The Stranger - Unknown Disciple

This is part of my ongoing series on the Mahabharat, an epic poem of ancient India. For links to all previous Mahabharat posts go here. Or you can simply click on the Mahabharat page link above.


This is a day late. Forgive me. My job is eating me alive.

This is the fifth part of The Stranger series. Click for the first, second, third, and fourth parts.


Guru Drona continued to teach the princes, training them to be fearless warriors, intelligent scholars, and decisive statesmen.

Arjuna was without a doubt his favourite, that was no secret, but he never shirked in teaching the others all he could.

One day, the princes were playing together when they saw a dog run past with arrows lodged in his mouth. The arrows pierced the dog's jaw, effectively sealing his mouth shut.

Stunned, the Pandavas and the Kauravas all ran after the dog, trying to see exactly what had been done to it. But it ran fast.

"Who's it running from?" little Nakula asked, panting.

"Whoever shot it," Yudhistira said.

"But who?" Nakula persisted. "Only Arjuna is as good an archer as that."

Arjuna was following the dog along with the rest of them. At Nakula's words, he turned around and ran the other way.

"Hey!" Bhima yelled. "Where are you going?" Arjuna didn't answer so his brothers turned and went after him.

Arjuna was looking at the ground, following the trail of the dog until they came back to the school playground. He took note of which direction the trail led, then headed towards Drona's hut.

Arjuna had a bad feeling about this. It was frightening what had been done to that poor dog. And who could be as good an archer as that? Arjuna had been training hard. He knew he was good. Very good. But was there someone as good as him?

Drona listened gravely to Arjuna's report. He stood and let Arjuna point out the trail.

Together they followed it, back towards whoever had shot the dog.

The Kauravas had just returned too and they joined in the hunt along with the other Pandavas.

Arjuna's heart was beating fast. He knew that something was about to happen but he didn't know what.

They went deep into the forest and came upon a glade, where the dense growth opened out. A small mud hut was hidden away in the corner. A youth with bead jewellery and a feather headress was practicing his archery on a target set on the distant side of the glade.

On hearing Drona arrive with the princes, the youth turned and faced them.

He was dark, with straight white teeth and black eyes. His body was small but well formed and strong. He must have been around sixteen or seventeen years old.

His eyes widened as he recognised Guru Drona and he dropped to his knees to perform obeisance. "Gurudev!" he said in ecstatic welcome as he touched his head to the ground before Drona.

Arjuna looked at his brothers in dismay. Who was this tribal youth who called Drona his Guru? Arjuna had never seen him before.

Drona went closer.

The youth stood. "Gurudev," he said again.

"Young man," Drona said, "I do not know you. Why do you call me your guru?"

Yes! Arjuna was thinking. Why?

"You are my guru," the youth said.

Drona shook his head. "Who are you?"

"My name is Eklavya. I'm a bhil from Magadh."

"And what are you doing here in Hastinapur?"

"I wanted to learn from you so I came here and built this hut."

"Yet you never introduced yourself to me until now. So why do you call me your guru?"

"Because I've learned all I know from you. I've watched your classes in secret, then practiced here before your image. Look," the tribal youth pointed to a small altar that was in front of his hut. There was a little mud statue of a man there. It looked just like Drona. "I made that so I could pay my respects to you everyday, and be mindful of your teachings."

Arjuna was stunned as he looked at the little image of Drona. He'd never seen such dedication to a guru. Eklavya was amazing.

Drona was silent as he studied the statue of himself. Then: "Was it you who shot the dog?" he asked the youth.

"Yes, Gurudev."

"Why?"

"I was practicing my archery and the dog was barking and disturbing my concentration. So I shot it's mouth closed."

Drona was silent for another long moment. "That was some extremely good archery, according to my disciple Arjuna."

"My skill is due to your teachings," Eklavya said. "I owe you everything."

Drona was silent for another long moment. Arjuna couldn't imagine what was in his mind.

"You call me your guru. You say that you owe me for all your skill," Drona said.

Eklavya nodded.

Drona clasped his hands behind his back. "It is tradition for a disciple to pay a tuition fee to his guru."

"Tell me what your fee is, Gurudev, and I shall pay it."

Drona looked around the heavily shaded glade as he contemplated Eklavya's words. "And you will pay me whatever I ask as my fee?"

"Whatever you ask."

"Then I ask for the thumb of your right hand."

Arjuna stared at Drona in horror. The thumb of Eklavya's right hand? But if he gave that...

Even as Arjuna was stuck contemplating this disaster for an archer, Eklavya drew his dagger and cut his thumb off. It fell to the ground as blood poured from his hand.

Swiftly, Eklavya bound his hand and then wrapped the little stump of his fallen thumb in a piece of cloth. He presented it to Drona. "Here is my fee, Gurudev."

Every single one of the princes was silent. They couldn't believe what Drona had done. To take Eklavya's right thumb was to virtually destroy any skill he had as an archer.

"Bless you, Eklavya," Drona said.

The tribal youth folded his hands and bowed, his makeshift bandage already soaked red.

Drona turned and walked away, back to the school grounds.

The princes looked from him to Eklavya and back again, then ran to catch up with their guru who had already disappeared through the green foliage.

When they reached the school it was class time again and Drona wasted no effort as he drilled them.

But Arjuna couldn't concentrate. He made mistakes, forgot simple calculations, couldn't keep the formulae in his head. Why did Drona do that? he kept thinking. Yes, Eklavya had shot at a helpless dog, but all of the boys had, in some way, made mistakes. Drona had never punished any of them so brutally.

Was it because Eklavya as a tribal? A bhil?

Or worse, was it because Drona hadn't wanted a rival to Arjuna? Eklavya had clearly been an archer to top all others. He'd been on Arjuna's own level. Did Drona do this to fulfill his promise to make Arjuna the greatest archer in the world?

The next day, Arjuna and Ashwattama were with Drona, taking their extra lessons while the other boys played. Both students were more silent than usual. They didn't know what to say.

Drona paused in his explanation of a battle strategy. "What is it you're both hesitant to say?"

The boys looked at each other. They didn't say anything.

"Tell me. I'm your guru. Between a guru and disciple there should always be honesty and trust."

Ashwattama glanced away.

Drona looked at Arjuna who also wouldn't meet his gaze.

Ashwattama turned back. "Father, why did you make Eklavya cut off his thumb?"

Drona tilted his head. "He is what you're all so upset about?"

Silence.

"Why do you think I did it?" Drona asked.

Arjuna bowed his head.

Drona chuckled. "Because I didn't want him to rival you, Arjuna?"

Arjuna jerked.

Ashwattama's eyes flashed. "You mean that's not why?"

Drona shook his head at them both. "What did I just tell you? Between a guru and disciple there should always be honesty and trust. No secrets. No lies." Drona sighed. "Eklavya never came to me in honesty. He never humbly asked for knowledge. He tried to make me into his guru but he never asked permission to be my disciple."

"But he was sincere," Ashwattama said. "He cut off his own thumb for you!"

"He hid and secretly took the lessons I was giving you. True knowledge can only be given, not taken. And true knowledge should only be given to those who have proved themselves worthy. You have to earn it."

Arjuna's mouth opened as he began to understand what Drona was saying.

"Eklavya didn't earn his knowledge," Drona said. "He stole it. And knowledge that is stolen can never have a good result. That's why I took his thumb. I was preventing him from using the knowledge he'd stolen for harmful purposes. As he used it with that dog."

Arjuna was ashamed of himself. He'd thought that his guru had done something ignoble. Something selfish. But Drona's motive had been different entirely.

"Knowledge is a dangerous thing in the wrong hands," Drona said.


We like to think of education as a right. And it is, for the most part. But the real truth is that there are certain types of knowledge that most people should not be privy too. Like knowledge of particular weapons. Or state secrets. Or certain scientific discoveries. Not all knowledge is for common consumption because that leaves it open to being misused. Or misinterpreted. That puts others in danger.

To take knowledge from a source, without permission or right, is the same as stealing it. And no good result can come from stealing.

Many centuries ago, ancient Chinese and Indian civilisations knew exactly what gunpowder was. They just didn't use it. Not because they didn't know how to make it, but because they understood it to be too dangerous to use. It was a weapon of mass destruction. One that could bring harm to countless people. So they kept the knowledge of it secret, safeguarding the formula but not using it.

Then westerners learned of gunpowder and instantly they began figuring out ways to kill others with it. What the Chinese and the Indians had feared came to pass. Because knowledge in the wrong hands is dangerous.


Go here for the previous post in this series entitled The Stranger - Excellence.