Introduction (5)—Characters of the Abhijnana Sakuntala

Dusyanta. The introduction of the curse of Durvasas has thoroughly altered the character of Dusyanta from what it was in the epics. A brave and dignified personality, pledged to the protection of his subjects, King Dusyanta represents the Dhirodatta type of hero and is very often cited in works of poetics to illustrate that type of hero. Possessed of a majestic personality, he elicits the admiration of Sakuntala's friends at the first interview ko nu khalvesa caturagambharaिkrtih madhuram priyamalapan His sweet personality attracts the love of Sakuntala at first sight. Even Aditi, mother of gods is impressed with his personality. sambhavaniyanubhava His fondness for hunting looms large at the beginning of the play. His proficiency in painting comes to light in the Sixth Act where Sanumati observes : - aho rajarservartikanipunata .

A supporter of the Brahmin hierarchy, he is ever reverent to sages, anxious to receive their blessings, carries out their wishes, respects their feelings and longs to pay homage to holy personages. He abides by the decision of his priest to leave Sakuntala in the latter's home after repudiation till her delivery. Even on grave accusation by the sage-pupils that took Sakuntala for his acceptance, he does not suffer his mind to be swayed by anger towards them and honestly tries to meet their charges. On repudiating Sakuntala, he feels himself placed in the horns of a dilemma between the desertion of his wife on the one hand and the contact of another's wife on the other. mudhah syamahamesa va vadenmithyeti samsaye | daratyagi bhavamyaho parastrisparsapamsulah || In his solicitude for righteousness he wouldn't accept the fair Sakuntala in spite of the assurances of sages as he is himself not convinced of his marriage with her. idamupanatamevamrupamaklistakanti prathamaparigrhitam syannavetyavyavasyan | bhramara iva vibhate kundamantastusaram na ca khalu paribhoktum naiva saknomi hatum || He is conscious of his own nobility of character, and accordingly he takes his heart's leaning for Sakuntala as almost a sure index of her eligibility to be taken in marriage. asamsayam ksatraparigrahaksama yadaryamasyamabhilasi me manah | satam hi samdehapadesu vastusu pramanamantahkaranapravrttayah || I -- 19.

Heroic and magnanimous, he makes bold to fight the demons in heaven, who were invincible to Indra, at the risk of his life. As a dutiful son, he sends Vidusaka as a deputy in response to the invitation of his mother with all the royal paraphernalia to attend a religious function of hers, as he himself is engaged in safeguarding the sacrificial rites of the sages against molestation by evil spirits. He is chivalrous and offers his own ring to release the indebtedness of the heroine at the very first interview. The song of Hamsapadika accusing him of infidelity towards herself and overfondness for Queen Vasumati rouses his solicitude for pleasing the former for which purpose he sends Vidusaka. He expresses appreciation of Queen Vasumati when she avoids disturbing him in his judicial work. karyajna karyoparodham me pariharati | As an ideal king, he attends to the affairs of citizens personally except in extreme cases of inability. He boldly administers law for the benefit of his subjects and awards the estate of a deceased issueless merchant to his child in the womb, overruling the minister's finding that it will escheat to the crown. He makes a general proclamation that he is ever ready to play the role of a departed kinsman to the bereaved amongst his subjects. ha da faysqza val: faran argal | sa sa papahate tasam dusyanta iti ghusyatam ||

As a lover, he represents the type of Daksinanayaka known to Sanskrit poetics, consistent with polygamy which was in vogue among the ruling class in ancient India. His love for Sakuntala is no doubt romantic at first. He is impressed with the charms of her person but allows his mind to dwell on her only after coming to know that she is born of an Apsaras through the Ksatriya sage Visvamitra and as such a union with her is not prohibited. His love culminating in the Gandharva marriage depicted in the first three Acts of the play is not that of a voluptuary but of a true lover. In the last two Acts of the play this romantic love is purged of all its sins through his sufferings, develops into a divine love strengthened by the intervening separation. His desertion of Sakuntala was no wanton act of his, but the result of the sage's curse which fact comes to his own notice on the re-union of his wife taking place. Sakuntala. Born of Apsaras Menaka, Sakuntala is naturally endowed with a perfection of guileless beauty and lovely charms. Her personality inspires a royal sage like Dusyanta with love at first sight and elicits his admiration in words such as these :- anaghratam puspam etc. II-10. ad faraka II-9. The naturalness of her beauty rid of all artificiality is expressed

in words like these :- sarasijamanuviddham etc. I - 17; durikrtah khalu gunairudyanalata vanalatabhih || I - 15; idam kilavyajamanoharam vapuh I-16 and so on. Simplicity and innocence are seen to be the dominant traits of her character. Every plant, herb or tree, every animal with which she comes into contact, inspires her with tender affection. The creeper Vanajyotsna is mated by her to a Sahakara tree at an opportune stage. She pours Ingudi oil to heal the wounds of her dear fawn scratched in the face by the tips of the Kusa grass. az za detc. IV-14. She is never tired of watering the trees and nurturing the deer. Such is her fondness for plants and animals. She wouldn't drink water herself when the trees have not drunk. She wouldn't pluck the sprouts though found of decoration. The first appearance of sprouts on trees fills her with joy. etc. IV-9. The sorrowful concern exhibited by her at parting with the trees, plants and animals is proof positive of her tender attachment to the objects of Nature. (Wilson's remark: Tender attachment to natural objects is one of the pleasing features in the poetical composition of Hindus). Her attachment for friends as evident from her frank talks with them in the first three Acts of the play and in the parting scene in the Fourth Act merit unstinted appreciation. Her love for, her father Kanva makes her anxious how he will put up with her separation. She is a model of

expressed by SarigaBashful as a maiden, limits of decency and innocence and decency as rava : - sakuntala murtimativa satkriya . she keeps strictly within the exhorts her lover to do the same at their first confidential interview - paurava raksa vinayam . Her chequered matrimonial career calls for special mention. As an innocent rustic girl, she falls in love with him who weds her in the Gandharva form. On return from pilgrimage her father Kanva sends her to her husband who however repudiates her. She is justly enraged at the king and pours out a volley of censure as any deserted wife would do. She addresses him anarya, trnacchannakupopama, dharmakacukin and so on. This is certainly in marked contrast of the character of Sita who wouldn't even whisper a word of rebuke or harbour ill-feeling towards Rama when he deserted her. On repudiation Sakuntala is taken by her mother to the heavenly region where she lives. in Marica's hermitage as Sita did in Valmiki's. She reconciles herself to her lot during separation as any ideal wife situate in similar circumstances would do in a society which knows not divorce. Her love for the husband does not suffer in the least for all the hardships consequent on desertion. She continues. to be the same loving wife to whom her husband is god. She pursues an austere life undergoing the pangs of separation till she is re-united with her lord after a period of five or six years. c

Sarigarava and Saradvata. Of the two disciples of Kanva that appear in this play Sarngarava is the senior. He leads the party that escorts Sakuntala to the capital of Dusyanta. Sage Kanva says : - adisyantam sarngaravamisrah sakuntala And in fact the message of Kanva to the king Ag etc. (IV-17) is entrusted by the sage to the charge of Sarngarava for communication to the king. On entry into the city and the palace in particular, his psychology presents a marked contrast to that of his junior comrade Saradvata. Both are saintly in nature and prize high their own secluded life in the forest, and the bustle of the city-life creates a prejudice in the minds of both. But the impressions of city-life created in them are in other respects opposed to each other. The one abhors city-life and tries to run away from its bustle. The other pities the people engrossed in city-life and would like to have them free from its shackles. T Accordingly Sarngarava says:- tathapidam sasvatparicitaviviktena manasa janakirna manye hutavahaparitam grhamiva || V - 10. while Saradvata says: V-10. abhyaktamiva natah sucirasucimiva prabuddha iva suptam | baddhamiva khairagatirjanamiha sukhasamginamavaimi || V-11 . To Sarngarava the respect shown by the king to the sages elicits no wonder as it is their due, and the

remark of Sarng: shows the high esteem in which he holds the ascetic order of life to which he belongs. The other pupil is rather shy and does not venture any observation. When the king exhibits his reluctance to own the acceptance of Sakuntala's hand, Sarngarava engages in a spirited altercation, pours out vituperation, makes grave accusations against the king and condemns his master Kanva for having condoned the king's guilt. The cool-headed Saradvata, on the other hand, calls on Sakuntala to adduce proof to the satisfaction of the king. The proof adduced by Sakuntala having failed to rouse the conviction of the king, Sarngarava attacks the king in an ironical strain. a janmanah sasyamasiksito yastasyapramanam vacanam janasya | I paratisamdhanamadhiyate yairvidyeti te santu kilaptavacah || V -- 25. The stern, business-like and dispassionate Saradvata winds up the dispute by saying to Sarigarava- "Why barter words? We have done the bidding of our master. We shall return;' by saying to the king, 'Here is your wife. Take her or leave her. We can't take her back;' and by saying to Gautami, *Start back for our home.' This rouses the grim resolve of Sarngarava who chides Sakuntala for trying to follow them and sternly prohibits her from doing SO.

The Trio of Sages. The trio of sages that appear in this play belong to the same religious order, but how different to each other! Durvasas is easily irritable. He expects everybody to show him the respect that is his due, and the slightest breach of etiquette drives him into a fit of anger and he is ready with his curse to punish a breach of conduct. Kanva has no anger. He is ever tolerant towards the erring Dusyanta, both when he has taken the hand of his daughter without his knowledge and when he repudiates her without cause. A loving father that he is, the words of counsel and sorrow that he has at the parting scene when Sakuntala leaves for her husband's home, present his emotionalism and parental concern at its height. Being a lifelong celibate, he is nevertheless conversant with worldly matters and gives apt counsel to his daughter and to her husband individually. Sage Marica who appears in the last scene of the play is a heavenly sage whose duty it is to do penance without any motive behind it. He is detached both from earthly and celestial enjoyments. Free from emotions, he sets things right when they go wrong. Rightly it may be said that Durvasas represents the type of Brahmacaryasrama, Kanva that of Grhasthasrama, and Marica that of Vanaprasthasrama.

Priyamvada and Anasuya. 37 The contrast between Priyamvada and Anasuya who appear in Acts I, III and IV of this play has been elaborately dealt with in the Notes at several places. In this connection the reader's attention is drawn to the following passages in the Notes:P. 144 lines 14 to 16; 19 to 23 P. 146 9 to 13 " P. 147 15 to 22 "" P. 192 1 to 4 " P. 198 19 " P. 205 10 to end of page " P. 206 17 to 19. " Vidusaka. Vidusaka is a jocular companion of the hero and a common character in most of the Sanskrit plays. The Vidusaka of this play, Madhavya as he is called, exhibits humour and witticisms though not to the same degree as exhibited by the Vidusaka of Malavikagnimitra. He is a lover of ease and is grossly disgusted with the toils involved in the hunting expedition of the king. Pretending to be crippled, he counsels stoppage of the hunting by the king. Making common cause with the commander, he feigns to condemn the commander's love of hunting and says:- naranasikalolupasya kasyapi jirnarksasya mukhe patisyasi |

Later on in To the king who was anxious to stay on in the penance-grove to pursue his love-affair, the pretended dullard suggests the collection of revenue as a pretext for his stay. When confronted with two opposing mandates from his mother and from the sages, the king is advised by him to stand in the middle like Trisanku. A lover of vanity that he is, he esteems the honour of royal paraphernalia sent to escort him like a crown-prince. Though the king confides his love-secrets to him, he is too talkative a friend and could not be trusted to guard the secret, and the king takes pains to impress on him that all his love-affair was a mere talk in fun. Act V the Vidusaka contributes to the development of the plot not by his presence but through his absence at a crucial moment when Sakuntala is being repudiated. He has been sent away by the king to appease Hamsapadika who detains him by force.. Nor does he think it fit to rouse the king's memories of Sakuntala after her departure on repudiation by the king. His own description of himself as a blockhead is perhaps a time-serving explanation. He is light-hearted enough to conceive that the picture written by the king should be filled with batches of sages with hanging beards. purayitavyamanena lambakurcanam tapasanam kadambaih Unlike his counterpart in Malavikagnimitra, the Vidusaka of this play is supremely indifferent to the love-affairs of the king.

His uncouth figure tempts Matali to make a tool of him for rousing the spirit of the king requisitioned by Indra. As is usual with other Vidusakas, he is a lover of eatables and enjoyments() He appears in Acts II, V and VI of this play.