Arjun Shooting Birds of an eye
In the Indian epic the Mahabharat, it is mentioned that Dronacharya, the guru of the Pandavas and Kauravas in teaching them warfare when they were children, one day decided to test their skills.
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He called all his students to a grove outside the ashram, and placed on one of the trees a wooden bird with a prominently painted eye.
He addressed the students and said, “Young princes, you have learnt most of the skills necessary for a warrior, and it is time you take a test and show me your skill in archery. There, on that tree is a wooden bird with a painted eye. You have to aim for, and hit that eye.”
The first one to be called was Yudhishtra, the eldest of the Pandavas. Dronacharya asked him to aim at the eye of the bird, but tell him what he saw before shooting the arrow.
Yudhishtra replied, “I can see the bird, the tree, and more birds on it.” Dronacharya replied, “ You have failed the test. Leave your bow and arrow and go.”
Next was the turn of Duryodhana. Asked the same question, he replied, “Gurudev, I can see the bird, the tree, and the the fruits on it” But before he could complete, Dronacharya said, “You too have failed ” Duryodhana was wild, and he flung the bow and arrow to the ground before he stood aside.
Next was the turn of Bhima. Again, he was asked the same question by Dronacharya, and he replied, “Gurudev, I can see the bird, the tree, and the sky” he too was interrupted and made to stand aside.
Next was the turn of the twins, one by one. When posed the same question, Nakula said, “I can see the bird, the trees, and the leaves on it” and Sahadeva said, “I can see the tree, and a bird sitting on one of its branches.” They too were declared failed.
Finally, it was the turn of Arjuna. Dronacharya asked him, “Arjuna, what can you see?” Arjuna replied, “Gurudev, I can see only the eye of the bird.” With a smile on his face, Dronacharya said, “Fire!” and Arjuna let loose the arrow which found its mark.
Dronacharya turned to the other princes and said, “Did you all understand the point of this test? When you aim for something, you must look at nothing else but the target. Only total focus and intense concentration can help you strike it. All of you could see the other things like the trees, the fruits, the leaves and the sky, because you were not concentrating. It was only Arjuna who was really concentrating. So now all of you know why Arjuna is the best student !”
This story from the Mahabharat teaches us an important lesson : we Indians must focus on our real national aim, and not let our minds be diverted from it.
What is that national aim ? It is making India a prosperous country, with its people enjoying a high standard of living, and abolishing our massive poverty, massive unemployment, appalling level of child nourishment ( every second Indian child is malnourished, according to Global Hunger Index ), almost total lack of proper healthcare and good education for our masses, atrocities and discrimination on minorities, dalits and women. And for doing this we must transform India into a modern industrial giant, like China or the USA
https://www.punjabtodaynews.com/defining-indias-future-our-national-aim
https://indicanews.com/justice-markandey-katju-the-task-before-indian-patriots
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/india-heading-revolution-markandey-katju
In other words, the test of every political activity and political system is one, and only one : does it raise the standard of living of our people ? Does it give them better lives ?
Some people say that India is progressing, that we have the fastest growing economy and rising GDP, etc etc but here is the truth :
https://indicanews.com/justice-markandey-katju-lies-damned-lies-and-statistics-in-india
https://indicanews.com/justice-markandey-katju-the-truth-behind-indias-explosive-gdp-growth
https://indicanews.com/justice-markandey-katju-there-are-two-indias-in-india
From that perspective ( and it is the only correct perspective ) let us deal with some questions.
(1) Is democracy good for India ?
To answer this question we must first understand that democracy can only be a means to an end, it cannot be an end in itself. The end must be raising the standard of our people, and giving them decent lives. If democracy helps in achieving that end, it is a good thing. But if it does the contrary, it is a bad thing.
https://www.hastakshepnews.com/2025/07/democracy-is-not-holy-cow-justice-katju.html
When we consider democracy, we must not consider it in the abstract ( in which it appears very rosy, as being rule by the people ) but in the concrete, as practised in India. As practised in India, democracy largely runs on the basis of caste and communal vote banks ( as everyone in India knows ). When most of our voters go to vote they do not see the merit of the candidate, whether he is a good man or bad, educated or not, etc. They also do not keep in mind the rising unemployment and rising prices of essential commodities. They only see the caste or religion of the candidate ( or the caste or religion his party claims to represent ).
That is why about half the MPs elected in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections have criminal backgrounds
Casteism and communalism are feudal forces, which have to be destroyed if India is to prosper, but democracy ( as practised in India ) further entrenches and fortifies them ( because it largely runs on their basis ). Hence democracy in India further strengthens feudalism, which is keeping us poor and backward. How then can it be called a good thing ?
These days much is being said on the social media about vote theft and rigging of the voters list for the coming Bihar state assembly elections, which has allegedly endangered democracy. But as I pointed out in my interview by journalist Neelu Vyas, this is really irrelevant as it assumes democracy is a good thing, and therefore has to be protrected.
Democracy requires people whose minds are intellectually developed and who can think rationally when they vote. But most Indians are steeped in casteism and communalism. So in India it is counter productive, and really plays into the hands of our crafty and crooked politicians ( of all parties ) who are experts in polarising the people and inciting caste and communal hatred. It serves to deceive the people into thinking they are the rulers, when the truth is that a handful of crooks are our rulers. Democracy is a bad thing for people whose minds are full of casteism and communalism. Hence democracy, as practised in India, ensures that we remain backward and poor.
https://indicanews.com/justice-markandey-katju-are-elections-really-relevant-in-india
(2) Is secularism good for India ?
I submit that secularism is not just good for India, it is the only policy which can hold us together, and can take us on the path of progress.
India is a country with tremendous diversity, and so the only correct policy for us is the policy of suleh-e-kul or giving equal respect to all religions and communities, proclaimed by the great Mughal Emperor Akbar, as I explained in my interview to eminent lawyer Kapil Sibal and elsewhere.
https://indicanews.com/justice-markandey-katju-emperor-akbar-is-the-father-of-the-indian-nation
As explained in that interview, the recent attempts to convert India into a Hindu state will only lead to more Partitions, and will do great harm to India
https://indicanews.com/justice-markandey-katju-in-india-secularism-has-gone-with-the-wind
https://indicanews.com/justice-markandey-katju-india-is-going-backwards-not-forward
(3) Can we achieve our national aim of making India a prosperous country within the present Constitutional framework ?
The Indian Constitution provides for parliamentary democracy, and I have already explained above that this democracy largely runs on the basis of casteism and communalism, which are feudal forces keeping the country backward. Hence the solution to our massive socio-economic problems lie outside, not within, the Constitutional framework i.e. by a mighty, united, protracted people’s struggle led by moderrn minded patriotic leaders, culminating in a historical people’s revolution which sets up a political and social order under which there is rapid industrialization and steady rise in the standard of living of the people.
https://indicanews.com/justice-markandey-katju-the-task-before-indian-patriots
https://indicanews.com/the-great-indian-leap-forward
Such a revolution is surely coming in India
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/satyam-bruyat/a-french-revolution-is-approaching
For attaining our national objective I have created a mathematical theorem
https://indicanews.com/justice-markandey-katju-the-grand-indian-theorem
https://indicanews.com/justice-markandey-katju-the-formula-to-make-india-mighty-and-great-again
Features of the new Indian state we must create after our historical revolution are given below :
It is high time we organize people for the coming people’s struggle and people’s revolution
I appeal to my patriotic countrymen to make what I have said above the eye of the bird on which their minds must always be focused, like Arjun, and never let their minds wander elsewhere, as the other Pandavas and Kauravas did
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