Differences between Both Sakuntalas - Research Paper Example

Differences between both Sakuntala's (Kalidasa versus Mahabarata version) In the faith and love driven world, everything has a meaning; everything has a purpose; everything is happening as it should. The chaos and confusion that one sees in the world outside, is the reflection of the confusing storm within. Sakuntala is a socio-spiritual drama by the renowned scholar of Sanskrit, Kalidasa that propounds the doctrine of Karma. Roshni Rustomji, writes, “But a closer look at the important women in Sanskrit literature reveals qualities which go beyond conventional beauty and traditional feminine passivity.”(p.45)To understand the core issues of this drama, it is desirable to know the interpretation of the doctrine of karma, to enable one to have a better appreciation as to why Sakuntala suffered thus. The interpretation of Karma theory is simple and straightforward. ‘Every action has the reaction and the intensity of the reaction is in proportion to the intensity of the action.’ No dispute exists between the scientists and the spiritualists as for this issue. So, Sakuntala and Dushyanta are both the victims of their past deeds and they had to suffer the fated consequences of separation. Kalidasa generously uses flowers and trees to describe his women characters. Bee and deer are used as metaphors to highlight the activities and amorous adventures of the King. In Act I, the King is compared to a bee that is out to suck honey from the flowers, in this case the one and the only flower, Sakuntala. Sakuntala is not accustomed to such attacks from the bee. Initially she wonders why the bee has left the Jasmine vine and now tries to fly to her face. As the bee is persistent in flying towards her, she turns her bewitching eyes swiftly to watch the bee’s flight. Not out of love, but due to fright. But this bee is bold, and seems as if he has come to conquer her. He reaches out to her eyelids, then cheek and gently buzzing around, he whispers some sweet nothings into her ear. She tries to ward off the bee, but he strikes at her hand and steals a kiss. The King is so much enamored of Sakuntala that he wishes that she should accompany him. Sakuntala is awfully afraid and thinks that her virginity is in peril. She cries out to her friends to save her from the dreadful bee. This bee episode appears in act I. The story of Sakuntala appears in the 'Adiparva' chapter of the epic Mahabharata. “Sakuntala from the Mahabarata version is confident, outspoken and independent in nature, whereas the Sakuntala from Kalidasa's "The Recognition of Sakuntala" is displayed as quiet, immature (romantic), and dependent.” Sakuntala of Mahabharata: “The two Sakuntalas are a good example of the change in characterization of a heroine. The Sakuntala of the Mahabharata stands her ground and speaks up for her right. Kalidasa’s Sakuntala does try to argue her case, but it is not her independence or the power of her words which we remember.”(Rustomji, p.45) When Sakuntala reached the court of Dushyanta, he took a defensive posture. Rather he was trying to defend the indefensible. He pleaded with her that no one knew about their association. Dushyanta presented before Sakuntala his queer logic that women were capable of enticing men to achieve their objective and he further argued that his people would conclude that she did the same thing to trap him and demand that her son should become the crown prince, which was part of her game plan. So, Dushyanta said that he did not admit to the marriage immediately and denied any association with her. He was clearly taking the defensive position as Sakuntala could not be browbeaten by his barbs. She reminded him about his promise and put forth her demand with all the confidence and with adamancy. Dushyanta remembered everything but shamelessly denied knowing her or having married her in Gandharva style. In such a grim situation anybody would turn cynical. She was about to faint, but regained her composure to launch a verbal attack on Dushyanta, for which she had every right. Sloka 24 to 72, Mahabharata, mentions about her arguments before Dushyanta. She addressed him as an uncultured man, who knew well that she was telling nothing but truth, and she was not bound to produce any witness or tender any evidence about their relationship. One’s own conscience was the ultimate witness. Man was never alone and one could not perform any secular activity alone. Everything is witnessed by the Omniscient Power and therefore further witnesses are redundant. First she explained to him the importance of wife and son in one’s life and then ridiculed him by telling that even a tiny creature like ant took care of its progeny. Realizing that all escape routes were sealed and Sakuntala was not willing to budge from her honest stand, Dushyanta turned defensive. He expressed sorrow, and said that his false disposition had caused great distress to her which resulted in losing temper. Burt after all, he was the King, and no subject or guest was expected to be angry on the King. Punishment for such behavior would be instant death. Dushyanta solved that issue as well, to the satisfaction of Sakuntala. Because the King was the cause of her extreme displeasure, he would pardon her as well. This was utterly strange on the part of the King and indicated his ego. If anyone needed to be pardoned, it was the King himself for taking a false stand on such a vital issue concerning the character of a woman and the future of her child. Sakuntala of Kalidasa Kalidasa is more a poet than a historian. His great play is based on the theme of Mahabharata. But how can a poetic heart create a warrior-like feminine character that we find in Sakuntala of Mahabharata? Mahabharata is basically the story of war. Rustomji explains the issue between the two Sakuntalas thus: “The oral creation and performance of an epic demands a style which is straightforward. The kavyas, mainly concerned with of the worldly bhavas, the emotions, or in the more universal form of their essence, rasas, need characters which are drawn with much more attention to subtle details of characterization.”(p.45) Most of the feminine characters in Mahabharata take up to war-like postures when they are challenged for their honor. The wife of Pandavas, Draupadi was one such example. True to the caliber of a great poet, Kalidasa created a colorful sequence about the first meeting of Dushyanta and Sakuntala. Kalidasa weaved the play based on the Mahabharata theme. The first meeting of Dushyanta and Sakuntala was a lively, 'colorful sequence’ in the play. Dushyanta, in the course of his hunting expedition, reached out Kanva’s hermitage and in the garden happened to see Sakuntala who was watering plants with her maids, and was taken in by her bewitching beauty. He expressed his instant desire to marry her. Sakuntala was impressed by his royal demeanor, and finally agreed for the marriage. They marry in ‘Gandharva’ style. Here is the essential difference between the Sakuntala of Mahabharata and Sakuntala of Kalidasa. In the first version she put the condition that her son would be made the crown prince to succeed him as the King, whereas in Kalidasa’s version no such condition was put forward. It was left to presumption. Dushyanta returned to his Kingdom, and Sakuntala was deeply lost in thoughts of his remembrance. At that juncture, when Kanva was away, Sage Durvasa arrived to call on him. Sakuntala failed to hear his calls and the sage was enraged straightaway and cursed her stating that the person in whose thought she was lost, would forget her. Durvasa episode is also not in the Sakuntala of Mahabharata. Somadeva Vasudeva (2006, p.20-21) writes, “By adding the device of a curse to account for Dushyanta’s loss of memory, Kalidasa casts him in a more favorable light; in the Mahabharata he seems to have simply forgotten about Sakuntala once he returned to the pleasures of his palace.”Later he amended the curse and told her that when he saw the object given to her by him, he would remember and recognize her. As destiny would have it, Sakuntala lost the ring given to her by Dushyanta. Kanva sent Sakuntala to the court of Dushyanta along with his disciples. She was pregnant. According to Mahabharata the child was twelve years old. Her farewell scene was also described by Kalidasa at his poetic best, which again was not part of Sakuntala of Mahabharata. At the time of farewell, the entire ashram was plunged in sorrow, the Sage of the stature of Kanva wept, the maids did not lag behind in crying sessions, and Kalidasa at the height of his poetic imagination mentioned that the trees, plants and birds were down with grief. The major difference between the two Sakuntalas is the disposition of Shakuntala when King Dushyanta refused to recognize her and denied any relationship. He even berated her. He was totally egoistic when he told her in the open court that it was improper for him to eye a woman who was stranger to him. Whereas in Mahabharata she was shown to challenge him, as per Kalidasa’s version, she collapsed and was carried away by a divine light. After a few days a fisherman brought the ring to the court of the King, and upon seeing it, the King recollected the series of events and deeply regretted his actions. He initiated a search for her, and ultimately when he visited the hermitage of Mareecha, he saw a boy attempting to open the jaws of a lion’s cub. That was his son Sarvadamana and finally Dushyanta reached out to them for further enquiries. G N. Reddy (2000, p.xiv) writes, “When the boy asks Sakuntala, “Who is he, Mother?” Sakuntala delivers the line: “Ask Providence, my son.” This is at once an expression of strength, for she understood the human condition. In that understanding she weeps instead of shouting at Dushyanta in anger.” When Dushyanta surrenders before her, she shows great understanding to say, “Rise, my husband. I should have done something bad in my former life, which spent its force now. Otherwise, a compassionate person like you would not have acted that way.” The Mahabharata story was told by Vaishampayana at the request of King Janamejaya about his remote ancestors. Kalidasa’s compulsion was to write a good drama that appealed to his learned audience. Sakuntala of Mahabharata was a true representative of the glory of Indian womanhood. She loved her man, left all her near and dear ones of the Ashram in the process of accomplishment of her love. But a harsh world challenged her and her man spoke against her and assailed her dignity. The softest petal, the gentle-mannered ashram girl, turned to a tigress of anger. Her moral courage and internal strength acquired in the ashram surroundings was her asset. Dushyanta should not have mistaken her initial silence as weakness. That was her eloquence and grace. When need arose, she knew how to defend her. Creating dramatic situations is the prime concern of a dramatist. Kalidasa showed expertise in that area. When Dushyanta realized that Sakuntala was a Kshatriya woman, he offered her all sorts of gifts to which a queen was entitled to, and pressed for immediate marriage. She refused instant marriage, as her foster-father, Sage Kanva was out of the Ashram and she was morally bound to take his permission. She told him that he must wait. It was at this juncture that he chose the alternative of Gandharva marriage, according to which no approval of the parents, elders was necessary. So also, no chanting of the mantras, no priests, and no rituals were needed. Only the man and the woman in love would give themselves to each other. But Dushyanta wouldn’t wait. Sakuntala insisted again for the return of the Sage. The king succeeded in persuading to her and won her confidence and the wedding was consummated then and there. He acceded to her one request that her son should inherit the kingdom. The King departed without waiting for the return of the Sage, though originally he had come to pay salutations at his feet. He promised Sakuntala that his men would escort her to the palace, but it never materialized. She gave birth to a child in the ashram. Years rolled by and no one from the place arrived. When the son attained the age of twelve, Kanva reminded her that the time was right for her to hand over the son to his father to enable him to bring him up as per the royal traditions. Sakuntala reached to Dushyanta’s court. The reception that awaited her at the royal court was totally unexpected by her. Dushyanta called her a whore and the mother of a bastard child. He termed her act as shameless lust. She was wearing the simple ashram clothes and even that was ridiculed by the King. Sakuntala felt that enough was enough. This was the individual she chose thirteen years ago as her life-partner. She had given her body to him at his earnest bidding and gave him the child, which he was declining to accept. Now he was engaging himself in hurtling all sorts of insults in the royal court in the presence of ministers and noblemen, as if he was not a King, but a brute! A Realized Soul is a fearless individual. So was Sakuntala, who had grown up as per the ashram traditions and imbibed the virtues of the divine. She was beyond treachery, and possessed tremendous moral strength. She was brought up by the Sage in an atmosphere of love, kindness and truthfulness. Her initial embarrassment was just one aspect of her personality. The language of truth had no fear whatsoever and she did not mind who were sitting around in the royal assembly. She admonished him for showing lack of culture and questioned him why he denied knowing her. She had something positive to tell him. She as a wife, had come to the abode of her husband for the first time, and she deserved honor not ridicule. Obeisance was every woman’s right, as per the cultural traditions—she reminded him. She was demanding what was due to her, nothing more, and nothing less. Sakuntala was aware of her position and power as a woman, as the wife of Dushyanta. She had no inferiority complex about her. Indian women never believed that they were the creations of lesser God. Sakuntala told Dushyanta that he needed to worship her for she was his wife who came home for the first time. She demanded her absolute rights, no charity from him. All that she desired was justice, long delayed. The comforts of the palace did not tempt her and she was most happy in her ashram. But she earnestly desired that he must acknowledge his child. He warned him of unpleasant consequences should he ignore her further. Dushyanta did not relent. He insulted her father, sage Vishwamitra; mother Menaka by calling her a whore, in effect she was also a whore and called the entire womankind liars. Sakuntala thought that the time was ripe for her to assert herself and counsel him in proper words. She told Dushyanta that her son did not need his kingdom. She did not bring him to the court with that intent in her mind. She told him that her son would rule the entire Planet Earth without any help from him. When all human efforts failed, Gods and Sages intervened on behalf of Sakuntala. They assured Dushyanta that she was indeed his wife and Sarvadamana was his son and suggested that he should be renamed as Bharata. Conclusion: W.J Johnson, who translated Kalidasa’s Sakuntala from Sanskrit writes, (2001, p.x) “In its broad outlines the plot of Kalidasa play follows an episode in the great Sanskrit epic the Mahabharata, but with significant differences.”What is the essential difference between the two Sakuntalas? One is written by a realized soul (who has transcended the mind-barriers) Sage Vedavyasa, and the other one is written by an ordinary human being, but a great poet, Kalidasa. As per Vedic teachings, what is the glory of Indian womanhood and who is an ideal woman?—In discharging her household duties, she is like the faithful servant, in tendering wise counsel she is like the minister, as for her appearance and beauty she is like Goddess Lakshmi, in pardoning she is like the Mother Earth, while giving food she is like the Mother, and while in the bed she gives happiness like Rambha( the most beautiful celestial angel.)The writings of Vedavyasa and Kalidasa are bound to be different. The former one is almost a revelation, the latter writes with poetic imagination. Sakuntala in Sanskrit means a peacock. Shakuntala is short for shakunta-laalitaa, lovingly-cared-for-by-peacocks. The version of Mahabharata depicts all positive qualities of women, their fearlessness and their capacity to challenge destiny. Her life is not dear to her, her values are! As per the cultural traditions of India, women are not equal to men—they are more equal! It is the woman who gives protection to the creative force of the Nature, for the initial nine months-male or female. As for the changes made by Kalidasa, was he playing to the gallery? From the Vedic times, when Vedavyasa wrote Mahabharata, the status of women had changed as per the societal needs and familial expectations. The Sakuntala of Mahabharata was very strong and unchallengeable. Just to create the dramatic effect and to win the sympathy of the audience, Kalidasa created a helpless woman character, the weak one, who needed protection. References: Chaitanya, Satya, Saakuntala: Flaming Indian Womanhood by Satya Chaitanya7 Nov 2010. Retrieved on April 11, 2011 Kalidasa (Author), Johnson, W.J. (Editor)The Recognition of 'Saakuntala: A Play in Seven Acts (Oxford World's Classics), Oxford University Press, USA, November 15, 2001. Reddy, GN, Shakuntala Recognized: A Sanskrit Play by Kalidasa, iUniverse, November 6, 2000. Rustomji, Roshni, From Shakuntala to Shakuntala: Strength Rather than Beauty. Stable URL:http://www.jstor.org/stable/1316383?seq=8 Pages 45-53 Vasudeva, Somadeva(Translator), Kalidasa (Author),The Recognition of Sakuntala (Clay Sanskrit Library),NYU Press ,November 1, 2006. Read More