Word

Ekalavya

Sanskrit

एकलव्य

IAST

ekalavya

In General

Ekalavya was son of Hiranyadhanus, King of the Nisadas. He fought in the side of Kauravas during the Mahabharata war.

Ekalavya was a gifted archer. While young he approached Drona to learn the science of the use of weapons. Drona, a teacher of royal princes was not ready to teach the military science to less privileged. The grief stricken Ekalavya returned, after prostrating at the feet of Drona. Though Ekalavya returned to the woods, he spied on the lesson practiced by the royal princess and made an image of Drona with earth and meditating upon it as guru began practicing the use of weapons.

Purana

Once the Kauravas and the Pandavas went hunting in the forest. Seeing Ekalavyain forest with his matted hair and clad in deer skin the hunting dogs began barking at him. Ekalavya shot into the mouth of the dog seven arrows at one and the same moment. Arjuna who was always praised by his guru as the best archer in the world, instantly realized that the boy is not ordinary archer. To the query of Arjuna as to who his guru is, Ekalavya replied that, it is none other than Dronacharya. Grief-stricken and jealous Arjuna hurried up to Drona and said: "You had pronounced me to be your foremost disciple without an equal. But, today Ekalavya, another disciple of yours has relegated me to the second place".

Thereupon Drona went and saw Ekalavya in the forest. Ekalavya, received the guru in great respect and displayed his skills. Drona felt that the boy could be a future threat to kingdom and thus said, "Oh ! Ekalavya if thou art my disciple give me the daksina (fee) due to the guru, and I desire to get the thumb of your right hand as my fee".

At once Ekalavya cut his right thumb and presented it to Drona, fully knowing that with the right thump gone he will never repeat the skills he has shown just before. Ever since Ekalavya had vengeance against Arjuna and he fought in the side of Kauravas during the Mahabharata War