Analysis

The Indebtedness of Ekalavya


Ekalavya had a dream. He aspired to become an accomplished archer. It was an extraordinary desire; a challenge to the then establishment. Dronachjarya had declined to take him as his disciple Ekalavya did not give up.  He erected a statue of the teacher and began his self-education. He achieved his objective by sheer determination and perseverance.  His skills appeared to be superior to the royal disciples of Dronacharya, whose vested interests seemed to be threatened. Then Drona called upon Ekalavya and claimed Guru dakshina. He demanded Ekalavya’s right thumb. It did not require much ingenuity on the part of Ekalavya to understand his motive behind such a queer wish. Even then he conceded. How can this be explained and rationalized?
 
Ekalavya belonged to the low Bhil community; hence could not be accepted by the royal teacher. Ekalavya conceded the demand of Drona; He must have been tempted by the prospect of earning legitimacy and acceptance of the establishment.
Whenever the dreams of a person (Eklavya) appear to threaten the inequalities perpetuated by the establishment and begins to appear capable of translating such dream into reality, the system (Drona) mobilizes its resources to incapacitate him. 
  

01-Mar-2011

More by :  Ganganand Jha


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Views: 3711      Comments: 12



Comment it is very difficult to pronounce a judgement
its good to read pck prem's tales from Mahabharata which helps us understand things in the proper perspective
all the best
ramarao

ramji
27-Aug-2015 01:32 AM

Comment yes,this is a example of law of karama. strong determination
can change any body in this world

davinder
01-Apr-2012 04:40 AM

Comment Well no one is perfect!!! Drona and Arjuna were not free from human prejudices and jealousies... and ofcourse the caste system was very much prevalent in those days. Upper caste had usurped power and had barred the other castes from having it...
No system is perfect. It is immature to expect perfection in a system full of imperfect people !!!!
Perhaps Ekalavya should not have given his thumb. should have been wiser.. or may be Drona should have acted wisely and forced a bond of friendship between Arjuna and Ekalavya, instead of asking for his thumb, thereby making the pandavas more formidable.
I would say Drona was not a perfect guru ....


Harsha
14-Mar-2011 05:45 AM

Comment Maybe this is what is meant by the saying: One has to learn directly from a Guru, facing a Guru to have the best effect. That is the way VIDYA was imparted in the Gurukula system in ancient days. Whatever maybe the developments in technology today, in my opinion, the ancient method was the best method. A person learning music for eg., from the internet, will NEVER EVER get the VIDWAT of a student learning directly from a MASTER. The Guru not only imparted the VIDYA that was being sought, but also taught his chosen disciples Patience, Duty, Obedience and many such things needed to live a life fruitfully. EKALAVYA chose the unaccepted way and therefore the VIDYA he acquired did not serve any purpose.

chitra
11-Mar-2011 09:04 AM

Comment " Imagine a situation if Dronachrya didn't ask for his gurudakshina."
The services of Dronacharya with the royal family would have been threatened. Moreover he had a soft corner for Arjun, he could not bear someone superseding Arjun and that too as a disciple of Drona. So Drona's consciene was not unblemished

Manik
06-Mar-2011 01:48 AM

Comment Often it is observed that historical episodes are discussed in public arena with great passion and we all have some kind of strong opinion regarding them. I don't call them facts because these episodes have some myth attached to them. However,by discussing about them today,we try to bring some relevance to them by connecting them to some modern democratic thoughts and ideas. It is important that we be more critical than being judgemental. Let us think what would had happened if Dronacharya had not asked for his gurudakshina from Eklavya. Was there any chance that we could know about Eklavya? Never. What Dronacharya did was far more than what we see. Only a real Teacher can make certain gestures which has greater consequences. Today we remember Eklavya's sacrifice more than what Dronachrya did to make his disciple get due share and credit in the history.

Rajshekhar
05-Mar-2011 13:28 PM

Comment People in authority have vested interests in the prevailing order, They feel threatened by changes. So they resort to all means-- fair or foul-- to resist the rise of new order
Moreover, they employ jargons to provide respectability to their unjust attitude

dadu
02-Mar-2011 01:36 AM

Comment Was Drona a teacher to Ekalavya? How his conscience did not prick him to claim that EKalavya owed Gurudakshina to him?

dadu
02-Mar-2011 00:28 AM

Comment Eklavya was successful in doing wot he intended to achieve.He is still remembered as a great disciple and one who could compromise to unacceptable levels to gain acceptance in system.He is referred to and discussed...this itself speaks of his achievements...

Shruti Anand
02-Mar-2011 00:17 AM

Comment Truly an establishment tries to maintain 'Status quo ante' by discouraging a change & introduction of an alien entity.

Baldeo Pandey
01-Mar-2011 23:27 PM

Comment A Mahatma , Mr M.L. King and their likes have to face and overcome resistance of the vested interests. More often the resistance may be coated with deception.

dadu
01-Mar-2011 23:11 PM

Comment A system does not win all the time!!
Just check profile of Mahatma Gandhi or Mr M L King or other profile, we have several examples where a person has not surrendered to the establishment.

Anurag Mishra
01-Mar-2011 22:50 PM




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