Mahabharata 1.132.22 — Adi Parva, Adhyaya 132, Shloka 22
Ādi-parva Adhyāya 132 — Duryodhana’s Instructions to Purocana at Vāraṇāvata
Lākṣāgṛha Planning
अन्धकारेअर्जुनायान्नं न देयं ते कदाचन । न चाख्येयमिदं चापि मद्वाक्यं विजये त्वया
andhakāre 'rjunāyānnaṃ na deyaṃ te kadācana | na cākhyeyam idaṃ cāpi madvākyaṃ vijaye tvayā ||
അർജുനൻ ധനുസ്സും അമ്പും നിരന്തരം അഭ്യസിക്കുന്നതു കണ്ട ദ്രോണാചാര്യൻ പാചകക്കാരനെ ഏകാന്തത്തിൽ വിളിച്ചു പറഞ്ഞു—“ഇരുട്ടിൽ അർജുനന് ഒരിക്കലും ഭക്ഷണം വിളമ്പരുത്; എന്റെ ഈ കല്പനയും അർജുനനോട് ഒരിക്കലും വെളിപ്പെടുത്തരുത്।”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Excellence is cultivated through disciplined constraints and mindful practice; a teacher may impose targeted rules (here, not eating in darkness) to sharpen awareness and remove dependence on external conditions, while keeping the method undisclosed so the student’s growth remains genuine.
After noticing Arjuna’s constant weapons practice, Droṇa privately instructs the cook: never serve Arjuna food in the dark and never reveal that this is Droṇa’s directive—setting up a training condition meant to refine Arjuna’s alertness and capability.
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