A good student focusses on learning all the time, irrespective of day and night

A good student who focusses on hi goal to achieve mastery in the skill he masters, does not look for excuses to stop practicing, but in turn makes every excuse and reason in favour of his practice. It is this different quality which Guru Dronacharya saw in Arjun and made him his dearest student.

Arjun was a humble, dutiful and a dedicated student who was willing to listen to whatever his guru says and their bond was very special. Guru Drona already had a great vision of him that he would become the greatest archer of all times, and was training Arjun to become one in the same way.

One day Arjun comes to have his meal in the evening after a long day of practice. By the time he has reached the kitchen of the Gurukul ashram, it was late night and the rest of the princes had already finished dinner and retired to their respective rooms for sleep. But Arjun finds Bheem still in the kitchen searching for food. Known for Bheem’s love for food and hunger, Arjun playfully starts engaging his elder brother’s love for food while he searches for food. Finally, they get something to eat and both sit down to have their meal.

Suddenly a whiff of wind comes and blows the oil lamp away and the kitchen becomes dark. Arjun starts to search for another lamp, but is surprised to see Bheem unbothered by the darkness and feasting on his meal. Arjun teasingly asks Bheem that how is he able to eat in such darkness, for which Bheem replies that to do something which is the most favourite thing of all, the mind and body tune and habituate into that practise to do it perfectly irrespective of light or darkness.

This reply from Bheem puts Arjun into deep thought. He immediately goes out of the kitchen, grabs his bow and arrow and go to the practice field and starts practising shooting arrows in the dark. Guru Drona who is in deep sleep gets disturbed by the noise of the bow twang. He goes out in the direction of the sound and is surprised to see Arjun practicing his archery.

On seeing him Arjun bows to him. Guru Drona asks him that in the dark night when nothing is visible, why he is practising archery in the dark instead of sleeping and taking rest. Arjun humbly replies that when the body is accustomed to eat and sleep in the darkness, then why not it can be accustomed to practise archery and hence he is utilising the night time too, to make himself more perfect in archery.

Guru Drona is mighty pleased with this answer and the vision of his dear student. Arjun in this small incident gives out a big message, that when one has focus, determination and the will to practise, such student uses all his resources and time available to reach that goal and will definitely be successful in achieving dreams and ambitions on which he or she sets out. It was this very vision and the practise which he put for this vision to be true that he became the greatest archer of the Mahabharat.