Week 9 Storytelling: The Dice Game

Following his visit to Indraprastha, Duryodhana is consumed with envy and rage. He cannot bear the thought that his cousins are living lives of greater luxury than his own, and he’s never been angrier than he was in the moment that he saw Draupadi laughing at him. As Duryodhana and his uncle, Shakuni, walk back to Hastinapura, they plot ways of getting back at the Pandavas.

To overcome his envy, Duryodhana decides that he will convince his father to build their own assembly hall. It will be the largest, most spectacular building that the world has ever seen and its beauty will bring shame to Indraprastha, but this is just the tip of the iceberg. Elevating Hastinapura well beyond the glory Indraprastha will not repair the damage to his pride. Duryodhana wants to strip his cousins of all of their possessions, but he could never stand against them in battle. Shakuni acknowledges his nephew’s dilemma and decides to offer his assistance.

“Years ago, I received a pair of enchanted dice. These dice will land on any combination of numbers that I will them to. Once your father completes the construction of the Crystal Palace, we will challenge the Pandavas to a game of dice and I will win all of their worldly possessions.”

Duryodhana is so excited about his uncle’s idea that he sprints the rest of the way back to Hastinapura and insists that his father has all construction stop until the Crystal Palace is completed. Out of his love for his son, Dhritarashtra agrees to his demands without questioning the urgency of the matter. Once the assembly hall is complete, everything is in order for Duryodhana to exact his revenge.

When the Pandavas arrive at Hastinapura, they are led directly to the Crystal Palace where Dhritarashtra explains the rules of the game.

“I have gathered you all here today to celebrate the completion of our new assembly hall. By my son’s suggestion, we will host a friendly game of dice in which those who are willing may gamble to multiply their wealth. The rules of the game are simple: Players will receive a pair of six-sided dice. The guest will receive the advantage of being the first to roll. Then the host will have 3 attempts to roll a combination that is equal in magnitude to the guest’s roll. If the host fails to do so, then the guest will see his wager doubled and returned.”

 

 

Following his father’s introduction, Duryodhana wastes no time before challenging his cousin, Yudhistira. When Yudhistira accepts the challenge, his deceitful cousin informs him that Shakuni will be playing in his place, but his bets will be funded by Duryodhana. Without any concern for keeping his enchanted dice a secret, Shakuni greets Yudhistira’s first twenty rolls with the exact combination of dice. At this point, Yudhistira is furious and orders that Shakuni trade him dice. Without any other option, Shakuni surrenders his dice to Yudhistira, who quickly identifies the enchantment. King Dhritarashtra is outraged by the treachery and orders his son and brother-in-law to leave his kingdom. Unfortunately, this is not the last that the Pandavas will see of their deceitful relatives.

Author’s Note:

When I read the original story, I kept wondering what type of game they were playing and how Shakuni could be an expert at rolling dice. I also really dislike Duryodhana, so I rewrote the story of the dice game to answer some of the questions that I had, and celebrate a small victory in that Duryodhana was banished from Hastinapura.

Bibliography:

Narayan, R. K. (1978). The Mahabharata

Image Information:
Rolling Dice: GeneticsAndSociety

Week 9: Reading Diary B

Uncle’s Gift:

• So Dhritarashtra divided his kingdom and gave a portion of it to his nephews. Although Yudhistira and his brothers appear to very grateful for the barren land that was given to them, I cannot imagine Dhritarashtra’s sons (particularly Duryodhana) letting their cousins live there peacefully.
• Who would’ve thought that five brothers sharing a single wife might end poorly?! At least Arjuna has his own wives now, unless he decides to share them as well at the end of his twelve year banishment.

City of Splendour:

• Of all the people that could have extended their stay in Indraprastha, Duryodhana stayed the longest. Why would the Pandavas let him stay in their city?! From the moment that I saw his name as one of the guests, I was waiting for him to try to burn the city down.
• Sakuni appears to be a very wise character, but no amount of wisdom will break through to Duryodhana. His obsession with his cousins will be the death of him.
• How many times must the Pandavas be wronged by their cousins before they decide to stop trusting them? Why would they agree to go gamble when they should be fully aware that Duryodhana is probably going to turn it into an attempt to take their lives and their city?

Stakes Unmatched:

• What kind of game is this?! Once Yudhistira began, was he committed to playing until he had lost everything that he ever owned? If so, why would you ever agree to play such a game? Also, how can he not suspect that Sakuni is cheating?! Every time that he rolls the dice, he wins. And how can Yudhistira bet his brothers?
• I really wish that the rules of this game were better explained. All that I know about it is that it involves dice and every time that Yudhistira places a bet, Sakuni immediately shouts “I win!” I can’t imagine continuously raising the stakes in a game that I have won a single round of, and I certainly wouldn’t continue playing until the only thing left to bet was myself.
• Draupadi made several great points in her argument.
• At least Dhritarashtra saw how wrong the game was and gave Yudhistira everything that he had lost.
• I retract my previous statement…

Wanderings:

• So Yudhistira and his brothers were banished since he decided to go back and play the dice game again, although it seemed like the king was kind of forcing him to return the second time.
• Yudhistira admitted that he sought to take the rest of the kingdom from his cousins, but who could really blame him? Maybe if he ruled the entire kingdom, he could keep his psychotic cousin under control.
• I’m still not sure how somebody can be an expert at rolling dice.

Week 9: Reading Diary A

The Eighth Baby:

·    Santanu = Ruler of Hastinapura 

·    What?! How are you gonna marry a woman that you just met and not ask why she drowned your first child? At this point, the last thing that Santanu should be worried about is this mystery woman leaving him for asking her why she drowned their child.

·    Oh, I guess that the fact that she’s a pretty good wife overwhelms the minor character flaw that she keeps drowning their children…

·    Devavratha = Son of Ganga and Santanu, condemned to live a life of celibacy but also brilliant accomplishments. He later becomes Bhishma.

·    Santanu is worried that if anything happens to Devavratha, their dynasty will come to an end. Has he already forgotten that his son has been condemned to a life of celibacy? Their dynasty will end with Devavratha regardless…

·    The little side note about Salwa’s vow to kill Bhishma seems like a fairly significant to the story. I’m not sure why it was only a side note. Perhaps Narayan does not intend on discussing Bhishma’s death.

·    Dhritarash = Eldest son of Vyasa and the servant maid; born blind.

·    Pandu = Second son of Vyasa and the servant maid; valorous and just. Cursed to die when he attempts to unite with his wife.

·    Vidura = Third son of Vyasa and the servant maid; apparently characterized by great wisdom, judgment, and courage.

·    Yudhistira = Son of Yama and Kunthi. His name means “one unflinching in war.”

·    Bhimasena = Son of Vayu and Kunthi; endowed with extraordinary strength. Caused an earthquake when he rolled off of his mother’s side.

·    Arjuna = Son of Indra and Kunthi; unmatched in energy, wisdom, and knowledge of weapons.

·    Nakula and Sahadeva = Brilliant twins born of Madri and the gods Aswins.

·    Together, these five brothers were known as the Pandavas.

·    Dhritarashtra has a hundred sons who were the enemies of the Pandavas. The fact that Dhritarashtra is referred to as the “Blind King” makes me think that he and his progeny are destined to be the antagonists of the Mahabharata.

Enter – The Players:

·    Dhritarashtra had his one hundred sons, as well as his 5 nephews trained to use a variety of weapons. The focus on the skills of Pandu’s sons further makes me believe that they will be the protagonists in this story. Also, the fact that Duryodhana tried to poison his cousin and threw him in the river also doesn’t make Dhritarashtra’s sons seem like heroes.

·    Duryodhana seems like a bloodthirsty character.

House of Joy – and Ashes:

·    Duryodhana is such a deceitful character. Why does he hate his cousins so much that he would take every opportunity to have them killed?

·    It’s good to know that my initial impressions about the two sides were correct!

Bride for Five:

·    Ghatotkacha = Bhima’s son who made a habit of coming to his father’s aid every time that he faced a crisis. We’re explicitly told that he’ll play an important role in a battle later in the story.

·    Krishna = the eighth incarnation of Vishnu, said to play a vital role in the Mahabharata.

·    I can’t be the only one that thinks it’s incredibly weird that five brothers are planning to share one wife. Definitely the weirdest part of the story so far…

Since this was the first reading diary post for the Mahabharata, I wasn’t quite sure who was going to have a significant role throughout the rest of the story. I went ahead and made a little note about each character that seemed likely to make an appearance later on. The Mahabharata seems like a pretty interesting, albeit strange story so far.