Who was Eklavya?
Eklavya was not an ordinary person. He belonged to a royal family. He was the son of Nishad named Hiranya Dhanu, the king of Shringverpur. Later Eklavya himself became the ruler of the Shringverpur state. Eklavya was an efficient ruler. He defeated many kings and emperors with his bravery and took his kingdom forward.
Guru Dronacharya refused to teach archery to Eklavya
Since childhood, Eklavya was very interested in shooting a bow and arrow. So one day he went to Guru Dronacharya to learn the art of bow. But unfortunately, Guru Dronacharya refused to teach archery to Eklavya. Then Eklavya made a clay idol of Guru Dronacharya with his hand and standing in front of that idol took a vow that he would not set foot in his royal palace until he learned the art of using a bow and arrow. He developed the art of using his bow by living in the forest like a forest dweller.
Dronacharya meets Eklavya
Guru Dronacharya came to the forest to hunt with Arjuna, Bhima, Yudhishthira and Nakula, and Sahadeva. He also had a dog with him. That day Guru Dronacharya went out to hunt in the forest with the Pandavas. Came with them, the dog of the Pandava prince also went out to roam somewhere else. The dog reached Shringverpur state while roaming around. This was the kingdom of Eklavya only. There the dog started barking loudly after entering his palace.
At that time Eklavya was engrossed in his meditation posture. That dog reached in front of Eklavya sitting in the park. There also he started barking loudly. Eklavya’s attention was distracted by the barking of that dog. He tried hard to stop the dog from barking. But the dog was not ready to accept it. He was barking continuously. On Ekalavya’s refusal, the dog ran to bite him. Then Eklavya got angry and raised his bow and arrow and aimed at the dog, who was barking. Instead of hurting that dog with a bow and arrow, he found a middle way.
Eklavya used amazing archery to shut the mouth of the dog
Eklavya released arrows from his bow in such a way that he kept filling the arrows left by him in the dog’s mouth. His mouth was filled with arrows. Due to the mouth of that dog being filled with arrows, he was no longer capable of barking. Now that dog thought it good to run away from Eklavya.
The dog had come back to Dronacharya and the Pandava prince. When Dronacharya and Pandava prince saw this condition of the dog, they were surprised. That dog’s mouth was full of arrows. Guru Dronacharya could not understand that the archer Arjuna had gone hunting with him, then which other archer is greater than Arjuna, who shot arrows in the mouth of this dog. The target of the arrows fired into the dog’s mouth was so accurate that all those arrows entered inside the dog’s mouth. The question arose in the mind of Guru Dronacharya who could be this archer greater than Arjuna who could fill the dog’s mouth with arrows without hurting it? This question was constantly revolving in the mind of Guru Dronacharya.
Now there was only one way for Dronacharya to know the answers to the questions arising in his mind. Only that dog could reach that great archer. After freeing the dog from the arrows, Guru Dronacharya signaled the dog to walk in the direction of the person who had showered the arrows in their mouth.
As soon as the dog got the signal from Guru Dronacharya, he started walking toward the place where the arrows were stuck in his mouth. Guru Dronacharya himself was walking along with that dog in search of an archer greater than Arjuna. While walking, the dog reached Ringverpur, the kingdom of King Hiranya Dhanu, and started barking in front of the palace.
When Dronacharya met Ekalavya, he felicitated him
Dronacharya realized that a person was living in this Raj Bhavan who had filled the dog’s mouth with arrows. Eklavya was inside his palace at that time. When he got the news of the arrival of Guru Dronacharya from the gatekeepers, he came running outside the Raj Bhawan. When he saw Guru Dronacharya at his door, he became emotional, because today his Supreme Guru himself had come to his house.
Eklavya prostrated at the feet of Guru Dronacharya. Eklavya saw that Guru Dronacharya was accompanied by the same dog which was barked yesterday in the palace of prayer and whose mouth was filled with arrows by Eklavya. Then Eklavya asked Guru Dronacharya whether this dog had come with him. On this question of Eklavya, Guru Dronacharya told him that you have guessed right. This dog has come with us on the hunt.
Then Eklavya narrated the whole incident of yesterday to Guru Dronacharya. How that dog entered his palace and started barking loudly. Then he had showered arrows in his mouth to stop the hoarse voice of this dog. At that time Guru Dronacharya remembered that it was the same Eklavya who had come to him to learn the art of bow but he refused.
Dronacharya’s curiosity
Then a question arose in the mind of Guru Dronacharya but even after not being taught by me how to use the bow, Eklavya became more proficient in the art of bow than Arjuna. Then Guru Dronacharya thought that after I refused to teach, Eklavya might have got a bigger teacher than me, who taught Eklavya such an excellent lesson in using the bow, that he surpassed even Arjuna in this knowledge.
Guru Dronacharya asked Eklavya out of curiosity from whom did you learn to use this bow? Then Eklavya told Guru Dronacharya Guru ji, with your inspiration, I have learned to shoot bow and arrow. Guru Dronacharya could not understand what Eklavya was saying. He again asked Eklavya I refused to teach you to bow art, then how did you learn from me?
Blinded by selfishness, Dronacharya demands Eklavya’s right thumb as Dakshina.
Then Eklavya took Guru Dronacharya to the place where Eklavya had made a huge idol of Guru Dronacharya with his own hands. Guru Dronacharya was very surprised to see that idol. They started praising Eklavya in their hearts. Because Eklavya’s true passion made him a greater archer than Arjuna.
But the next moment he remembered that he had taken a vow to make Arjuna the best archer in the world. But Eklavya had become the greatest archer in the world. Then Guru Dronacharya asked Ekalavya for the thumb of his right hand as Dakshina. So that he is deprived of the knowledge of running the bow. Eklavya without any hesitation cut off the thumb of his right hand and gave it to Guru Dronacharya.
He developed the art of using a bow and arrow without a thumb
But the matter does not end here. The story is yet to come. Even after the thumb was cut, no one could stop the tune of Eklavya’s bow. He developed the art of using a bow and arrow without a thumb, which was nowhere else in the world.
After Eklavya gave his thumb to Guru Dronacharya as Dakshina, he started practicing using his forefinger and middle finger to shoot a bow and arrow. This art of using the bow was completely new. Which kept on developing. You will be surprised to know that today the art of using bow and arrow is prevalent which was developed by Eklavya after his thumb was cut off but like Arjuna, the art of using the bow could not progress further.