Kalidas’s Sakuntala

KALIDASA’S SAKUNTALA

V. Sarveswara Rao

“Among Kavyas, drama is the most chrming. Among dramas Sakuntala is specially charming. In the play the Fourth Act is the best. And lastly, four slokas therein are especially most beautiful.” Thus goes a sloka about the greatness of Kalidasa’s Abhijnana Sakuntalam. Indeed, it deserves such an appreciation. This play Abhijnana Sakuntalam has again and again been described as Kalidasa’s greatest work, the best of his works, the drama in which he exhibits most fully his multitudinous powers. If we were doomed to lose all his works expect one, probably the majority of those who know and appreciate him best would for keeping Abhijnana Sakuntalam. Let us now briefly discuss what is that in this drama which establishes its undisputed claim to the highest honour.

Abhijnana Sakuntalam, like his Raghuvamsa, is most popular and widely read in almost all parts of India and has been translated into almost all the chief languages in the world. It is a love drama and belongs to the class of ‘Nataka,’ the best of ‘Rupakas’. Its language exhibits all the graces of his style. It is highly elegant being dignified where necessary. Wilson remarks, “The story, the situations and the characters are all highly imaginative and nothing can surpass the beauty and justice of many of the thoughts. To select one as an example were to disparage a number of other passages, and they may be left to the critical acumen and the taste of the reader”.

Let us now make a general study of the important characters in the play. Among them, first comes Dushyanta, the hero of this drama. He possesses almost all the qualities of a ‘Dhirodatta’ hero. He is shown as youthful, handsome, majestic and of sweet address. Another point that is notable in his personality is the extreme nobility of his mind. It was quite natural on his part to be struck with the fascinating youth and superb charms of Sakuntala. The poet himself, through the mouth of Dushyanta, depicts the beauty of Sakuntala as “Her flawless beauty is a flower not yet smelt by any one, a tender sprout not plucked with the nails, a gem unperforated, fresh honey whose flavour is untasted, and the reward of collected merit not yet exhausted by enjoyment.” There is no wonder in Dushyanta falling in love with such an uncommon beauty. He is, indeed, a lover of beauty. Being a ‘Sarvabhouma,’ he was in a position to have it and enjoy it irrespective of its price. But at the same time, he maintains the Dharma of his great Puru pedigree. Otherwise it was impossible for an ordinary man to check his first burst of love. It is only after ascertaining the parentage of Sakuntala, and further that she was not married, that he allows his mind to harbor the feeling of love. Another important feature of Dushyanta is his utmost respect for the sages. The king, though himself commanding universal respect, has unbounded reverence for the sages. There are many incidents in the drama which testify to his high martial power. He was so brave that even Indra, the lord of the Gods, sought his help. His love for Sakuntala, though carnal to a certain extent is deep-rooted and permanent. His mental affliction, after the unconscious dismissal and rejection of Sakuntala, is so touching as to give a full idea of what his real feelings were. In the Sixth Act of the play, just to console his soul, he begins to paint the picture of Sakuntala. After the completion of the picture, his remark “what ever may not be right i.e., faulty, in the picture is corrected or rather perfected. Yet her beauty is only partially represented by the delineation,” is really an impartial judgement of the beauty of Sakuntala. He is at home in almost all the fine arts. He can appreciate music and be sensitive to its impressions. He is a unique Sovereign, and the various traits of his character are shown in bold relief by the poet. Thus, Dushyanta’s character is exalted by the imagination of the poet.

Next in importance is Sakuntala, the heroine of the drama. She was the daughter of the Sage Viswamitra and the heavenly nymph ‘Menaka’. But as she was abandoned by her parents in a forest, she was fed by birds for sometime after which she was brought up by Kanva as his daughter. Due to her close association with the hermitage environment and with the men leading ascetic lives, she too had imbibed the spirit of that life. As she was the daughter of Menaka, she had inherited heavenly beauty from her mother. She was a youthful maiden with full development of her limbs. There was nothing artificial in her beauty; it was essentially natural. Her heart, too, was equally natural and beautiful. She was untouched by passion till she saw the king. Even her modesty was so great that she felt delicate to reveal to her friends her inextinguishable love for the king. She represents the true picture of womanly modesty. Though troubled by the arrows of Manmadha, she manifested a full sense of female honour. When Dushyanta, in the third Act, tries to bring her , she politely asks him to maintain his dignity and decorum.

Sakuntala is a daughter of Nature. Nature strictly speaking, is her foster mother. She has, therefore, affection for every tree, for every creeper and for every sprout. She will not drink water without herself watering the trees. She can forget herself but not the ‘lathas’ in the Ashram. She dares not pluck even a tender sprout despite her fondness for ornaments. The flowering season of Nature is a great festival to her. The deer are her own children. She applies ‘ingudi-oil to the mouth of a young deer, which is wounded slightly while eating ‘Darbha grass’. In her own hands, she holds out the wild rice for the deer to eat. Just before her departure from the hermitage, she embraces the Vanajysotna’ creeper and leaves it under the care of her mates. She requests her father to intimate her the news of the pregnant deer. But Sakuntala’s love of nature, is not one sided. Nature too in her turn, has the same deep affection for Sakuntala. The foliage of ‘Kesara’ tree invites Sakuntala. The young deer, pulling her garment stops her from leaving the hermitage. At her departure, the female deer drop down their half eaten morsels of ‘Darbha’ grass; the peacocks give up their dancing; and the creepers, with their yellow leaves falling off, seem as if they are shedding tears. The deer Dirgapanga, drinks water only from the hands of Sakuntala. The affection between Nature and Sakuntala is so profound that Kanva, on the eve of Sakuntala’s departure to her husband’s palace requests Nature to permit Sakuntala to go to her husband’s house. Then, Nature too, on her part, indicates her acceptance through the sweet note of a cuckoo. Thus Sakuntala’s character is harmoniously delienated as the dearest daughter of nature.

Other important characters in this play are Vidushaka, Anasuya and Priyamvada, the friends of Sakuntala and Kanva, the foster father of Sakuntala. All these characters, undoubtedly win the heart of the reader. Making an on-spot study of these characters, let us now study the calibre and artistic economy of Kalidasa in writing this play.

Kalidasa’s pen suggests more than what it expresses. That is why Abhijnana Sakuntalam has been categorised under ‘Uttamottama Kavya,’ the greatest of all Kavyas. His discerning sense of artistic economy makes the play sublime and impressive. In the First Act the King offers his ring to Sakuntala, but the dramatist has avoided the scene of Dushyanta approaching her, putting his ring on her finger and then expressing his feelings. The first Act comes to an end with the disturbance caused by an elephant. But Kalidasa, is not a mean artist to create a scene here in which Dushyanta saves Sakuntala from the elephant and thereby comes into closer contact with her. Even at the end of Third Act, Kalidasa has not continued the scene of ‘Adhara Pana’ but has brought it to an end by the intervention of Gautami. For the development of the theme, too, Kalidasa has not introduced new situations. The whole play consists of only three distinct parts i.e., union, separation and re-union. These are developed by four situations viz., the hunting scene of Dushyanta, the curse of Durvasa, the fisher man with the king’s ring and the invitation of Indra. Kanva’s absence also is used to show the development of love between the hero and the heroine. The long suffering of Sakuntala for six years and the heart - piercing sorrow of Priyamvada and Anasuya on hearing of the news of the repudiation of Sakuntala are also left to the imagination of the reader. Thus Kalidasa is an expert in bringing about the maximum effect with the minimum material.

Kalidasa wrote this drama which had its origin in ‘Mahabhrata’. According to ‘Mahabharata’ the story goes thus: King Dushyanta, losing his way while on a hunting expedition reaches the ashram of Kanva and meets there Sakuntala alone. He learns from her, that her decent and marries her the Gandharva way, accepting the condition her son should be his successor. Then he leaves for his palace. Nine years later, when she comes to him with their son, Sarvadamana (later known as Bharata) the king, afraid of public criticism, discards her. Their reunion comes only after intervention of the Heavenly Voice. The epic story appears to be rough and prosaic in its theme. The characters are dull and lifeless and there are hardly any dramatic situations in it. King Dushyanta appears to be an opportunist in love and timid in his heart. Sakuntala appears to be somewhat licentious, lacking womanly modesty. The whole story appears to be a bundle of absurdities. In short, the epic story is no story at all, save a charmless narration of a string of events. In such a dull story Kalidasa visualised the seeds of his greatest play. Kalidasa has picked the main thread of the story i.e. the love between Dushyanta and Sakuntala, and has polished it and blended them so harmoniously that each is inseparably linked up with the others. He evolved thus, a heart capturing dramatic theme that delights the eye, car and heart. Besides, it ennobles the reader by leading him to a higher universal philosophical plane. Just to ennoble his hero and the heroine, Kalidasa concocted the story of Durvasa’s curse. Now, we cannot find any fault with Dushyanta in his repudiation of Sakuntala in the open court. Moreover, we appreciate his quality of utmost respect for the wives of others. Kalidasa infused love, colour and character into the dry theme of the original story.

The poets knowledge of human mind is very ample and abundant. On the eve of Sakuntala’s departure for her husband’s house. Kanva with a choking voice says thus, - “At the thought of Sakuntala leaving today my heart is smitten with grief, my throat is chocked owing to the flow of tears being suppressed; and my eyes are heavy through anxiety. Such is my condition indeed owing to my affection for Sakuntala. If this sorrow is felt by me the dweller in a forest, how much, then, must house-holders be tormented by the pangs of separation from their daughters”. In this scene the poet puts before our eyes the picture of the father of newly wedded girl and the affection of the father for his daughter.

Kalidasa is regarded as a master of similes. That is why the verdict. ‘Upama Kalidasasya’, has got a universal acceptance. Though the principal sentiment in this drama is love, hardly we find any vulgarity or want of decency in the expression of it. It is all pure and sublime by its nature and can be read without a blush. Dryden’s description of Milton aptly applies to Kalidasa.

“Three poets in three distant ages born,
Greece: Italy and England did adorn
The first in loftiness of thought surpassed,
The second in majesty, in both the last;
The force of nature, could no further go,
To make a third, she joined the other two.”

Here in this poem, Greece stands for Homer and Italy for Dante. Milton had both the qualities of Homer and Dante. In the same way, we can take Valmiki and Vyasa in the place of Homer and Dante and Kalidasa in that of Milton. Kalidasa possesses the loftiness of Valmiki as well as the majesty of Vyasa.