Week 6 Story: Shakuni the Sinful
Location of Gandhāra the place of Duryodhana's Palace, Wikicommons
Shakuni the Sinful
Shakuni is a well known dice player, as he was able to beat Yudhishthira for everything he owned and more. Shakuni appears to be just as mad when he bets thirteen years in exile, twelve years of poverty, and one year and disguise. Most would consider that even the potential risk of serving twenty six years away from a normal life in exile, poverty, and disguise would raise enough red flags for any sane person to stop. Shakuni was different as he had lived a very interesting life. Shakuni was the uncle of Duryodhana the eldest son of the blind king. Duryodhana despite being a possible heir for the throne he was disqualified upon the return of the Pandavas.
Rightfully the return of the Pandavas angered Duryodhana and his relative Shakuni. This is where the game of dice begins to percolate. As is know the game is held at the palace of Duryodhana and Shakuni wins it all.
Shakuni is able to win without fear, because he made a deal with a rakshasa witch. In exchange for all good personal qualities such as: kindness, compassion, etc. He would receive unmatched cunning and luck. With this information in mind the tales of Shakuni being ruthless start to make more sense as he even accepts people as wagers. Shakuni seems unstoppable until the wager of Draupadi. Against Draupadi’s will she is forced to undress but she does not move and instead prays to Krishna. Draupadi's sari is forcefully ripped off but is instantly replaced by another. It becomes apparent that there is some sort of intervention by a divine being working against Shakuni. Unbeknownst to Shakuni this is the turning point for his life.
Up to this point Shakuni has had great success due to his luck. However, this luck only goes so far as it is sworn that he will be murdered by Sahadeva of the Pandava brothers for insults made by Duryodhana and is.
Author's Note: I started with the story of Shakuni playing dice and gave it a bit more detail and backstory, but also included his death to make it more concise.
p. 55. The first game of dice. / R. K. Narayan
Rightfully the return of the Pandavas angered Duryodhana and his relative Shakuni. This is where the game of dice begins to percolate. As is know the game is held at the palace of Duryodhana and Shakuni wins it all.
Shakuni is able to win without fear, because he made a deal with a rakshasa witch. In exchange for all good personal qualities such as: kindness, compassion, etc. He would receive unmatched cunning and luck. With this information in mind the tales of Shakuni being ruthless start to make more sense as he even accepts people as wagers. Shakuni seems unstoppable until the wager of Draupadi. Against Draupadi’s will she is forced to undress but she does not move and instead prays to Krishna. Draupadi's sari is forcefully ripped off but is instantly replaced by another. It becomes apparent that there is some sort of intervention by a divine being working against Shakuni. Unbeknownst to Shakuni this is the turning point for his life.
Up to this point Shakuni has had great success due to his luck. However, this luck only goes so far as it is sworn that he will be murdered by Sahadeva of the Pandava brothers for insults made by Duryodhana and is.
Author's Note: I started with the story of Shakuni playing dice and gave it a bit more detail and backstory, but also included his death to make it more concise.
p. 55. The first game of dice. / R. K. Narayan
Brad,
ReplyDeleteThis was a story I have never read previously, which made it very interesting for me! The main issue I have with your story is how short your author's note. As someone who had not read this story before, it would have been really beneficial to have more details about the original story. I am not sure what you brought to the story, and what was already there. Especially since there were no major changes to the characters or anything like that. However, your story is well written and interesting!
Hi Brad. Pretty interesting story you have written. I noticed a few grammar mistakes that made it kind of hard to read, so if you feel like editing this piece you may want to read over and fix those. I think you also could expand this story a little bit. Some of the details get overlooked because they are not developed in the story as well as they could be. This is a very interesting story and with a few edits can be a great read!
ReplyDeleteBrad,
ReplyDeleteI really like the way you retold this story in your own words. I am also a big fan of gambling games so I already felt pretty connected to this story from the start. I know it is probably bad for me but the rush of gambling is just too much fun sometimes. Great job on telling this story and I hope you get to read one of mine soon!