Shakuni
The king of Gandhar was imprisoned along with his 100 sons in Hastinapur; and his only daughter Gandhari was forced to marry the blind prince, Dhritarashtra. Gandhari choose to blindfold herself in retaliation. The prisoners were left to starve to death by feeding them with a single grain of rice per person. The king of Gandhar asked all his sons to pass on their share to their youngest brother, so that at least one of them could survive. The youngest was the brightest of the lot, according to the king.
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Each morsel of rice left a bitter taste in his mouth. Guilt and hatred filled his heart as one by one his brothers died to keep him alive. The child in him died and Shakuni was born on the day he carved out the dice from him deceased father’s thigh bone. Even he was unaware, that the magical dice which followed his commands, would change the course of history of India.
“O great father! Who choose me to thrive over others! I will avenge the death of you and my brothers. I will bring justice to Gandhari , my beloved sister ,who was made to lead a colorless life with a blind man. Their own blood will shed blood to survive. I’ll keep the cards close to my heart till the time is right.”
He vowed to destroy the entire Kuru-clan from the face of this earth. The kingdom of Hastinapur was to witness a massacre which would be retold for years to come. His abhorrence grew manifold as each of his plans failed, but he had sowed the seeds of unrest among the brothers. The tug of war for the throne had started between the Pandavas and the Kauravas. He just needed a few right moves and the game would be his. Years passed, but his patience never wore off. Repugnance was the fuel on which he kept his revenge burning.
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Shakuni selected his team carefully. The Kauravas were his best bet, his volatile nephew,Duryodhan (Gandhari’s first born) ,was his trump card. A little wheedling was all that was needed to coax him into acquiescing. The crux of the epic was ‘A game of Dice’*. The eldest of the Pandavas, Yudhishthira had a weakness for Chausar*. Shakuni couldn’t believe his luck when the Pandavas agreed for a friendly match.
“Today is the day, O father,” Shakuni caressed his magical dice “which will go down as the blackest day in the history of Hastinapur.” Black was his favorite color, he always dressed himself in black. His limp got exaggerated whenever he was excited; on other occasions, he skillfully masked it by deliberately walking slowly. Leaving his chamber he reached the venue early, starting a mock practice all by himself.
The dice never disobeyed him and he was pleased with the result. Today, with his magical dice, destiny would be re-written. Laughter echoed in the hall as people started walking in. Shakuni smiled as he handed over his dice to the dasa (servant).
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Duryodhan announced that his maternal uncle, Shakuni, would play on his behalf. They exchanged a sly smile as the magical dice was brought in by the dasa (servant). With each roll of dice Yudhishthira lost his wealth, kingdom as well as himself and his brothers. Greed got better of him and he put his wife, Draupadi, for betting; in the hope of winning everything back again.
Shakuni, now, was confident that providence was on his side and the grand scheme was underway. A little prodding was all it took to bring years of pent up anger against the Pandavas back. The Kauravas didn’t leave any stone unturned to humiliate and jeer them. Draupadi was dragged into the court like a dasi (servant) and was disrobed in front of thousands watching unabashed. Krishna was her saving grace that day.
Shakuni watched the proceedings with glee. Gently pocketing the magical dice with no onlooker; he mumbled, “Our work is done, O father! The wheels for the great battle are set in motion. The battle which will go down in history of mankind as the great leveler. The Kuru-clan will be self-destroyed. I trusted everyone to play their parts, but it is I who cut the cards.”
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