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EKLAVYAS LOYALTY
Eklavyas Loyalty
This is the story of a long-gone era. In the country of India, nearly five thousand years back, lived a boy named Eklavya, the son of a tribal chief in the forests of the kingdom- Hastinapura. Eklavya was a brave, handsome boy. He was loved by all. But he was not happy. His father saw that something troubled Eklavya. More than once he found his son lost deep in thought when other boys enjoyed the pleasures of hunting and playing.
One day the father asked his son, Why are you so unhappy, Eklavya? Why don t you join your friends? Why are you not interested in hunting? Father, I want to be an archer replied Eklavya, I want to become a disciple of the great Dronacharya, the great tutor of Archery in Hastinapura.
His Gurukul is a magical place where ordinary boys are turned into mighty warriors. Eklavya saw his father was silent. He continued, Father, I know that we belong to the hunting tribe, but I want to be a warrior, father, not a mere hunter. So please allow me to leave home and become the disciple of Dronacharya. Eklavya’s father was troubled, for he knew that his son s ambition was not an easy one. But the chief was a loving father and he did not want to refuse his only son s wish. So the kind man gave his blessings and sent his son on his way to Drona s Gurukul. Eklavya set on his way. Soon he reached the part of the forest where Drona taught the princes of Hastinapur. In those days, there was no such system as a school, college, university or hostel.
The only place where one could get some education was a Gurukul . A Gurukul (Guru refers to teacher or master, Kul refers to his domain, from the Sanskrit word kula, meaning extended family.) is a type of ancient Hindu school in India that is residential in nature with the shishyas or students and the guru or teacher living in proximity, many a time within the same house. The Gurukul is the place where the students resided together as equals, irrespective of their social standing. The students learned from the guru and also helped the guru in his day-to-day life, including the carrying out of mundane chores such as washing clothes, cooking, etc. The education imparted thus, was a wholesome one. Having said this much, let us now return to Eklavya. When the boy reached Dronacharya s Gurukul, he saw that it consisted of a group of huts, surrounded by trees and an archery yard. The disciples were practicing to shoot arrows with their bows and arrows in the yard.
It was an engaging sight. But Eklavya s eyes searched Drona. Where was he? Will he be able to see the man? Without Drona, all his purpose of coming here would be meaningless. But all his worries soon subsided. He did not have to wait for long. There was the man standing near a tree busy instructing a boy, who was none else than the third Pandava prince Arjuna, as Eklavya came to know later. Though Eklavya had never seen Drona before, he put his guess at work. He went near Drona and bowed. The sage was surprised to see a strange boy...
This is the story of a long-gone era. In the country of India, nearly five thousand years back, lived a boy named Eklavya, the son of a tribal chief in the forests of the kingdom- Hastinapura. Eklavya was a brave, handsome boy. He was loved by all. But he was not happy. His father saw that something troubled Eklavya. More than once he found his son lost deep in thought when other boys enjoyed the pleasures of hunting and playing.
One day the father asked his son, Why are you so unhappy, Eklavya? Why don t you join your friends? Why are you not interested in hunting? Father, I want to be an archer replied Eklavya, I want to become a disciple of the great Dronacharya, the great tutor of Archery in Hastinapura.
His Gurukul is a magical place where ordinary boys are turned into mighty warriors. Eklavya saw his father was silent. He continued, Father, I know that we belong to the hunting tribe, but I want to be a warrior, father, not a mere hunter. So please allow me to leave home and become the disciple of Dronacharya. Eklavya’s father was troubled, for he knew that his son s ambition was not an easy one. But the chief was a loving father and he did not want to refuse his only son s wish. So the kind man gave his blessings and sent his son on his way to Drona s Gurukul. Eklavya set on his way. Soon he reached the part of the forest where Drona taught the princes of Hastinapur. In those days, there was no such system as a school, college, university or hostel.
The only place where one could get some education was a Gurukul . A Gurukul (Guru refers to teacher or master, Kul refers to his domain, from the Sanskrit word kula, meaning extended family.) is a type of ancient Hindu school in India that is residential in nature with the shishyas or students and the guru or teacher living in proximity, many a time within the same house. The Gurukul is the place where the students resided together as equals, irrespective of their social standing. The students learned from the guru and also helped the guru in his day-to-day life, including the carrying out of mundane chores such as washing clothes, cooking, etc. The education imparted thus, was a wholesome one. Having said this much, let us now return to Eklavya. When the boy reached Dronacharya s Gurukul, he saw that it consisted of a group of huts, surrounded by trees and an archery yard. The disciples were practicing to shoot arrows with their bows and arrows in the yard.
It was an engaging sight. But Eklavya s eyes searched Drona. Where was he? Will he be able to see the man? Without Drona, all his purpose of coming here would be meaningless. But all his worries soon subsided. He did not have to wait for long. There was the man standing near a tree busy instructing a boy, who was none else than the third Pandava prince Arjuna, as Eklavya came to know later. Though Eklavya had never seen Drona before, he put his guess at work. He went near Drona and bowed. The sage was surprised to see a strange boy...
