Duryodhan feels angry the moment he comes to know about the arrival of his cousins. He never considered them as Kauravas. They were Pandavas, not Kauravas.

Kunti was worried when she entered the palace again. She knew that Dhirtarashtra was the king and Satyavati had very conveniently announced that Yudhisthir will become the next king and left but because of that, Dhirtarashtra can attack her kids anytime. She still remembers how Dhirtarashtra always mentally harassed Gandhari and said hurtful things to her.

Guru Dronacharya was the brother-in-law of Kripacharya. Dronacharya was a poor Brahmin and he always worried that Ashwatthama was mocked by his peers because of his poverty. Ashwatthama, as a child loved milk but his father couldn't give him that. So, his peers mixed flour with lots of water and gave him and he drank it happily. When Dronacharya came to know this, he felt heartbroken. He immediately went to the mahajanapad of Panchal with Ashwatthama to his friend Drupad. Drupad was the king there.

There, he went and joined his hands, pleading, "We have been friends in the gurukul (kinda school) and you had promised me that you will give me anything I will ask for. Please, I need a cow."

Drupad looked at him and suddenly started laughing. Between his fits of laughter, he asks, "What makes you think that you can ask for something from me? Those days were gone when we used to study together. Now, I am a king. I don't care for you anymore. Leave."

Dronacharya feels humiliated as he leaves with Ashwatthama, feeling insulted and directly goes to Kripacharya and asks him for any work. Kripacharya in turn convinces Bhishma to appoint Dronacharya as the guru of the Kauravas and the Pandavas because Kripacharya was the royal priest there. Bhishma knew that Dronacharya was the most efficient teacher for his grandchildren and agreed because he and Dronacharya both had Parshuram as their guru.

Guru Dronacharya used to teach the pandavas and the Kauravas about the scriptures and the warfare. The Pandavas found no problem with the training because Pandu had started their training already but the Kauravas used to struggle a lot. There used to be a schedule for things like early in the morning, the Kauravas and the pandavas used to fetch water in pots from a faraway pond. Bheem used to bring five pots everyday and Duryodhan used to bring four.

One day, Arjun saw that his guru was teaching some simple tactics to Ashwatthama while the other disciples used to get the water and he joined them. Dronacharya asked him not to tell anyone about this and Arjun agreed because his only aim was to become the best archer in the history of mankind.

Another day, a tribal boy comes to Dronacharya and asks him for training for archery. Dronacharya refuses immediately because his goal was to make Arjun the best archer in the world and thus, he couldn't teach any other person archery. The boy, Eklavya left. One day, Dronacharya's dog was barking continuously. Suddenly, his barking stopped. So, Dronacharya and all the disciples ran towards the place where the dog was supposed to be when they suddenly see the dog coming towards them while whimpering, three arrows in his mouth such that he was not hurt but he was silent. Dronacharya was impressed with the talent and Arjun was taken aback. He thought that he was the best archer in the world but this person seemed to be much better than him.

They all went forward to see Eklavya training before the statue of Dronacharya. Arjun was shocked with the way Eklavya was shooting arrows with his eyes closed. He had not reached that level in his training yet. Dronacharya asks Eklavya, "Who is your teacher and how did you learn these skills."

Eklavya got startled and opened his eyes to find Dronacharya. He immediately bowed to his guru and said, "You are my guru, Guru Dronacharya. I watch the way you teach Arjun and I practice. Whatever I am today is because of you."

Dronacharya was speechless and Arjun was more speechless. Finally, Dronacharya asked, "What will you give me as my guru dakshina (this is the gift the gurus get after they train their disciples)?"

Eklavya quickly replies, "Anything that you want. You just have to order."

Dronacharya takes a deep breath and says, "I want the thumb of your right hand as guru dakshina."

Arjun feels shocked. If Eklavya gives away the thumb, he wouldn't be able to handle an arrow but Eklavya gives away his thumb without hesitation. Mahabharat is a story of sacrifices and unsatisfaction. Unsatisfaction of Satyavati, of Amba, of Vidur and of many more but Eklavya is a character which very few people remember. Well, remember this name. We will see him later in the Mahabharat-2.