Reasons of Shakuni's Revenge and Hatred towards the Kuru Clan? Written By- Dr.Rashmi Vajpayee

     Photo courtesy BR Chopra's 'Mahabharat'

 via  dailymotion.com 

Shakuni was the prince of the Gandhar Kingdom, which is currently known as Kandahar in Afghanistan. He is one of the most villainous characters of the epic, Mahabharata. Shakuni was the brother of Gandhari and the maternal uncle of Duryodhan (the eldest son of Dhritarashtra), and also the leading negative figure in the Mahabharata. Shakuni was very sharp and equally cunning as well. He was the mastermind behind the great battle of Kurukshetra. 

Gandhari's Marriage-

Shakuni was the son of King Subala of Gandhar Kingdom. He was very attached to his sister Gandhari. Soon after, the lord regent of Hastinapur the great Bhishma; during his conquering spree visited Gandhar with his army. Bhishma was impressed with the beauty and intelligence of Gandhari and asked Subala’s permission for her marriage to Dhritarashtra, the blind king of Hastinapur. Subala wants his daughter to marry Bhishma but he was bound to remain celibate.

  Photo Courtesy BR Chopra's 'Mahabharat'

 via dailymotion.com 

As the beaten individual, Subala had no other choice, Gandhari was married to a blind man. Gandhari was not consulted during the occasion of her marriage and she was to live with a blind man even when she was so wise and intelligent. Shakuni was against this marriage, so he decided to take revenge against Bhishma who brought the proposal of marriage.

       

Photo courtesy BR Chopra's 'Mahabharat'  

via dailymotion.com 

Gandhar Under Captivation?

There is one more story about the marriage of Gandhari to the blind king Dhritarashtra. According to the birth chart, Gandhari was a Manglik. When Gandhari was born all the astrologers predicted that her first husband would die early, but her second husband would live long and healthy. It is believed that the wedding between a Manglik and a Non-Manglik would bring disastrous effects, breakdown of the matrimony, or even death of the spouse. 

There is yet another theory that the adverse outcomes of Manglik matrimony can be resolved by getting the Manglik “married” to a Peepal tree or an idol of Lord Vishnu or a sacrificial animal. Gandhari was first wedded off to a goat, before being married to Dhritarashtra, the blind prince of Hastinapur. After the wedding, they sacrificed that goat to make her technically a widow.

When Dhritarashtra got to know that Gandhari had first married a goat and then him. He was enraged as her previous marriage with the goat made him her second husband. As, Punishment Dhritarashtra decided to put Gandhari's family in prison, including King Subala.He forcefully put King Subala and his 100 sons, including Shakuni, in jail. 

                                                               

Dhritarashtra wanted them to starve to death. He only provided each of them a piece of rice to feed every day. Subala knew that soon all of them would die. He chose that Shakuni would eat all of the food supplied to them. He did this so Shakuni could soon take revenge on Hastinapur and Dhritarashtra. 

After that, Shakuni’s siblings and King Subala started starving to death. Very Soon, all of Shakuni’s ninety-nine brothers died. To make sure Shakuni remembered this, Subala twisted Shakuni’s leg as a sign of revenge. Before dying, Subala also requested Dhritarashtra to free his son Shakuni and promised him that his son, will take responsibility for Dhritarashtra’s sons.

       Photo courtesy BR Chopra's 'Mahabharat'

via dailymotion.com 

During that time, Dhritarashtra had a hundred sons and one daughter. He took mercy on King Subala and agreed to release Shakuni. Subala then died. Shakuni survived and vowed to take revenge from the entire Kuru line. The Kuru’s annihilated the entire clan of Gandhar; Consequently, Shakuni swore that he would also destroy the entire Kuru clan.

                           

    Photo courtesy BR Chopra's 'Mahabharat'

 via dailymotion.com 

After some time, Shakuni utilized his father Subala’s bones to make a set of magical dice. Shakuni could command these dice and control which number they grounded on as his father's spirit lived within them. They would support him to conquer every game of dice he ever played throughout his life.

Shakuni Poison Kauravas mind-

The Kauravas were born from pieces of flesh kept in pots, their parents were blind. Shakuni became the supervisor of all the hundred Kaurava sons, as guaranteed by King Subala. The wicked and crooked Duryodhan guided by the advice of Shakuni bothered the Pandavas in various ways for the gaining of absolute supremacy.

 

        Photo courtesy BR Chopra's 'Mahabharat'

 via  dailymotion.com 

Kauravas were disobedient and rude to their parents, their guide and advisor was Shakuni, who was wicked. By arrogance and greed, Duryodhan leads the whole race of Kurus into destruction as per the prediction of his birth time.

 

References -

Deb, Indrani. Myth and the Mind: Psychological Tales of Mythological Characters, Notion Press, 2019.

Jain, Gopal:: Shakuni - An Oath for Revenge, Blue Rose Publishers, 2020. 

Patnaik, Devdutt: Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata, Penguin Books India, 2010. 

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About Rashmi Vajpayee

Hello friends I am DrRashmi Vajpayee,PhD Awardee,Assistant professor and founder of Rashmi Vajpayee's Confessions on Culture.Here I share everything about Indian Culture and Festivals.I hope you guys enjoy my content so keep reading!.

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