Part 2b - The Characters (4) Sarngarava

Sarngarava is the foremost of Kanva's disciples. He leads the party escorting Sakuntala. Kanva has confidence in him he delivers his message to Sarngarava.

This young anchroite thinks that the ascetic is the highest being on the earth, and has supreme abhorrence for every thing non-ascetic ( c. f. tathapida sasvatparicitaviviktena manasa janakirnanam . manya hutavahaparita grhamiva ) | The respect which others show to the ascetic is naturally his due from every good man (cf. bho maha- brahmana, kamametadabhinandaniya ' tathapi vayamatra madhyakhyah etc). Owing to this exalted notion of the superiority of his own. order, he brooks no contradiction, not even from the lord of the earth. Nay, he does not hesitate to hint that if he were Kanva, he would have made the king feel the power of asceticism the moment he came to know of his wedding. Compare- krtabhimarsamanumanyamanah sutam tvaya nama munirvi manyah | musta pratigrahayata khamartha pavikrto dasurarivasi yena || He gives vent to his contempt of kings and courts while saying srutam bhavadabhiradharottaram | ajanmanah sathyamasicito yastasyapramana vacana janasya | paratisandhanamadhiyate vidyeti te santu killaptavacah | Thus with all his learning and asceticism he proves a bad peace-maker.