- OBJECTIVES
In this Unit, we will be analysing the text / play Abhijnana Shakuntala critically. Wewillbegin with a brief explanation on how to read the play. This will help us to understand the play andenjoyits fullaesthetic appeal.Thiswillbe followed by adetailed summary ofthe sevenActs.In addition to this, we willalso discuss the major themes and characters in the play.
- Prologue
The play opens with a benediction or a prayer to Lord Shiva. That first creator of the Creator That Bearer of oblations offered with Holy Rites: That one who utters the Holy Chants: Those two that order Time: That which extends, World– Pervading, In which sound flows impinging on the ear: That which is proclaimed the Universal Womb of Seeds: That which fills all forms that breathe with the Breath of Life. May the supreme Lord of the Universe who stands revealed in these eights Forms* perceptible preserve you. *The eight forms are in order: Water, Fire, The Priest, Sun and Moon, Space, Earth, Air (p. 169) This invocation follows the Epic tradition and seeks blessing and inspiration from the divine, thereby sanctifying the play. The Sutradhar/Narrator/ Director, then, addresses the Actress/wife, introducing in the progress of the dialogue the play being performed for the audience. The Narrator/ Director deftly moves to presenting the Hero/Nayank of the play- King Duhsanta- as the latter arrives on stage in full hunting regalia chasing a fleet of Ruminant
- Act I: The Chase
Act 1 takes place in the forest on the foothills of the Himalayas and moves to the hermitage of the great sage Kanva, by the river Malini. The King Duhsanta appears, followed by his Charioteer, in hot pursuit of a deer, specifically a Blackbuck, which is a sacred animal. Duhsanta is stopped in his hunt by an ascetic who reminds him of his duty
This deer is of the Hermitage, O King! He should not be
killed…no…no…do not strike him down.
How fragile the life of this deer!
How cruel your sharp- pointed arrows, swift-winged!
Never should they fall on his tender frame
like tongues of flame on a heap of flowers.
Quickly withdraw your well-aimed arrow, bound
to protect the distressed, not strike the pure.
Furthermore, Duhsanta has entered the sacred Hermitage, where such slaughter is sacrilegious. At the ascetics urging, Duhsanta decides to go to the Hermitage of Kanva, to pay his respect as well enjoy the hospitality offered there. As they near the Hermitage, Duhsanta takes of his royalornaments and weapons,as it seems unfit for such a spiritual space. On entering he sees three women watering plants and one of them is Shakuntala whose extraordinary beauty immediately captivates Duhsanta. He hides behind some trees to further observe the trio and finally reveals himself to them. The women welcome a disguised Duhsanta into their midst, where he learns that Shakuntala is the adopted daughter of the sage Kanva. Sheis in fact the daughter ofthe Apsara/celestial nymph, Menaka and the seer Visvamitra. Duhsanta’s questions lead him to figuring out her Kshatriya origin, which makes Shakuntala a suitable bride for him. Before Duhsanta can learn of Shakuntala’s feelings for him, they hear the news of how the arrival of Duhsanta’s hunting party has frightened an elephant and that the elephant is now wreaking havoc in the forest. As the party splits, Shakuntala realises that she has fallen in love with Duhsanta, and the two depart with longing for the other in their hearts.
- Act II: Concealment of the Telling
Act II takes place in the forest and introduces Madhavya, the Court Jester, and a close friend of Duhsanta, who complains about the physical pains he is undergoing because of following Duhsanta on his hunting expeditions. Duhsanta is presented as suffering from lovesickness, and describes Shakuntala to Madhavya in sensualterms. He then asks Madhavya to help him gain entry into the hermitage on some pretext or the other. Characteristic of a jester, Madhavya is quick to respond in a witty manner and tells Duhsanta that as the King, he can rightfully enter the hermitage to demand the royal tax owed to him by the ascetics. Their conversation is interrupted by the arrival of two ascetics who request Duhsanta to protect their sacred rites from demons bent on disturbing them. Duhsanta readily agrees as it complements his desire to visit the Hermitage without arousing any suspicion. However, his joy is cut short by the arrival of Karabhaka with a message from the Queen Mother asking for his immediate return to Hastinapur. Torn between his duty towards the ascetics and his mother, Duhsanta finally decides to go to the hermitage and sends Madhavya in his stead to Hastinapur. Duhsanta, however, is careful to mask his interest in Shakuntala and tells Madhavya that his interest in her was a just “a whim” (197)
- Act III: Love’s Fruition
This Act continues in the forest and opens with a Prelude which functions to inform the audience of events that have occurred off stage. Here the audience is told of Duhsanta’s success at thwarting the demons and how Shakuntala is suffering from a ‘heat stroke’ making her feel hot and feverish. Shakuntala is actually shown to be suffering from lovesickness, unable to keep Duhsanta out of her thoughts, she longs for his company. Her two companions, Priyamvada and Anasuya try to soothe her. Duhsanta presently arrives at the bowerwherethethree women arerestingand on hearingShakuntalaconfess her love for him, reveals himself to them. Shakuntala’s companions leave the two lovers alone and in the process Duhsanta tries to woo Shakuntala. However, their love play is interrupted by the arrival of Gautami, the Matron of the Hermitage, and the lovers separate. A despondent Duhsanta is called to fight the demons tormenting the ascetics.
- Act IV: Shakuntala’s Departure
The scene is still the forest and much has happened in the meantime. The Prelude in this Act reveals that Shakuntala and Duhsanta have married according to the Gandharva rites. Duhsanta has since then left for Hastinapur. While Shakuntala’s companions discuss Duhsanta’s dedication to her, the great sage Durvasa Rishi arrives at the Hermitage. Shakuntala, distracted by the thoughts of Duhsanta, does not attend to the great sage.
Durvasa Rishi, known for his temper, immediately curses her saying: … you shall be lost in his thoughts: though you goad his memory hard he shall fail to remember you,
As Durvasa Rishi storms off, Anasuya attempts to plead with the sage and manages to extract a reprieve wherein, at the presentation of a token of recognition, the curse willbe lifted. The companions are reassured at this because Duhsanta had given a ring to Shakuntala as a token of his love and so believe that the curse will be broken without much harm. ThePrelude ends with both the companions decidingto spare Shakuntala from the knowledge ofthe curse. Worried for Shakuntala, Anasuya begins to question Duhsanta’s actions and wonders howto inform Kanva ofhis daughter’s marriage and pregnancy.The resolution arrives in the form of a spiritual voice that announces the union of Shakuntala and Duhsanta to the great sage. Kanva is overjoyed at this and decides to send Shakuntala to Duhsanta’s court with a few ascetic escorts. Shakuntala’s departure from the Hermitage is poignantly described. Everyone is filled with sorrow seeing her leave even the plants and animals forsake their natural routines and grieve her absence from the holy Grove.As Shakuntala bids farewell to her home and embraces herfamily and friends forthe last time, Kanva instructs her on her duty to the King and other’s at the palace. The finality of Shakuntala’s separation from theworld of the Hermitage is established through Kanva’s words where he says that she can only return after fulfilling her duties as wife and mother, in the final years of her of her life with her husband.
- Act V: The Repudiation of Shakuntala
The Prelude takes place in Duhsanta’s Royal Palace and begins with the Chamberlain praising the King’s hard workin maintaining peace and prosperity in the kingdom and his exemplary behavior in all things concerned with the welfare of the state and his subjects. Shakuntala and her entourage appear at the Royal Palace and wait for an audience with Duhsanta. One of the ascetics, Sarngarava, relays Kanva’s message and asks him to accept Shakuntala as his wife. Duhsanta, under the influence of the curse does not remember Shakuntala and refuses to acknowledge her as his wife. Shakuntala tries to prove her claim by presenting the token of recognition but realises instead that she has lost it. Duhsanta casts doubts on Shakuntala’s virtuosity and honesty and tells the accompanying ascetics to take her back with them. The ascetics, however, refuse to take her back, saying that if she is lying then she will be a stain on Kanva’s honour and therefore, cannot be allowed to go back and, if she is indeed speaking the truth then she must be with her husband, even if it means living in servitude to him. Shakuntala is thus, left stranded and alone with no one by her side and she cries for Mother Earth/ Dharti Mata to open up and swallow her whole.
Note, three important issues here:
a) women’s position in society;
b)the notion of honour;
c)the similarity between this particular episode and a similar scene from another famous epic.
Women were positioned in the safe keeping of their father or the husband as it is clear from the various references in the text. Secondly, if a woman were not married conventionally as is the case with Shakuntala and the husband refused to acknowledge her then she would be a stain on the honour of the father. Thirdly, Sita in the Ramayana is faced with a similar situation when a washer man/ dhobi casts aspersions on her chastity on her return from Lanka. Finally the King’s High Priest comes up with a solution to let her remain in the King’s palace till she gives birth and should the child she bear be the son prophesised (King Bharata) to Duhsanta, then Shakuntala may be accepted as his lawful wife and take her rightful place by his side. No sooner do the ascetics, High Priest, and Shakuntala leave that the High Priest rushes back to Duhsanta and tells him how as Shakuntala wept, a bright light in the form of a woman from the Apsara Pool came and took Shakuntala with her. Duhsanta dismisses the whole affair and yet he feels a strange sensation of missing something and a “poignant ache” (243) in his heart that seemsto validate Shakuntala’s claim
- Act VI: Separation from Shakuntala
originally given to Shakuntala). The guards/ soldiers/ law enforcers accuse him of stealing the ring, but he claims to have found it in the stomach of a fish he caught. Thefisherman’s innocence is proven once Duhsanta sees the ring, and rewards the man for finding it. Duhsanta then remembers Shakuntala, their marriage, and his promise to bring her to his palace. He is ashamed of his behavior and cannot figure out why his memory lapsed at that particular moment. He is distraught about how he repudiated Shakuntala and the cruel ways in which he doubted her. His sorrow at having lost his beloved is so severe that he orders the cancellation of the celebration of the Spring Festival. Duhsanta tries to recreate his first encounter with Shakuntala by painting it and conversing with the painting. Madhavya laments how the king has become so despondent that he has lost all vitality. Meanwhile, Misrakesi, a friend of Shakuntala’s mother Menaka, quietly observes Duhsanta’s behavior. Finding his remorse genuine, she goes back to the Apsara Pool to report her findings to Shakuntala. Even as Duhsanta is wracked with remorse, he deals with matters of the state and is approached with the problem of solving the inheritance rights ofa rich merchantwho dies without a legalheir. The merchant’s wealth is set to be appropriated by the royal treasury but Duhsanta asks for the wealth to be given to one ofthe merchant’s pregnant wife, thereby ensuring that the child to be born is not left penniless. Duhsanta feels bad for his ancestors as he himself is without any issue, which will leave them without anyone to perform sacred rites and rituals. This adds to his misery and he faints. On waking Duhsanta learns that some invisible entity is threatening Madhavya. As he rushes to save his friend, it is revealed that the entity is Matali, Lord Indra’s charioteer, who on seeing a dejected Duhsanta, devices this plan to rouse him into action. Matali requests Duhsanta to fight on the behalf of the gods against demons bent on destroying them. Duhsanta readily agrees and they leave on Indra’s chariot.
- Act VII- Shakuntala’s Prosperity
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