Excerpt from “Arjuna, the greatest archer” Ch 20:63 Jaya by Devdutt Pattanaik
Note: This episode is from a beloved Indian epic best known as the Mahabharata. In this passage, Prince Arjuna, Prince Yudhishtira, Prince Duryodhana and Prince Bhima are young men being trained by their guru (teacher) Drona, a master of military arts. Arjuna is naturally talented with the bow, and under Drona’s tutelage Arjuna becomes the foremost archer in his generation. We all have natural abilities; talented teachers can help us recognize, appreciate and hone these skills IF we are willing to devote enough attention, hard work and persistence.
“In an archery test, Drona asked his students to point their arrows at the eye of a stuffed parrot placed high on the wall. ‘What do you see?’ he asked them.
Yudhishtira said, ‘I see a parrot.’
Duryodhana, determined to outdo Yudhishtira said, ‘I see a stuffed parrot placed on top of a wall.’
To outdo Duryodhana, Bhima said, ‘I see a stuffed parrot placed on top of a wall under a cloudy sky.’
Arjuna, however, was focused, ‘I see an eye. Only an eye.’
‘Release the arrow,’ said Drona to Arjuna. The arrow was released and sure enough, it hit the mark.”
All four princes are presented with the same target, all four have excellent bows. Yet it is Arjuna who, in his thirst to excel as an archer, followed his guru wherever he went to learn everything possible from this master at arms. He also, on his own initiative, tested out shooting blindfolded and with both hands, thereby honing his stance and becoming ambidextrous. Because the bow had become an extension of his mind and body, and because the mind and body were entirely attuned to the target, he never missed.
What are your proclivities? Who can you learn from? How can you build on what they teach you? What targets do you wish to hit?