"I see an eye, only an eye". Thus spoke Arjuna in one of the test put by Drona.
Arjuna was very competitive and had an inner fire to be the very best. He saw the Drona did not impart all his knowledge with the princes but with Ashwathama. Finally, Drona gave into this persistence and promised that he will make Arjuna the greatest archer in the world. Drona openly used to declare that Arjuna is favourite student.
Arjuna too maybe deserved the attention. Arjuna had seen Bhima eat in the dark from which he perceived that his arrows should hit the target just like the hand carrying the food to the mouth. Arjuna used to practise archery in the dark as well.
Once, the princes came across a dog with arrows in it's mouth. It was placed in such a way that the dog did not die but it could not longer bark. Arjuna was also maybe insecure. Drona sensed it and went on to investigate the matter. They met Ekalavya who confessed that it was him who had done the feat. He also confessed he had made a statue of Drona and practised archery as per direction from Drona himself. Drona had rejected Ekalavya earlier based on his lower caste. Drona was bound by his word that he would make Arjuna the greatest archer. Hence, he asked for Ekalavya's right thumb as Guru Dakshina (Fees). Ekalavya without any hesitation cut it out and gave it.
Was it fitting for a teacher to promise his disciple that he will be the greatest in a particular field? Was it fitting for a teacher to openly announce and at times, maybe discriminate his favourite disciple? Was keeping up with one's word more important rather than rewarding someone's merit? This are the questions that are unanswered in this chapter.
In an archery test, Drona asked his students to aim at a parrot placed hanging from a tree. Before releasing the arrow, he asked "What do you see?".
Yuddhistira said "I see a parrot".
Duryodhana, to outdo Yuddhistira, said, "I see a stuffed parrot placed on a tree".
Bhima, to outdo Duryodhana, said, "I see a stuffed parrot places on a tree under a clear blue sky".
Arjuna answered as mentioned above.
Other than being a formal test, readers can see this metaphorically as well. Yuddhistira was decently focused but not much. Duryodhana and Bhima had completely lost focus on the main aim. Only Arjuna was on targetted focus. So in this journey of life, it is upon us to be an Arjuna or anyone else. Although we might be aware of the target, our vision might be skewed by so many other distractions happily found in life. Should we share our focus on them or just on our own way?
Arjuna was very competitive and had an inner fire to be the very best. He saw the Drona did not impart all his knowledge with the princes but with Ashwathama. Finally, Drona gave into this persistence and promised that he will make Arjuna the greatest archer in the world. Drona openly used to declare that Arjuna is favourite student.
Arjuna too maybe deserved the attention. Arjuna had seen Bhima eat in the dark from which he perceived that his arrows should hit the target just like the hand carrying the food to the mouth. Arjuna used to practise archery in the dark as well.
Once, the princes came across a dog with arrows in it's mouth. It was placed in such a way that the dog did not die but it could not longer bark. Arjuna was also maybe insecure. Drona sensed it and went on to investigate the matter. They met Ekalavya who confessed that it was him who had done the feat. He also confessed he had made a statue of Drona and practised archery as per direction from Drona himself. Drona had rejected Ekalavya earlier based on his lower caste. Drona was bound by his word that he would make Arjuna the greatest archer. Hence, he asked for Ekalavya's right thumb as Guru Dakshina (Fees). Ekalavya without any hesitation cut it out and gave it.
Was it fitting for a teacher to promise his disciple that he will be the greatest in a particular field? Was it fitting for a teacher to openly announce and at times, maybe discriminate his favourite disciple? Was keeping up with one's word more important rather than rewarding someone's merit? This are the questions that are unanswered in this chapter.
In an archery test, Drona asked his students to aim at a parrot placed hanging from a tree. Before releasing the arrow, he asked "What do you see?".
Yuddhistira said "I see a parrot".
Duryodhana, to outdo Yuddhistira, said, "I see a stuffed parrot placed on a tree".
Bhima, to outdo Duryodhana, said, "I see a stuffed parrot places on a tree under a clear blue sky".
Arjuna answered as mentioned above.
Other than being a formal test, readers can see this metaphorically as well. Yuddhistira was decently focused but not much. Duryodhana and Bhima had completely lost focus on the main aim. Only Arjuna was on targetted focus. So in this journey of life, it is upon us to be an Arjuna or anyone else. Although we might be aware of the target, our vision might be skewed by so many other distractions happily found in life. Should we share our focus on them or just on our own way?
No comments:
Post a Comment