the sanskrit epic of ancient india 'mahabharatha' was always a fascination to me. it is a major work in hindu mythology which discusses about dharma (duty), artha (purpose), kama (desire) and moksha (liberation). it explains the relation between man with society and with the world. the karma is also a major point of discussion in the epic which is the one of the longest in the world, authored by vyasa in 4th century. the narrative plot is the rivalry between the 100 kauravas and 5 pandavas escalating to the final showdown - the 18 day kurukshetra war which decided the fate of all the players involved in the game. along-with the major plot are many minor side-stories, like the ones of nala-damayanthi, vaishali, rishyashringa...and of course ekalavya.
for the ones not aware with ekalavya - he was a prince of the nishadha tribe which had the best bird-hunters. he was the first cousin of lord krishna. his great desire to learn archery was rejected by drona because he was of low-caste. drona was the guru of the kauravas and pandavas. (today, the best sports coaches in india are yearly awarded the dronacharya award by the govt. of india) fuelled by the rejection and the desire, ekalavya made a clay-image of drona and began a disciplined self-study. he becomes an archer of exceptional prowess, arguably better than drona's favourite and mahabharatha's most prominent warrior, arjuna. when ekalavya shuts the mouth of a barking dog by firing seven arrows into its mouth without injuring it, drona and his students are impressed. arjuna starts to fear the skills of ekalavya and complains to drona that the guru had promised to make arjuna the best archer. as guru-dakshina, drona requests the right-hand thumb which surprises eveyone including arjuna, but ekalavya without even a flinch, severs off his thumb and presents it to drona.
i had read somehwere that, after the incident, ekalavya practised with his left hand and regained his skills, though i never found this version mentioned in the epic. drona could have demanded a greater punishment under the laws in effect at that time, but he asked only for ekalavya's right thumb, thus making the archery skills which he had learned secretly useless. drona was so engrossed in making arjuna the best archer that he could not bear the thought that his knowledge was being practised by someone else, unknowest to him. the low-caste status of ekalavya would never have been a criterion to drona. although ekalavya's story teaches us of attitude towards learning by self, it also perhaps gives us a lesson that we should not try to steal knowledge because eventually, that may all go waste. in india, we have the concept of 'guru devo bhava' meaning 'guru is god', someone who is to be respected. another coinciding thought is that, the curse of a guru is enough to pull out all the evident goodness in a student and he will never succeed in life. drona could have cursed ekalavya but he didnt. drona could have at least acknowledged his talent in a secret meeting in the forests, but he didnt. drona could have blessed him later, because which teacher wouldn't like to relish the fact that one of his students is the best he has seen or taught, knowingly or not.
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folklores have a cultural significance. the 'aithihyamaala' is a compilation of the legends and folklore of kerala, written by kottarathil sankunni. among the legends is the one of perumthachan (master carpentar). the brahmin vararuchi married a low-caste 'parayi' woman and set out on a long journey. during the journey, the woman became pregnant several times. each time she delivered the child, vararuchi would ask if the child had a mouth or not and when she answered positive, vararuchi asked her to abandon saying that since the child had a mouth, it would somehow fend for itself. the 12 children were picked up by people belonging to different castes and they came to be known as 'parayi petta panthirukulam' meaning 'the 12 castes born to the parayi woman'. perumthachan was one of the 12 and he belonged to the 'ashaari' caste (the carpentars caste). he mastered the art of carpentary, read the sacred texts and built many temples and palaces. he came to be known as a reincarnation of the chief architect of the gods. but, when his son became a better carpentar and his renown spread far and wide, it created a jealousy in the father and he killed his son by dropping a chisel on him, faking it to be an accident.
i still prefer to keep my impression of perumthachan based on the m.t. vasudevan scripted 1990 movie of the title character, which was directed by debutant ajayan and had fantastic visuals by santosh sivan. it exlpores the strained relation between perumthachan who is tradition-bound and his son who is eager to break the norms and limits. perumthachan is disturbed by his son's capacity to manipulate the clients and the strain of unscrupulousness in him which is a mark of the new, more materialistic and self-centred generation. perumthachan had once been drawn to bhargavi thampuratti, the queen-wife of his higher-caste namboothiri friend but he restrained himself well-aware of the societal norm that he is a low-caste despite being born to brahmin; but to a parayi woman. later when his son is drawn to the thampuratti's daughter, (the resident princess) and has no qualms about it, the perumthachan is disturbed. his namboothiri friend, who happens to be the father of the girl, requests the perumthachan to safeguard the honor of the royal household. it is this dilemma, known only to the perumthachan and the friend, that he drops the chisel on his son and then commits suicide.
both the stories revel in the aspect of jealousy. the egoistic blunder that someone will unsurp you while you are still in your prime. drona had jealousy to a student, perumthachan had it to his son. both were considered exemplaries in their arts. drona is cheated to believe that his son has died and is then bought down by the pandavas during the kurukshetra, while perumthachan is always remembered for having killed his son out of jealousy.
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