The dance of a dice and greed
The stage was set. Kings and ministers from all across the kingdom were invited by the Kauravas to witness a game of dice, which, in fact, was a grave dug by the brothers for their cousins, the Pandavas. Despite realising the fatality of it all, yet too proud to reject a challenge, the Pandavas arrived that night with their royal entourage. They returned not just humiliated, but with a fate worse than a beggar’s.
The perpetrator of Pandava’s disaster was Sakuni, Duryodhana’s uncle, a shrewd man who conned Yudhishtira into gambling away everything he owned. The righteous and truthful Yudhisthira lost all his possessions—from his kingdom to his wife Draupadi—to the Kauravas. Eventually, the Pandavas along with Draupadi were forced to go into exile for 13 years.
But in reality, Yudhishtira didn’t lose to Sakuni or to the Kauravas. It was his ego and greed that defeated Yudhishtira. That stroke of misfortune initiated a chain of events which eventually led to the Battle of Kurukshetra and the destruction of the two families.
Lesson: You are your biggest enemy when your mind is crippled with greed and ego.
Eklavya’s passion for archery and reverence for his guru
Ekalavya was ostracised by society as unworthy and despicable since he hailed from a lower caste. But he had a dream—to become the greatest archer ever. However, in a world mired in discrimination, that was almost impossible to achieve.
Ekalavya wanted Dronacharya, the greatest teacher of archery and warfare in the kingdom, to be his guru. But Dronacharya belonged to an upper-caste, and hence refused to teach Ekalavya archery. Disappointed at being rejected, Ekalavya, returned to the jungle, made a clay idol of Dronacharya and continued practising archery, with the same deep reverence for his self-appointed guru.
One day, when Dronacharya found him practising in the forest, he was amazed to see Eklavya’s craft and his deep admiration for him. Though touched, Dronacharya was bound by his promise to the Pandavas, and couldn’t allow any other archer to be as good as or better than Arjun. Perceiving Ekalavya as a threat, Dronacharya asked him for his right thumb as guru dakshina—honorarium— for secretly considering him his guru. The young warrior didn’t think twice before cutting his thumb off and placing it at Dronacharya’s feet. Impressed by his reverence, the sage called him the greatest student to ever live. Eklavya continued to hone his craft, now with his index and middle finger, and eventually became one of the greatest archers in the world.
Lesson: When passion is your motivation, there is no limit to what you can achieve
Abhimanyu while entering the Chakravyuha
The legend of Abhimanyu’s unwavering courage
What Abhimanyu, the son of Arjuna, was seeing in front of him was extraordinary, yet terrifying. Hundreds of soldiers were working in unison to implement the Chakravyuha, a circular battle formation devised by Dronacharya to capture Yudhishtira. Only a handful of warriors knew how to enter and exit the Chakravyuha unscathed, but none of them were present there. Abhimanyu had learned how to penetrate it from his father, but he didn’t know how to come out of it. Without this information, walking into this deadly labyrinth was a suicide mission. But when Abhimanyu saw his enemies ready to execute the plan, he rode his chariot right into the Chakravyuha.
Abhimanyu single-handedly fought the warriors. His plan was to buy as much time as possible until his father could return from another front. After hours of battle, a tired Abhimanyu was surrounded from all sides. His bow was broken, his wounds were deep, but his courage was unwavering. When he couldn’t find any weapons, Abhimanyu lifted a chariot wheel to continue the offence till he was fatally wounded. By the time, he breathed his last, the day was over. Dronacharya’s fierce plan had failed to stand against the brave Abhimanyu.
Lesson: Courage is stronger than fear and bolder than physical strength
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