Shakuni's conspiracy

"Then tell me the plan Uncle Shakuni. "

Duryodhan asked excitedly after finding that Shakuni had a solution. 

"We are going to use a two pronged approach to force Pandavs to leave Hastinapur for some time and visit Varnavrat. As long as they get there, our work will be done and we would never have to see their faces again. "

Shakuni said while rolling his favorite dices and an excited smile surfacrd on his face before he continued speaking, 

"And the first step of our plan is Dushala's marriage. "

"Dushala's marriage? But how is that going to help us in convincing Pandavs to go to Varnavrat? "

Sushasan asked with confusion. 

"This is politics my nephew. Just think about it, all the other Pandavs obey whatever Yudhishthir decides. So our motive is not to convince other Pandavs but convince Yudhishthir. 

And for that we have to target his two weaknesses, the two people he respects the most in his life, Mahaamahim Bheesm and his mother Kunti. "

"And how exactly are we going to do that Uncle Shakuni? "

Duryodhan asked in excitement. 

"To deal with Kunti, I have already asked Purochan to come over to Hastinapur and invite her and her sons to be the special guest in the yearly Shiva festival organized in Varnavrat in remembrance of late King Pandu who visited there every year. "

Duryodhan, however, raised a concern. "But won't Aunt Kunti understand that leaving Hastinapur at this crucial time for Yudhishthir might harm his reputation as the crown prince and future king?"

Shakuni smiled slyly, "Indeed, Kunti is a smart woman, and she will likely have reservations. However, we're not aiming for an immediate departure. Instead, we'll plant a seed of desire in her heart, waiting for the perfect conditions to germinate. To create those perfect conditions, we need to target Bheesm. "

Duryodhan and Sushasan exchanged intrigued glances, eager to hear how Shakuni planned to manipulate Bheesm and set the stage for their ultimate goal.

Shakuni laid out the intricate details of their plan, focusing on how to manipulate Yudhishthir through Bheesm's emotional involvement.

"From today onwards," Shakuni continued, "you're going to start creating troubles, but not directly against Yudhishthir. Instead, you'll target Hastinapur itself. Bheesm, being the principled guardian of Hastinapur, will not sit idly by and will surely oppose your actions. That's when you'll seize the opportunity to insult Bheesm in front of everyone, using his dark history in a way that leaves him unable to defend himself."

Duryodhan and Sushasan exchanged knowing glances, realizing the significance of attacking Bheesm's reputation. Shakuni's plan was to make Yudhishthir believe that Duryodhan's actions were revenge for perceived slights, which would deeply trouble the virtuous eldest Pandava.

"Once Yudhishthir feels responsible for Bheesm's public humiliation," Shakuni continued, "we will create a narrative that if he grants you some time alone to reconcile, things will gradually return to normal. Coinciding with this, we will reveal Kunti's desire to attend the Varnavrat festival, which aligns with his plan to give you some space. Yudhishthir will be emotionally trapped, and he'll agree to go to Varnavrat without suspicion."

Duryodhan and Dushasan nodded, fully comprehending the intricate web of manipulation Shakuni was weaving to achieve their goal. 

"But uncle Shakuni, I still don't understand how Dushala's marriage is related to this? "

Dushasan asked hesitantly. 

"That's because we can use it to target Bheesm's dark history. Have you heard of the story where Bheesma kidnapped the three Kashi princesses? 

When your ancestor Vichitravirya grew up, Bhishma decided to bring Amba, Ambika and Ambalika—the princesses of Kashi kingdom—and get them married to him.

Bhishma reached the kingdom and forcefully abducted the princesses, who were choosing their spouse in a Swayamvara (self-choice ceremony where a woman chooses her husband from a group of suitors).

Shalva, the ruler of Saubala Kingdom and the lover of Amba, attempted to stop Bhishma but failed. Upon reaching Hastinapura, Ambika and Ambalika consented to marry Vichitravirya, while Amba told Bhishma about her love for Shalva. Learning about her feelings, Bhishma sent Amba to Saubala Kingdom.

But when Amba requested Shalva to marry her, he rejected her, claiming that he was already humiliated enough during the Svayamvara. He also told her that he could not accept a woman, who was won by another man.

Dejected, after Amba returned to Hastinapur, Bhishma then asked Vichitravirya to marry her, but he also refused to marry her as she loved another maman

With no one to accept her, Amba blamed Bhishma for her misery and wanted revenge from him. She went to the kings of several kingdom and tried to convince them to slay Bhishma; but none of them agreed. After she was advised by some sages, she met Parasurama, Bhishma's teacher and successfully convinced him in giving vow to help her.

Parasurama went to Kurukshetra and sent a message to Bhishma to meet him. Bhishma arrived at the place and offered his service to his teacher. Wanting to solve the situation, Parasurama ordered him to marry Amba, telling him that it was his duty. However, Bhishma denied it, reminding him about his vow. This enraged Parashurama and he threatened Bhishma with death. Bhishma tried to calm him but it failed. An intense battle began with both protecting their words. They fought for twenty-three days, each using celestial weapons. 

On the twenty-fourth day of battle, Bhishma attempted to use the Prashwapastra against Parashurama, but the divine sage Narada and the gods intervened and showed their concern over the use of powerful weapons which could destroy the world. Parashurama ended the conflict and the battle was declared a stalemate.

After hearing about the event, Amba decided to take her revenge on her own and did severe austerities to please the god Shiva. Shiva appeared in front of her and assured that she would be reborn and become instrumental in Bhishma's death. Satisfied, she then made a funeral pyre of woods and killed herself."

Shakuni paused slightly before continuing with a dangerous look in his eyes. 

"Now it's unknown how much of this story is true but one thing is certain that a person like Bheesm also has a dark history when it comes to marriage or political marriages to be more specific. And by arranging a political marriage of Dushala which disregards Hastinapur's benefits, we can insult Bheeshm openly when he opposes you. "

But while Shakuni told them the story of the Kashi princesses, he didn't tell them the story of Gandhar's princess, their mother and his own sister Gandhari.

In fact, this was the whole reason why Shakuni stayed in Hastinapur, to plot against the Kurus because he was unhappy with the forceful marriage of his beloved sister to a blind person, which he thought was an insult to his family and destroyed the life of his sister.

Shakuni always had a soft spot for his sister. He loved her above everything and would do anything for her. Gandhara was quite a small kingdom beset with dangers of its own. Yet its princess, Gandhari, was beautiful and popular too.

The kingdom wasn't too rich either, like the other kingdoms. So when Bhishma of Hastinapura came banging on its doors with his army and asked for Gandhari's hand in marriage for Dhritarashtra, a blind prince, their father was forced to agree. This sowed the first seeds of discontent in the heart of Shakuni. 

Even after all of this transpired, Shakuni was hopeful. According to Aryavarta's own laws, he had expected that being the eldest son, he'd be first in the line of succession. Once Dhritarashtra took the throne, Gandhari , as the queen would lead her husband through everything. She would become a powerful figure.

However all his dreams came to nought when they came to Hastinapura and learned that Pandu would become king instead of Dhritarashtra. This infuriated Shakuni to no end.

That's why Shakuni swore to avenge this by slowly destroying Hastinapura. Shakuni even stabbed himself on his thigh, which would make him limp every time he walked, to remind himself that his vengeance wasn't complete.

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