Who is Shakuni?

The uncle

Shakuni was a prince of Gandhara and the brother of Gandhari. He came with her to Hastinapura when she married Dhritarashtra, and he never went home. He became the closest adviser of his nephew Duryodhana, and the mind behind many of his schemes.

The master of dice

Shakuni’s great skill was the game of dice. When the Pandavas grew rich and powerful, he told Duryodhana not to fight them but to invite Yudhishthira to play. Yudhishthira loved the game but was no expert, and he could never refuse a challenge.

Throw by throw, Shakuni won the Pandavas’ wealth, their kingdom, the brothers themselves, and finally Draupadi. In a second game he won thirteen years of exile from them. Many later retellings say his dice were magic or loaded; in the epic he is simply too good at the game, and Yudhishthira too stubborn to stop.

How Shakuni’s story ends (spoilers)

Shakuni fought for the Kauravas until the last day of the war, when Sahadeva, the youngest Pandava, killed him, having sworn to do it since the day of the dice.