
Artist's commentary
Śakuni's Dice
A set of dice Śakuni entrusted to Duryodhana.
Śakuni was the younger brother of Gāndhārī, who was the consort of King Dhr̥tarāṣṭra of the Kuru kingdom, making him Duryodhana's uncle. He was always friendly with Duryodhana, and he committed various misdeeds against the Five Princes in an effort to put his nephew on the throne. He also fought on his nephew's side in the great war. Śakuni was said to be a gambling prodigy and is best known as the central figure in setting up the dice game that led to the exile of the Five Princes. However, it's unknown how "honest" this gambling game was...
"I have to say, scheming with Uncle Śakuni to absolutely crush Yudhiṣṭhira in that game of dice is definitely one of the highlights of my incredible life. The excitement, the thrill, the tension...and the look on that pathetic idiot's face make me SO happy every time I remember it all! Ah! So good!
Huh? You say it was rigged? Hey, I've read those gambling mangas you have stored in the library. The protagonist usually wins with clever tricks that border on cheating. Listen. When the protagonist does it, it's not cheating. So, even if I did cheat, since I'm clearly the protagonist, it wasn't REALLY cheating! Don't you forget it!"
Hearing that, you vow to yourself that you will never, ever gamble with that person.