The Mastermind

The Prince was sitting on the Balcony of the palace. There was a worried look on his face. He sighed. He was treated as the most intelligent person in the whole of Aryavarta, yet he could not find a solution to this problem. His thoughts were interrupted by his mother. Her eyes showed that she had not had a wink of sleep for the last two days. She informed, " The gifts and flowers have been arranged, the chariots have been called on, and the journey will begin tomorrow morning." Her voice was distant.

" Maata, is there any way...?"

" Saubala Putra, I forbid you; our own happiness is not greater than that of the subjects. Their securities matter the most. So please do not use any Maya on the Emperors to anger them. Your sister has accepted her fate; you, too, do so."

" But how, Maata? She is Intelligence personified; she has boons from Lord Shiva himself. How can we give her away to a blind man?"

" That blind man is the most powerful person in the Aryavarta; he can end our lives."

" No, Maata, his Uncle is. It's his plan to use Gandhari's boon for the betterment of Hastinapur. He feels a hundred male children can bring a bright future for them. I promise you, Maata, they will cause his destruction."

" No Putra no..." The Queen of Gandhar feared her son's intelligence. If turned evil, she knew what his brain could cause.

" No Maata, I will take revenge for this, I will not let our Gandhari's sacrifices go in vain."

Silent, the Prince saw his younger sister tie her eyes to be her husband's better half, and understand his darkness as her own. Silently, he saw her husband disrespect her and mistreat her. He saw the Emperor take her maid as his lover by force. Saubala waited for the right time.

His family was killed by Bhishma and starved to death for refusing Gandhari's marriage to the blind prince at first. He watched them die one by one before his eyes, and he made their bones into a pair of dice. These dice changed the history of Bharata. He was especially affectionate towards his eldest nephew, Suyodhan. He wanted Suyodhana to become king, not because he loved him, but more because at his birth the sages predicted, " This child will cause the greatest doom to this family and Aryavarta." These predictions seemed like the fruits of his meditation. He focused his goal on bringing up his oldest nephew. He taught him to snatch power, hate his cousins and try to harm them. The young lad learned Adharma as right. Subala became Shakuni Mamashri.

He made the most intelligent plots of the epic, and he played mind games with everyone. Krishna Vasudeva was the only person he could not play his mind games on. His intelligence made him the strongest character in the epic without any special power or Astra Gyaan. Although later, Gandhari blamed him for everything, his goal for revenge was fulfilled; he died knowing all his nephews were dead and the Kuru Vansh had fought the greatest of battles amongst themselves and had died, leaving just the five Pandavas. His revenge on Bhishma was fulfilled by his nephew. His dice game is still proof of what gambling and greed can cost, even the righteous of men. His character stands as proof of what a person can do for revenge and how a righteous person loses himself over his thirst for revenge.

He who is portrayed as the greatest villain was indeed a great man turned by circumstances and a few wrong decisions. With nobody to guide him or give him knowledge of Dharma, his idea of Dharma was the same as success to him. His success was in the destruction of the family Bheeshma built; hence, his motive of destroying the family before Bheeshma's eyes was fulfilled by his many plans and plots. He is sometimes depicted as the Dwapar personified of the Dwapar era, in which Krishna came to an end.

Still today, in Pavithreswaram of Kollam District in Kerala, there is a temple dedicated to Shakuni where his throne is kept, and the main deity is his Param, Pujya Mahadev. Shakuni sacrificed his own sons Uluka and Vrikasur for his own revenge plans. He had no motive in life to avenge the wrong done to his younger sister by Bhishma. In his anger, however, he gave his sister immense pain at the death of all her sons and grandsons. He died happy in Sahadev's hands on the last day of the battle, knowing his purpose was fulfilled.

Shakuni remains one of the most read-about characters in literature as well as mythology. His character had been recreated by several mythological writers and Television serials, movies and theatre. His character is the greatest villain of all time and is held chiefly responsible for the Kurukshetra Wars.

DAMODAR GANGADHAR RAO : The Ill Fated Heir

In the shadowed halls of Jhansi's royal palace, a nine-year-old boy named Ananda Rao stepped into a destiny of struggle he was not born into. Born in 1848 to Vasudeo Rao and his wife, Ananda Rao was surrendered to the childless King Gangadhar Rao and his fierce young queen, Manikarnika (Manu), better known as Rani Laxmi Bai. It was November 19, 1853, on the king's deathbed, amid whispers of adoption rites that bound the boy to a throne teetering on the edge of empire. Queen Laxmi Bai was just nine when she married the 29-year-old widower Gangadhar. She had already endured heartbreak. Her biological son, Damodar Rao, arrived in 1851 but slipped away after three short months. With Gangadhar's death in 1853, Vasudeo, a distant royal relative, was instructed to hand over Ananda's adoption papers. Renamed Damodar Rao, the boy became Jhansi's last hope. But hope was fragile under British eyes. Enter the Doctrine of Lapse, Lord Dalhousie’s ruthless policy that devoured pri...

The Warrior and Princess

Dasharatha was very protective of his sons. He had got them after almost a lifetime of waiting and yajnas, so they were his lifeline. Ram, the eldest, won hearts with his humble, generous ways. Bharata, the second, was his favourite queen's brave son, and Laxman and Shatrughan were the twins to the lesser queen, who followed their brothers like shadows. They were a peaceful, happy family. Sage Vasistha was their Kulaguru, teaching them the Vedic hymns and the righteous ways of life. The Princes grew up in the luxurious, protected premises of the palace. The King of Mithila, too, was childless. Mother Earth granted him a daughter. Sita grew up learning and curious, followed by the king's second daughter, Urmila and their cousins Mandavi and Shrutakirti. They grew up knowing the natural ways of life, and their father took them to learn from men to know more about man and his natural instincts. The princesses were curious and always questioning the traditions, and the Princes lear...

The Festival of Bengal: Days and Rituals

This article is partly featured in The Statesman Festival 2024 Magazine. In Bengal, Durga Puja is not only a religious tradition, but it is also a festival. It is called “ Bangalir Shreshto Utsab ” or the greatest festival of Bengalis. This is because, although it started as a religious festival, as we have discussed in the previous blogs, it turned out to be a representation of cultural unity and the freedom movement, as well as seeing her as the daughter returning home with her children. It is called a " Sarbojonin " Utsab, or a festival meant for all and sundry. Durga Puja is inclusive of caste, creed, religion, as well as gender identities and professions. Thus, it is more than just a Puja . The traditions, rituals and ways of Durga Puja are hence very different from Navratri, which is observed in individual homes. Let's find out how. The Pandals and idol: As per Hindu tradition, four things are important when the idol of Maa Durga is prepared. These include clay f...

Jahanara Begum Sahib: The Sufi Princess

Shah Jahan's quarters flanked on either side by identical bungalows for Jahanara and Roshanara. Background: The Timurid Dynasty, better (and wrongly) known as the Mughal Empire, ruled the Subcontinent from 1526 C.E. till the time the British East India Company successfully captured Delhi from Bahadur Shah II in 1857 C.E. (The size of the empire obviously varied). Hence, a large part of medieval Indian history revolves around the characters of this dynasty. Due to the extensive amount of contemporary records right from Babur, the founder of the empire, writing his own memoirs in “ Babar Nama ” to the accounts of court poets like Abu Talim and the extensive details of Abul Fazl, one has a clear idea about the functioning of the Timurid empire as well as the Harem involving the royal ladies of the dynasty. Almost nothing is left to the imagination when it comes to the lives of the first six and most famous and successful Timurid emperors, namely Babar, Humayun, Akbar, Jahangir...

Asuras are not Demons

Demons in the Abrahamic religions are not the same as Asuras of Hinduism. Originally deities of Iranian origin, they were seen in the tribal context as no different from Devas, but as counterparts to maintain balance. In early epics and Puranas, asura meant a chosen leader of great capacity. Only later, perhaps due to the Iranian link, their image declined. It was with the Brahmanas that the sharp divide appeared: devas as divine, asuras as evil. Puranic myths demonised them mainly to assert the superiority and immortality of devas, while asuras were cast as symbols of the "other." Since Tribes still worshipped them and embraced their power of negativity, being important to balance, they soon became synonymous with tribes, which was not the case mythologically. There are instances of Bali or Ravana being Kshatriya or Brahmin Asuras and competent kings. Indian demonology itself is vast and layered, shaped by surviving tribes, each with unique myths. Celestial, aerial, and terr...

The Timurid Empress

Ruqaiya Sultana Begum was born to Babur's second surviving son, Hindal Mirza, and his wife, Sultanam Begum, in 1542 C.E., merely a few months after Hamida Banu gave birth to the heir Jalaluddin Mohammad Akbar. She was well-versed in Persian, Urdu and Arabic and was attracted to poetry and music. Being a proud descendant of the Timurid clan, most of Rukaiya's childhood was spent in Kabul, near the Bagh E Babur, built by Babur himself. From early childhood, she had seen the struggle of her family to regain their lost power in Hind. Miniature of Rukaiya Begum as Empress In 1551 C.E., just after her father died young at a battle for Humayun, leaving her and her mother in the harem of the emperor, it was Hamida Banu who wanted the marriage of Rukaiya to her first cousin, Akbar. Theirs was the first in-house marriage of the Mughals, soon to be followed by many more in the generations to come. At the mere age of nine, she had married the crown prince, and when Humayun won back Lahore...

Sisodiya: Kings, Queens and Princes (1538 - 1597)

I am back with another History post, this time it is on the wives and sons of Rana Udai Singh II of Mewar, his son and heir Maharana Pratap and Rana Amar Singh. This is a continuation of the Sisodia Family History I posted some time back. The information has been taken from Annals of Mewar by James Todd, Maharana Pratap by B.N. Rana, and Maharana Pratap by Rima Hooja. Udai Singh II was the son of Ranisa Karnawati and Rana Sangram Singh. He was born on 4th August 1 522, at Chittorgarh and died on 28th February 1 572 at Gogunda . He was the Ruler of the Sisodia Dynasty. He is believed to have 56 sons and 2 5 wives, apart from the many insignificant queens in his Rani Mahal. Here is a list of his main queens and their sons. Maharani Jaivanta Bai Songara of Jalore was his chief queen and consort. Her son is Maharana Pratap. He was married to her before he went to war with Banbir, as her father, Akshayraj Rao, was a friend and ally of his father, Rana Sanga. Saj...

The Lady Sultan

Indian History, or subcontinental History, is incomplete without speaking of the women who left a mark in their own significant ways. The first woman who comes to mind is perhaps the only woman Sultan to rule Delhi, Raziya (Razia). It’s been over a year since I had been trying to read and understand the mystery of Raziya Bint Iltutmish . Attributed as the only Woman Muslim Monarch of India, she is a name of many assumptions, imagination and speculations. The few books that have been written on her or the historical accounts of the Slave Dynasty mentioning her have always been about the turbulence of the government and the various rebels and uprisings that took place among the prominent chiefs of Iltutmish, who wanted to rise in power. No documentation or portrayal is found about her look, character or early days from her contemporary times. The only relevant historical book I found solely on her was by Dr Karunapada Dutta, while she finds a chapter in Heroines by Ira Mukhoty or Th...

The First King of Kali

He grew up in the care of his grandparents, being the sole heir to the throne. He was a great warrior, skilled with the Bow like his grandfather , Arjun and the sword like his father, Abhimanyu . The Raaj Guru Kripacharya trained him in warfare. His mother, Uttara, told him stories of the father he never knew, how valiant a warrior he was and how their struggle for this kingdom was the greatest battle ever fought. He loved to hunt and often indulged in hunting expeditions encouraged by his grandparents. At 35, he was made the king while his Grandfather and his brothers retired from the cycle of responsibilities and decided to live in a hermitage. His mother and grandmother stayed back to help him rule the vast kingdom. The first king of the new era was thus crowned. As king, he started his peaceful reign. He called upon the sages and the Kul Guru Vyas Dev to start the new yug with something very important. " Guruji, I want you to rea...

Uttara

She knew him as Brihannala, her dance teacher. She learned the skills of graceful dancing from him. He turned out to be Arjun, the greatest of warriors. She still could not believe that the lady who did her mother's makeup was, in fact, Samragni Draupadi. Her twin brother Uttar was quite excited to know that Maharathi Arjun would teach him archery at their palace. She was sitting in the Palace Gardens with her brother when a guard came in. " Princess of Matsya, your father has called you to the Chambers. It is urgent." Both the twins made their way to the chambers where their parents sat with the Pandavas. Their father announced to " It was a pleasure having you people at the Palace of Matsya. I proposed the marriage of my daughter to Maharathi Arjun. He accepted it for his son. Next week, we will send a letter to Dwarka asking Vasudeva to arrive with the groom and Subhadra ."She was surprised. Marriage to her teacher's son? Who was he? She sat in her chamb...

A Journey To Discover Life

Search This Blog