||-SHAHEER SHEIKH-|| **PurusavyAghra Arjuna** AT#45 - Page 8

No analysis of the Indian Martial Arts in the Mahabharata can be complete without Arjuna. Arjuna or Prtha was a master archer and played a central role in the conflict between the Pandavas and their adversaries, the Kauravas. His dialogue with Krishna called the Bhagvad Gita is very famous. Though the text is considered as a religious book, one cannot ignore the art of war' given in this text.

Their dialogue about issues involved in war"courage, a warrior's duty, the nature of human life and the soul is a part of the Gita. The son of Indra, Arjuna is said to have been well-built and extremely handsome; he married four times. Arjuna was also true and loyal to his friends, among others the great warrior Satyaki and his cousin and brother-in-law, Krishna.

It is as a warrior that Arjuna is best known. Arjuna is yet another example of a perfect martial arts student. The foundation for his career as a warrior was laid young; Arjuna learned everything that his guru Drona Acharya could teach him, attaining the status of "Maharathi" or outstanding warrior. A well known story about Arjuna exemplifies his powers of concentration. Guru Dronacharya once decided to test his students in their skill of archery. He hung a wooden bird from the branch of a tree and then summoned his students. He asked the first one to aim for the bird's eye but not shoot just yet.

He then asked the student what the student could see. The student replied that he could see the garden, the tree, flowers, etc. Drona asked him to step aside and not shoot. He repeated the same process with a few other students. When it was Arjuna's turn, Arjuna told his Guru that the only thing he could see was the bird's eye. This satisfied the Guru and he allowed Arjuna to shoot the bird. (one of drona's shaolin tests that Arjuna passed. There were many others that he succeded in, which helped him get further secret combat and weapon training.)

The lesson here is the power of focus. Arjuna once noticed his brother, Bhima, who was a voracious eater, eating in the dark as though it was daylight, and realized that if he could practice archery in the dark he would be a master. Thus, Arjuna even was a fine marksman in the dark. His skill in archery was to have an unlikely utility; it won him the hand of Draupadi, his first wife, the daughter of Drupada, king of Panchala.

Unlike, the others Arjuna, was among the first to get into the meditative practices of Martial Arts, during the period of exile, he was the one who was able to gain and learn secret weapon knowledge and combat skills among the five brothers. The Chakras, Maruts or Meridian training formed a part of Arjuna's meditative practices in his period of exile.

Source: http://shootfighter.wordpress.com/2009/05/15/arjuna/