Drona
grew up under the tutelage of his father Bharadwaja. Drupada,
the prince of Panchala, visited Bharadwaja’s hemitage frequently; he
was sent
by his father, the king, to learn what he could from the sage.
The boys Drona and Drupada became friends under these circumstances and
time passed
on. Following the death of both fathers, Drupada went on to
become King of Panchala, and Drona continued his study at his father’s
home, learning the art of war and mastering all weapons of heaven and
earth.
Shortly thereafter, Drona took a wife named Kripi, and they had a son whom they named Aswatthaman. They lived happily, or so it seemed, in poverty till one day Aswatthaman came home with tears in his eyes after having been teased about his poverty by some other boys. Drona went to see his old friend Drupada looking for some financial help, but was turned away by the hardened and greedy King. Despite the failure of his visit, destiny still awaited Drona.
After his sour meeting with the King, he humbly bowed out of the hall and replaced his hood on his head as he set off for home. He had barely made it out of the city gate when he noticed the five Pandava brothers playing vigorously with a ball. He watched as Yudhishthira, the oldest, kicked the ball entirely too hard, sending it flying far over Drona’s head directly into a water well nearby. The other boys moaned and groaned at Yudhishthira, as he was famous for trying to show off. They all dashed towards the well, not even taking notice of Drona’s dark cloaked figure. Drona smiled to himself and chuckled at the boys' play, and wished his own son had such royal friends as these.
Drona spent the next ten minutes in amusement watching the boys attempt to retrieve the ball on their own. One boy, Arjuna as Drona would later discover, did not bother with the attempts. He stood back and watched his frantic brothers in all their failed efforts. Watching from a distance, one might say he mirrored Drona’s amusement. Drona was somewhat frustrated because he saw that these boys were strong in mind and body, but they lacked skill. What talents he could draw from them if only he had their time!
Having seen enough, Drona thought that he might give the young Pandavas a taste of his skill. Little did he know how far this thought would take him. Still wearing his hood, he approached the five boys and said, “My friends, do you not know how silly you look to those who pass?”
Yudhisthira was first to speak. “And who are you, old man?”
Ignoring the boy’s question, Drona replied, “One would think that the five Pandavas could retrieve such a small thing on their own.” Upon saying this without raising his head, he flicked a ring from his finger far up into the air. The boys' heads all shot up, except for one boy - Arjuna. He was fixated on the mysterious sage. The boys followed the ring all the way into the well. A perfect shot, from at least thirty yards.
The boys were speechless as Drona approached. Arjuna never took his eyes off him.
Drona spoke again quietly as to draw them in closer, “I will retrieve your ball for you using nothing but the grass around us, and you will serve me dinner. The ring I will fetch for my own enjoyment, and your pleasure, using a bow and arrow. Do we have a deal?”
The boys all looked at each other with wide eyes and said in unison, “Yes!”
Drona bent down slowly and calmly plucked a long single blade of grass that was growing near the well. He mumbled to himself a mantra, never breaking eye contact with the boys. The grass seemed to turn solid, almost metallic. He held it up so the boys could get a quick glimpse; then he hurled it down into the well not unlike a spear. The blade stuck straight into the ball! He threw a second blade of grass, which stuck straight into the first! He did this again and again all the while staring at the boys. On his face was a look of concentration, but in his mind he was laughing to himself at the boys’ wonderment. Finally the chain of grass blades was long enough to stretch all the way out of the well. Drona grabbed the end and pulled the entire chain out, including the boys' lost ball at the end.
The boys had a small riot. They were beside themselves with amazement and begged Drona to continue with his feats. “May I borrow a bow and arrow?” Drona asked the group.
“Take mine please, sir!” Arjuna spoke quickly.
“Very well. Stand back,” Drona warned.
He let an arrow fly right down into the well. The boys stood with their mouths open, and not a second later the arrow had returned up the well back into the hand of Drona! This was too much for the young Pandavas. They were screaming with delight. They pleaded for Drona to teach them what he knew.
Drona, seeing opportunity, sent the boys with the ring from the well to their grandfather Bhishma. When he heard of Drona’s feats, Bhishma made sure that Drona would come to instruct the boys in weaponry and war, along with Drona's own son.
And so it was that Drona’s family came to know a finer life.
The one and only well
Web content: flickr
Author's note:
I tried to give a short and helpful history used as a bridge from the first story, but also as a starting point for this second story. I had this story begin on Drona's journey back home after being sent away by Drupada the King. I added a few descriptive details to Drona, hoping to make his appearance dark and mysterious, but subtlety so. I tried to add a fair bit of dialogue to this story to amp up the curiosity and excitement of the boys. I wanted to make Drona very calm and collected, a man who rarely shows on his face what he is thinking. The fact that Drona never really pays attention to the actions he performs makes him all the more impressive. I also wanted to set up a symbiotic relationship developing early between Arjuna and Drona. I made Arjuna the most intuitive about Drona's thoughts and actions, and I also made Drona notice this. I had Yudhisthira stand out as the most domineering of the boys. He is the oldes, after all, so he speaks for the group, and he is probably a little embarrassed for being responsible for the lost ball.
Finally, near the end I added that Drona begins to see that what may have merely started out as fun turned into a great opportunity of which he tries to take advantage.
Bibliography:
"Mahabharata" by William Buck, University of California Press, Ltd. (1973).
Wikipedia.com
Cover Page
Shortly thereafter, Drona took a wife named Kripi, and they had a son whom they named Aswatthaman. They lived happily, or so it seemed, in poverty till one day Aswatthaman came home with tears in his eyes after having been teased about his poverty by some other boys. Drona went to see his old friend Drupada looking for some financial help, but was turned away by the hardened and greedy King. Despite the failure of his visit, destiny still awaited Drona.
After his sour meeting with the King, he humbly bowed out of the hall and replaced his hood on his head as he set off for home. He had barely made it out of the city gate when he noticed the five Pandava brothers playing vigorously with a ball. He watched as Yudhishthira, the oldest, kicked the ball entirely too hard, sending it flying far over Drona’s head directly into a water well nearby. The other boys moaned and groaned at Yudhishthira, as he was famous for trying to show off. They all dashed towards the well, not even taking notice of Drona’s dark cloaked figure. Drona smiled to himself and chuckled at the boys' play, and wished his own son had such royal friends as these.
Drona spent the next ten minutes in amusement watching the boys attempt to retrieve the ball on their own. One boy, Arjuna as Drona would later discover, did not bother with the attempts. He stood back and watched his frantic brothers in all their failed efforts. Watching from a distance, one might say he mirrored Drona’s amusement. Drona was somewhat frustrated because he saw that these boys were strong in mind and body, but they lacked skill. What talents he could draw from them if only he had their time!
Having seen enough, Drona thought that he might give the young Pandavas a taste of his skill. Little did he know how far this thought would take him. Still wearing his hood, he approached the five boys and said, “My friends, do you not know how silly you look to those who pass?”
Yudhisthira was first to speak. “And who are you, old man?”
Ignoring the boy’s question, Drona replied, “One would think that the five Pandavas could retrieve such a small thing on their own.” Upon saying this without raising his head, he flicked a ring from his finger far up into the air. The boys' heads all shot up, except for one boy - Arjuna. He was fixated on the mysterious sage. The boys followed the ring all the way into the well. A perfect shot, from at least thirty yards.
The boys were speechless as Drona approached. Arjuna never took his eyes off him.
Drona spoke again quietly as to draw them in closer, “I will retrieve your ball for you using nothing but the grass around us, and you will serve me dinner. The ring I will fetch for my own enjoyment, and your pleasure, using a bow and arrow. Do we have a deal?”
The boys all looked at each other with wide eyes and said in unison, “Yes!”
Drona bent down slowly and calmly plucked a long single blade of grass that was growing near the well. He mumbled to himself a mantra, never breaking eye contact with the boys. The grass seemed to turn solid, almost metallic. He held it up so the boys could get a quick glimpse; then he hurled it down into the well not unlike a spear. The blade stuck straight into the ball! He threw a second blade of grass, which stuck straight into the first! He did this again and again all the while staring at the boys. On his face was a look of concentration, but in his mind he was laughing to himself at the boys’ wonderment. Finally the chain of grass blades was long enough to stretch all the way out of the well. Drona grabbed the end and pulled the entire chain out, including the boys' lost ball at the end.
The boys had a small riot. They were beside themselves with amazement and begged Drona to continue with his feats. “May I borrow a bow and arrow?” Drona asked the group.
“Take mine please, sir!” Arjuna spoke quickly.
“Very well. Stand back,” Drona warned.
He let an arrow fly right down into the well. The boys stood with their mouths open, and not a second later the arrow had returned up the well back into the hand of Drona! This was too much for the young Pandavas. They were screaming with delight. They pleaded for Drona to teach them what he knew.
Drona, seeing opportunity, sent the boys with the ring from the well to their grandfather Bhishma. When he heard of Drona’s feats, Bhishma made sure that Drona would come to instruct the boys in weaponry and war, along with Drona's own son.
And so it was that Drona’s family came to know a finer life.
Web content: flickr
Author's note:
I tried to give a short and helpful history used as a bridge from the first story, but also as a starting point for this second story. I had this story begin on Drona's journey back home after being sent away by Drupada the King. I added a few descriptive details to Drona, hoping to make his appearance dark and mysterious, but subtlety so. I tried to add a fair bit of dialogue to this story to amp up the curiosity and excitement of the boys. I wanted to make Drona very calm and collected, a man who rarely shows on his face what he is thinking. The fact that Drona never really pays attention to the actions he performs makes him all the more impressive. I also wanted to set up a symbiotic relationship developing early between Arjuna and Drona. I made Arjuna the most intuitive about Drona's thoughts and actions, and I also made Drona notice this. I had Yudhisthira stand out as the most domineering of the boys. He is the oldes, after all, so he speaks for the group, and he is probably a little embarrassed for being responsible for the lost ball.
Finally, near the end I added that Drona begins to see that what may have merely started out as fun turned into a great opportunity of which he tries to take advantage.
Bibliography:
"Mahabharata" by William Buck, University of California Press, Ltd. (1973).
Wikipedia.com
Cover Page