Shakuni

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Shakuni (Sanskrit: शकु न, lit. bird) also known as

Saubala (Sanskrit: सौबल, lit. son of Subala),Gandhar
naresh, Gandhararaja (Sanskrit: गा धारराज,(lit. king
of Gandhara) and Subalraja (Sanskrit): सुबलराज, lit.
"King of the Kingdom of Subala" was the prince of the
Gandhara Kingdom, later to become the King after his
father's death. He is the main antagonist in the Hindu
epic Mahabharata. He was the brother of Gandhari and
hence Duryodhana's maternal uncle.[1]
 Shakuni
Mahabharata character

Shakuni and Duryodhana

In-universe information

Weapon Sword, Gada and Bow and

Arrow

Family Subala & Sudarma (parents)

Gandhari (sister)

Spouse Arshi

Children Uluka, Vrikaasur, Patatri

and Vriprachitti
Relatives Dhritarashtra (brother-in-
law)
Duryodhana, Dussasana,
Vikarna, Duhsala and 97
others (nephew-niece)

Family and Skills

Shakuni was born in Gandhara to its king, Subala. He
had a sister named Gandhari, who was dear to Shakuni.
Portrayed as an extremely intelligent, crafty and
devious man, Shakuni is often credited as the
mastermind behind the Kurukshetra War. Shakuni was
one of the greatest illusionists. Shakuni married Arshi
and had three sons named Uluka, Vrikaasur and
Vriprachitti. The original texts of Mahabharata mention
Shakuni as personification of Dvapara Yuga.[2]

Hatred towards Hastinapura

In the Mahabharata, Shakuni's hatred towards
Hastinapura developed when Bhishma approached King
Subala with a marriage proposal for Shakuni's sister
Gandhari's, to the blind Kaurava prince Dhritarashtra.
Shakuni hated the idea of Gandhari's marriage with the
blind prince of Hastinapura. Gandhari covered her eyes
on her will to share her blindness. Shakuni's anger grew
when Dhritarashtra was first denied to inherit the throne
of Hastinapura. After the event, Shakuni started to
interfere in the matters of Hastinapura.[3]
Other Versions …

In a non-Mahabharata version, it is said that, being a

Mangalik, Gandhari was married to a tree (some say
a goat) prior to her marriage to Dhritarashtra, in
order to nullify the defect. On hearing of this, a
disgusted Dhritarashtra ordered the extermination of
Gandhara's royal line. Shakuni, his father, Subala
and Subala's other hundred sons were captured and
put in a prison. One grain was served to every person.
Knowing that Shakuni was the smartest, Subala and
his 99 sons sacrificed their lives and provided their
share of grain to Shakuni. Later, they all died and
Shakuni vowed to destroy Hastinapura.[4][5]
According to a Jain tradition, that contradicts the
Mahabharata, while Shakuni was still a young boy,
Gandhara was invaded by a Kuru prince, with
(different versions of the story naming the attacker
as Pratipa, Shantanu, Devavrata, or Vichitravirya).
Shakuni, his father, his brothers, his uncles, and his
cousins were imprisoned, with Hastinapur arguing it
was to restore dharma to Gandhara, but Shakuni
claiming that it was a pure power-grab. When the
Gandhara royal family argued that food must be given
to prisoners, only one grain of rice is given to each
captive. Knowing that Shakuni is the wisest among
them (and in some versions the youngest) and most
able to take revenge, the prisoners give all their food
to Shakuni so that he can survive. Eventually, all of
Shakuni's imprisoned family members die. His uncle
(or father) begs for mercy and bends the knee to
Hastinapur, freeing Shakuni who vows his revenge.
 Shakuni received a boon from his father that he will
be a great politician and will defeat other people with
his political genius.

In whatever the case, Shakuni swears to avenge this by

slowly destroying Hastinapur. He achieves this by
poisoning the mind of his volatile nephew Duryodhana
into instigating the war with the Pandavas, which
destroyed the Kuru line. Thus, he is seen by many as
one of the key persons that caused the Kurukshetra War.
He was the mastermind in corrupting the relation
between sons of Gandhari and Kunti which led to the
great war. Some versions of the story describe Shakuni
using the bones of his dead parents/family members to
create dice that will never lose him a game, as Shakuni's
father's soul enters the dice to make it roll to whatever
number Shakuni wanted.[6]

Role in the Mahabharata

Shakuni is also one of the masterminds behind the
Kurukshetra War. His intentions include his desire to
avenge the insult Bhishma made. Shakuni's main enmity
was with Bhishma, who had brought the proposal of
Gandhari and Dhritarashtra's marriage and death of his
brothers and father . Shakuni also stabbed in his own leg
and vowed that he will destroy Kuru kingdom and later
he changed his vow and vowed to make Duryodhana the
emperor of Kuru Kingdom but his this oath (or vow)
never succeeded.[7]
He mainly worked by inciting hatred between the
Kauravas and Pandavas; his plans culminated in the
largest war in history. Although he often failed in his
tricks against the Pandavas, he never lost faith in his
ability to destroy the lineage of Kuru. A far-sighted
man, his plan was much bigger than causing plight to
the Pandavas; he wanted a full-scaled civil war between
the branches of Kuru clan, which would destroy the
whole clan, fulfilling his revenge. He feared nobody,
except Krishna, whom he considered as an obstacle, since
he knew that only Krishna had the power and influence
to foil his plan. Krishna was a shrewd diplomat and
statesman, the only person who matched Shakuni's
cunning and intelligence. Shakuni wanted a war between
the branches of Kuru kingdom since the marriage of
Gandhari with Dhritarashtra and Krishna also wanted
the war when Draupadi was insulted and when the peace
talks of himself was rejected by Duryodhana. Shakuni
wanted the war to avenge his sisters's humiliation and
Krishna wanted the war would happen to show that the
righteousness will always triumph over the
unrighteousness.

Ways in which Shakuni incited war include:

Advising an adolescent Duryodhana to mix poison

into Bhima's food twice.[8]
Hiring Purochana to kill the Pandavas in the House
of Wax.[9]
Arranging the game of dice between Kauravas and
Pandavas which was responsible for Draupadi's
humiliation.
 Before the war, he advised Duryodhana to feed
Shalya's army and put Shalya in his debt, making it
compulsory for him to fight on the side of
Kauravas.[10]

Shakuni's only saving grace is his extreme love towards

his sister Gandhari. Gandhari was petrified of the dark
when she was small and preferred to have well-lit places
all the time. Being a dutiful wife, she voluntarily
blindfolded herself which meant she had to live every
second of her life in absolute terror because of the
darkness due to blindfold. This does not go down too
well with Shakuni, who constantly advises her to take
off her blindfold. Time and again, he expresses the
anger he felt for the injustice that Gandhari had to go
through by leading her entire life with a blindfold.[11]
The Game of Dice

Shakuni playing Chausar

Shakuni was an expert of Dice Game and he had dices

made out of his father's bones which he could control on
his will.[12] Shakuni organised a Dice Game, as he knew
that Yudhishthira's biggest weakness is his love of
playing it. Rules were set and later using his skills and
controlled dices, Duryodhana won Yudhishthira's
Kingdom, his brothers- Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula,
Sahadeva and even Yudhishthira himself. Later, he won
Draupadi too.[13] Dussasana on Duryodhana's orders
tried to disrobe Draupadi but Krishna saved her. This
game was of Shakuni is a very important event in the
Mahabharata which led to the Kurukshetra war between
Kauravas and Pandavas.[14]

Role in the War

On the 18th day before war, Duryodhana convinced
Shakuni to be the Commander-in-Chief of his army but
he preferred Shalya.

1st Day …

On the very first day of war, Shakuni, Duryodhana and

Dushasana attacked Yudhishthira to kill him but they
failed.

2nd Day …

On the 2nd day, he got defeated by Sahadeva in an

Sword Duel and by Satyaki in Archery.

4th Day …

On the 4th day, he killed 5 powerful Generals of

Magadha.

5th Day …

On the 5th day of war, he got defeated by Arjuna in

Archery battle and by Dhrishtadyumna in Sword Duel.
7th Day …

On the 7th day, he got defeated by Bhima in Gada-

Yuddha and by Drupada in Archery.

9th Day …

On the 9th day of war, he got defeated by Yudhishthira

in a Spear Combat and by Abhimanyu in Archery.

10th Day …

On the 10th day of war, he stopped Shikhandi from

reaching Bhishma. He also defeated Shikhandi in a
battle of Axe-Fighting on the same day. Shakuni also
stabbed him in his stomach.
12th Day …

On the 12th day, he slew king Sahadeva of Magadha.

Later, he defeated Upapandavas and Virata. He also
fought with Dhrishtadyumna two times, firstly he
defeated him and secondly he got defeated.

13th Day …

On the 13th day, Shakuni and other Maharathis

attacked and killed Abhimanyu. Karna was first one who
stabbed him.[15]

14th Day …
On 14th day, he fought with Nakula to save Jayadratha
but got defeated. After Jayadratha's death, he planned a
Night War. In the night war he defeated Drupada,
Virata and Satyaki.

17th Day …

On 17th day his son Vrikaasur was slained by Nakula.

Death
After the Game of Dice episode in the Mahabharata, the
youngest of the Pandava brothers Sahadeva had taken an
oath to avenge Draupadi's insult and had sworn to kill
Shakuni, the mastermind of the episode.[16]
On the 18th day of the Mahabharata war, Pandavas
attacked Shakuni, Uluka and their army. As
Duryodhana and his other brothers rushed to protect
their uncle, Bhima stepped in and fought the remaining
Kauravas and killing many of them (except
Duryodhana). Meanwhile, Nakula killed many
prominent Gandharan warriors and the bodyguards of
Uluka. Sahadeva fought Shakuni and Uluka and, not
long afterwards, killed Uluka. Shakuni became furious
and attacked Sahadeva. He broke his chariot and bow,
Sahadeva ascended another chariot and fought Shakuni
ferociously. After much attacks and tackles, both of
them descended their chariots to settle things in a duel.
Sahadeva was then able to smash an axe into Shakuni's
forehead, fulfilling his oath.[17]
Temple dedicated to Shakuni at Pavithreswaram in Kollam District,
Kerala

References
1. Shroff, Aarsh (12 December 2019). "Shakuni:
The Master Conspirator" . Glorious Hinduism.
Retrieved 1 September 2020.
2. Shroff, Aarsh (12 December 2019). "Shakuni:
The Master Conspirator" . Glorious Hinduism.
Retrieved 1 September 2020.
3. varunthelannister (17 May 2019). "Why Shakuni
Wanted To Destroy Hastinapur - Was It Love
For His Sister or Something More?" .
Bonobology.com. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
4. "Why Gandhari's father got her first marriage
with a goat! Click here to know | NewsCrab" .
www.newscrab.com. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
5. Ritu (17 October 2013). "Shakuni – the real
story" . Indian Mythology. Retrieved
1 September 2020.
6. https://detechter.com/8-interesting-facts-about-
shakuni-of-mahabharata/
7. Viswanathan, Priya (16 January 2015). "Shakuni
- A Villian or a Victim of Circumstance?" .
Dolls of India. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
8. Menon, [translated by] Ramesh (2006). The
Mahabharata : a modern rendering. New York:
iUniverse, Inc. p. 103. ISBN 9780595401871.
9. www.wisdomlib.org (9 January 2015). "The
House of Lac at Varanavata [Chapter 12]" .
www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
10. Shalya giving boon to Yudhisthira http://sacred-
texts.com/hin/m06/m06043.htm
11. "The Mahabharata, Book 1: Adi Parva: Sambhava
Parva: Section CX" . www.sacred-texts.com.
Retrieved 1 September 2020.
12. "Untold story of Mahabharat : मामा शकु न के
अ त पासे का रह य, जससे बाजी जीत कर
भी हार गए कौरव" . Amar Ujala (in Hindi).
Retrieved 1 September 2020.
13. "The Mahabharata, Book 2: Sabha Parva:
Sisupala-badha Parva: Section LXIV" .
www.sacred-texts.com. Retrieved 1 September
2020.
14. "Mahabharat Episode 31: The Game of Dice" .
Isha Sadhguru. 25 March 2019. Retrieved
1 September 2020.
15. "The Mahabharata, Book 7: Drona Parva:
Abhimanyu-badha Parva: Section XLVII" .
www.sacred-texts.com. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
16. "The Mahabharata, Book 5: Udyoga Parva:
Sanat-sujata Parva: Section L" . www.sacred-
texts.com. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
 17. "18 Days of The Mahabharata War - Summary
of the War" . VedicFeed. 27 June 2018.
Retrieved 1 September 2020.

Further reading
Dutt, Romesh. "Maha-Bharata, The Epic of
Ancient India" .
Dwaipayana, Vyasa. "The Mahabharata of
Krishna" .
Ganguly, Kisari. "The Mahabharata of Krishna-
Dwaipayana Vyasa" .
Menon, Ramesh (20 July 2006). A Modern
Rendering, The Mahabharata .
ISBN 9780595845644.
The Story of Shakuni , Sribd.
 Was Shakuni Mama’s character in Mahabharat a
negative character? , Destination Infinity.
The Mahabharata: A Synopsis of the Great Epic of
India , R. Vemuri, UC Davis.
Mahabharat , Swargarohan.
Mahabharata (Veda Vyasa) , Hindu Online.

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