had left that garland when she was Amba, before she went into the forest. 

When King Drupada saw his daughter wearing the garland, he became fearful of becoming Bhishma’s enemy, so he banished Shikhandini from the kingdom.  Shikhandini performed austerities in the forest.  She was transformed into a male named Shikhandi, and returned to Drupada with all the glory of her gender transformation.

King Drupada defeated all the Kauravas and Duryodhana easily, with the help of Shikhandi.  They captured all the princes and made them their prisoners.  While King Drupada was celebrating his victory, one of his soldiers broke the news to him that they had only 100 princes captured, not 105.  Then came the Pandavas, led by Arjuna.  After a fierce fight, they defeated Drupada and freed Duryodhana and the other Kaurava princes.  Arjuna bound Drupada in ropes and brought him to Guru Drona.

At last Guru Drona got his revenge.  He set Drupada free, saying that even though Drupada didn’t honor their friendship, Drona always did.  But Drona retained half of the kingdom that had been promised to him, making his son Ashwatthama its king. 

Humiliated, Drupada sought vengeance but realized that he could not match Drona’s might, not even with Shikhandi.  So, Drupada performed the Putrakameshti Yaj~na, specifically to produce a son who could slay Drona.  Also, admiring Arjuna’s might, Drupada wanted a daughter who could marry Arjuna. 

After the successful completion of the yaj~na, the twins Dhrishtadyumna and Draupadi emerged from the fire.  Drupada was so delighted to see his children, were born from the fire.

More to come…

By Nirooshitha Sethuram

Guru Drona continued training the Kuru princes in his forest ashram after the episode with Ekalavya.  Now we return to Vasusena, better known as Karna.  While he was the adopted son of the charioteer Adhiratha and his wife Radha, he was the first born of Kunti, before her marriage.  Yet no one, including Kunti, Karna and his foster parents knew who he really was.  Kunti didn’t know that Karna was the baby she let afloat on the river, and Karna didn’t know that Kunti was his birth mother. 

Karna was known by this name due to his birth with golden earrings attached to his ears.  All through his youth, Karna was very interested in archery, and was very good at it, probably because of his genetic factor.  The bond between Karna and his foster parents was one of pure love and affection.  Yet they never approved of his interest in archery as it was something a charioteer’s son should not pursue in those days.  Karna got into arguments with his parents because of this, many times.  One day he was sick of his parents suppressing him from what he is good at, archery, so he left home.  He went to many teachers, but all declined to teach him because he was not a kshatriya, meaning that he was not a royal or from the warrior class. 

He was very disappointed but continued to search.  He heard that the Kuru princes were being trained by Guru Drona.  Karna went there and asked Guru Drona to accept him as his student and teach him archery.  After asking who he was, Guru Drona refused to teach him for the same reason.  They got into a quarrel.  Karna questioned Guru Drona how he, not being a kshatriya, had the exception of learning archery.  Drona explained that his Guru, Parashurama, taught these arts only to brahmin sages.  At the end, Karna challenged that he would prove that he was better than Drona’s best pupil, Arjuna.  Before leaving, Karna showed off by demonstrating the archery skills he already acquired on his own.  It proved he had great skill with his bow and arrows. 

Karna decided to get Parashurama as his Guru.  Since Parashurama only taught the art of war to brahmins sages, Karna disguised himself as a brahmin sage.  Arriving at Parashurama’s ashram, Karna asked Parashurama to teach him the art of archery, saying he was refused by all the teachers as he wasn’t a kshatriya.  Parashurama said that he had retired from teaching archery.  Steadfast in his motive to learn the skill he loved so much, Karna spoke kind words and tried to persuade Parashurama to agree.  Due to the passion Karna displayed for archery, and due to the fact that Parashurama hated all the kshatriyas who had gone corrupt, he asked a final question, “Are you a brahmin sage?”  With the greatest of hesitation in his heart, but with the greed for getting the knowledge of archery prevailing over the hesitation, Karna lied to Sage Parashurama, saying he is a brahmin sage.

Parashurama took him under his wing and taught him archery along with all other arts of war.  In time, due to the respectful nature, obedience and the talent Karna displayed, he became very dear to Parashurama.  Karna would do anything and everything for his Guru, never disobeying him.  The years passed and the training was nearly at the end.  Parashurama taught Karna to use the Brahmastra, the mightiest weapon of all.  Karna was happy that his dream of mastering archery was becoming a reality.

One day, Parashurama requested Karna to bring a pillow for him to sleep outside in the shade.  Karna instead wanted him to use his lap as a pillow.  So Parashurama was resting with his head on Karna’s lap.  While Parashurama was asleep, a huge bug came by and bit Karna’s thigh.  Despite the pain, Karna did not move as he didn’t want to disturb his Guru.  The bug bit deep into Karna’s leg, making blood flow. 

When Parashurama woke up, he saw the blood on the ground and the bug bite on Karna’s leg.  He realized at once that Karna was a kshatriya, as only a warrior could withstand such pain without moving.  Karna came out with the truth, that he was the son of a charioteer, as he didn’t really know that he was a kshatriya at that point.  Though Parashurama was very upset with Karna, his love towards his best disciplined student stopped him from cursing Karna.  But he says, as Karna had lied to learn the skills, he would lose the knowledge at the most needed moment in his life, and that he cannot do anything to change that fate. 

Karna pleaded with Parashurama to show him a way to overcome such a fate.  Parashurama was unable to help Karna but bestowed on him his personal bow called “Vijaya” (victory) and blessed Karna to have everlasting honor.  Having blessed him, Parashurama commanded Karna never to return as he has lost his trust.

Karna left Parashurama’s ashram with a very heavy heart.  Being so disappointed with himself, he wandered around, hardly knowing where he was going.  Suddenly an animal rushed past him.  Without thinking he drew his bow and shot at the movement, killing the animal.  When he went to the dead animal, a man shouted at him, angrily cursing him.  “You have killed my poor innocent cow.  For this sin, you will be killed when you are helpless to defend yourself, as my cow was!”  Hearing this, Karna fell into a much more depressed state.  As the fate seem to be against him, he went to the one person who loved him the most, the only person who could lift him out of his depression, his loving mother Radha.

Meanwhile in Guru Drona’s ashram, the princes had completed their schooling in all the arts of warfare.  Yudhishthira was very good with the spear, Duryodhana and Bhima with the “gadha” (the mace).  Arjuna was the best archer, while Nakula and Sahadeva were wonderful swordsmen.  Bhishma proposed to arrange a show to showcase the princes’ abilities in all that they had learnt.  Guru Drona gladly agreed to this, as he had full faith in his students.  The day of the show was fixed, and the public declaration was made to mark the end of the princes’ training.  The public was invited to watch the talent of the princes.  A special arena was built for the purpose of the royal games.   

It was indeed a grand event to watch.  A large number of people and the dignitaries of the Kaurava court came to witness the event.  Dhritarashtra, Bhishma, Vidura, Gandhari and Kunti were seated in a special section.  Other ministers and high officials were in an adjacent section.  All other citizens were in staired seating all around the venue.  Bhishma was eager to see how much each prince had achieved in the art of warfare.  Separate shows were held in various skills where the princes displayed what they had learnt.

Guru Drona introduced Arjuna with pride as he is his valiant student.  Without disappointing his Guru, Arjuna showed his extraordinary archery skills.  He shot an arrow into the earth and created a fearful leaping fire out of it.  The crowd were scared and screamed upon seeing this.  Then he shot another arrow skyward and caused a heavy downpour which extinguished the fire.  The crowd burst into thundering applause at the archery feats of Arjuna.  In like manner, he showed other skills which spoke very highly of his matchless perfection in archery.  He won the admiration of all.

The next exciting event was the display of using the mace.  Both Bheema and Duryodhana were very talented in the mace-wielding skills.  They obviously had a feeling of bitter hostility between them.  Duryodhana was jealous of Bheema because he had always proved superior to him whenever they came to clash.  So, while showing their achievements in the art of using the mace they indulged in a real mace duel.  Guru Drona sensed the hostility and signaled his son Ashwatthama to stop the fight.  Ashwatthama lost no time in intervening to bring it to an end.  With great difficulty he succeeded in pulling them apart.

In the meantime, Karna heard the news that the royal games were happening.  He wanted to show his abilities to the crowd, though his foster parents were very much against it.  After a lot of argument, he disobeyed them and rushed to the arena.  Towards the end of the tournament, Karna arrived.  Whenever he heard Arjuna being praised, Karna was beside himself with ill will and anger.  Stepping into the arena uninvited, Karna thundered out a challenge, “Guru Dronacharya! You have praised Arjuna so highly and described him as matchless.  I also want to show my archery skill for the public’s comparison.” All at the arena was surprise to see this young man, who shone with the brightness of the Sun God.  Dronacharya wholeheartedly welcomed Karna to participate.  Karna continued, saying, “I don’t want child’s play, I want a real combat with Arjuna to prove my superiority!” 

Duryodhana’s heart was filled with joy to witness what was happening.  The crowd in the arena also got excited hearing Karna’s invitation for a duel, which divided them into two groups, one supporting Arjuna and one for Karna.  Kunti the mother of the Pandavas heard the commotion and looked at Karna.  She immediately recognized Karna the son she left afloat in the river.  It was very easy as she was quick to recognize the set of golden earrings and the sacred armor attached to his body.  She fainted, unable to bear the sorrow of her older son inviting the other for a duel, due to ill fate. 

At this point, the royal Guru Kripacharya intervened and asked Karna to declare his lineage, who his parents were and to which royal family he belonged.  At first speechless, Karna revealed the truth about having been raised by Adhiratha, the charioteer of Grandsire Bhishma.  Kripacharya rejected Karna’s request, saying the show was for princes and not for sons of charioteers.  Therefore, he was saying that Karna could not participate in it at all. 

Duryodhana came to Karna’s rescue and said, “Who says that Karna is not a prince?  I declare him the ruler of the Anga Kingdom from this moment.”  Of course, King Dhritarashtra jumped in right away to back his son’s wish, officially making Karna the King of Anga.  Karna was so grateful to Duryodhana that he promised to guard him and his kingdom at any cost. 

Just then, Adhiratha the charioteer came and embraced his son Karna.  This made Bheema laugh at Karna, which caused Karna to feel very hurt.  Duryodhana stood up for Karna once again.  From that moment, Karna became the best friend of Duryodhana forever.  Even though Duryodhana had a plan to use Karna as his weapon against the Pandavas, Karna wholeheartedly accepted his friendship and held Duryodhana in his heart until death.  By the time this whole argument was over, the sun was about to set.  By the rules, the show should be concluded. 

Arjuna stood up and requested Kripacharya to allow him to say something.  With Kripacharya’s permission, Arjuna said, “Listen Karna!  This world is full of warriors and all sorts of talented people.  They are too many to count.  No one should consider himself invincible, nor do I.  But by challenging me for a real battle, you have spoilt the spirit of this sporting event.  You have shown your arrogance rather than your archery skills.  I promise I will break your arrogant pride one day.”  The audience gave out a loud applause for Arjuna words, which made Karna feel belittled.  Arjuna’s fearless and well-guarded statement silenced Karna, who started repenting his tall claim.  With that, Bhishma announced the close of the competition, much to the disappointment of Duryodhana, Karna and all their friends.

More to come…

By Nirooshitha Sethuram

After the attempt on Bhima’s life, Bhishma had promised Kunti that he would make everything right.  As the first step in keeping his word, he confronted Dhritarashtra.  Dhritarashtra turned a blind eye to it as usual, trying to avoid the situation.  But this time, Bhishma did not let Dhritarashtra off the hook so easily.  With a very stern voice, Bhisma demanded that Dhritarashtra look into the matter and give the rightful punishment to Duryodhana and his brothers. 

Dhritarashtra melted down. pleading with Bhishma that he cannot punish his children under any circumstances.  Understanding that Dhritarashtra was not going to do anything on his own, Bhishma imposed that all the children would learn under Dronacharya at his Ashram.  Bhishma thought that creating distance between Dhritarashtra and his children would give an opportunity for Duryodhana and his brothers to change, especially under the guidance of Dronacharya and without interference from their father.  Unable to wiggle out the mess Duryodhana had created, Dhritarashtra had to agree to Bhishma’s mandate.

Bhishma’s plan was to make the Pandava and Kaurava cousins work together for the greater good of Hastinapura.  After getting Dhritarashtra sorted out, Bhishma knew he also had to create distance between Duryodhana and his uncle Shakuni, if his plan had any chance of success.  So he connected with Shakuni’s father, King Subala.  He advised him to renounce his throne and make his eldest son, Shakuni, the king of Gandhara kingdom. 

This would insure that Shakuni had his hands full on a daily basis., thus getting him away from the Kauravas.  Shakuni was very upset with them about this plan, for his only aim was to punish the Kuru dynasty for what had been done to his sister Gandhari.

All the one hundred and five children prepared to go to Dronacharya’s Ashram.  Word was sent to Dronacharya that his conditions were agreed upon by Dhritarashtra, and that the children will be arriving on the next auspicious day.  Guru Drona was very happy that his dream of teaching the Kuru dynasty princes was coming true.  He made all the arrangements for the arrival of his students.

Back in Hastinapura, Dhritarashtra was very upset that Duryodhana had put him in a position to make such a decision.  At the same time, Duryodhana was very upset with his father because he hadn’t turned a blind eye as usual.  By the time came for the children to leave, not only Dhritarashtra, but also Gandhari, Kunti and all of Hastinapura was in sorrow.  Bhishma was firm about sending the children to the Ashram, far away from Hastinapura.  Firm orders were issued that no one should contact the children and anyone who did would be severely punished.

The Pandavas and the Kauravas reached Guru Drona’s Ashram.  They were welcomed by Guru Drona and his wife Kripi.  The Ashram was located in a very thick jungle and had minimal luxuries.  Used to luxuries of the palace for their whole life, Duryodhana and his brothers hated the place.  But nothing could be done.  On the other hand, the Pandavas had been brought up in a similar environment previously, therefore didn’t have any problem with it.  All of them met Guru Drona’s son Ashwatthama, who was to study with them according to the agreement. 

Ashwatthama was Guru Drona’s only son.  He was a boon from Lord Shiva, after Guru Drona’s severe penance to please Lord Shiva.  Ashwatthama was born with a gem on his forehead.  It gave him power over all living beings other than humans and it protected him from hunger, thirst and fatigue.  Hunger had been his childhood curse due to the poverty of his family.   Duryodhana made sure that Ashwatthama became close to the Kauravas, rather than the Pandavas.

The gurukul studies and training started.  The children were very busy and didn’t notice how the time was flying by.  They were unable to think about home.  All of the princes were good learners. After a few months of training. Guru Drona decided to test the ability of his pupils’ archery skills.  He prepared a wooden bird and placed it on a branch of a tree. The Princes were asked to get ready with their bows and arrows. The target was the bird’s eye. Guru Drona asked them to come one by one, asking each the same question, “What do you see?”

Yudhishthira went first, being the eldest.  He said, “I see the tree, branch and the entire body of the bird.”  Guru Drona wasn’t satisfied with the answer.  All followed after him and gave similar answers.  The Guru was a bit disappointed.  Then came Arjuna, who first touched the feet of his Guru, who blessed him to be successful.  Arjuna set an arrow to his bow and took aim.  Guru Drona repeated the same question. “What do you see?”  Arjuna, with shining eyes, said, “I see nothing but the eye of the bird.”  The Guru signaled him to shoot.  Arjuna shot the arrow and in a flash the arrow pierced the bird’s eye.  Guru Drona was very pleased, praising Arjuna’s one pointedness and hugging him endearingly, blessing him to be the invincible archer.

The Guru’s son Ashwatthama and Arjuna both loved archery, so they often practiced together.  One night while they were eating together, a gush of wind blew their lamp out.  They both continued eating in pitch darkness without spilling a single grain on the floor.  Seeing this, Guru Drona taught them both how to hit a target blindfolded, guided by the sounds without visual help.

Another day, Guru Drona went for a swim in the river while the disciples stayed on the banks. Suddenly he screamed, “Help! Help! A crocodile has got my leg in its jaws!”  The pupils were shocked by this and frozen to their feet not knowing what to do.  Arjuna stayed calm, picked up his bow and shot an arrow, targeting the splashing sounds made by lashing tail of crocodile. The crocodile died, releasing Guru Drona from its hold.  The Guru was saved. 

He was delighted by the way Arjuna handled the situation.  As a reward, he taught another exclusive teaching on Brahmashirsha astra.  While Arjuna’s archery skills amazed everyone, the Kaurava princes felt jealous of him.  They didn’t like the fact their Guru was partial to Arjuna, showing favoritism.

One day a tribal boy named Ekalavya came to see Dronacharya, asking him to be his Guru in the art of archery.  The reaction from the princes, especially from the Kauravas was not good.  They were against having Ekalavya as their classmate because of the difference in their status.  As Guru Drona had already promised Bhishma that he would only teach the Kuru princes, he was helpless and had to refuse Ekalavya.  But Ekalavya was a determined young boy.  He respectfully bowed, picking up a handful of soil from the ground underneath the feet of Guru Drona, putting his hand to his forehead, then departed.

Without going back home, he went into the nearby forest.  He collected a heap of clay and mixed in it the handful of soil he had brought from underneath the feet of Guru Drona.  He created a clay model of Guru Drona.  Every day he would touch the feet of the clay model of Guru Drona and practice archery on his own.  One day Ekalavya was busy practicing shooting when a dog appeared and started barking at him.  He tried to drive the dog away but it refused move.  After it went on for some time, Ekalavya lost his patience and shot arrows at the dog. The arrows expertly stuffed the mouth of the dog shut without seriously wounding it. 

Yelping, the dog yelping ran away. It belonged to one of the princes, so it returned to the Ashram.  The princes were amazed to see its plight.  Guru himself was stunned by the archery skill of the archer who had done that.  They decided to follow the paw marks of the dog, searching for the skillful archer. They reached the place of Ekalavya who was still practicing.  Guru Drona at once recognized the boy.  Ekalavya was delighted to see his Guru visiting him.  Guru Drona asked, “Are you the one who did this to the dog?”  Ekalavya bent down on his knees and said he had to do that as the dog was disturbing him from his practices.  Seeing Ekalavya with such talent, Guru Drona knew at once that he would outstrip his favorite pupil, Arjuna.  His dream of making Arjuna the greatest archer of the world might not happen with such skills of Ekalavya.

So, Guru Drona asked Ekalavya, who was his Guru.  Ekalavya humbly said, “You are my Guru.”  Guru Drona was stunned by this answer and asked how that was possible, as he’d refused to take him as his student.  Ekalavya immediately took him to the clay model.  Pointing at it, he explained, “Even though you couldn’t accept me as your student, I had accepted you as my Guru in my heart.  Whatever the skill I learned today is the gift of your blessing.”

Duryodhana was very happy to see Ekalavya.  Duryodhana wanted to befriend Ekalavya so that Duryodhana would have a weapon to match Arjuna. 

Even though Guru Drona was greatly pleased at Ekalavya’s devotion and persistence he was bewildered by this situation.  As a Guru he couldn’t allow this situation to continue, as learning a skill without the Guru’s guidance must not be completed as it could be a danger to the world. He decided to put an end to it. 

He asked for Guru-dakshina from Ekalavya.  At the end of education, you give Guru whatever he asks as Gurudakshina.  With delight, Ekalavya asked what Guru would want.  Guru Drona asked for Ekalavya’s right thumb. Without a second thought, Ekalavya obeyed, cut off his thumb and placed it at the Guru’s feet.  In this way, he set an example of devotion and obedience to the Guru.  Ekalavya’s devotion to the Guru yet remains one of the greatest of all time.  He also acquired the mastery of shooting with four fingers and later became the king of the Nishadhas.

All the princes were dumbstruck what had just taken place.  Especially Duryodhana was heartbroken, that the plan he had in mind just got smashed by his Guru.

More to come…

By Nirooshitha Sethuram

Even though they were born into a royal family, the Pandavas were brought up in a hermitage, with only a theoretical knowledge of city life.  Once they came to live in Hastinapura, they managed to cope with the changes well, with the guidance from their mother Kunti, great-grandfather Bhishma and uncle Vidura.  So, the sons of King Pandu, began to grow up in princely style in the home of their father.  Everything was flowery at the beginning.

Duryodhana and his Kaurava brothers did not enjoy having their Pandava cousins in Hastinapura.  The Kauravas were hostile due to their uncle Shakuni having poisoned their minds even before they met the Pandavas.  In addition, great-grandfather Bhishma and uncle Vidura were giving equal attention to Pandavas, rather than the Kauravas getting their full attention as before.  This added fuel to the fire. 

The five Pandavas knew nothing about the Kauravas’ hatred of them.  Led by the eldest of the Pandavas, Yudhishthira, they treated the Kauravas as their loving cousins.  Yudhishthira always upheld righteousness, which meant equality among the brothers and cousins.

The strongest of the Pandavas was Bhima who was the same age as Duryodhana.  Always playful as he was, Bhima played tricks on all his brothers and cousins.  As the strongest, he would bully them in a friendly manner.  He pulled ten of them with one hand along the ground.  When they were picking fruit, he was unable to climb the trees due to his weight.  Instead, using his strength to kick the tree, would knock all the fruits to the ground along with his cousins. 

Though the Pandavas thought they were having a good time with their cousins, the Kauravas didn’t look at it the same way.  There were instances when the Kauravas insulted the Pandavas in many ways.  Bhishma and Vidura tried their best to unite the cousins, but Kauravas’ minds had been poisoned by their uncle, Shakuni. 

Both the Pandavas and Kauravas had started their preliminary education from various elders, in the hermitage and in Hastinapura respectively.  It became time for them to get formal education and training in the arts of war and statecraft.  Bhishma appointed the royal teacher of Hastinapura, Kripachariya to the job.  Though Kripachariya accepted the job, he encouraged Bhishma to find a more suitable person to teach them; Kripachariya thought the Pandavas and the Kauravas had the capacity to go beyond what he was able to offer.

One day, when the Pandavas and Kauravas were playing with a ball, it fell into a deep well.  They couldn’t get it out.  While staring at the ball in the well, Yudhishthira’s ring slipped out of his finger and also fell into the well.  

While they were blaming one another, a Brahmin, who was also an archer, with an impressive personality appeared in the grounds.  He took a blade of grass, sharpened it and shot it like an arrow at the ball, reciting mantras.  Then he followed it up with more blades of grass, forming a chain, then pulled the ball out. 

Then he shot another arrow, which went into the bottom of the well and came back with Yudhishthira’s ring.  The children were astonished as to how that was possible.  Especially Arjuna, who loved archery, was taken by this.  

When they asked who he was, he told them to take the ball with the grass blade chain to their grandsire Bhishma to get the answer.  The children ran to Bhishma, showed him the grass blade chain and told him what happened.  Bhishma stood up saying, “Dronacharya is here!” 

Dronacharya was the son of Rishi Bharadwaja and a student of great Parashurama.  He was also Kripachariya’s brother-in-law, being married to Kripi, the sister of Kripachariya.  He had come to visit his brother-in-law.  

Immediately, Bhishma invited Dronacharya to the palace and bestowed high respect and honor on him.  He requested Drona to be the teacher and guru to the Pandavas and Kauravas.  Though Drona was poor, he had his own principles.  Drona had two conditions.  One was that his son Ashwatthama would study side by side with the princes, which is usually not allowed in a royal setting.  The other was that the teachings would be done in seclusion in his ashram and training ground, which was far away from Hastinapura. 

Dhritarashtra was agreeable to the first condition.  But, due to his love for his children, he was not willing to part with his sons.  Therefore rejected the second condition.  Dhritarashtra wanted the teaching to happen in the outskirts of Hastinapura.  Drona turned down the offer and returned to his ashram, saying they could contact him if they changed their mind.

As the days passed, the Pandavas began to feel the Kauravas’ hostility toward them due to the way their cousins treated them.  As the eldest Kaurava, Duryodhana couldn’t stomach the fact that there was competition for the throne he’d been thinking would be his one day.  Thus, he and his brothers started to give grief to the Pandavas.  Dhritarashtra’s desire to make his eldest be king after his own time had seeded the thought in Duryodhana.  Now it rooted in his mind and made him do anything to achieve it. 

Duryodhana had a strong dislike for the Pandavas and missed no opportunity to demean them.  He was aware that, in order to rule over the entire kingdom of Hastinapur unchallenged, he needed to eliminate them.  So the Kauravas always looked at the Pandavas as their enemies.  With their uncle Shakuni’s help, they devised cunning plans first to kill Bhima, as Duryodhana envied him the most due to Bhima’s strength.  Duryodhana always said, after killing Bhima, finishing the others off would be an easy task. 

King Dhritarashtra, turned a blind eye to every wrongdoing of his sons.  His love for them, especially with his eldest Duryodhana, got in the way of his disciplining and punishing them.  This made it easy for Duryodhana to continue their ill treatment of the Pandavas.

Duryodhana, knowing Bhima would fall for anything with food, planned to poison him in a dinner which Duryodhana would host.  He planned everything with his uncle’s help.  By this time, Yudhishthira and his brothers were careful about their cousins, but Bhima believed in his strength so much that he dropped his guard a lot, especially when food was involved. 

Duryodhana had a mock castle and garden built near the banks of the river Ganga for the cunning plan he had in mind.  He got his father’s chefs to make a lot of food for a feast and invited his cousins for the outing.

At the feast, Duryodhana mixed a very poisonous venom in Bhima’s food, which came from his mother Gandhari’s kingdom with the help of his uncle.  In the happiness of seeing all the food, Bhima ate the poisoned portion too.  Though he noticed a difference in taste, he was so busy eating and didn’t bother to examine it.  He was not expecting that Duryodhana and his brothers would stoop to a level that they would try to kill him. 

As it was a slow reacting poison, Bhima didn’t feel anything at the beginning, so he kept on eating.  Everyone was tired after all the games and the food, so they retired for the night to their rooms.  Without him realizing it, Bhima began fading away in his sleep, due to the poison working in his body.  Knowing how long it took for the poison, Duryodhana waited patiently.  Then, his brother Dushasana helped him carry Bhima to a deep part of the river and push him in with his hands and legs bound. 

Bhima sank down to the bottom of the river, where some venomous water snakes bit him.  Bhima woke up and fought them to save himself, thinking the serpents were attacking him.  He tried to chase them away with the strength that was left in him.  To his astonishment Vasuki, the king of snakes, came and greated Bhima.  Vasuki said that he sent his clan to save Bhima from the venom he had in his body.  Vasuki also explained that Bhima was related to him and that Lord Vayu, the God of wind, had sent him a message that Bhima was in danger.  Vasuki gave Bhima the details of the venom and its origin, which immediately revealed what had really happened.  Bhima was taken to Nagaloka. the world of snakes, to recover.

The next day, at the play castle, the Kauravas and the other Pandavas set out to go back to Hastinapura.  They start off without Bhima who was missing.  On their way they talked to one another, figuring that Bhima must have gone home before them.  The wicked Duryodhana and Dushasana knew what had happened.  Though they were glad at heart that Bhima was missing, they didn’t show it out to their cousins. 

Arriving in Hastinapura, the four Pandavas didn’t find their brother as they had expected to.  When they broke the news to Kunti, as a mother, she felt that something was wrong.  She had been observing the way the Kauravas were treating Pandu’s sons lately.  She spoke to uncle Vidura about her concern that Duryodhana was involved in Bhima’s disappearance.  Vidura advised Kunti not to take it to anyone else without evidence, as things might get even worse given Dhritarashtra’s mindset.  He assured her not to fear too much. 

Though King Dhritarashtra was eager to have his son as the next king, he didn’t want any harm done to his brother’s children.  Dhritarashtra, Bhishma, Vidura and the rest of the elders were saddened by the recent events and tried to console each other.  They sent a number of search parties all around the kingdom to find Bhima.  Kunti performed a number of penances for the safe return of her son.  All of the search parties returned with no luck.  Thinking Bhima was dead, Kunti and the Kuru family fell into deep sorrow and started to discuss doing the last rites for Bhima. 

Back in Nagaloka, the world of the snakes, Vasuki and the other Nagas gave Bhima the best hospitality until he was healthy and ready to leave.  After a few days, regaining his full strength, Bhima wanted to go back to his family.  He was blessed by Vasuki and the other snakes.  Vasuki gave an auspicious nectar to Bhima, which made him even stronger, giving him the power of hundred elephants.  Then Vasuki brought him to the surface of the water and placed him in the garden where he had been having fun. 

The mighty Bhima, arriving on the surface of the earth, thanked Vasuki and the other Nagas.  Vasuksi vanished.  Bhima ran to Hastinapura to see his mother.  Arriving there, he bowed down to Kunti, the elders and his eldest brother Yudhisthira, and hugged his younger brothers.  Everyone was extremely happy to see Bhima back.  But Duryodhana, his brothers and Shakuni were dumbfounded and extremely unhappy.

After returning to their chambers, Bhima narrated to his mother and brothers everything about the villainy of Duryodhana, and the unlucky and lucky incidents that had happened to him in the play castle and the Nagaloka.  Thereupon Yudhishthira told the brothers to observe silence on this matter and, from that day onwards, to protect one another with care.  

Hearing Bhima’s story, Kunti decided to leave Hastinapura and take the Pandavas to her father.  Through a spy, Bhishma learned everything that happened and advised Kunti against deserting Hastinapura.  Bhishma gave his word to make things right.  Kunti accepted Bhishma’s word and remained in Hastinapura with her sons. 

More to come…