Indian traditions, Nivedita and Coomaraswamy
Arjuna
Drona’s target test distinguishes Arjuna from the other pupils: while they report seeing teacher, companions and tree, he sees only the bird’s head. He shoots at the command and wins his teacher’s delight through concentrated attention. The Bhagavad Gita passage presents the same warrior unable to welcome battle against his own relations. His bow falls from his hand and he questions the value of victory, kingdom and pleasure bought through their deaths.
Also known as Arjun · Pārtha
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In the sources
Principal account
TraditionalDrona’s target test distinguishes Arjuna from the other pupils: while they report seeing teacher, companions and tree, he sees only the bird’s head. He shoots at the command and wins his teacher’s delight through concentrated attention.
Further detail
TraditionalThe Bhagavad Gita passage presents the same warrior unable to welcome battle against his own relations. His bow falls from his hand and he questions the value of victory, kingdom and pleasure bought through their deaths.
Context & interpretation
This entry selects Arjuna’s training and his hesitation in the Gita passages reproduced by the collection. It treats these as traditional epic accounts and does not attempt a complete account of the Pandava wars or equate disciplined attention with a moral endorsement of violence.
Original passages
Source 1
Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists
I see only a bird s headOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: Nivedita and Coomaraswamy, Myths of the Hindus & Buddhists (1914), active reader leaf 164
Exact passage checked against the active edition text and original-leaf mapping; whitespace and scan line breaks normalised.
- Edition
- IMJ-0109-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0109-E001-P0164
- Original scan leaf
- 164
- Recorded leaf number
- 164
- Current Reader position
- 155
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
Source 2
Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists
I do not long for victoryOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: Nivedita and Coomaraswamy, Myths of the Hindus & Buddhists (1914), active reader leaf 232
Exact passage checked against the active edition text and original-leaf mapping; whitespace and scan line breaks normalised.
- Edition
- IMJ-0109-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0109-E001-P0232
- Original scan leaf
- 232
- Recorded leaf number
- 232
- Current Reader position
- 223
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
Illustrations
Continue exploring
Bhagiratha
The royal descendant whose persistence brings Ganga to his ancestors’ ashes.
Same subject and traditionBharata
The brother who refuses to profit from Rama’s exile and waits for his return.
Same subject and traditionBhima
The powerful Pandava whose rivalry with Duryodhana turns display towards violence.
Same subject and traditionBhishma
The royal elder whose obligations connect the rival houses of the Mahabharata.