Introduction to Themes
Expand on the idea that Abhijnanashakuntala explores multiple interconnected themes. Consider how these themes interplay and contribute to the overall meaning and complexity of the play. For example, how does the theme of love intersect with duty and the contrasting worlds of the court and the hermitage? How does memory (and its loss) drive the plot and affect the character's journeys? Explore the significance of concealment and its role in creating dramatic tension and shaping the narrative.
Analyze how these various themes, while some may be more central, work together to create a rich tapestry of human experience within Kalidasa's masterpiece.
The Theme of Love
Abhijnana Shakuntala as stated in the introduction is a heroic drama of a romantic nature. The rasa invoked here is srngara or love and according to the Sanskritic dramatic order, love poetry consists of sambhoga, love in union and vipralambha, love in separation.In the play, Kalidasa first creates a temporary union of the protagonists,King Duhsanta, the hero or nayaka and Shakuntala, the heroine or nayaki, as the play narrativises the Developing and Finalization of their love (ACT I, II, III). It is then followed by separation caused by the loss of memory and the token ring due to the curse (ACT IV,V, &VI).The play ends with there union of not only Shakuntala and Duhsanta but also of their son Bharata (ACT VI).
The play shows how love changes in different settings. Shakuntala and Dushyanta first fall in love and marry in the peaceful forest of the Hermitage, which is a natural part of Shakuntala's life. But their love is interrupted when Dushyanta returns to his duties as king in the Royal Palace. When Shakuntala tries to join him, a curse separates them, and she is left alone by both her friends and Dushyanta. They finally reunite about six years later in a heavenly Hermitage. By showing their love story this way, Kalidasa contrasts the simple, natural world of the Hermitage with the complex, duty-bound world of the Royal Court. Interestingly, they find love in the Hermitage, a place for simple living, and face separation in the Royal Court, a place often associated with love's games.
Shakuntala, raised in the pure Hermitage, trusts words and freely marries Dushyanta in a Gandharva marriage based on their feelings. However, their love can't ignore the strict social classes. Dushyanta only pursues her after finding out she's from the warrior class. He represents the deceptive outside world, unlike the Hermitage. In his world, Shakuntala's word isn't enough; she needs the ring as proof in court. Because their worlds are so different, their true reunion can only happen in a new, different place, and only after Dushyanta becomes a better, kinder person.
Kalidasa seems to bring in an element of sadness in the prologue and some might even say unnecessary delaying of their union. Kalidasa shows us the intoxicating nature of passion and love and how it might lead to a neglect of one’s duty/dharma. For Shakuntala that results in the curse which leads to her Refusal. This curse can only be broken on the presentation of a token of recognition, which is the royal signet ring.
Though the curse complicates our understanding of love, we nonetheless see how Shakuntala is unwavering in her love for Duhsanta, which ascribes her as the ideal heroine. The ring too complicates our understanding of love by making us question the veracity of love itself, if such love needs inanimate objects to validate it.
Kalidasa’s depiction of love is thus nuanced and complicated and does not shy away from making his audience ask uncomfortable questions regarding it.
The Theme of Concealment
The theme of concealment becomes evident in Act 1 itself when Duhsanta takes off his royal garments and weapons on entering the Hermitage of Kanva. Even though he undertakes this action as a sign of respect for the sacred space, it allows him to take off the mask of a king and conceal his real identity. He introduces himself to Shakuntala as a court official out inspecting the penance grooves.This deception makes space for much more relaxed interaction between Dushanta and Shakuntala and her companions,without the strict rules of engagement mandated for royals.Literally throwing off the mantle of his kingship, Duhsanta presents himself as a man first and Shakuntala is attracted to this noble court official at first.When Dushyanta revisits Shakuntala to court her, his kingly responsibility to protect the Hermitage from demons compels him to reveal his true identity.The second act of concealment occurs in Act II when Duhsanta is urgently called by his mother to the Royal Palace. He is torn between his duty towards his mother and his kingdom, and his desire to see Shakuntala again. The dilemma is solved when the ascetics’ request his help. As he sends Madhavya in his stead to the capital city, he tells Madhavya that he is staying back to do his duty towards these ascetics and not out of his desire for Shakuntala. He further tells his friend to consider all he said about Shakuntala as a joke. Duhsanta therefore, conceals his true feelings for Shakuntala as well as his reason for staying back at the Hermitage. This concealment creates a sense of foreboding in the play as it allows their marriage to be a secret from everyone outside the Hermitage and therefore, there are no witnesses who can support Shakuntala when she comes to the Royal Court.
The next concealment takes place in Act III when a lovesick Shakuntala writes a love letter to Duhsanta. The problem, however, is its delivery since Duhsanta is busy protecting the ascetics in their ritual. It is Priyamvada who devices a plan to disguise the letter with other offerings for the ritual, thus allowing her to give it to Duhsanta. Duhsanta’s timely appearance saves them from actualising the plan. This event again points to the incongruity of love’s actualisation in the hermitage, where such actions don’t sit well with a holy space established on abstinence and austerity.
In the same act we see one of the most important scenes of concealment. Shakuntala is so disheartened and distracted by the thoughts of Duhsanta that she unknowingly angers the sage Durvasa Rishi,who then curses her.She also fails to register the curse and is oblivious of it. It is her companions who hear the curse and on receiving the reprieve from the sage decide not to inform Shakuntala about the curse. Thus, it is their concealment of the truth of the curse that leads her to arrive at Duhsanta’s court unaware of the reason why he no longer remembers her. Had she been warned, perhaps Kanva would have gone with his daughter to the court to help her or Shakuntala herself would have been more careful with the ring and not lost it in the river. With the ring as a token that would break the curse, Duhsanta and Shakuntala’s union would have occurred much earlier and without so much pain on both sides.
The final concealment occurs in Act VI,where Misrakesi hides herself to observe the repenting king. She observes how deeply Duhsanta regrets not just his rejection of Shakuntala but also the loss of the son who could have continued the Puru clan. Even as Misrakesi feels sad for both the suffering lovers, she does not intervene because the gods have a plan for Duhsanta and have devised their reunion in accordance to Indra’s wishes. Here we see how the events of the story are not completely in the hands of the two protagonists. The reunion only occurs according to the plans of the gods. Even the curse and the subsequent loss of memory cannot be controlled by either of the two,as both are unaware of it. This makes the audience aware of the ambiguous and complex nature of Fate.
The Hermitage and the CourtThe Hermitage and the Court are two diametrically opposed spaces in the play. The Hermitage is a secluded space devoted to sacred pursuits by the ascetics. They choose to live away from society and its problems. The people there live a simple life and are closer to their natural surroundings, living in harmony with nature as they are dependent on it for their survival. Furthermore, they are under the protection of the king and call upon him for assistance during their rituals. The scared grooves of the Hermitage are safe spaces, where even the king must not hunt animals. Shakuntala, Priyamvada, Anasuya, Kanva, Gautami etc all belong to this world.
The Court is the worldly world, a society with strict rules and regulations, functioning under social codes that dictate the code of court etiquette to people. Corruption and abuse of power is a part of this world as seen in the fisherman episode. The Palace itself is filled with intrigues and suspicions among Duhsanta’s wives. Duhsanta himself is beset with kingly duties. Duhsanta, Madhavya, Vasumati, Hamsavati, and the High Priest belong to this world.
The king falls in love at the Hermitage and he not only extends his stay there but also neglects his duty. The Gandharva marriage between Shakuntala and Duhsanta, a marriage contracted on word alone with no witnesses or material proof can be sustained in the hermitage because it’s a world that exists outside of the strict moral codes of society. Taken out of this context, such marriages are suspect and we see that in the epic where Duhsanta refuses to acknowledge Shakuntala out of fear of what his subjects might think of him. In the play the loss of memory dilutes the effect of the rejection but Duhsanta does demand proof of their marriage and the paternity of the child in accordance to the codes of the courtly world.
Wealth is another factor that marks the difference between the two worlds. The women in the hermitage wear clothes made of bark and adorn themselves with flowers but when Shakuntala leaves for the Court, Kanva procures precious jewels from the trees to beautify his daughter in accordance with the outside world.
Throughout the play, we see how the King is forced to choose between the two worlds and mustsacrifice or neglect one for the other. Similarly Shakuntala too must sever her contact with the hermitage if she is to be accepted into the courtly world. Her return can only be realised once she reaches the third stage of her life, i.e, vanaprastha, where both she and the king will give up and retire from the worldly word. Therefore, we see how characters in the play cannot inhabit both the world simultaneously and how one must carefully navigate the two worlds because they function on different principles and in different levels.
Lest's sum up
In this Unit we have focused on the text and introduced the play within the context of Sanskrit drama. This has been followed by a detailed and comprehensive summary and examination of all the seven acts. This section gives us a critical understanding of the major themes, which will allow us to understand the play and the purpose to which Kalidasa has used them. The Unit has attempted to give a concise and succinct understanding of the play to help us grapple with Sanskrit drama in translation for the first time.
Note :- There are many other themes in the play "Abhijnana Shakunala".It will be provided in other page of Literature English Guide
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