Sangkuni - (Wayang Kulit)

Sangkuni - second son of Prabu Gandara

Title	Sangkuni - (Patih) - Mahabharata
Other names	Sengkuni, Sakuni, Gandara, Arya Suman (young)
Size	50 cm
Personal data	Arya Sangkuni, whose name was Trigantalpati when he was young, was the second son of Prabu Gandara, the king of the country of Gandaradesa with his wife Dewi Gandini. Arya Sengkuni had three siblings, each named Dewi Gandari, wife of Dasarata, Arya Surabasata and Arya Gajaksa. He was married to Dewi Sukesti, the daughter of Prabu Keswara, the king of the country of Plasajenar. From this marriage he had three sons and a daughter named; Arya Antisura / Arya Surakesti, Arya Surabasa and Dewi Antiwati who later married Arya Udawa, the governor of the state of Dwarawati. Arya Sangkuni is also the uncle of the hundred Korawa and Patih or Prime Minister of Astina.
Appearance	Arya Sangkuni has character traits; agile, good at talking, bad-hearted, jealous and cunning. Sakuni had crooked eyes, a sharp, sharp nose, the shape of a worn whetstone, buck teeth, and a beard. The two hands are different shapes, one is giant and the other is pointed, like a slapstick hand. Wristed, pontohed, and croaking. Head with udeng. Kluwih flower hair. Ulur-ulur necklace. Soldier's rapping cloth, cindai pants. In the story, Sakuni suffers from respiratory disease. In the picture, the shoulders of the back hands are slightly raised, indicating that the person has respiratory disease. Sakuni also suffers from breathing problems. Drawn look on the shoulder the back of the hand rises slightly, indicating that the person has bad breath.
Collection	Private collection

Sangkuni – (Patih) – Mahabharata

Arya Sangkuni is intelligent, but a great schemer. He is a liar, always knows how to twist the truth and causes a lot of misfortune to both the Pandawa and the Korawa. At Gandara's suggestion, the Pandawa sleep in a house in the forest. That house is full of flammable materials and is set on fire one night. The Pandawa manage to escape through a tunnel.

When the Madura country was ruled by Prabu Kuntiboja, the king held a competition to choose a husband for Dewi Kunti. Accompanied by his younger sister, Dewi Gendari, she was about to participate in the race but arrived too late. On the way he met Raden Pandu who had won the competition. Harya Sakuni wanted to seize Dewi Kunti and a war broke out. Sakuni lost and gave his younger sister Gendari, as atonement for his defeat.

Upon arriving in Astina, Dewi Gendari was married to Raden Destarastra. After Destarastra became the king of Astina, Harya Sakuni was appointed as Patih.
Harya Sakuni was good at talking, but he was not honest. He always used his cleverness to deceive. But because of his cleverness, he was also useful for the country of Astina. Such customs of behavior caused the Javanese language to use the analogy of "Like Sakuni" for someone who is resourceful.
Because he was good at using language and twisting his tongue, Sakuni's words were always on point and could trap his opponents. His words were pleasant to hear and those who heard them were attracted as if they were being used for love. Considering his origins, he was a noble person who had the right to be the king of the Palasajenar country, but after he followed his sister who later married Prabu Destarastra, the king of the Astina country who had a hundred children, he burdened Astina.

In the country of Astina, Sakuni had a close friend, namely Pandita Durna, who had the same character as him. These two figures lead Astina in difficult situations and problems. In wayang they are generally considered bad characters, even though they are not just random people and just because they side with Astina, they are considered bad characters.

Arya Sengkuni was not only an expert in strategy, administration and state management but also skilled in military skills. He has an heirloom in the form of Cis (=Short spear to command elephants) which has the property of generating water when stuck into the ground. In the Bharatayuda war, Arya Sengkuni was appointed as the Great Senapati of Kurawa after the death of Prabu Salya, king of the Mandaraka country.

Arya Sengkuni dies very sadly at the hands of Wrekodara (Bima). His mouth was torned open by Wrekodara. Sakuni's death symbolizes that a clever person who is dishonest should have his mouth torn apart. His body was skinned and his skin was given to Dewi Kunti to fulfill her vow. Sakuni's body was then crushed with the Rujakpolo club.

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Source: History of Wayang Purwa - Hardjowirogo - PN Balai Pustaka - 1982