मुहूर्तम् इव तं द्रोणश् चिन्तयित्वा विनिश्चयम् ॥
सव्यसाचिनम् आदाय नैषादिं प्रति जग्मिवान् ॥
ददर्श मलदिग्धाङ्गं जटिलं चीरवाससम् ॥
एकलव्यं धनुष्पाणिम् अस्यन्तम् अनिशं शरान् ॥
एकलव्यस् तु तं दृष्ट्वा द्रोणम् आयान्तम् अन्तिकात् ॥
अभिगम्योपसंगृह्य जगाम शिरसा महीम् ॥
पूजयित्वा ततो द्रोणं विधिवत् स निषादजः ॥
निवेद्य शिष्यम् आत्मानं तस्थौ प्राञ्जलिर् अग्रतः ॥
ततो द्रोणो ऽब्रवीद् राजन्न् एकलव्यम् इदं वचः ॥
यदि शिष्यो ऽसि मे तूर्णं वेतनं संप्रदीयताम् ॥
एकलव्यस् तु तच् छ्रुत्वा प्रीयमाणो ऽब्रवीद् इदम् ॥
किं प्रयच्छामि भगवन्न् आज्ञापयतु मां गुरुः ॥
न हि किं चिद् अदेयं मे गुरवे ब्रह्मवित्तम ॥
तम् अब्रवीत् त्वयाङ्गुष्ठो दक्षिणो दीयतां मम ॥
एकलव्यस् तु तच् छ्रुत्वा वचो द्रोणस्य दारुणम् ॥
प्रतिज्ञाम् आत्मनो रक्षन् सत्ये च निरतः सदा ॥
तथैव हृष्टवदनस् तथैवादीनमानसः ॥
छित्त्वाविचार्य तं प्रादाद् द्रोणायाङ्गुष्ठम् आत्मनः ॥
muhūrtam iva taṃ droṇaś cintayitvā viniścayam ||
savyasācinam ādāya naiṣādiṃ prati jagmivān ||
dadarśa maladigdhāṅgaṃ jaṭilaṃ cīravāsasam ||
ekalavyaṃ dhanuṣpāṇim asyantam aniśaṃ śarān ||
ekalavyas tu taṃ dṛṣṭvā droṇam āyāntam antikāt ||
abhigamyopasaṃgṛhya jagāma śirasā mahīm ||
pūjayitvā tato droṇaṃ vidhivat sa niṣādajaḥ ||
nivedya śiṣyam ātmānaṃ tasthau prāñjalir agrataḥ ||
tato droṇo 'bravīd rājann ekalavyam idaṃ vacaḥ ||
yadi śiṣyo 'si me tūrṇaṃ vetanaṃ saṃpradīyatām ||
ekalavyas tu tac chrutvā prīyamāṇo 'bravīd idam ||
kiṃ prayacchāmi bhagavann ājñāpayatu māṃ guruḥ ||
na hi kiṃ cid adeyaṃ me gurave brahmavittama ||
tam abravīt tvayāṅguṣṭho dakṣiṇo dīyatāṃ mama ||
ekalavyas tu tac chrutvā vaco droṇasya dāruṇam ||
pratijñām ātmano rakṣan satye ca nirataḥ sadā ||
tathaiva hṛṣṭavadanas tathaivādīnamānasaḥ ||
chittvāvicārya taṃ prādād droṇāyāṅguṣṭham ātmanaḥ ||
Vaishampayana said: "Having pondered for a moment and come to a decision, Drona took Arjuna and went to the Nishada; and he saw him, his body caked in dirt, his hair matted, clad in rags -- Ekalavya, bow in hand, ceaselessly loosing arrows. Ekalavya, seeing Drona approaching, went up to him and, prostrating, touched the ground with his head; and, having honored Drona as was proper, that son of the Nishada, declaring himself his disciple, stood before him with joined palms. Then Drona said to Ekalavya: 'If you are my disciple, let payment for your training be given at once.' Ekalavya, overjoyed to hear this, said: 'What shall I give, O lord? Let my teacher command me; for there is nothing I would not give my teacher, O foremost knower of the Brahman.' Drona said to him: 'Give me your right thumb.' Ekalavya, hearing that cruel word of Drona's, keeping his vow and ever devoted to truth, with the same joyful face, with the same unfaltering spirit, cut it off without hesitation and gave Drona his thumb."
33ea6c5e4add · published Jul 12, 2026, 4:53:32 PM UTC
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Here is the summit of Ekalavya's devotion and the gravest stain upon Drona. Telling is the cruel demand (vacaḥ dāruṇam -- scripture itself calls Drona's word "cruel"): a teacher who never taught him demands a payment that will forever rob him of his art -- all for the sake of a favorite's pre-eminence. Here one sees plainly the injustice and bias that darken a great man: neither Ekalavya's rank nor Arjuna's jealousy justifies such cruelty, and scripture itself, by calling the word "cruel," condemns it. Yet Ekalavya's devotion is the most exalted thing of all: "with a joyful face, unfaltering," he cuts off his thumb without hesitation and gives it -- the highest guru-dakshina ever offered by anyone. In him is honored the perfection of devotion (bhakti): he gives not the thumb alone, but his very art, for faithfulness to his word and love for the teacher he himself had chosen. Thus scripture, condemning Drona, exalts Ekalavya: true glory here belongs not to the biased guru, but to the unknown Nishada whose devotion outshone them all.