The Stolen Vidya: Arjun and Eklavya

In the show there was that scene where the little Arjuna sees Bheem eating in the darkness and it inspired him to practice shooting arrows in the dark. In this scene Drona applauds him and acknowledges his efforts of trying his hands at something Drona had not taught yet.

In the same show, Drona gives the excuse for Eklavya's cut thumb ke Ekalavya that "he had stolen his knowledge" and hence wasn't worthy of his talents.

Now, I know neither was the Arjun scene in the texts, and nor did Drona go about explaining his stance on Ekalavya to everyone.

What I'm wondering is that what is the "stolen vidya" is then? Both Arjun and Ekalavya were extremely intuitive and learned a lot from their surroundings. Why then, one was called a prodigy and the other a thief?

Mind you, both of them acknowledged Drona's "mahatva" as a source of their prowess.

Was the only dividing factor here that one had the explicit blessings of his Guru while the other hadn't?

One was a student of the Guru. The other person used to sneak.

In Eklavya Drona must have seen a threat to Hastinapura since the former was the ally of an enemy kingdom. Being an employee of Hastinapura, it would have been deceit on his part to impart his knowledge to Eklavya.

These days we read claims that Eklavya would have been a greater archer/warrior and that his rejection portrayed caste oppression. 🤪

Shooting arrows in a poor dog's mouth doesn't make one the greatest archer. And there's hardly any evidence to support the claims.

Drona must have observed that Eklavya lacks the character to be a warrior.

Biggest thing is that if you watch anyone doing archery, the thumb is not needed at all.

Or did they practice archery in some other way

Hmm. Great points!

Did Ekalvya sneak tho? Like, Drona ki class dekh ke ghar jaake practice?

Originally posted by: FlauntPessimism

Biggest thing is that if you watch anyone doing archery, the thumb is not needed at all.

Or did they practice archery in some other way

In dance we are taught in the Ramayana and MB scenes we hold the invisible bow like 👍🏼in our left hand with thumb balancing pressure of the other 4 fingers and then the arrow and thread is drawn back to the right ear. The arrow+thread is held kass ke by index finger and thumb with the middle finger is closed like in a fist to support the arrow neeche se.

And then we release the hypothetical arrow by opening the right hand setting into a Fleming's rule. 😆

Also Arjun's calluses were on his thumb and middle finger only I guess.

This pulling to the ear would be a little difficult without the thumb.

^^^ ok thankyou. I simply said seeing the way they perform in Olympics

Originally posted by: FlauntPessimism

^^^ ok thankyou. I simply said seeing the way they perform in Olympics

Those bows are more advanced and shooting has been made easier. 😳

Eklavya was in cahoots with Jarasandha, I think that's why Drona planned to incapacitate him

Originally posted by: Wistfulness

One was a student of the Guru. The other person used to sneak.

In Eklavya Drona must have seen a threat to Hastinapura since the former was the ally of an enemy kingdom. Being an employee of Hastinapura, it would have been deceit on his part to impart his knowledge to Eklavya.

These days we read claims that Eklavya would have been a greater archer/warrior and that his rejection portrayed caste oppression. 🤪

Shooting arrows in a poor dog's mouth doesn't make one the greatest archer. And there's hardly any evidence to support the claims.

Drona must have observed that Eklavya lacks the character to be a warrior.

Totally agreed. Same, ditto!

First of all, as per the text, Drona was clearly teaching the Hastinapur princes. Yes, one may argue why Karna and Ashwathama was a part of his gurukul. These boys however were not really considered a THREAT to Hastinapur technically. Karna was Adhirath's son (as they knew) and he wasn't from a rival kingdom.

Ekalavya on the other hand was a prince from Magadh. So obviously he would use that knowledge against Hastinapur. Whether or not he would be able to beat Arjun or not is completely a different question. Today people make everything Drona did as discrimination against others and favoritism towards Arjun.

This attitude is not new. Even today we see any good student, and we say the teacher is partial. :3 at that day and age this wasn't as simple. People need to stop equating this with education. Drona was not only giving them education, but vocational training in weapons.

So for which kingdom he is fighting is of importance here. As per stolen vidya is concerned, Arjun learnt it when the teacher is AWARE he is learning and hence he is held responsible for what Arjun is learning. Ekalavya was doing it as a secret, probably hence this is a comment made in the show.