Story: Eklavya: The person who could have been the greatest archer

Eklavya: The person who could have been the greatest archer

 Once Pandavas were out exploring and one of the dogs they sent ahead of them started barking. As they followed the sound, the sound suddenly ceased.

It turned out someone had shot the dog up with arrows. And the way they had done it
was a sight to behold. The dog hadn't been hurt but its mouth was full of arrows which had been so precisely shot that they were jamming the animal's mouth completely. As everyone marvelled at the dog's condition, a single tear rolled down Arjun's cheek. His ambition of becoming the world's greatest archer seemed to be at an end. Whoever this was he was greater than Arjun.

 When the Pandavas sought out the archer who had displayed such great skill, they found Eklavya, a nishad boy. He was no warrior but a mere hunter.  He was the price of no kingdom. He was not even a Kshetriya. When Eklavya found out that he was before the princes of Hastinapur, he kneeled and paid his respects. He asked them what he could do for them. Before anyone could ask him anything, Arjun asked him a blunt question, "Who was his Guru and from where had he learnt the art of archery?"Eklavya answered with one word "Drone". While the Pandavas stood about wondering how it could be that their teacher Drone had taught this forest dweller, Arjun rode back to Hastinapur to demand answers from Drone. He accused Drone of betraying him and his ambition but Drone had no knowledge of this mysterious student of his. Upon coming face to face with Eklavya, Drone asked the nishad boy why he considered him his Guru. Eklavya bowed to his teacher and showed him an image of Drone that he had crafted with his own hands. He reminded Drone that once long ago he had come to Drone and asked to be accepted as a pupil and that Drone had refused him saying he only taught Khsetriyas. Drone was speechless for a moment. Eklavya's thirst for knowledge had not only surpassed Arjun, the Pandav Prince, but it had also defeated Drone himself. By merely practising in front of a handcrafted image, Eklavya had made himself into the world's best archer. Drone suppressed the urge to praise Eklavya's devotion. He buried the part of himself that valued fairness and justice.  He asked Eklavya for his Guru Dakshina. He demanded that the nishad boy cut off his right thumb and give it to him. Eklavya didn't lose a moment and did as his Guru asked. Drone walked away from the forest knowing that there was no way Eklavya would be the world's greatest archer without the thumb on his right hand. He took no pleasure in the fact that he had effectively ended the legend that could one day have been Eklavya.

By Aashish Manandhar 

(Adapted from the epic Mahabharat)

Go to this link to listen to the Nepali-translated audio.

https://youtu.be/vPrqyM9_0Ds