shakuni

At the bottom of the steps to the throne, in the middle of the royal room, a tremendous contest happened: it decided the destiny of the Pandava brothers and triggered the tragic event of the Kurukshetra war. The Pandavas are defrauded of royal rights and all belongings by their closest relatives with a rigged game of dice.

Regal dresses hide evil and dishonest personalities. The artist showed mischievous and sinister expressions on the faces of the devious uncle, Shakuni – an expert in the game of dice, and Duryodhana. He wanted to show, expressively, the two very opposing moods of the moment. Arjuna’s resignation, as he knows they are about to lose the contest, and King Yudhishthira’s display of anxiety, for the last throw in the game, where he knows he will lose everything.