Mahabarata - Sengkuni (Sangkuni) or what in Sanskrit spelling is called Shakuni (Dewanagari: Śakuni) or Saubala (patronym of Subala) is an antagonist in the epic Mahabharata. He was the maternal uncle of the Korawas. Shakuni was known as a cunning figure who always incited the Korawa to be hostile to the Pandavas. He succeeded in seizing the Indraprastha Kingdom from the hands of the Pandavas through a game of dice.
According to the Mahabharata story , Shakuni is the personification of Dwaparayuga, namely a period of chaos on Earth, the precursor to the dark age or Kaliyuga. In Javanese wayang, Shakuni is often spelled with the name Sengkuni. When the Korawa came to power in the Hastina Kingdom, he was appointed as governor. In Sundanese wayang, he is also known as Sangkuning.
In the Wayang Mahabarata story, Sengkuni is Mahapatih and also advisor to the king in the Astina Kingdom which is controlled by the Kurawa family. Patih Sengkuni is famous for his extreme life principles: let other people suffer, the important thing is to live happily. It is with such life principles that Sengkuni has lived his career: hypocritical, slippery, cunning, deceitful, seditious, full of deceit.
In both the Mahabharata and the wayanagan versions, Shakuni is the main advisor to Duryodana, the leader of the Korawa. He carried out various types of tricks and cunning to get rid of the Pandavas. In the first part of the Mahabharata or Adiparwa, Shakuni set a fire in the Jatugreha Building, where the Pandavas spent the night near the Waranawata Forest. However, the Pandavas and their mother, Kunti, managed to escape death. In wayang, this event is known as Bale Sigala-Gala.
Sengkuni's most successful attempt was to seize Indraprastha from the hands of the Pandavas through a game of dice against the Kauravas. This story is found in the second part of the Mahabharata, or Sabhaparwa. This incident was caused by Duryodana's jealousy over the success of the Pandavas in building Indraprastha which was much more beautiful than Hastinapura. At Shakuni's suggestion, he invited the Pandavas to play dice in Hastinapura.
In that game, Shakuni acted as the Korawa dice thrower. By using his magic, he succeeded in defeating the Pandavas. Little by little, the Pandava's possessions fell into Duryodhana's hands, including the palaces of Indraprastha and their wife, Draupadi. Amazingly, Sengkuni is the owner of the Pancasona spell, a powerful science that makes him magically madraguna: has charm, is immune to all types of weapons, even if his body is cut off his body can be connected (whole) again. So Sengkuni became an evil human figure who was difficult to conquer.
Considering that wayang stories are a philosophy packaged in art, the figure of Sengkuni with his Ajian Pancasona is just a portrait (image) of human character throughout time. He is a symbol of hypocrisy, greed, arrogance and anger. Whenever and wherever in this world, people with the Sengkuni character will always be there, even around us now and here.
Sengkuni is a symbol of a clever, educated, intelligent and clever human figure, skilled and has charm. That's why figures like this easily gain sympathy, gain trust, and easily recruit followers.
Only Bima can kill Sengkuni
At the end of the story of the Baratayudha War, when most of the Kurawa and Pandava families had died on the Kurusetra field, it was Sengkuni's turn to meet his death at the hands of Bima with the Kuku Pancanaka weapon.
What is Pancanaka?
The puppet legend tells the following. When Bima was born from the womb of his mother, Dewi Kunti, the baby was still wrapped in amniotic membranes. Strangely, the amniotic fluid did not break even though I had tried to tear it with various weapons. When the amniotic fluid was 12 years old, Gajah Setu Sena, a divine elephant who was very strong and powerful, came.
Setu Sena managed without difficulty to tear the package with his tusks, but the baby immediately caught both of Setu Sena's tusks and broke them. The tusk was broken, but miraculously it fused on the two thumbs of the baby Bima to become Pancanaka Nails. These nails would later become Bima's magic weapon because apart from his tusks, Gajah Setu Sena's soul was also integrated into Bima's body.
It was with Pancanaka Nails made from the ivory of a heavenly elephant that Bima was destined to succeed in killing Sengkuni, the cunning governor who had made the Bima brothers, the Pandavas, suffer physically and mentally: losing their throne and being expelled from the palace.
What are the advantages of Bima with his Pancanaka Nails?
In the world of wayan, Bima is described as a true knight: brave, fearless, firm, loyal, faithful, honest, does not like small talk.
Meanwhile, Kuku Pancanaka philosophically means "firm" (steadfast and strong in belief and practice); five = five; naka = gold / goal, can also be from naga = power; means wisdom/moral/power/basic power.
The five paugerans can be:
- Controlling the desire to kill/anger
- Control appetite and drink
- Controlling sexual appetite
- Control of desires for sensual pleasures
- Control the desire to steal/harm others.
Sengkuni Puppet Version...
Sengkuni was the second of Prabu Suwala's four children. He was given the nickname Trigantalpati by Prabu Suwala. He was small and handsome when he was young. Her youngest sister, Dewi Antiwati, became the wife of Patih Udawa from Dwarawati.
Once upon a time there was a competition to win over the Mandura princess, Dewi Kuthitalibrata, who was famous for her beauty. Suman wanted to take part in the competition and went to Mandura with her sister Dewi Gandari.
On the way, they met Prabu Pandu Dewanata who was on his way home from Madura because he had won the competition. Then there was a fight between Raden Suman and Pandu which ended in Trigantalpati's defeat. Next, Pandu invited Gendari and Trigantalpati to Astinapura Kingdom and promised to make Gendari his wife.
However, Gendari turned out not to be Pandu's wife. She became the wife of Destarastra who was the sister of Pandu. Revenge arose in Gendari, even Trigantalpati also harbored a grudge against Pandu. Plus he also has a crush on Dewi Kunthi.
Since then, he is always together with Gendari and Destarastra. He is the one who nurtures and raises the sons of Kurawa. Kurupati is closer to Trigantalpati than Destarastra's father. Proximity to Kurupati also exerted a strong influence on other Kurawas. Because, Kurupati's younger siblings respect the eldest very much. The charisma of the first son was so respected by his other brothers.
Trigantalpati's inner grudge against Pandu and his descendants really made him use all means to achieve his goal. Little by little he began to launch plans to become ruler of Astina. He started by wanting to become Patih of the Kingdom of Astina Pura.
The first plan was to get rid of Gandamana, Patih Prabu Pandu, the King of Astina Pura. First he provoked the Pringgodani people to dispute the Astina and Pringgodani border. Initially, the two countries were good neighbors and got along well.
In the second stage, he provoked Gandamana to lead soldiers against Pringgodani. Because of Gandamana's innocence and honesty, he was provoked by Trigantalpati's words. Even though initially Gandamana proposed a peaceful solution. Because Gandamana did not die and achieved victory, he continued with the third plan, namely by trapping him on his way home. Gandamana was trapped in a prepared hole and bombarded with spears. Then buried in the hole.
It turns out that Gandamana is still in good health. Trigantalpati's trap to kill Gandamana fails again. The trap failed because of Gandamana's supernatural powers. Gandamana returned to Astina and beat Trigantalpati until his face became ugly. Because of this, the name Sengkuni emerged. Which means because of the sound (speech).
The story goes on to say that at that time Sengkuni asked Pandu to choose him or Gandamana. And Gandamana chose himself to return to Pancala and serve his older brother Prabu Drupada. In the end, even though Gandamana did not die from his trickery, Sengkuni remained the governor of Astina.
"The story of Sengkuni's coup to become Patih of the Astina kingdom is what seems to have inspired political observers to call the events within the PD some time ago a Sengkuni coup. Even though it failed, Anas still left the PD Ketum chair."
Patih Sengkuni
After becoming governor, his desire was to always make the hostility between the Pandu and Destarastra families more open and easy. Especially with the death of the father of the Pandavas, Prabu Pandu Dewanata. And Prabu Destarastra was appointed King of Astina. Moreover, Destarastra is a weak person.
In the initial stages he always separated the Pandava and Kaurava children. Separate when they are playing anything or when they are being trained by their teacher, Maharesi Bhishma. Sengkuni taught that the Kauravas were Kauravas and the Pandavas were Pandavas.
"Sangkuni was actually not very skilled at kanuragan. But his entire body was immune to various types of weapons because with his cunning he managed to get the benefits of the Tala oil belonging to the deceased King Pandu. This Tala oil incident also brought the Pandawa and Kurawa families to meet Bambang Kumbayana "The one who ultimately became the professor of both families had the title Pandhita Durna."
The next step to get rid of the Pandavas was to kill them by burning the 'Hall of All Things'. This event began when King Destarastra intended to return the throne of Astina to the Pandavas. Under the pretext of celebrating by throwing a party, he planned this trap. They carried out their strategy neatly, but the Pandavas and Dewi Kunthi managed to survive after being helped by a white wild animal which showed that there was a waterway under the hall which had previously been made by Prabu Sentanu, Bhishma's father, King Astina before the Pandawa-Kurawa grandfather. This event led Bima to meet his first wife Dewi Nagagini, the daughter of Bathara Antaboga. The god who also saved the Pandavas by disguising himself as a white monster.
During the escape there was also an incident involving the 'alapan Dewi Drupadi' which Puntadewa managed to win with the help of Arjuna and Bima. There was also an incident where the Pandavas met with Prabu Arimba, King Pringgadani, which ended with the death of Prabu Arimba by Bima and the wife of Arimbi, Arimba's sister, by Bima. As well as the 'Kangsa fighting game' event where Arjuna and Bima met their cousins Kakrasana, Narayana, and Dewi Laraireng in the Mandura Kingdom.
This 'sigalagala hall' plan ended in the failure of killing the Pandavas, but Sengkuni grew in power in Astina after Duryudana's success in persuading Destarastra to appoint himself King of Astina Pura. And the failure to kill the Pandavas was only discovered two years after the 'balai sigalagala' incident occurred, the Pandavas returned to Astina Pura with their mother and Draupadi.
This plan failed, then under the pretext of avoiding strife the Pandavas were given an area that was still wilderness. In wayang stories, we know this story as the play 'tripe alas amer'. In the end, a kingdom was established which was named the Amarta Kingdom with its first king, Prabu Puntadewa. This plan is also not devoid of conspiracy, because Alas Amer is a forest filled with wild animals and is known to be haunted. Apart from being a home for wild animals, it is also a kingdom of jinn. But, once again the plan failed.
It turns out that Duryudana still had fear, he still did not accept what the Pandavas had achieved. We can assume, although it is not written, that the Amarta Kingdom which was founded by the Pandavas is progressing rapidly in various fields and could shift the role of the previously established Kingdom, namely the Astina Kingdom.
So Sengkuni took action by proposing to Duryudana to invite the Pandavas to play dice. In the culture of that time, an invitation to play dice from one king to another king was an honor. Apart from getting rid of the Pandavas, Sengkuni also wanted the Kurawas to have full power over Amarta.
With Sengkuni's cunning, he tricked the dice so that they could be arranged for the Kauravas to win. In the play 'Pandawa Dadu', Amarta falls to Duryudana. The Pandavas had to be in exile for 12 years, and 1 year in hiding to pay the bet. If in the 13th year they are caught, they have to repeat it again for 12 years and so on.
"In important plays, in general this is the order of importance. Because the important play after this is the Bharatayudha War. But there are so many other plays that decorate wayang stories that complement the main stories."
"In these plays, we will find that Patih Sengkuni was the mastermind behind every bad action that the Kauravas committed against the Pandavas. For example, when he persuaded Pandhita Durna to create a plan to eliminate Bima. Once this power failed, Bima was able to meet Dewa. Purify and gain enlightenment in life."
In fact, a number of parties have attempted peace efforts between the Pandavas and the Kurawas. However, these efforts always failed due to Duryudana's arrogance plus the provocation of Sengkuni who wanted to take full control of the Astina Pura area. Remember that Amarta was actually the Astina region which was developed by the Pandavas into a developed kingdom.
"In the original story, in fact for the Pandavas the Amarta or Indraprasta area was sufficient and there was no need to fully control Astina. However, in Javanese wayang stories there may be differences of opinion between the puppeteers. Because, it seems that currently there are no stories that really follow the plot "So there are several differences on this issue. Some say, the Pandavas still ask for their rights. But there are also those who say, it is enough to be given a little of Astina's territory."
The Kurawa's arrogance was because head to head the Kurawa were superior on the battlefield. Because they have Adipati Karna, the most powerful person in the world of wayang. They also had Resi Bhisma and Pandhita Durna, both of whom were great teachers of the Pandavas and Kurawas. There were also Prabu Salya, Jayadrata, and other kings. Plus there are 100 of them who of course have supernatural powers too. Moreover, Duryudana and Sengkuni are both immune to various weapons. Once again, in terms of physical strength, the Kurawas were actually superior.
However, the Kauravas' defeat in the Bharatayuda war was due to the lack of unity between them and the absence of qualified war strategists. Salya and Karna are enemies with each other even though they are father-in-law and son-in-law, this is also what causes Karna to lose against Arjuna. And several other animosities within the Kaurava body. The death of the Kaurava war senopatis occurred because Krishna's ingenuity created a strategy in the war so that the Kaurava senopatis died one by one. And people like Krishna do not exist in the Kaurava camp.
"In real world wars, we will often find that physical strength does not guarantee victory. The progress of civilization also does not completely guarantee victory in war. Many victories occur because the strategy used is superior, effective, and effective in achieving victory. in war."
Death of Sengkuni
Sengkuni died on the battlefield when the Bharatayudha war broke out. In the original story, Sengkuni died at the hands of Sadewa. But in the puppet show he dies at Bima's hands. Because of the properties of tala oil, he became difficult to defeat. To the point that Bima was desperate and at his wit's end, until he received advice from Kresna and Semar to attack his mouth and anus, because these two parts did not benefit from the tala oil. And finally Sengkuni was defeated, even though he was not dead because of the properties of the tala oil, he was in serious condition because his mouth was torn and his body was crushed.
He died after Duryudana was defeated by Bima and while he was dying and seriously injured, Duryudana said that he only wanted to die with his wife, Dewi Banowati, because her wife was his life and death partner. On Krishna's advice, Sengkuni, who was not yet dead, was brought closer to Duryudana. Duryudana didn't know because his eyes were blind from the fight and Sengkuni also couldn't speak. Duryudana and Sengkuni died together after Duryudana bit Sengkuni's neck. And it is true that Duryudana died with his lifelong partner, namely Sengkuni.
After he died, Bima took the skin from Sengkuni's chest for his mother Dewi Kunthi to use as a kemben. This happened because Sengkuni once tried to rape Dewi Kunthi until her shirt fell off but Bima saved her. To the extent that Kuthi vowed never to wear a kebaya again before using Sengkuni skin as a kebaya.
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