Arjuna Takes Aim

A rjuna

T akes

A im

Thank you to Professor Khanna and my classmates for exploring Indian mythologies throughout this semester and reading my story!

BY:

Mack

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14

D rona and Arjuna celebrated, and Arjuna vowed to Drona to help

O nce upon a time, there was a most demanding teacher named the next generation achieve this level of skill and focus.

Drona. He expected the best from his students: discipline, passion,

and dedication. Drona was especially skilled in military skills, and he helped many learn to use swords, javelins, spears, chariots, and bows.

He wanted to help as many people learn these skills and become masters like him.

The princes learned a valuable lesson. They lost track of their task

when trying to compete against each other. From then on, the

Pandavas and the Kauravas would stay focused on their goals and would never, ever forget Arjuna’s birds eye.

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2

Finally, Arjuna walked up to the line.

“What do you see?”

“I see the bird’s eye.”

“What else?”

“Nothing.”

“Loose your arrow.”

D rona needed to find a place to work. With his military

expertise, he approached Bhishma, a stepbrother to a king. Drona urged Bhisma to select him to train hundreds of royal princes, including the Kauravas and the Pandavas. Drona showcased his skills

The clay bird shattered.

to Bhishma and was finally appointed as the princes’ weapon’s master. It seemed like destiny.

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12

Miss

Miss

Miss A fter moving into the palace, Drona gathered all the royal

youths to introduce himself. He made a deal with the princes. Drona promised the princes that he would help them master all skills with every weapon. But, once they achieved this, the princes must promise to teach their skills to others.

Miss

11 “

4

What do you see?”

“Are you sure the bird is clay?”

Miss.

“

What do you see?”

“The sky.”

Miss.

M any of the princes cowered away from this expectation, but

one brave Pandava stepped forward. His name was Arjuna. He was immediately embraced by Drona, who couldn’t contain his excitement.

R igorous training began the next day. Initially, Drona tried to

“

What do you see?”

treat all his disciples alike. But, Arjuna’s extraordinary dedication

“The branch.”

made it hard for Drona to not favor him.

Miss.

9

T he first prince walked up to the line with confidence.

Drona asked, “What do you see?”

6

A ll of the princes had a specific skill they excelled in. But,

The prince responded, “The tree.”

Drona’s favorite test of ability was competition. What better way to

“Loose your arrow.”

prove one’s prowess than against a brother or a cousin…

He missed.

A nd, the bragging rights were pretty nice too.

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8

U nsurprisingly, Arjuna was the best all-round warrior. With his

O ne day, Drona was accused of favoring Arjuna too much, so he

natural poise and commitment to excellence, Arjuna accomplished

decided to hold another competition. There were only a few simple

things only the best warriors could dream of while training with

rules. First, everyone must stand 100 feet away from the tree, and

Drona. He practiced while his brothers and cousins rested; he

everyone must describe what they see.

listened while his brothers and cousins bickered. In return for his effort, Drona promised Arjuna he would make his the greatest archer in the whole world.

A ll the princes would try to shoot a clay bird sitting on a middle

branch. No one could say that the rules or the game were unfair, so the princes lined up to take the shot.