Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute

A FEW OBSERVATIONS ON ŚAKUNTALĀ

Author(s): Juan Miguel De Mora
Source: Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Vol. 72/73, No. 1/4,
Amrtamahotsava (1917-1992) Volume (1991-1992), pp. 463-467
Published by: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41694910
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 A FEW OBSERVATIONS ON " ŠAKUNTALA "
By
Juan Miguel Db Mora

Withoutcountingthe translations( and manyof thembear an intro-

u
ductorystudy), some threehundredworkshave been writtenon the Abhi-
jfiänasakuntalä the masterpieceof Kälidäsa and one of the monumentsof
universalliteratureof all time. Commentaries,studies on its poetics, on its
dramaturgy, its sources : criticismson its poetic text,analyses of its values,
literary studies on the workin general; studies on its charactersand on its
grammatical and linguisticaspects and many more such texts have been
dedicatedto this unparalleleddrama by scholars frommany countriesand
varioustongues.
For thisreason,it would seem almostuseless to writesomethingmore
on Kälidäsa's workof art. However,whatwe shall endeavourto do in thisall-
too-brieftext( fartoo briefforthemagnitudeof thesubject) is to inquireinto
the author'smoral thinkingand ideas on diverseaspectsof humanlife. When
a poet or any otherwritercreatesa work, a phenomenonoccurs which in
some countriesis called " artistichonesty". It consistsof the following: in
additionto the essenceof whatthe authorwishedto say, besides the princi-
pal points( thatwhichthe authorwas consciousof writing ), certainphrases
or commentsfilterthroughwhichreflecthis feelingswithouthis necessarily
" "
havingdecided previouslyin each case. And this seepage reveals criti-
cism and commentwhichillustrateus on facts,customs or other mattersof
whichthe authordisapprovedor approved, thosehe liked and those he dis-
liked. If we hold to whatis statedby the literarycritics,then it can be said
thatthereis practicallyno masterpiecewhich does not include some aspect
of denunciation,of opposition to somethingadmittedor decreed. As an
example (quite apart fromKälidäsa), we would like to mentionthe treat-
mentwhichBhavabhütigives, in his " Uttararämacarita to the death of
thešu dra who was doing penance,and whichis so different and even oppos-
ed to the treatment the same episode receivesin Välmiki's Rämäyana ". In
Bhavabhüti,Räma regretshavingto kill him, no flowersshowerdown from
heaven upon him and instead of the šiídrďs not obtainingheaven, due to
Rama as the devas tell him in Välmiki, Šambnka becomes a spiritwho has
obtainedsalvation. But let us returnto Kälidäsa.
A general opinionon whatis wrongfulis givento us by Kälidäsa in
Act I, in whichhe touches pn the subject of hunting. In šloka 11 he tells

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464 Volume
ABORI : Âmftamahotsava

all his readersand the audience of the play's performancethat weapons are
givento defendthe weak and not to harmthem. Literally:
Я«!П5§?ЯФ!Т* ïrfrrérf?
«г:
эдтёягптег т im li
This speech, placed on thelips of the hermit,Vaikh3nasa, impliesthe
statementof a principleof universalvalue directedexpresslyat the caste
of the ksatriyas. In Kâlidasa's days, kings were very keen on hunting.
Therefore,thisspeechimpliesa general criticism,whichis confirmed lateron
in the same act whenvoices frominsidecryout thatthe animalsof thehermi-
tage mustbe defendedfromthekingwho is out hunting:
4t yiraifef?:, »тан i
srSTTWsT: «TlfàÌT I
And also when,throughlove, the kinghimselfrecognizesthe tender-
ness whichis to be found in the small antilopeswhichhe is in the habit of
killingunderothercircumstances :

f<T II 3. II
Thereis a totallyHinduistoutlook of respecttowardsall formsof life
( and consequentlyagainst hunting) in the thoughtswhich KSlidSsa puts in
the mouths of his characters. Not even the general,who is a hypocritical
courtier,capable of alwaysagreeingwith the king in order to flatterhim,
leaves offcondemniogthehunt,whichhe considersa vice :

30tцщ «iťit i
He even encourages Vidüsaka to presson, beforethe king, against
hunting:
àHITfà: - ( 1) fèirafàsrpítwr i sit

All of thesetextsexplicitlycontaina decisiveand clearcriticism

against
thoseksatriyaswho are lovers of the hunt,a defenceof animals in general
and a condemnationagainstthosewho would killthemas a pastime.
Anotherextremelyinterestingaspect, which proves once more the
timelessand universalqualities of " áakuntalã is to be foundin the first
partof Act VI. Throughoutthe centuriesand regardlessof geography,from
the India of yoreto the UnitedStatesof today, the police have been corrupt,

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 "
Mora ; A few Observationson " Šakuntala 465

unjustand violent towardsthe poor, and have been equally servileand obe-
dienttowardsthe richand powerful. And few literaryworks in the history
of the worldportraythem as well, with so much precision,skill and good
tasteas Act VI of " Šakuntala in the scene where the police appear with
thefisherman. Now then, as thesituationdescribedwas what prevailed in
Kälidasa's homeland,it impliesa denunciationwhich may not have been
understoodby thoseconcerned( because withinthe caste system,a fisherman
- accordingto the
police - did not deserve to be treated otherwise) but that
was undoubtedlydescribed most consciouslyand deliberatelyby the fine
of the poet.
sensibility
But perhapsthe mostsubtleaspect of the storyis, surely,containedin
the attitudeof the king towards Šakuntala, whom he seduced and made his
wifein thegãndharvamanner.

It is well known that the storyof Dusyanta and Šakuntala has two
antecedentsources: thePadmapurãna( III, Svarga-khanda), in which,by the
way, Šakuntala casts a long invectiveagainstthe king beforehis court, and
theMahãbhãrata ( Sãkuntalopãkhyãna , Adiparvan,62-69 ). The Padma has
so many similarities withthe Kälidäsa versionthatit has provokedpolemics
amongvarious scholars,polemics whichwe shall not discuss here. But in
the epic, whose date is unquestionablypriorto that of Kälidäsa, theking's
justificationis doubtful. The Mahãbhãrata tellsus thatwhenthe kingfinds
Šakuntalahe asks her about her birth and she tells him about the apsaras
Menaka's seductionof Visvãmitra,fromwhich union she was born. The
kingwishesto make love to Šakuntala; she resists,but Dusyanta explains
thatthegãndharvamarriageis lawful so she consentson the conditionthat
should she bear a child he be theheir to the crown. The kingswearshe will
complywithher demand,satisfieshis desireand returnsto his palace. Kaijva,
Sakuntala's adoptivefather,returnsto the hermitageand makes a prediction
on the great importancewhich will be had by thechild to be born. But
whenŠakuntala arrivesat the king's palace withher son, Dusyanta not only
refusesto recognize her but even insultsVisvãmitraand Menakä. Then is
heard a voice from heaven which orders Dusyanta to consecrateBharata,
Šakuntal3'sson. Faced withthiswonder,the kingdeclaresthathe had been
waitingforit in orderto avoid his son's legitimacybeingcontested. And he
proceedsto grantthechild and his mothertheirrank.

AlthoughDusyanta's argumentis acceptable fromone pointof view,

it seemsevidentthatthe king'sreactionto Šakuntala and her son is farfrom
correct,and that Dusyanta's statementcould be a clever excuse meantto
justifyhis previousattitude. There is no explanationfor the king's not je-
59 AnnalsBORI [ А. Ц. )

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466 Volume
ABORl : Amrtamahotsaya

cognizingáakuntalã. And thereis a Tamil text,quoted by Sylvain Lévy1

whoseauthoris the poet Rãmacandraof Rãjanallur, which not onlyretells
the old legend,startingwith the gods deciding the apsaras*s seduction of
Visyãmitra,but also explainsDusyanta's attitudein anotherway.

In Hastinãpura,two crownedheads come to greetDusyanta, theking

of Magadha and the king of Kekaya. And in theirpresence, áakuntalã
arriveswith her son, Bharata. In thisversion,it is Dusyanta himselfwho
in orderto seduce áakuntalã, offersher the titleof queen and the inheritance
of the crown for her son. But once in the royal court she arrives with
the boy, the king scoffsat áakuntalã. The court officialsapprove of the
attitudeassumedby theking, who goes as faras insultingher and ordering
her expelledfromthe palace. It is then that áakuntalã invokes the voice
of heaven( Akãsavãní ) which comes forthand revealsthe whole truth. In
viewof this,the kingembracesBharata and solemnlyrecognizeshim.

If one carefullyanalyses the legend in the two versionsmentioned,

therecan be no doubt thatit is a questionof showingup thosekingswho, in
order to satisfyan amorous whim,do not hesitate to deceive the young
womentheydesire. Naturally,this could not be done in a mannerso clear
thatit mightproveaggressiveforthe reigningmonarch. And in view of this,
Kãlidãsa, theliterarygenius,findsa way of saying everythingwith diplo-
maticelegance. First, withhis dramaticand poetic sensibility,he suppresses
everything he considersunnecessaryand confersupon the play a compact
unitywhich loses neitherstrengthnor continuity to his poetic descriptions
because theyare so carefullymeasured. This, in contrastto other Sanskrit
poets of antiquitywhose poeticdescriptionsbrokethe unity of theirplays or
their accounts. Then Kãlidãsa deals withthe problem of the seducer king
withextremeskill.
his loss of
WithDurvasa's curse, he justifiesthe king's forgetfulness,
memorybeforethewoman to whomlie had promisedshe would be his queen
and themotherof the heirto the throne; but he places on the lips of áakun-
thatcan be directedagainsta man
talã and theasceticsall the recriminations
who deceivesan innocentgirlin orderto possess her, abandoning her after-
wards. And theyare so hard thatboth the audience and thereader receive
the fullimpact of what such aman deserves Of course, Dusyanta is not
guilty, but the words of condemnationremain, for whomsoeverdeserves
them,be he kingor not. The poet's moralsand his condemnationof abuse by

1 Lévi,Sylvain CollègedeFrance,Paris,
: Le ThéâtreIndien, Vol.I, SecondEdition,
1963,page171,

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 Mora : A few Observationson " Šakmtala " 467

the powerfulare explicit,they are there. We insist: KälidUsa does not

intendto blame his character,but ratherto establish principles,moral con-
cepts of generalvalue, as whenhe expresses:

fk çrarftra srfàfègwïfàm *Щ: '

от

и и
Althoughin the play theserecriminationsare directedagainst Dusy-
anta, it is a questionof moral principles,of dictums whichimplya claim on
thedignityof all the powerful,a call to the recognitionof duty,whichŠakun-
taiã driveshome whenshe says :

чЫ, я gré ящ à

It would be a grave errorto tryto interpretall these affirmations,

theseaccusationsand thesedenunciationsas merelyapplicable to one drama-
tic characterin the course of a concreteplay and scene, withoutany further
significance.Geniuses such as Kalidãsa, Cervantesor Shakespeare establish
principlesof universalvalue. All mannerof lessons, morals and denuncia-
tionsof the evil thatthejust cannotaccept followfromtheirworks.
"
And, in consequence," áakuntalã is a play that,like all thosewritten
by humanity'sgreatestauthors,bears with it the denunciationof evil, the
criticismof injustice,the proclamationof the poet's nonconformity withthe
abuse of the powerful.

Such is but one of the many meritsimplicitin the 'Abhijñana-

sakuntalã'.

Praise be to the authorKalidãsa, a blessingon his memory; and may

he and his work enjoy, because they are trulydeserving,what he himself
wrote:

m *ïfè: fàfàftíTT
srçfàr ^ čtát
q I TTfèsraTззп'яг |
TTTIf: W îTTfàlH:ÍTT0!^:
spštlfireTfafoT:II %II

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