One story that has been peddled by the leftist intellectuals to prove their MYOPIC NARRATIVE that the societal structure of BHARATAVARSHA or ancient India was unfair to the lower castes is the STORY OF EKALAVYA & DRONACHARYA
The story occurs when the PANDAVAS & KAURAVAS are just young boys learning weaponry from GURU DRON. The Guru takes the young boys to the JUNGLE (the current GURUGRAM or GURGAON). Very similar to the ARMY TRAINING BASES of today.
Ekalavya was the son of Hiranyadhanus, who was the chief of the Bheel tribe, known to be forest-dwelling hunters. While wandering the jungle foraging for daily needs he happens to stumble upon DRONACHARYA’s training. There’s a big board as they have in ARMY TRAINNG BASES even today
The below pic is entry gate of the NDA (NATIONAL DEENSE ACADEMY)
What EALAVYA sees is noting less than a SPECTACLE.
Ekalavya gets excited. He wants to be part of this amazing thing. He wishes to learn. He approaches Dronacharya.
For a moment just IMAGINE if the same thing happens today in the NDA’s – a random guy sneaks into an army base and tells the CO (Commanding Officer) that he wants to be part of it. What will the CO do?Will the CO invite him with love and affection or ask him to get lost and not waste his time. These days if something like this happens, the TRESSPASSER will be SHOT immediately. Do I need to remind you of the URI attack in 2016 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Uri_attack) and the SURGICAL STRIKE in response to that.
But DRON ACHARAYA being the nice person that he was, met this TRIBAL BOY. heard him out completely and asked him to go back to his home and forget about what all he saw here.
Please do remember that TRIBALS were A-VARNA, they did not belong to any of the 4 VARNAS.
A contemporary comparison, I would say they were more like the NEGRITO TRIBES in ANDOMAN NICOBAR – Great Andamanese, Onge, Jarawa and Sentinelese.
These are people who had their own lifestyle – hunter gatherer ways and were happy with it. They did not want to e part of the MAINSTREAM SOCIETY.. Even if someone tried, to communicate, it would end brutally. Even though Govt of India has many schemes for social welfare, none of them applies on these people. Cause they don’t want it ad they were OK with it.
That’s the concept of A-VARNA.
But the ADIVASI (TRIBAL) boy EKALAVYA is not ready to give up his resolve.
He stays hidden while GURU Dron is teaching the Kaurava and Pandava brothers, then he collects the mud on which his Guru walked, makes an idol of DRON ACHARAYA using the mud under a big old well-grown tree for inspiration. He then begins a disciplined program of self-study over many years. He accepts the idol as his guru and practices in front of it every single day.
GURU DRON asks EKALAVYA about who taught him all these skills, EKALAVYA replies “You” and shows DRON the IDOL that he had constructed himself and tells him about how he trained himself.
What does GURU DRON do?
Think about it from the PERSPECTIVE of the world we live in now.
What would a COMMANDING OFFICER do in today’s date if a guy shows up at their base with self taught weapon skills. ?
WHAT HAPPENS when there are too many people RUNNNG AROUND WITH GUNS . USA knows it best.- https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mass-shootings-2019-more-than-days-365/
But GURU DRONA is a nice guy. He asks EKALAVYA for the THUMB FINGER of his RIGHT HAND as GURU DAKSHINA.
A lot of people don’t know, but EKALAVYA still persists, he practices archery using his LEFT HAND LEGS He becomes the KING OFTHE NISHADAS.
He also serves under KING JARASANDHA’s army as a GENERAL.
He also offers his services to GURU DRON for the MAHABHARATA war. But is killed by KRISHNA when JARASANDHA attacks DWARKA so he’s dead even before the WAR BEGINS.
After him, his eldest son KETUMAN becomes the KING of the NISHADAS and fights the MAHABHARATA WAR from the KAURAVA side. He’s killed by BHEEM.
Yes EKALAVYA was better than ARJUNA in archery, no doubts. But DRONA’s asking him for his RIGHT THUMB meant that he didn’t want him to be an archer at all. Cause otherwise he would have been a GREAT ARCHER and DURYODHAN would have convinced him to fight for him (if he would have been alive). Cause if he would have been, he would have been an important warrior in the MAHABHARATA war. To be fair calling MAHABHARATA a war is a misnomer, it was a CARNAGE. Complete, total absolute destruction.
Almost 4 million people died in the 18 day war. Here’s the MATH
One Akshauhin was about 2,18,000 Chariots, Elephants, Horses, Solidiers
kauravas – 11 Akshauhini + Pandavas 7 Akshauhini,
It was a war where all the kingdoms of India participated and all the great warriors of that time participated and most got killed.
This included BHIM’s son GHATOTHGAJA & ARJUNA’s son ABHIMANYU to name a few
If EKALAVYA would have become the BEST ARCHER in the country, he would have been part of the MAHABHARATA WAR and he would have got killed somehow or the other.
Lord KRISHNA would have made sure of that and he did get killed y LORD KRISHNA.
Think what happened to KARNA he was as good as Arjuna wasn’t he.
DRON realized, it was not EKALAVYA’s war. He didn’t have to be part of it and ONLY WAY TO MAKE SURE of that was to take his THUMB finger away.
To be fair to GURU DRON, tried his best to keep EKALAVYA from harms way. But EKALAVYA was destined to e killed by LORD KRISHNA one way or the other.
Like RAVANA & HIRANYAKASHAPU, MOKSHA was destined or EKALAVYA.
Jai GANESHA!