Arjun and the Bird's eye test

Guru Drona, son of rishi Bhardwaj, had been handed the onus of teaching warfare to the Kaurava and Pandava princes of Hastinapur. He had been a student of rishi Parshuram once and was considered to be a genius. Although a guru should have no favourites, Drona could not help favouring Arjun, the third Pandava prince over his other disciples, even his own son, Ashwatthama. Many accused the guru of favouring Arjun but Drona knew that his favourite student was exceptional who had the makings of a great warrior. In order to prove Arjun’s mettle over the other princes, Drona decided to hold a competition to test their learning and skills. 

He herded the princes to the forest. Across a stream, on a mango tree, he had already set up a wooden bird on one of the branches of the tree. At a suitable point from the tree, he had drawn up a circle. The task for the princes was to shoot the bird’s eye successfully. The princes smiled. In the past, they had shot the fiercest of boars with a single arrow. This bird, and that too a wooden one, what threat could it pose to their skills? 

Firstly, Drona called the eldest Pandava, Yudhisthir and asked, “What can you see, my son?” he pointed to the wooden bird. “Can you shoot the bird?” 

Yudhisthir, righteous in his ways, replied, “I can see the mango tree, the birds, leaves, branches, the sky. If I have to shoot the eyes of the wooden bird, I'd have to take care to shoot in a way that the nests’ on the tree are not harmed. Also, at the base of the tree I can see ants carrying flour to their homes. I have to take care that no branch falls on them.” 

Drona smiled but half-heartedly. “Those are the qualities of a good king, keeping in mind each one of your subjects,” he said. “but not of a good archer. Please put down your bow and return to your seat.” 

Next was Duryodhan. The arrogant Kaurava said, “I can see the tree as well as the wooden bird, guru. Order me! Shoot I down the entire bird? I can shoot everything on the tree as well. Nothing is beyond my arrows.” 

Drona shook his head as he commanded Duryodhan to return to his seat. One by one the rest of the princes told the guru what all they could see but Drona dismissed each one. Even Ashwatthama could not suitably answer his father. Finally, only Arjun was left. As he stood in the circle drawn by the teacher with his bowstring taut, Drona asked him, “What do you see?” 

“Only the eye of the bird, which is my target.” he said, his eyes unfaltering. 

Drona seemed impressed. “But there are so many other beautiful things to see: the sky, the trees, the leaves, the branches, the trunk.” he said, his eyebrows raised. “Can you not see them?” 

“No, guru” Arjun said swiftly. “I see only the eye of the bird.” 

Satisfied, the guru asked Arjun to shoot. His arrow flew past the wind to strike the bird’s eye. The impaled bird proved Arjun’s skills. He had accomplished the task! On that day, a legend was born in Arjun, the epitome of concentration and willpower. Others had failed to separate their goal from the distractions in their path but Arjun had his eyes only on his prize. Similarly, we, too have so many irrelevant things to distract us in day-to-day life. We must push them aside and focus on our goal. This is what this story teaches me.