He
walked along the corridors of the palace, deep in thought. Things were not looking
good. The Pitamah and his crony, Vidura were getting suspicious of him. He could
sense the distrust; sometimes even see it in their eyes. Something had to be
done before things got out of hand. Something really subtle, yet potent.
He
remembered his latest meeting with them. They had admonished him again to keep
away from his nephews. They had not minced any words either when they ordered him
to head back to his own kingdom. He had bristled at that thought. His eyes
glinted with malice. But as always, he had kept his sentiments to himself and meekly
mumbled something about missing his sister too much. He had also added for good
measure, that his kingdom was being well run even in his absence. And as always,
Bhishma had looked straight into his eyes, with that discerning stare of his,
as if he knew exactly what was going on in his mind.
He
loathed the Pitamah. Ever since, his sister had been forced to marry the blind
king, and she had taken upon herself the oath to bind her eyes as well, his dislike
of the grand-sire had just increased. She didn’t deserve this life.
Gandhari.
His sister. Princess of Gandhar. A lady of great perseverance. A true Kshatriya
Princess. The determination in her was a given. It was evident in her manner of
speaking, in her bearing. The way she carried herself, you could see that she
was of high patronage and that it was royal blood that flowed in her veins. Wooed
and courted by various princes from the surrounding kingdoms, she was a great queen
in the making.
Shakuni
had always admired his sister. She was his favourite and he hers. As a kid, when
Hastinapura had laid siege and slaughtered the kingdom of Gandhar, his entire
clan had nearly been wiped out. Brother and sister had sought out each other
then and she was the one who had protected him and whispered soothing words to
calm his frightened self. Years later when Bhishma had brought forth the
proposal to his father for her to be wedded to Dhritharashtra, the blind king,
he had ranted and raved. He had even gone to the extent of waging a war again. He
did not want his sister to marry a blind king especially one from the Kuru clan,
however strong and good-hearted he was. His sister however begged to differ. She
had seen what had ensued the previous time her father had refused to accept Hastinapura’s
conditions. Worried that she may have to witness a bloodbath again and losing
too much in the prospect, she had agreed to marry the blind king. But she didn’t
do so silently. Under the reasoning that she wanted to share the pain her
husband was suffering, she took a red cloth and tied her eyes, to shut herself
out from the world. For the rest of her life she would be so.
His
sister’s action was a message to the young boy. He knew that she didn’t agree
willingly. He knew that even before setting her eyes on the Kuru prince, she
had blindfolded herself. He wanted to retaliate. He wanted to avenge the
humiliation that his clan was undergoing at the hands of the Kuru family. He swore
to bring about the downfall of the entire line of Kurus. And to ensure that
they knew what the agony of seeing their loved ones suffer was.
Master
of sorcery, skilled dice player, black magic aficionado, and a mind-game expert,
he had planted himself into the folds of the Kuru family, first as a brother
who couldn’t stay apart from his sister, and then as a well-wisher to the sons
of his sister – his nephews. Mastermind that he was, slowly he had poisoned the
young and hapless minds of the young kids. He found himself in a fix when he
realized that the kids would always follow their eldest brother. But then, Kunti had come back to the palace
from the forest, with her five sons and he had gotten his golden chance. Steadily,
he had created an air of uneasiness in the minds of the young Kauravas about their cousins. It had worked exceptionally well and much more than he had
expected. The rest of Gandhari’s sons had just followed. And thus an everlasting
animosity was born.
Over
the years he had slowly instigated the cousins vehemently against each other much
to the displeasure of the family elders and sometimes even his sister. However,
the thirst for revenge was stronger than ever and he was unshaken in his quest.
He always made sure that none could squarely place the blame on him for any
mishap and had always stayed in the background ministering his intentions
through the Kaurava brothers.
Standing at the side-lines, he had ensured that there were planned
attempts on the lives of the “kind-hearted children of Pandu” and that the
source of the blame always rebounded to the “malevolent children of Gandhari”. Working
hard and ably, using his wiliness and sorcery, he had strengthened his hold over
the 100 sons of Gandhari. He had unhurriedly
created an aura of evilness around the entire clan. It wasn’t that he liked
Kunti’s sons any better. His plan was to ensure that the entire line of the
Kurus perished.
But
now, he could feel the Pitamah’s eagle eyes on him all the time. He knew that
the old man was wary of him and always kept watch over him cagily. He needed to
act soon. He needed to plan something that could strike terror in the hearts of
the Kurus.
And
then he got his opportunity.
He
learnt that Duryodhana had been insulted at the Indraprastha palace by Draupadi
and he was seething. He realized that if he planned this right, he could start
something that snowball into the climax that he had always envisioned. He soothed
and rubbed his eldest nephew’s shoulders all the while guaranteeing that he
would have a chance at revenge soon. And imperceptibly he told Duryodhana of
his strategy.
Invite
the Pandavas to Hastinapura for a friendly game of dice. Let Yudhishthira play
for the Pandavas while he played on behalf of the Kauravas. And then behold the
scene that unfolds.
The
plan was put in place. The invitations were sent out and accepted. The whole
family would be gathered to see the debacle that would befall them.
It
was all coming together now.
He
rubbed his hands in glee. Smiled wickedly.
Threw
his favoured dice into the air. The dice that never disobeyed him. The dice that
he had fashioned and imbued with vengeance against the Kuru
family. The dice that would wreak havoc and make a mockery of the family that
he despised.
This
was his chance. His ultimate gamble. The one that he knew he could never lose.
He
knew the rules of the game. And he played them better than anyone else.
“Two
sixes” he called out.
Two
sixes fell.
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