1. The story of Krishna killing Ekalavya
Many stories abound about the character of Ekalavya. The most common one ends with him cutting off his bow-weilding thumb and offering it to Guru Dronacharya as 'guru dakshina'. But there are many other things that you are probably not aware of, like the fact that the death of Ekalavya came at the hands of Lord Krishna…let’s retrace his legend…
2. Ekalavya is famous for his guru bhakti
Ekalavya was an important character in the Mahabharata and also one of the greatest archers in the world, equal even to Arjuna.
3. Ekalavya and Dronacharya
Ekalavya wanted to gain the blessings of Dronacharya, who he wanted to be taught by. Dronacharya was the teacher of both the Pandavas and the Kauravas.
4. Relationship of Ekalavya and Krishna
Ekalavya was Krishna's cousin brother. Ekalavya's father, Devashrava, was Vasudeva's brother, who got lost in the woods. He was adopted by the king of hunters, Nishada Vyatraja Hiranyadhanus.
5. Krishna was behind the guru dakshina
On discovering Ekalavya’s skill, Dronacharya refused to accept him due to the hesitation of the royal princes. When Ekalavya asked what he could offer as guru dakshina, Drona asked for his thumb, which he cut off and offered to the guru.
6. Ekalavya, the great archer
Ekalavya’s purpose in life was to prove his greatness by becoming even more skilled than Arjuna despite not having a thumb, so crucial in archery.
7. Ekalavya – A yadava and a kuru
But his pride grew enormously and he strayed from the path of dharma in order to prove his might. He was also a threat to the Yadava and Kuru clans and would prove to be a terrorising force in Hastinapur in the future.
8. Ekalavya and Jarasandha
Ekalavya and his clan, from the times of Nishada Vyatraja Hiranyadhanus, were great supporters of Jarasandha. Jarasandha was the arch enemy of Krishna, which made Ekalavya his enemy too, inspite of the fact that they were cousins.
9. Ekalavya is killed by Krishna
Ekalavya confronted Krishna and challenged him to a duel. Indeed, Krishna took up the challenge, fought Ekalavya, and killed him, thus also killing his pride and restoring dharma to the world.
10. The reason behind his death
In Drona-Parva, Krishna reveals that he had to let people like Jarasandha, Shishupala and Ekalavya be killed as they would have later sided with the Kauravas and obstructed the establishment of dharma.
11. Ekalavya as Drishtadyumna
It is believed that Krishna gave Ekalavya a boon at his death that he would be reborn to kill Dronacharya. It is said that it was Ekalavya who was born as Drishtadyumna and finally killed Dronacharya.
Tags
Traditions