Story of Ekalavya - Re : satIsh cander's pancama vEdam - response from a friend..
Ramana R. Juvvadi (juvvadi@horizoncomp.com)
Thu, 31 Oct 1996 11:24:06 -0500
[I didn't read the original Satish Chander's poem. Blame it on my
inability to read Romanized Telugu even in RIT!. I am replying only
to Dokka's friend's posting]
Ramabhadra Dokka writes:
> BTW, Does anyone care for the truth of which thumb was amputated _ It
> is NOT the right thumb as per popular belief, it is the other and that
As Veluri Venkateshwar Rao garu already demonstrated, this statement
is clearly false.
> is the reason Ekalavya could participate in the BArata war. People who
I don't ever remember reading an instance of Ekalavya participating
in Mahabharata war. Some proof is required before anybody can
believe this.
> Archery was considered to be the royal art/education in those days and it
> was strictly monitored by the kings and ministers, because of the perils
> involved to the society. Just to make it clear, it was like issuing a
> gun license that is strictly monitored and controlled by the Govt., these
> days. Unnecessary possession of an AK-47 like weapon was a crime and the
> culprit would face severe punishment including beheading.
That is an interesting explanation but not very convincing. It is very
easy to concoct a theory if one doesn't have to substantiate it. You
need to produce some evidence that learning archery was indeed
considered rAja drOham those days. Arjuna refused to fight Karna
only because Karna was considered a soota putra. If your assertion
was true, how did Karna challenge Arjuna without fear of being tried
for rAja drOham?
> As a punishment, Ekalavya should have been beheaded. It is drONa who protected
> him from such severe punishment and the issue was settled with a finger. BTW,
This explanation is even more bizarre.
Ramana