‘It is not often that the great Narada Muni descends from the heavens to tell a story. But when he does,

it is an occasion of great significance. Today, I, Vishnu, will tell you of one such event...’

Kaurava war camp, Kurukshetra. Circa 3000 BC.

‘...which took place just before the battle of Kurukshetra in 3000 BC. And the curious location that

Narada Muni chose to unfold his story was right outside the tent of Dronacharya, at the Kaurava war camp.’

‘And it was close to these troublemakers that Narada Muni seated himself.’

‘The battle was just a few days away. Every second that passed took the soldiers closer to war.’

‘In spite of the tense situation and the inevitability of war, there were two mischief-makers in the camp who made it the perfect breeding ground for trouble.’

What?!

Yes, I swear he said

that.

I will teach him a

lesson!

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3

He is late. I will have to wait for him to teach these

men a lesson.

He asked the mute for help!

Ha ha!

‘While it angered Narada to see the craft of trouble-making wasted on a handful of idlers, he chose to remain silent, until the opportune moment presented itself.’

‘Unfortunately, for this soldier, the opportune

moment had not yet arrived.’

‘To be precise, the opportune moment had

been somewhat delayed.’

‘It was their daily practice to spend the morning gossiping

and the hot afternoon watching the fruit of this labour unfold.’

Traitor! What did you say to him?

What are you--

Help!

‘Having recently suffered injuries to the eyes and limbs, this pair had

copious amounts of time on its hands.’

Narayan! Narayan!

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‘The person Narada Muni was waiting for was an extremely determined boy called Eka.

He was on a personal quest.’

‘... even if they don’t realise it themselves.’

Oh... sorry... is... is this where

Dronacharya can be found? The Kuru

teacher? I am looking--

That is his tent! Now

move!

You’re blocking my view,

you fool!

Where am I?

Run, Eka!

‘But no one is ever really late... they arrive just on time...’

‘...as determined by fate...’

Remember this, before you open your mouth

again!Who is this

boy?

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‘Had they not been otherwise engaged, the pair would have

bombarded the boy with various questions, delaying him further. Where was he from? Who was his father? Why was he there?’

‘Thereafter, they would have probably conjured up some story which would have landed the young boy in trouble.

After all, such behaviour was their habit.’

It is not possible.

You cannot meet Dronacharya.

Not possible? What do you

mean?

Go home, child.

‘But little did they know that Eka needed no help in

getting himself into trouble.’

‘Needless to say, the guards didn’t believe him.’

I will finally meet him today!

Huh?

Where do you think you’re going?

You cannot go inside.

I need to meet Dronacharya. He was

my father’s guru! I am like his shishya ! I am here to

give him his guru dakshina.

Dronacharya’s tent!

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‘Eka’s questions remained unanswered. No one told him why he couldn’t meet Dronacharya. But he was a determined boy and camped

outside Dronacharya’s tent that night.’

‘The soldier, whose sense of hearing was heightened by his blindness, got

up to answer the lame soldier’s query.’

From what I heard earlier, he claims to be Drona’s shishya, and says he’s here to

give dakshina.

HIM? He is too young to be Drona’s

shishya.

I don’t know about that, but I heard

the boy crying, ‘Tell him, my father was

Ekalavya!’

Ekalavya? Who is

Ekalavya?

Get up!

He came here when the guards

were fighting. He asked me for Drona, but I was too distracted at the time,

and sent him away.

Tell me, did you hear

anything?

Get up!‘Eka’s patience made the lame soldier extremely

curious about him.’

Wait!

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The Mahabharata is an abiding collecti on of stories about the ancient Pandava-Kaurava feud over the Kuru throne. Traditi onally, the Pandavas are accepted as the good side but there is one story that drops an ungraceful shadow on that noti on – the story of Ekalavya. Ekalavya, whose skill in archery could have rescued the Kauravas from defeat. Ekalavya, who gave away his most important asset as guru dakshina so that the guru-shishya traditi on is not let down.

Ekalavya’s story starts years before the epic batt le takes place, when the Pandavas were sti ll learning warfare under Dronacharya. The story begins simply – the tribal prince seeks the tutelage of Guru Dronacharya, only to incite the jealously of Arjuna – but ends terribly.

Narada, the great rishi, who despises lies but loves trouble, is determined to make this story of Ekalavya live on. And it is on the batt lefi eld of Kurukshetra, where the recti fi cati on of injusti ce was sought at all costs, that he chooses to tell the story.

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