In defence of Shakuni...

Shakuni, Master of the Game (2019)
Author: Ashutosh Nadkar

That is the essence behind the Mahābhārata. It is not supposed to give a 2-dimensional view of things. It should make us realise that good and evil are a spectrum. One man's good deed can be to another's detriment. One man's version of the truth is another's untruth. I suppose, in the same way, Shakuni, the archetypical villain of the epic saga, could have his version of what actually transpired in his lifetime. He would have his version of what happened between the two noble families, the Pandavas and the Kauravas.

This book goes on to tell exactly that; Shakuni's actions, reactions and justifications of all the things that he allegedly connived in eventually leading up to one of the bloodiest wars in history amongst brothers, cousins and uncles.

Shakuni gives the lowdowns and dirty secrets of the family his beloved sister was married to. He claimed he was not handicapped as per common misconception. He was an able body who could easily run, walk and scale mountains. It was just that he walked with a slightly abnormal but functional gait. There was no need for military training in the peaceful country of Gandahar, so thought his father, the King. Hence, he need not be trained militarily. The army was not even equipped as well as its neighbours. Due to the extreme weather found in this region, people here spend more time indoors. Hence, Shakuni became a whiz in board games and handling the dice.

So when Bhishma, the feared patriarch from Hastinapur, came his mighty army to its border, the King of Gandahar got scared. Bhisma's soldiers outnumbered even the country's total population. Bhisma came with a marriage proposal for the blind King of Hastinapur, Dhritarashtra, to Gandhari, the beautiful princess of Gandahar. Left with Hobson's choice between causing suffering to his people and simply marrying off quietly, the King and the Princess chose the latter. Prince Shakuni was livid but felt helpless. He told himself that he would live to fight another day with his own devices.

Shakuni left his family in Gandahar to live in Hastinapur to choose the opportune time for revenge which did not involve military prowess.

Shakuni's stay in Hastinapur saw the Pandavas and the Kauravas scrambling to produce their first male heir, hoping to usurp the throne. King Pandu of the Pandavas probably had erectile dysfunction and faced fertility issues. King Dhritarasthra of the Kauravas impregnated his wife, but unfortunately, even after two years of gestation, she just delivered a lump of flesh.

Meanwhile, Pandu and his wife Kunti took a retreat to the jungles. Miraculously, Kunti conceived and delivered successively to Yudhistra, Bhima, Arjuna and twins Nakula and Sahadeva. Rumours went around the kingdom that Pandu did not complete the job. Pandu's uncle, his mother's sage son from another husband, Vyasa, the author of Mahābhārata, inseminated with his seeds. Perhaps the Prime Minister also had a hand in conceiving the offspring, the eldest of the Pandava sons, Yudhistra and the Lord of the Wind in Bhima. This practice was totally legitimate under the niyoga system to treat childlessness. 

The blob of flesh from Gandhari was treated ayurvedically by scientist-philosopher-poet Vyasa to 101 live babies. Believe it or not, this is what some fundamentalists refer to as the first in-vitro fertilisation (IVF). The first-born of the Kauravas was Duryodhana and a clear favourite of Shakuni. Shakuni had placed a lot of hope to outrun Bhishma and his clan.

On the Pandavas' side, Kuru's Prime Minister, Vidura, gravitated towards aggrandising the brothers. It became apparent after the military training with Dronacharya. That became the tinder box that eventually led to the Kurukshetra War. 

Kurukshetra War

Shakuni also noticed Drona's dark side. He refused to pupil in Karna because of his caste. When a tribal person, Akhilavya, learned the art of archery through an effigy of him, Drona actually demanded his right thumb as tuition fees, thus rendering him useless as an archer. 

The legendary backgammon game that spurred the Pandavas was played fairly and squarely. There were no special gaff dice made from Shakuni's father's bones. In fact, in the first game, through his marvellous skills, Shakuni made Duryodhana lose badly just to catch the Pandavas unawares later on. The fear of losing in the second game got Yudhistra carried away, betting his brothers, throne, and wife. The 12-year exile and a year of living incognito were agreed upon as fair and square. 

Things got out of hand when Shakuni managed to identify the Pandavas during the final year of their punishment. Their cover was blown. Shakuni never meant for the Kurus and Pandavas to go for each other's jugular and turn into maniacal hunters, breaking all rules of a Kshatriya. He felt a tinge of regret.

Shakuni, as a good uncle to the Kauravas, donned military fatigues finally and partook in the Kurukshetra war, only to be slain on the final day. He 

[P.S. Duryodhana was named Suyodhana, meaning good warrior, at birth. Because of his unusual birth, he was cast as bad, evil, or bad omen, hence, the prefix 'dur', meaning evil -Evil Warrior.]

[P.P.S. I remember my history teacher, Mrs Lai, commenting during history class when she was covering the Mahabharata War. In the same as Shakuni commented, she said, "How would you expect a fair war when God take sides?" What she said made much sense then, but I am wiser. There is more to what the eyes see. That, precisely, is the essence of life. Things are neither black nor white. They come in shades of grey.]

[P.P.P.S. In Shakuni's eyes, Bhishma cannot be as noble as he is revered to be if he is to be judged by his actions. Besides arm-twisting a helpless princess from a docile kingdom like Gangadhar to marry his blind nephew, he is reputed to have kidnapped princesses Amba, Ambilika and Ambalika from their swayambara for his weakling half-brother, Vichitravirya, against Kshatriya dharma.]

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.