“Shakuni, in no days, would all of us die with starvation. But one of us must survive. Survive to take revenge on the kingdom of Hastinapur.” Subala, the king of Gandhar sobbed with rage in the darkroom, prisoned with all his children.
“And you must live. You are the cleverest of all your brothers and the strongest. These cruel people of Hastinapur provide us with just a fistful of rice to survive, take the rice of all of us and live my child. A grain of rice for each of us would surely kill us someday. A slow death, Instead you would survive. One of us will live and be the cause of the destruction of the Kauravas.”
The memory of the terrific night was vivid. Shakuni, was in his chambers, sipping a glass of wine in the late night. He was gazing at the pair of dice beside his left hand. He was satisfied but devastated. He had kept up with his promise to his father. The greatest war in the history was happening. The Kauravas’ end was near. He picked up the dice and rolled them in his hands. The memories of his father rushed back. He sipped his wine and gently closed his eyes, letting the memories take over.
“Never forget what they had done to us, Shakuni. They married my daughter, your sister, Gandhari forcefully to a blind king. They imprisoned her life around Dhritarashtra. They imprisoned all of your brothers to starve to death. They are the reason that you and your family suffered. Died. Look at your brothers, did they deserve to die at such a young age? Look at me, was I supposed to make a decision to let only one of my children survive and kill the others? Look at your sister Shakuni. Did she deserve to be married off to a blind king? Bhishma, Dhritarashtra, the entire kuru vansh is the reason for our death and sufferings. Do not let your heart ever forget the cause for which you live. My son, you live only to destroy Hastinapur.”
“Father, I promise to destroy the Kuruvansh. I would be the cause of the end of the Kauravas, I would let each moment I live to be devoted to revenge. My brothers sacrifice their lives for me, I would never forget and let these lives end in vain. The revenge of my sister, my father, my brothers, and the entire Gandhar kingdom would be ensured by me. I promise”
Shakuni opened his eyes. A tear fell onto his yellow robes. He clutched the dice tight in his wrist. It was made up of his father’s bone, the sole reason why he won all the games of dice and eventually the Duet Krida that marked the turning point in Mahabharata. “Father, I am the cause of the destruction of the Kauravas. I kept up with my promise” muttered Shakuni. He drank the last sip of his drink and smiled at himself. His father and brothers would be proud of him. They would find peace at last. The greatest battles of all time would happen eventually and would be the end of the Kauravas. “I ignited the war. I poisoned the mind of Duryodhan, the son of Dhritarashtra and I poisoned the entire family. It’s the war among the family, the Kauravas will kill their own brothers, to avenge all of my brother’s death. Draupadi vastra haran was devastating but it satisfied my fire of revenge. That day ignited the war. Bhishma will have to fight against his family and Dhritarashtra will see the end of his sons. I am reuniting with you and my brothers soon. The day, the Kauravas forcefully married Gandhari was the day that ignited their end. The day they imprisoned my brothers ignited the end. The moment you had to sacrifice yourself and all of your sons so that one of us could survive ignited their end. Bhishma ignited the end of the Kauravas, quite contrary to his oath of a life devoted towards dharma and the welfare of the Kuru vansh.”
Shakuni stood up and walked towards his bed. His leg injury was still prominent as he walked a step at a time, reminding him of his revenge. His father broke his leg, to let him remember at each step of his life that he lives to take revenge. “It is the end of the Kauravas” smiled Shakuni as he lay on his bed, the dice still in his hands. “I am the mastermind of the greatest war of history. I am the reason for the death of millions. I am the destruction of the Kauravas and the poison that resides in Duryodhan’s mind. I am the villain. A hero cursed with a past of sufferings and a promise of life.”
“Vengeance.” echoes the voice of Shakuni in his lonely chambers on a dark night as a gentle breeze caressed him to sleep.
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