No individual in Kaliyuga can ever visualize a student cutting off his thumb and placing it at his Guru’s feet. Eklavya’s act was incredible and the tale from Mahabharata has always been narrating an act of great sacrifice by a passionate pupil and a foxy action taken by a much revered master, that reflected insecurity and jealousy. All through, we have been comparing the kinds of people that existed in different Yugas. Perhaps, it will not be completely illogical to believe in the fact that a pupil as devoted as Eklavya is non existent in the present times. Perhaps, it will be impossible for even the most respectful pupil today to master over a skill, rise above his rivals, and then, with one show of external insecurity, to give away the acquired skill forever. The ability to sacrifice and maintain relational ties under harmony has deteriorated with subsequent yugas. However, that is only true considering Eklavya’s great sacrifice. What shall one say about Guru Drona? Does his insecurity and jealousy not correspond with what might be the constituent traits of a human in the kaliyuga today? It is not rational to generalize human traits based on time periods. No matter which yuga, no matter which century or decade, the brighter side cannot exist without the dark side. There will be present polar opposites to every ideological designation. It is not possible to comprehend the value of the positive without the negative. The Acharya’s audacious and tyrannical deed would not have been felt so strongly, had the pupil would have questioned his actions. Almost each one of us who has read the Mahabharata have contemplated over the Guru’s unbelievably torturous act towards his pupil. Eklavya’s silent and perhaps painful obedience unveiled the injustice even more overtly in front of us. This brings about two essential aspects infront of us. First being – Every yuga contains both sides of a coin ; one gleams, the other does not. Although Eklavya’s alter ego may be difficult to be traced in the present times, the unsecured and contemptuous mind like that of the Guru was in existence then and can be found in plenty in every fifth person today also. It was the constrains laid down by the set rules and norms that deliberately kept opposition and questioning far away from imagination. The second and extremely ironical aspect being – injustice cannot be brought forwarded without voicing it openly today. However, in the epic it is Eklavya’s silence that reflected the tyranny to the fullest extent. Questioning Acharyaji’s words would not have left us in disbelief. Hence, silence had its own beauty. It did what words could not have done.
magnifying the tales 