One day, a young man with very dark skin and tattered clothes arrived in Hastinapura who, with profound humility, asked the teacher to accept him as a student. Drona looked at him suspiciously.
“You know that I only accept in my school young people of royal blood and Aryan lineage,” he told him, “so, before I take you under my direction you need to tell me about your parents.”
The young man did not even think for a moment of lying to the one whom, within himself, he had already accepted as his guide; he knew well that an important relationship like that with his teacher could not begin with a lie.
“My name is Ekalavya,” he replied gently, “and my father is the king of the Nishadas. I know that my people are not considered Aryan, but please accept me anyway. I will be a very faithful disciple to you, and I will do my best to follow your instructions. Be merciful. I could not accept any other guru but you.”
The Nishada were considered a people of barbaric customs, and so Drona, as much as he appreciated the sincere words of the young man, politely declined the request.
The disappointment did not change Ekalavya’s mind, and he became even more determined to take instructions only from Drona. So he retired to the forest and built a clay statue very similar to the one he now considered his acarya and there he practiced, worshiping and venerating that form.
Time passed, and one day, while the princes were in the forest, one of their dogs came across the clearing where Ekalavya was practicing. Seeing that tall, dark figure, the animal became frightened and barked, but before he could close his mouth, a series of arrows blocked it without hurting him. With that unusual muzzle, the frightened dog ran to his masters, who were amazed at the feat of the unknown archer. Upon learning of the fact, Drona wanted to investigate the matter, and accompanied by Arjuna, search and found Ekalavya. As soon as the young Nishada saw the master, he respectfully threw himself at his feet.
“Who taught you to use the bow that way?” he asked him.
“My guru is Drona,” replied the young man, “and I only take orders from him.”
The issue was a sensitive one. The Nishada population was traditionally rival of the Bharatas, and their lack of basic spiritual virtues made them potential enemies of the Pandavas. He had to make sure that Ekalavya did not continue to progress like that, that he didn’t become more skilled than Arjuna. For a few moments he pondered the matter, then said:
“If I am your teacher, then you owe me the Guru-dakshina.”
“I am ready to give you anything,” answered Ekalavya. “It seems unreal to me to be accepted as your disciple. Tell me what I can do.”
“I want the most precious thing you have. Since you have learned to use the bow so well, you must give me your right thumb.”
Without even thinking, Ekalavya cut it off.
Even though he was mutilated in that way, he continued to practice and nevertheless became a valiant archer, although he lost much of his speed. In this way Drona had ensured Arjuna’s future supremacy in the use of the bow.
A few years later, before the fatal Kuruksetra war, Ekalavya would die killed by Krishna during a fight.
This is a section of the book “Maha-bharata, Vol. 1”.
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