The document summarizes a story that Narada Muni is telling at the Kaurava war camp just before the battle of Kurukshetra. It describes two troublemakers at the camp and a determined boy named Eka who arrives seeking to meet Dronacharya but is denied. His persistence piques the curiosity of the soldiers. It's revealed that Eka's father was Ekalavya and his story begins the tale of an injustice that will be rectified on the battlefield.

2. Kaurava war camp,
Kurukshetra. Circa 3000 BC.
‘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...’
‘...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.’
‘The battle was just a few days
away. Every second that passed
took the soldiers closer to war.’
What?!
Yes, I
swear he said
that.
‘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.’
I will
teach him a
lesson!
‘And it was close to these troublemakers
that Narada Muni seated himself.’
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3. ‘Having recently suffered injuries
to the eyes and limbs, this pair had
copious amounts of time on its hands.’
What are
you--
Traitor!
What did you
say to him?
‘It was their daily practice to
spend the morning gossiping
and the hot afternoon watching
the fruit of this labour unfold.’
‘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.’
Help!
Narayan!
Narayan!
He asked
the mute for help!
Ha ha!
‘Unfortunately, for this
soldier, the opportune
moment had not yet arrived.’
‘To be precise, the
opportune moment had
been somewhat delayed.’
He is late. I
will have to wait for
him to teach these
men a lesson.
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4. ‘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?
Where
am I?
‘The person Narada Muni was
waiting for was an extremely
determined boy called Eka.
He was on a personal quest.’
Run,
Eka!
‘... even if they don’t
realise it themselves.’
You’re
blocking my view,
you fool!
Oh... sorry...
is... is this where
Dronacharya can be
found? The Kuru
teacher? I am
looking--
That is
his tent! Now
move!
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5. ‘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.’
Dronacharya’s
tent!
‘But little did they know
that Eka needed no help in
getting himself into trouble.’
Huh?
I will
finally meet
him today!
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.
‘Needless to say, the
guards didn’t believe him.’
It is
not possible.
You cannot meet
Dronacharya.
Not possible?
What do you
mean?
Go home,
child.
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6. ‘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.’
Get up!
Get up!
‘Eka’s patience made the
lame soldier extremely
curious about him.’
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?
‘The soldier, whose sense of hearing
was heightened by his blindness, got
up to answer the lame soldier’s query.’
Wait!
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?
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7. The Mahabharata is an abiding collection of
stories about the ancient Pandava-Kaurava feud
over the Kuru throne. Traditionally, the Pandavas
are accepted as the good side but there is one
story that drops an ungraceful shadow on that
notion – 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 tradition is not let down.
Ekalavya’s story starts years before the epic battle
takes place, when the Pandavas were still 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 battlefield of
Kurukshetra, where the rectification of injustice
was sought at all costs, that he chooses to tell
the story.
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