Shakuni is considered by people as wicked, cunning, and deceitful. This is because he consistently led Duryodhana down the wrong path, ultimately leading to the Mahabharata war.
Who was Shakuni?
Shakuni is also referred to as the antagonist of the Mahabharata because of his crucial role in the Mahabharata war.
Shakuni was Duryodhana’s maternal uncle, Gandhari’s brother, and Dhritarashtra’s brother-in-law.
He was also known as the king of Gandhara. Shakuni always encouraged Duryodhana to resort to crafty tactics.
Not only that, it was due to Shakuni that the Pandavas were compelled to engage in a game of dice.
The Mystery of Shakuni’s Dice
Shakuni was a skilled player in dice games. During ancient times, gambling was not played with playing cards but with a game called ‘Chauras’ or dice.
It was similar to the modern-day game of Ludo, using dice as the game pieces.
Also Read- The Tragic Tale of Duryodhan’s Daughter – Lakshmana’s Life of Sorrow
As most people think, there was nothing supernatural about Shakuni’s dice. Otherwise, it would have been mentioned in the Mahabharata, authored by Vyasa.
In folklore, it is said that Duryodhana had given a life sentence to Shakuni’s father, Subala, and that, when dying, at his request, Shakuni made dice out of his bones to seek revenge against Duryodhana.
However, this is purely a fictional account. All references to gambling in the Mahabharata suggest that Shakuni was a skilled player, and there was no special dice that ensured his success.
It appears that during that time, the gift of knowledge was also given for success in gambling.
In the Vana Parva, it is mentioned that after hearing the story of Nala and Damayanti, the sage Brihadashwa imparted the knowledge of “Akshahridaya” (the secret of dice) to Yudhishthira to prevent him from playing dice again, as was the custom at that time. It is possible that Shakuni possessed a similar knowledge, although there is no explicit mention of this.
However, based on the context of Yudhishthira receiving such knowledge, it can be assumed that Shakuni might have possessed such expertise.
Therefore, the idea that there was a mysterious quality to Shakuni’s dice is not substantiated.
