Aru Shah and the End of Time (Pandava Quartet, #1)

by Roshani Chokshi

In the tale, the archery teacher of the Pandavas had tied a wooden fish to a tree branch. He instructed the brothers to shoot an arrow at the fish’s eye. But they could only aim by looking at the reflection of the wooden fish in the water below them. The teacher asked Yudhistira, the oldest brother, what he saw in the reflection. He said, The sky, the tree, the fish. The teacher told him not to shoot. He asked Bhima, the second oldest brother, what he saw. He said, The branch of the tree, the fish. The teacher asked him not to shoot. And then the teacher asked Arjuna what he saw. He said, The eye of the fish. Only he was allowed to shoot. It was a tale about focusing, about peeling away distractions one by one until all that was left was the target. The eye of the fish.