Ekalavya Story in English

Children will enjoy this short story very much.
According to Mahabharata, Ekalavya is a tribal boy and the son of a tribal king living in the remote hills near Hastinapur.
The place of Hastinapur is where Kauravas and Pandavas used to live. They are the sons of Dhritarashtra and Pandu Maharajas respectively. Both Kauravas and Pandavas have an exceptional Guru, Dronacharya. He promised Arjuna, the middle of Pandavas, that he would make him the number one archer in the world. Thus, he kept giving intense training to both Kauravas and Pandavas.
One day Ekalavya heard about the greatness of Dronacharya. Being the son of tribal King, he requested his father that he is keen to learn warfare skills from great guru Drona. His father agreed and sent him to learn skills. Thus ekalavya went to hastinapura and met guru drone. It so happened that the drone was unwilling to teach him skills as he is the raja guru and should teach only to princes. Thus, ekalavya returned home disappointed.

But he was not a boy who would give up his ambition. He created an image of guru Drona and started practicing archery assuming he was teaching them. Soon he mastered archery like no other warrior.
After some years, the guru Drona was bringing his students to the forest to teach them the art of hunting. Then, Guru, Pandavas, and Kauravas were tired and sat near a tree. Meanwhile, their dogs kept barking for no reason. Suddenly, a group of arrows came rushing from nearby and closed the mouth of the dogs. Looking at this, everyone there was astonished. The arrows did not hurt the dog. The dog never even bled a little. The arrows are so skillfully launched that they close only the jaw of the dog without hurting it. The only source the archer who left these arrows had was the sound of the dog, which is really a display of his archery skills.
They went a little further to find a tribal young boy practicing archery with dedication. Guru Drona called the boy and asked who he was. Immediately, Ekalvya, who is no other than that boy, fell on the feet of Guru and took his blessings. He identified himself as the little tribal boy who was sent back by Guru very long back. He told how he practiced assuming his idol as his real guru. Dronacharya was stunned at his skills and mastery.
But he was in a great puzzle now. He promised Arjuna that he would make him the best archer in the world. But now Ekalavya seems to overtake him in archery skills. Thus, to keep his promise, Drona asks Ekalavya his right thumb as GuruDakshina, the fee one pays to his Guru for teaching them the skills.
Without any second thought, Ekalavya chops off his thumb and presents it to Drona. Thus Ekalavya remains forever in history as one of the dedicated students any teacher can ever get.

It is important to have the dedication to learn any skill. With intense practice and dedication, anyone can master skills despite a lack of resources much. Also, one has to obey his teacher’s words as they are the ones who shape our lives. The role of the teacher is as important as the role of parents in any ones’ life. Hence, it is crucial to respect them forever in our lives despite how big or great we grow.

Ekalavya story is one of the most popular and fascinating Mahabharat tales. Ekalavya is a great lover of knowledge. Being the son of the head of the tribe,