Week 9 Storytelling: Never Good Enough

    Drona was a man of patience, virtue, and outstanding martial skills. He was the best of the best and many families pursued him to train their children. He had a son named Ashwatthaman who loved and obeyed him. Ashwatthaman started attending trainings and practices with his father since he could walk, just hoping to one day be as good as him. He strived for his father's praise and acceptance but he felt like no matter what he did, he was never good enough. No matter how hard he trained, who he beat in practices, or how loyal he was to helping his dad with his practice, none of these things seemed to matter to Drona.
    One day, his father got a letter in the mail from two of the grandest families in the city: The Pandavas and the Kauravas. Ashwatthaman wasn't surprised that his father was wanted by people this rich and grand, he knew how good his father was at his job and how humble he was about being the best guru in town. He sometimes wished that he had enough money to maybe one day, pay his dad and reserve a session just for them two. He wanted to hang out with his dad and bond with him but it always seemed like his dad had other things on his mind.
    Undoubtedly, Drona accepted the invitation to train the Pandavas and the Kauravas. Ashwatthaman happily trailed along hoping to impress his father further and gain some quality time with him. Little did he know that this would just create a bigger rift between the two of them. Walking into the house, Ashwatthaman was surprised to see a line of boys around his age, lined up on the stairs, waiting for his father. He cowered behind his father as his father used his most powerful voice to direct the boys to their first training. Ashwatthaman quickly realized that this was his golden ticket... If he could train with these boys everyday and then show his father how good he was and how he could easily beat them, then maybe his father would finally be proud of him and give him the praise and love that he had been yearning for.
    Weeks passed and Ashwatthaman loyally trained with his father and the Pandavas and Kauravas. Soon enough, his father announced that there would be a test. The test would determine who could move on to the next level of training and who would be stuck repeating level 1. The goal of the test was to be able to use a bow and arrow and use the skills that they had learned to focus and shoot the counterfeit bird that Drona would be controlling. Ashwatthaman knew that he had this test in the bag. He had shot that silly bird so many times and was beyond confident that he would be able to wow his dad and all the students trying.
    Morning of the test, Ashwatthaman woke up early and quickly showered and got ready. He had breakfast waiting on the table for his dad before he even awakened out of his slumber. He knew these brownie points would come in handy. Drona walked out from his room, not even acknowledging the breakfast that his son had made for him and urged Ashwatthaman to hurry up so they could leave. It was test day and Drona was stressed that all his training wouldn't give him the results that he wanted to see from his pupils. Disheartened, Ashwatthaman quietly trailed behind his dad as they walked quietly to the testing site in the woods. When they got there, he instantly noticed how nervous each kid was and laughed in his head as he realized how proud his father was going to be after he shot that dumb bird.
     One by one, Drona's pupils took their turns at shooting. Surprisingly, no one had been able to shoot the bird yet. Drona started feeling nervous that none of his pupils had learned anything from all this training. He prayed to Krishna hoping for a sign that he was still doing the right thing and that all his effort had not gone to waste. Even if ONE of his students could hit this bird, he would be satisfied. Two students were now left, his son Ashwatthaman and this scrawny little boy named Arjuna. Drona decided to let the boys shoot at the bird at the same time. This would increase the interest of the others and turn this into a friendly competition. The class gathered around and both Arjuna and Ashwatthaman took their stance with their bows and waited patiently for the bird to appear.
     Ashwatthaman knew that this was it. He HAD to shoot this bird. If this tiny little kid Arjuna beat him, he would never be able to live it down from his dad and then he would never gain his respect. Ashwatthaman focused on his breathing and technique and drowned the rest of the world out. His eyes swept the surrounding trees hoping that he would catch sight of the bird first. Then suddenly out of the corner of his eye, he saw the bright red bird flitting through the trees! He knew it was now or never. He took aim and then steadily let his arrow fly. Whoosh! He heard an arrow achieve contact with the bird and looked up excitedly to see how evenly he had hit the bird... Before he could even process what was going on, he watched his dad run up past him, up to Arjuna, and embrace him in a giant hug. All the kids in the class were running up to Arjuna and high-fiving him and chanting his name. Ashwatthaman's stomach dropped to his feet as he realized what had happened... It wasn't his arrow that had hit the bird, it was Arjuna's.
    He looked at his father happily chatting with Arjuna, listened to the kids chanting Arjuna's name, and it finally just hit him. There was no winning. Drona would never fully accept Ashwatthaman. No matter what he did or how hard he tried, Ashwatthaman would always be stuck on the back burner. He held back his tears, gathered his stuff, and then slowly began the long walk home.

This picture symbolizes the red bird that Arjuna shot 

(Image Information: Image retrieved from Michigan Nature)

Author's Note: This story is based off of this week's reading regarding Drona and his pupils. In Narayan's Mahabharata, Arjuna easily becomes Drona's favorite because he shoots the bird and saves him from the crocodile. I excluded the crocodile part because I felt like instead of adding the crocodile part, I focused more on his son, Ashwatthaman's emotions and feelings and based the story off of that. The actual story focused more on Arjuna, but when I was reading this, my thoughts were with Ashwatthaman and how he must be feeling knowing that Arjuna was his father's favorite.


Bibliography:     Narayan, R. K (1978). The Mahabharata.