Shakuni - Was he villain without any reason?

Gandhari, Daughter of King Subala who belonged to the Ghandhara family, was having such astrological signs that her first husband will die soon after marriage , will be remarried and her second husband would lead a long life. Scared from the facts, Gandhari’s father made her marry a goat and then sacrificed the goat and then she was married to Dhritrashtra.

After few years of marriage Dhritharashtra got to know about the above mentioned facts which made him furious and in anger he imprisoned the entire Ghandhara family - king Subala and his 100 sons and tormented them.He wanted them to starve to death and thus provide only a handful of rice to each of them.One by one they started dying of hunger. King Subala, worried about his dynasty, convinced all his family members to sacrifice their food for the youngest and most intelligent son (Shakuni) who would be ultimately responsible for the downfall of Kauravas.

Before dying Subala requested Dhritharashtra to show mercy on his last son and allow him to be free. Further he promised that shakuni will be like a guardian to his sons. Subala at the time of his death asked Shakuni to make a dice of his back bone and blessed that the dice will always spin the requested number and will become the reason of the downfall of Dhritharashtra and his dynasty. Subala also broke Shakuni’s leg so that he never forgets his purpose of living and seeks vengeance.

Shakuni, as promised, was the guardian of the 100 Kaurava sons. He with passing time won the confidence of everyone and started spreading wickedness. He provoked Dhuryodhana against the Pandavas and was certainly one of the main instigators of Mahabharatha, Thus fulfilling his destiny and taking revenge from kuru clan.

No one becomes a villain without a reason.