Veeti-khelna in Sanskrit is colloquially known as gilli-danda. The colloquial name describes the game – use a big stick (danda) to hit a small stick (danda). While video games and modern sports like football & cricket hold the attention of kids today, gilli-danda is still played for fun. When you play gilli danda and people around you complain that it is not glamorous, remind them of the games rich heritage stretching back to the Mahabharata.

As the Kuru princes played, the gilli fell inside a well. Unable to get the stick out, the princes stood around the well helplessly. Guru Drona, who was on his way to Hastinapur, noticed the princes in this helpless state.

Drona too a blade of glass and threw it forcefully and accurately at the stick. The blade of grass stuck tightly to the stick. Then he threw another blade which stuck to the first blade. He kept on throwing blades which stick to the previous blade and created a rope. He then pulled the stick out easily. He berated the princes asking them what kind of kshatriyas were they if they could not do such a simple task.

Kshatriya is defined as kshata (wound)-trayate(protect) – someone who protects you from wounds. The modern Hindi word kshati (क्षति) which means ‘damage’ comes from the root kshata.

Drona wanted to take revenge on his friend Drupada. He was looking for suitable employment as Guru so that he could train a deserving student who would help him get revenge. That’s why, he was travelling to the Kuru capital Hastinapur. Much like, how young people migrate to large cities like Mumbai & Bengaluru from their hometowns in search of high paying work. He instructed the princes to approach Bhishma as he knew that as their grandfather he would indulge them and appoint him as their Guru. Drona knew human psychology – grandparents indulge grandkids more than the parents. This story demonstrates the first instance that shows that though Drona was a great teacher, he was also a selfish person. He wanted to be Guru of the Kuru princes since they were 105 of them and surely, one among so many could help him get revenge.

After Bhishma appointed Drona as the Guru of the Kuru princes, Drona asked the princes to fulfil his wish of revenge against Drupada, once their studies were over. Only Arjuna came forward to take this oath. Drona smelled Arjuna’s head and from that day he became the Guru’s favorite disciple.

This gain shows Drona’s complex personality – he asked for Guru Dakshina in advance and that too a specific wish. Normally, Dakshina is voluntary made after the studies are over. He promised to make Arjuna the greatest archer in the world in return of his promise to take revenge on his behalf.

Once Arjuna was eating by candle light. Due to strong winds, the candle blew off. But Arjuna continued eating without a hitch as if by reflex. He then realized that if he could eat so easily in the dark, he can as well as shoot arrows in the dark. He then started practicing during the night and developed the skill of using the shabd-bedhi baan (noise penetrating arrow). He could estimate where the target was based on the noise coming from around the target and shoot at the target accurately.

A good student can develop many new skills if he/she is rightly mentored and is willing to put in hard work and rigorous practice.

Arjuna was very focused as a student. So when he was asked to aim at a target, he only saw the target. When Duryodhana was asked to aim at the target, he said that he saw the beautiful scenery around the target. Maybe as a son of a blind father, he was more interested in seeing beauty than the target. Bheema, in contrast, wanted to bring down the full tree instead of aiming at the target. Perhaps it was his egoistic nature speaking.

Probably it was a test designed by Drona. He created a situation wherein it appeared that his leg had been caught by a crocodile underwater. All other princes froze with fear but Arjuna was undeterred. He accurately shot at the animal even though underwater the shape of the animal seen is distorted by refraction. As per physics, light gets bent while passing from air to water, a phenomenon called refraction.

Ashwathama was the son of Drona & Kripi. As guru, Drona was very partial to son. He made an announcement that whichever student fulfilled a certain task would get special lessons. The task was to go to the river and fill a pot with water and bring it back. All other princes got pots with narrow openings. Only Ashwathama got a pot with wide mouth. This made sure that he would fill up the pot faster and be automatically be eligible for the special lessons. This was another instance of Drona not being completely scrupulous in his role of Guru.

Eklavya is described as a Nishaada Kumara. The Nishaadas lived in forests. Drona refused to teach Eklavya when he approached him. Perhaps he wanted to teach only city based disciples. Whatever be the reason, Drona had many failings as a guru. Eklavya, the dedicated student was undeterred. He built a statue of Drona, accepted it as his guru and started practicing. He ended up developing great skills as an archer.

Eklavya was the son of Hiranya-dhanusha who was not only the leader of Nishaadas but was also an important general of Jarasandha, king of Magadha. Jarasandha was a mortal enemy of Krishna.

The Kuru princes go to a forest to hunt, accompanied by dogs. One of the dogs wandered where Eklavya was practicing and started barking. To shut the dog up, Eklavya shot a bunch of arrows into the dog’s mouth but without hurting it. The princes were astounded by the skill of the archer and went back and narrated the story to Guru Drona. Arjuna complained to Guru Drona that he had failed his promise to make him the best as Eklavya was the better archer.

Drona was told of Eklavya’s great skill as an archer. Arjuna was upset that Dronacharya has not kept his promise to make Arjuna the greatest archer. Drona came to the forest to meet Eklavya. He found out that Eklavya used to practice next to his clay idol, which he treated as his guru. Drona was quick to latch on to this and ask for guru Dakshina. He asked for Eklavya’s right thumb which would cripple his future as an archer. This is a story of dubious ethical dimensions and is used to suggest that a lower status Nishaada archer was disadvantaged at the hands of a Kuru prince.

The story is bit more complex than that. Eklavya was the prince of Nishaadas who had their own kingdom and not a low status person. His father was the general of Jarasandha, the king of Magadha. It was perhaps Drona’s anxiety to meet his promise to his employers that drove him to the macabre act. We don’t know. But this act again brings out the negative characteristics of Drona’s character.

The Kuru princes were displaying their skills at the talent show. Arjuna was obviously the best. Suddenly, a dashing warrior wearing armour (kavach) and ear-rings (kundala) appeared and challenged Arjuna. He matched the feats of Arjuna and asked for one on one competition. He was asked whether he was a prince as the event was open to princes only. At this question, Karna hung his head. Adiratha the charioteer came in and it was clear that he was Karna’s father. Bheema started insulting Karna’s family background. It was then the event was called off. Later, everyone would know that Karna was Kunti’s son and the brother of the Pandavas. But that is another story.

When Karna came to the talent show uninvited, Duryodhana immediately recognized that Karna could be a useful ally. When he came to know that Karna could not participate because he was not a prince, he immediately made Karna the king of Anga. This kingdom is on the border of present day Bihar & W Bengal. But we know that Duryodhana was not eligible to make the donation of this kingdom. We don’t know if Hastinapur was the overlord of Anga. In any case, Duryodhana was only a prince and could not declare anyone king. What we know is that it was not a good gift. A good gift (sattav-dana) is when it is made without expecting anything in return. A moderate gift, Rajas-dana is when a gift with some specific return in mind. A bad gift, Tamas-dana is a gift made to an undeserving person.