Reading Notes: Mahabharata Episodes Part B

Arjuna and the Arrows from Ekalavya: picture from Epified

Hey guys!

These videos keep getting better oh my gosh!

The most shocking story to me was Ekalavya's Story. I remember reading this story, but I do not remember how shocking it was. I cannot believe Drona made Ekalavya cut off his thumb.

I thought it was awesome how this individual episode began. The Pandavas left to explore the forest and their dog ran ahead and began to bark. The dog stopped barking. When the Pandavas arrived they found the dog not dead, but silenced. The dog was silenced with several arrows in his mouth. This proved whoever shot the arrows was the most skilled archer, his aim was perfect. Arjuna was deviated because he wished to be the greatest archer. They asked Ekalavya who his teacher was and he told them it was Drona. Drona trained the Pandavas soooooo they were upset with him to say the least, but he did not in fact train Ekalavya. He had actually denied training him, but Ekalavya was so desperate he created a picture of Drona and practiced in front of it. To make things "right" for Arjuna, Drona asked Ekalavya to cut off his right thumb so he could no longer be the best archer. Ekalavya did this.

This was so shocking to me. What is Arjuna trained with Ekalavya? What if the accepted him into their family? I do not see why they had to be so hostile towards him. I think this would be a great story to turn around and show a different ending. It could also be told from Ekalavya"s perspective, which is what I think I will do this week. If I tell it this way, I want to do a day in the life set up. So the whole story takes place in one day. Definitely in first person, maybe in the format of a journal entry or just from his eyes.

Bibliography: Mahabharata Episodes Part B: Ekalavya's Story,  found on Youtube by Epified