In the Mahabharata, Ekalaivan (Ekalavya) was the son of Hiranyadhanus, the chief of the tribe of forest-dwelling hunters, known as the Bhils. He served under King Jarasandha's army as General. Ekalaivan was hurt when he was rejected by Dronacharya because of his lower caste. His father Hiranyadhanu was the commander of the most powerful king of that time, Jarasandha. Ekalaivan still didn't give up on his resolute will to master archery. He once stayed hidden in the forest while guru Drona was teaching the Kaurava and Pandava brothers, after they left for the ashram, Ekalaivan collected the mud on which his Guru walked, as a symbolic gesture of reverence for his Guru's knowledge and footsteps. Later he went into the forest and fashioned a statue of Drona under a big old well-grown tree. He began a disciplined program of self-study over many years. Accepting the statue as his guru, he practised before it every single day.
One day when Drona and his students were going out into the forest, Arjuna saw a dog that was unable to bark due to an amazing construction of arrows in and all around his mouth. This construction was harmless to the dog but prevented the dog from barking. Drona was amazed but also distressed: as he had promised Arjuna that he would make him the greatest archer in the world. Wondering who such a fine archer could be, Drona and his students investigated and came upon Ekalavya. Upon seeing Drona, Ekalavya came and bowed to him.
Drona asked Ekalavya where he had learned archery. Ekalavya replied "under you, Guruji", and showed Drona his statue while explaining what he had done. Drona then reminded Ekalavya that to truly be Drona's pupil, Ekalavya would have to pay guru dakshina. Readily, Ekalavya offers to do anything for Drona. Drona knew Ekalavya in the future will work for Magadha which was the enemy of Hastinapur. Drona asks Ekalavya to cut off his right thumb as Guru Dakshina. Happy and Smiling, Ekalavya cuts off the thumb and presents it as Gurudakshina to Dronacharya.
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