Kalidasa's Shakunthala
Kalidasa's Shakunthala
Kalidasa's Shakunthala
The religion of any great poet is always a matter of interest, especially the religion of a Hindu
poet; for the Hindus have ever been a deeply and creatively religious people. So far as we can
judge, Kalidasa moved among the jarring sects with sympathy for all, fanaticism for none. The
dedicatory prayers that introduce his dramas are addressed to Shiva. This is hardly more than
a convention, for Shiva is the patron of literature. If one of his epics, _The Birth of the War-
god_, is distinctively Shivaistic, the other, _The Dynasty of Raghu_, is no less Vishnuite in
tendency. If the hymn to Vishnu in _The Dynasty of Raghu_ is an expression of Vedantic
monism, the hymn to Brahma in _The Birth of the War-god_ gives equally clear expression to
the rival dualism of the Sankhya system. Nor are the Yoga doctrine and Buddhism left without
sympathetic mention. We are therefore justified in concluding that Kalidasa was, in matters
of religion, what William James would call "healthy-minded," emphatically not a "sick
soul." (Referred to both Shiva and Vishnu) There are certain other impressions of Kalidasa's
life and personality which gradually become convictions in the mind of one who reads and re-
reads his poetry, though they are less easily susceptible of exact proof. One feels certain that
he was physically handsome, and the handsome Hindu is a wonderfully fine type of
manhood. One knows that he possessed a fascination for women, as they in turn
fascinated him. One knows that children loved him. One becomes convinced that he never
suffered any morbid, soul-shaking experience such as besetting religious doubt brings
with it, or the pangs of despised love; that on the contrary he moved among men and
women with a serene and godlike tread, neither self-indulgent nor ascetic, with mind and
senses ever alert to every form of beauty. We know that his poetry was popular while he
lived, and we cannot doubt that his personality was equally attractive, though it is
probable that no contemporary knew the full measure of his greatness. For his nature
was one of singular balance, equally at home in a splendid court and on a lonely mountain,
with men of high and of low degree. Such men are never fully appreciated during life.
They continue to grow after they are dead.
II
Kalidasa left seven works which have come down to us: three dramas, two epics, one
elegiac poem, and one descriptive poem. Many other works, including even an astronomical
treatise, have been attributed to him; they are certainly not his. Perhaps there was more than
one author who bore the name Kalidasa; perhaps certain later writers were more concerned for
their work than for personal fame. On the other hand, there is no reason to doubt that the seven
recognised works are in truth from Kalidasa's hand. The only one concerning which there is
reasonable room for suspicion is the short poem descriptive of the seasons, and this is
fortunately the least important of the seven. Nor is there evidence to show that any considerable
poem has been lost, unless it be true that the concluding cantos of one of the epics have
perished. We are thus in a fortunate position in reading Kalidasa: we have substantially
all that he wrote, and run no risk of ascribing to him any considerable work from another
hand. (Sophocles (495 BC-405 BC) was a famous and successful Athenian writer of tragedies in his
own lifetime.)
Of these seven works, four are poetry throughout; the three dramas, like all Sanskrit dramas,
are written in prose, with a generous mingling of lyric and descriptive stanzas. The poetry, even
in the epics, is stanzaic; no part of it can fairly be compared to English blank verse. Classical
Sanskrit verse, so far as structure is concerned, has much in common with familiar Greek and
Latin forms: it makes no systematic use of rhyme; it depends for its rhythm not upon accent,
but upon quantity. The natural medium of translation into English seems to be the rhymed
stanza;[3] in the present work the rhymed stanza has been used, with a consistency perhaps too
rigid, wherever the original is in verse.
Kalidasa's three dramas bear the names: Malavika and Agnimitra, Urvashi, and
Shakuntala. The two epics are The Dynasty of Raghu Sophocles (495 BC-405 BC) was a famous
and successful Athenian writer of tragedies in his own lifetime and The Birth of the War-god.
The elegiac poem is called The Cloud-Messenger, and the descriptive poem is entitled The
Seasons. It may be well to state briefly the more salient features of the Sanskrit genres to which
these works belong.
The drama proved in India, as in other countries, a congenial form to many of the most eminent
poets. The Indian drama has a marked individuality, but stands nearer to the modern
European theatre than to that of ancient Greece; for the plays, with a very few exceptions,
have no religious significance, and deal with love between man and woman. Although
tragic elements may be present, a tragic ending is forbidden. Indeed, nothing regarded as
disagreeable, such as fighting or even kissing, is permitted on the stage; here Europe may
perhaps learn a lesson in taste. Stage properties were few and simple, while particular
care was lavished on the music. The female parts were played by women. The plays very
rarely have long monologues, even the inevitable prologue being divided between two
speakers, but a Hindu audience was tolerant of lyrical digression.
It may be said, though the statement needs qualification in both directions, that the Indian
dramas have less action and less individuality in the characters, but more poetical charm
than the dramas of modern Europe.
On the whole, Kalidasa was remarkably faithful to the ingenious but somewhat over-elaborate
conventions of Indian dramaturgy. His first play, the Malavika and Agnimitra, is entirely
conventional in plot. The Shakuntala is transfigured by the character of the heroine. The
Urvashi, in spite of detail beauty, marks a distinct decline. The Dynasty of Raghu and The Birth
of the War-God belong to a species of composition which it is not easy to name accurately.
The Hindu name kavya has been rendered by artificial epic. It is best perhaps to use the term
epic, and to qualify the term by explanation.
The _kavyas_ differ widely from the _Mahabharata_ and the _Ramayana_, epics which
resemble the _Iliad_ and _Odyssey_ less in outward form than in their character as truly
national poems. The _kavya_ is a narrative poem written in a sophisticated age by a learned
poet, who possesses all the resources of an elaborate rhetoric and metric. The subject is drawn
from time-honoured mythology. The poem is divided into cantos, written not in blank verse
but in stanzas. Several stanza-forms are commonly employed in the same poem, though not in
the same canto, except that the concluding verses of a canto are not infrequently written in a
metre of more compass than the remainder. I have called _The Cloud-Messenger_ an elegiac
poem, though it would not perhaps meet the test of a rigid definition. The Hindus class it with
_The Dynasty of Raghu_ and _The Birth of the War-god_ as a _kavya_, but this classification
simply evidences their embarrassment. In fact, Kalidasa created in _The Cloud-Messenger_ a
new _genre_. No further explanation is needed here, as the entire poem is translated below.
The short descriptive poem called _The Seasons_ has abundant analogues in other literatures,
and requires no comment. It is not possible to fix the chronology of Kalidasa's writings, yet we
are not wholly in the dark. _Malavika and Agnimitra_ was certainly his first drama, almost
certainly his first work. It is a reasonable conjecture, though nothing more, that Urvashi was
written late, when the poet's powers were waning. The introductory stanzas of _TheDynasty of
Raghu_ suggest that this epic was written before _The Birth of the War-god_, though the
inference is far from certain. Again, it is reasonable to assume that the great works on which
Kalidasa's fame chiefly rests--_Shakuntala_, _The Cloud-Messenger_, _The Dynasty of
Raghu_, the first eight cantos of _The Birth of the War-god_--were composed when he was in
the prime of manhood. But as to the succession of these four works we can do little but guess.
Kalidasa's glory depends primarily upon the quality of his work, yet would be much diminished
if he had failed in bulk and variety. In India, more than would be the case in Europe, the extent
of his writing is an indication of originality and power; for the poets of the classical period
underwent an education that encouraged an exaggerated fastidiousness, and they wrote for a
public meticulously critical. Thus, the great Bhavabhuti spent his life in constructing three
dramas; mighty spirit though he was, he yet suffers from the very scrupulosity of his labour. In
this matter, as in others, Kalidasa preserves his intellectual balance and his spiritual initiative:
what greatness of soul is required for this, every one knows who has ever had the misfortune
to differ in opinion from an intellectual clique.
III
It is hardly possible to say anything true about Kalidasa's achievement which is not already
contained in this appreciation. Yet one loves to expand the praise, even though realising that
the critic is by his very nature a fool. Here there shall at any rate be none of that cold-blooded
criticism which imagines itself set above a world-author to appraise and judge, but a generous
tribute of affectionate admiration. The best proof of a poet's greatness is the inability of men to
live without him; in other words, his power to win and hold through centuries the love and
admiration of his own people, especially when that people has shown itself capable of high
intellectual and spiritual achievement.
For something like fifteen hundred years, Kalidasa has been more widely read in India than
any other author who wrote in Sanskrit. There have also been many attempts to express in
words the secret of his abiding power: such attempts can never be wholly successful, yet they
are not without considerable interest. Thus Bana, a celebrated novelist of the seventh century,
has the following lines in some stanzas of poetical criticism which he prefixes to a historical
romance:
Where find a soul that does not thrill
In Kalidasa's verse to meet
The smooth, inevitable lines
Like blossom-clusters, honey-sweet?
A later writer, speaking of Kalidasa and another poet, is more laconic in this alliterative line:
_Bhaso hasah, Kalidaso vilasah_--Bhasa is mirth, Kalidasa is grace.
These two critics see Kalidasa's grace, his sweetness, his delicate taste, without doing justice
to the massive quality without which his poetry could not have survived.
Though Kalidasa has not been as widely appreciated in Europe as he deserves, he is the
only Sanskrit poet who can properly be said to have been appreciated at all. Here he must
struggle with the truly Himalayan barrier of language. Since there will never be many
Europeans, even among the cultivated, who will find it possible to study the intricate Sanskrit
language, there remains only one means of presentation. None knows the cruel inadequacy of
poetical translation like the translator. He understands better than others can, the significance
of the position which Kalidasa has won in Europe. When Sir William Jones first translated
the _Shakuntala_ in 1789, his work was enthusiastically received in Europe, and most
warmly, as was fitting, by the greatest living poet of Europe. Since that day, as is testified by
new translations and by reprints of the old, there have been many thousands who have read at
least one of Kalidasa's works; other thousands have seen it on the stage in Europe and America.
How explain a reputation that maintains itself indefinitely and that conquers a new continent
after a lapse of thirteen hundred years? None can explain it, yet certain contributory causes can
be named.
No other poet in any land has sung of happy love between man and woman as Kalidasa
sang. Every one of his works is a love-poem, however much more it may be. Yet the theme
is so infinitely varied that the reader never wearies. If one were to doubt from a study of
European literature, comparing the ancient classics with modern works, whether romantic love
be the expression of a natural instinct, be not rather a morbid survival of decaying chivalry, he
has only to turn to India's independently growing literature to find the question settled.
Kalidasa's love-poetry rings as true in our ears as it did in his countrymen's ears fifteen
hundred years ago.
It is of love eventually happy, though often struggling for a time against external
obstacles, that Kalidasa writes. There is nowhere in his works a trace of that not quite healthy
feeling that sometimes assumes the name "modern love." If it were not so, his poetry could
hardly have survived; for happy love, blessed with children, is surely the more fundamental
thing. In his drama _Urvashi_ he is ready to change and greatly injure a tragic story, given him
by long tradition, in order that a loving pair may not be permanently separated. One apparent
exception there is--the story of Rama and Sita in _The Dynasty of Raghu_. In this case it must
be remembered that Rama is an incarnation of Vishnu, and the story of a mighty god incarnate
is not to be lightly tampered with.
It is perhaps an inevitable consequence of Kalidasa's subject that his women appeal more
strongly to a modern reader than his men. The man is the more variable phenomenon,
and though manly virtues are the same in all countries and centuries, the emphasis has
been variously laid. But the true woman seems timeless, universal. I know of no poet,
unless it be Shakespeare, who has given the world a group of heroines so individual yet
so universal; heroines as true, as tender, as brave as are Indumati, Sita, Parvati, the
Yaksha's bride, and Shakuntala.
Kalidasa could not understand women without understanding children. It would be
difficult to find anywhere lovelier pictures of childhood than those in which our poet presents
the little Bharata, Ayus, Raghu, Kumara. It is a fact worth noticing that Kalidasa's children are
all boys. Beautiful as his women are, he never does more than glance at a little girl.
Another pervading note of Kalidasa's writing is his love of external nature. No doubt it is
easier for a Hindu, with his almost instinctive belief in reincarnation, to feel that all life,
from plant to god, is truly one; yet none, even among the Hindus, has expressed this
feeling with such convincing beauty as has Kalidasa. It is hardly true to say that he
personifies rivers and mountains and trees; to him they have a conscious individuality as
truly and as certainly as animals or men or Gods. Fully to appreciate Kalidasa's poetry
one must have spent some weeks at least among wild mountains and forests untouched
by man; there the conviction grows that trees and flowers are indeed individuals, fully
conscious of a personal life and happy in that life. The return to urban surroundings
makes the vision fade; yet the memory remains, like a great love or a glimpse of mystic
insight, as an intuitive conviction of a higher truth.
Kalidasa's knowledge of nature is not only sympathetic, it is also minutely accurate. Not
only are the snows and windy music of the Himalayas, the mighty current of the sacred
Ganges, his possession; his too are smaller streams and trees and every littlest flower. It
is delightful to imagine a meeting between Kalidasa and Darwin. They would have understood
each other perfectly; for in each the same kind of imagination worked with the same wealth of
observed fact.
I have already hinted at the wonderful balance in Kalidasa's character, by virtue of which he
found himself equally at home in a palace and in a wilderness. I know not with whom to
compare him in this; even Shakespeare, for all his magical insight into natural beauty, is
primarily a poet of the human heart. That can hardly be said of Kalidasa, nor can it be said that
he is primarily a poet of natural beauty. The two characters unite in him, it might almost be
said, chemically. The matter which I am clumsily endeavouring to make plain is beautifully
epitomised in _The Cloud-Messenger_. The former half is a description of external nature, yet
interwoven with human feeling; the latter half is a picture of a human heart, yet the picture is
framed in natural beauty. So exquisitely is the thing done that none can say which half is
superior. Of those who read this perfect poem in the original text, some are more moved by the
one, some by the other. Kalidasa understood in the fifth century what Europe did not learn
until the nineteenth, and even now comprehends only imperfectly: that the world was not
made for man, that man reaches his full stature only as he realises the dignity and worth
of life that is not human.
That Kalidasa seized this truth is a magnificent tribute to his intellectual power, a quality quite
as necessary to great poetry as perfection of form. Poetical fluency is not rare; intellectual grasp
is not very uncommon: but the combination has not been found perhaps more than a dozen
times since the world began. Because he possessed this harmonious combination, Kalidasa
ranks not with Anacreon and Horace and Shelley, but with Sophocles, Vergil, Milton.
He would doubtless have been somewhat bewildered by Wordsworth's gospel of nature. "The
world is too much with us," we can fancy him repeating. "How can the world, the beautiful
human world, be too much with us? How can sympathy with one form of life do other than
vivify our sympathy with other forms of life?"
It remains to say what can be said in a foreign language of Kalidasa's style. We have seen
that he had a formal and systematic education; in this respect he is rather to be compared
with Milton and Tennyson than with Shakespeare or Burns. He was completely master
of his learning. In an age and a country which reprobated carelessness but were tolerant
of pedantry, he held the scales with a wonderfully even hand, never heedless and never
indulging in the elaborate trifling with Sanskrit diction which repels the reader from
much of Indian literature. It is true that some western critics have spoken of his
disfiguring conceits and puerile plays on words. One can only wonder whether these
critics have ever read Elizabethan literature; for Kalidasa's style is far less obnoxious to
such condemnation than Shakespeare's. That he had a rich and glowing imagination,
"excelling in metaphor," as the Hindus themselves affirm, is indeed true; that he may,
both in youth and age, have written lines which would not have passed his scrutiny in the
vigour of manhood, it is not worthwhile to deny: yet the total effect left by his poetry is
one of extraordinary sureness and delicacy of taste. This is scarcely a matter for
argument; a reader can do no more than state his own subjective impression, though he
is glad to find that impression confirmed by the unanimous authority of fifty generations
of Hindus, surely the most competent judges on such a point.
Analysis of Kalidasa's writings might easily be continued, but analysis can never explain life.
The only real criticism is subjective. We know that Kalidasa is a very great poet, because the
world has not been able to leave him alone.
ARTHUR W. RYDER.
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
On Kalidasa's life and writings may be consulted A.A. Macdonell's _History of Sanskrit
Literature_ (1900); the same author's article "Kalidasa" in the eleventh edition of the
_Encyclopædia Britannica_ (1910); and Sylvain Lévi's _Le Théâtre Indien_ (1890).
The more important translations in English are the following: of the _Shakuntala_, by Sir
William Jones (1789) and Monier Williams (fifth edition, 1887); of the _Urvashi_, by H.H.
Wilson (in his _Select Specimens of the Theatre of the Hindus_, third edition, 1871); of _The
Dynasty of Raghu_, by P. de Lacy Johnstone (1902); of _The Birth of The War-god_ (cantos
one to seven), by Ralph T.H. Griffith (second edition, 1879); of _The Cloud-Messenger_, by
H.H. Wilson (1813).
There is an inexpensive reprint of Jones's _Shakuntala_ and Wilson's _Cloud-Messenger_ in
one volume in the Camelot Series.
KALIDASA
An ancient heathen poet, loving more
God's creatures, and His women, and His flowers
Than we who boast of consecrated powers;
Still lavishing his unexhausted store
Of love's deep, simple wisdom, healing o'er
The world's old sorrows, India's griefs and ours;
That healing love he found in palace towers,
On mountain, plain, and dark, sea-belted shore,
In songs of holy Raghu's kingly line
Or sweet Shakuntala in pious grove,
In hearts that met where starry jasmines twine
Or hearts that from long, lovelorn absence strove
Together. Still his words of wisdom shine:
All's well with man, when man and woman love.
GOETHE.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: These verses are translated on pp. 123, 124.]
[Footnote 2: The passage will be found on pp. 190-192.]
[Footnote 3: This matter is more fully discussed in the introduction to my translation of _The
Little Clay Cart_ (1905).]
[Footnote 4: Lévi, _Le Théâtre Indien_, p. 163.]
SHAKUNTALA
A PLAY IN SEVEN ACTS
DRAMATIS PERSONÆ
KING DUSHYANTA.
BHARATA, _nicknamed_ All-tamer, _his son_.
MADHAVYA, _a clown, his companion_.
His charioteer.
RAIVATAKA, _a door-keeper_.
BHADRASENA, _a general_.
KARABHAKA, _a servant_.
PARVATAYANA, _a chamberlain_.
SOMARATA, _a chaplain_.
KANVA, _hermit-father_.
SHARNGARAVA }
SHARADVATA } _his pupils_.
HARITA }
DURVASAS, _an irascible sage_.
The chief of police.
SUCHAKA }
} _policemen_.
JANUKA }
A fisherman.
SHAKUNTALA, _foster-child of Kanva_.
ANUSUVA } } _her friends_.
PRIYAMVADA }
GAUTAMI, _hermit-mother_.
KASHYAPA, _father of the gods_.
ADITI, _mother of the gods_.
MATALI, _charioteer of heaven's king_.
GALAVA, _a pupil in heaven_.
MISHRAKESHI, _a heavenly nymph_.
Stage-director and actress (in the prologue), hermits and hermit-women, two court poets, palace
attendants, invisible fairies_.
The first four acts pass in Kanva's forest hermitage; acts five and six in the king's palace;
act seven on a heavenly mountain. The time is perhaps seven years.
SHAKUNTALA
PROLOGUE
BENEDICTION UPON THE AUDIENCE
Eight forms has Shiva, lord of all and king:
And these are water, first created thing;
And fire, which speeds the sacrifice begun;
The priest; and time's dividers, moon and sun;
The all-embracing ether, path of sound;
The earth, wherein all seeds of life are found;
And air, the breath of life: may he draw near,
Revealed in these, and bless those gathered here.
_The stage-director_. Enough of this! (_Turning toward the dressing-room_.) Madam, if you
are ready, pray come here. (_Enter an actress_.)
_Actress_. Here I am, sir. What am I to do?
_Director_. Our audience is very discriminating, and we are to offer them a new play, called
_Shakuntala and the ring of recognition_, written by the famous Kalidasa. Every member of
the cast must be on his mettle.
_Actress_. Your arrangements are perfect. Nothing will go wrong.
_Director_ (_smiling_). To tell the truth, madam,
Until the wise are satisfied,
I cannot feel that skill is shown;
The best-trained mind requires support,
And does not trust itself alone.
_Actress_. True. What shall we do first?
_Director_. First, you must sing something to please the ears of the audience.
_Actress_. What season of the year shall I sing about?
_Director_. Why, sing about the pleasant summer which has just begun. For at this time
of year
A mid-day plunge will temper heat;
The breeze is rich with forest flowers;
To slumber in the shade is sweet;
And charming are the twilight hours.
Actress_ (_sings_).
The siris-blossoms fair,
With pollen laden,
Are plucked to deck her hair
By many a maiden,
But gently; flowers like these
Are kissed by eager bees.
_Director_. Well done! The whole theatre is captivated by your song, and sits as if painted.
What play shall we give them to keep their good-will?
_Actress_. Why, you just told me we were to give a new play called _Shakuntala and the ring_.
_Director_. Thank you for reminding me. For the moment I had quite forgotten.
Your charming song had carried me away
As the deer enticed the hero of our play.
ACT I
THE HUNT
(_Enter, in a chariot, pursuing a deer_, KING DUSHYANTA, _bow and arrow in hand; and a
charioteer_.)
_Charioteer_ (_Looking at the king and the deer_). Your Majesty,
I see you hunt the spotted deer
With shafts to end his race,
As though God Shiva should appear
In his immortal chase.
_King_. Charioteer, the deer has led us a long chase. And even now
His neck in beauty bends
As backward looks he sends
At my pursuing car
That threatens death from far.
Fear shrinks to half the body small;
See how he fears the arrow's fall!
The path he takes is strewed
With blades of grass half-chewed
From jaws wide with the stress
Of fevered weariness.
He leaps so often and so high,
He does not seem to run, but fly.
(_In surprise_.) Pursue as I may, I can hardly keep him in sight.
_Charioteer_. Yes, your Majesty. (_He does so. Enter a hermit with his
pupil_.)
_The two hermits_. O King, we are on our way to gather firewood. Here,
along the bank of the Malini, you may see the hermitage of Father
Kanva, over which Shakuntala presides, so to speak, as guardian deity.
Unless other deities prevent, pray enter here and receive a welcome.
Besides,
_The two hermits_. No, he has left his daughter to welcome guests, and
has just gone to Somatirtha, to avert an evil fate that threatens her.
_King_. Well, I will see her. She shall feel my devotion, and report
it to the sage.
_The two hermits_. Then we will go on our way. (_Exit hermit with
pupil_.)
_King_ (_looking about_). One would know, without being told, that
this is the precinct of a pious grove.
Besides,
_King_ (_listening_). I think I hear some one to the right of the grove. I must find out. (_He
walks and looks about_.) Ah, here are hermit-girls, with watering-pots just big enough for them
to handle. They are coming in this direction to water the young trees. They are charming!
I will draw back into the shade and wait for them. (_He stands, gazing toward them. Enter_
SHAKUNTALA, _as described, and her two friends_.)
_First friend_. It seems to me, dear, that Father Kanva cares more for the hermitage trees than
he does for you. You are delicate as a jasmine blossom, yet he tells you to fill the trenches
about the trees.
_Priyamvada_. Shakuntala, we have watered the trees that blossom in the summer-time. Now
let's sprinkle those whose flowering-time is past. That will be a better deed, because we shall
not be working for a reward.
_Shakuntala_. What a pretty idea! (_She does so_.)
_King_ (_to himself_). And this is Kanva's daughter, Shakuntala. (_In surprise_.) The good
Father does wrong to make her wear the hermit's dress of bark.
The sage who yokes her artless charm
With pious pain and grief,
Would try to cut the toughest vine
With a soft, blue lotus-leaf.
Well, I will step behind a tree and see how she acts with her friends. (_He conceals himself_.)
_Shakuntala_. Oh, Anusuya! Priyamvada has fastened this bark dress so tight that it hurts.
Please loosen it. (ANUSUYA _does so_.)
_Priyamvada_ (_laughing_). You had better blame your own budding charms for that.
Yet in truth the bark dress is not an enemy to her beauty. It serves as an added ornament. For
_Shakuntala_ (_looking ahead_). Oh, girls, that mango-tree is trying to tell me something
with his branches that move in the wind like fingers. I must go and see him. (_She does
so_.)
_Priyamvada_. There, Shakuntala, stand right where you are a minute.
_Shakuntala_. Why?
_Priyamvada_. When I see you there, it looks as if a vine were clinging to the mango-tree.
_Shakuntala_ (_approaches and looks at it, joyfully_). What a pretty pair they make. The
jasmine shows her youth in her fresh flowers, and the mango-tree shows his strength in his
ripening fruit. (_She stands gazing at them_.)
_Priyamvada_ (_smiling_). Anusuya, do you know why Shakuntala looks so hard at the Light
of the Grove?
_Anusuya_. No. Why?
_Priyamvada_. She is thinking how the Light of the Grove has found a good tree, and hoping
that she will meet a fine lover.
_Shakuntala_. That's what you want for yourself. (_She tips her watering-pot_.)
_Anusuya_. Look, Shakuntala! Here is the spring-creeper that Father Kanva tended with
his own hands--just as he did you. You are forgetting her.
_Shakuntala_. I'd forget myself sooner. (_She goes to the creeper and looks at it,
joyfully_.) Wonderful! Wonderful! Priyamvada, I have something pleasant to tell you.
_Shakuntala_. It is out of season, but the spring-creeper is covered with buds down to the
very root.
_Priyamvada_ (_looking at it joyfully_). And I have something pleasant to tell _you_. You are
to be married soon.
_Shakuntala_ (_snappishly_). You know that's just what you want for yourself.
_Priyamvada_. I'm not teasing. I really heard Father Kanva say that this flowering vine was to
be a symbol of your coming happiness.
_King_. May I hope that she is the hermit's daughter by a mother of a different caste? But it
_must_ be so.
_Shakuntala_ (_excitedly_). Oh, oh! A bee has left the jasmine-vine and is flying into my face.
(_She shows herself annoyed by the bee_.)
_King_ (_ardently_).
(_Jealously_.)
_The two friends_ (_smiling_). Who are we, that we should save you?
Call upon Dushyanta. For pious groves are in the protection of the king.
_King_. A good opportunity to present myself. Have no--(_He checks himself. Aside_.) No,
they would see that I am the king. I prefer to appear as a guest.
_King_ (_to_ SHAKUNTALA). I hope these pious days are happy ones.
_Priyamvada_. Welcome, sir. Go to the cottage, Shakuntala, and bring fruit. This water will do
to wash the feet.
_Anusuya_. Then, sir, pray sit down and rest on this shady bench.
_King_. You, too, are surely wearied by your pious task. Pray be seated a moment.
_Priyamvada_ (_aside to_ SHAKUNTALA). My dear, we must be polite to our guest. Shall
we sit down? (_The three girls sit_.)
_Shakuntala_ (_to herself_). Oh, why do I have such feelings when I see this man? They seem
wrong in a hermitage.
_King_ (_looking at the girls_). It is delightful to see your friendship. For you are all young
and beautiful.
_Priyamvada_ (_aside to_ ANUSUYA). Who is he, dear? With his mystery, and his dignity,
and his courtesy? He acts like a king and a gentleman.
_Anusuya_. I am curious too. I am going to ask him. (_Aloud_.) Sir, you are so very courteous
that I make bold to ask you something. What royal family do you adorn, sir? What country is
grieving at your absence? Why does a gentleman so delicately bred submit to the weary journey
into our pious grove?
_Shakuntala_ (_aside_). Be brave, my heart. Anusuya speaks your very
thoughts.
_King_ (_aside_). Shall I tell at once who I am, or conceal it? (_He reflects_.) This will do.
(_Aloud_.) I am a student of Scripture.
It is my duty to see justice done in the cities of the king.
And I have come to this hermitage on a tour of inspection.
_Anusuya_. Then we of the hermitage have some one to take care of us.
_The two friends_ (_observing the demeanour of the pair. Aside to_
SHAKUNTALA). Oh, Shakuntala! If only Father were here to-day.
_Shakuntala_ (_feigning anger_). Go away! You mean something. I'll not listen to you.
_King_. Father Kanva lives a lifelong hermit. Yet you say that your friend is his daughter. How
can that be?
_King_. You waken my curiosity with the word "abandoned." May I hear the whole
story?
_Anusuya_. Listen, sir. Many years ago, that royal sage was leading a life of stern
austerities, and the gods, becoming strangely jealous, sent the nymph Menaka to disturb
his devotions.
_King_. Yes, the gods feel this jealousy toward the austerities of
others. And then--
_Anusuya_. Then in the lovely spring-time he saw her intoxicating beauty--(_She stops in
embarrassment_.)
_King_. The rest is plain. Surely, she is the daughter of the nymph.
_Anusuya_. Yes.
_King_. You are right. Your pious life interests me, and I have another question.
_Priyamvada_. Do not hesitate. We hermit people stand ready to answer all demands.
_Priyamvada_. Sir, we are under bonds to lead a life of virtue. But it is her father's wish to give
her to a suitable lover.
_Shakuntala_. I am going to tell Mother Gautami that Priyamvada is talking nonsense. (_She
rises_.)
_Anusuya_. My dear, we hermit people cannot neglect to entertain a distinguished guest, and
go wandering about.
_King_ (_aside_). She is going! (_He starts up as if to detain her, then checks his desires_.) A
thought is as vivid as an act, to a lover.
_Priyamvada_ (_approaching_ SHAKUNTALA). You dear, peevish girl! You mustn't go.
_Priyamvada_. You owe me the watering of two trees. You can go when
you have paid your debt. (_She forces her to come back_.)
I therefore remit her debt. (_He gives the two friends a ring. They take it, read the name
engraved on it, and look at each other_.)
_King_. Make no mistake. This is a present--from the king.
_Priyamvada_. Then, sir, you ought not to part with it. Your word is enough to remit the debt.
_Anusuya_. Well, Shakuntala, you are set free by this kind gentleman--or rather, by the king
himself. Where are you going now?
_Shakuntala_ (_to herself_). I would never leave him if I could help myself.
_King_ (_looking at_ SHAKUNTALA. _To himself_). Does she feel toward
me as I do toward her? At least, there is ground for hope.
_A voice behind the scenes_. Hermits! Hermits! Prepare to defend the creatures in our pious
grove. King Dushyanta is hunting in the neighbourhood.
_The two friends_. Your Honour, we are frightened by this alarm of the
elephant. Permit us to return to the cottage.
_King_. You must go very slowly. And I will take pains that the
hermitage is not disturbed.
_The two friends_. Your honour, we feel as if we knew you very well.
Pray pardon our shortcomings as hostesses. May we ask you to seek
better entertainment from us another time?
_King_. You are too modest. I feel honoured by the mere sight of you.
_Shakuntala_. Anusuya, my foot is cut on a sharp blade of grass, and
my dress is caught on an amaranth twig. Wait for me while I loosen it.
(_She casts a lingering glance at the king, and goes out with her two
friends_.)
_King_ (_sighing_). They are gone. And I must go. The sight of
Shakuntala has made me dread the return to the city. I will make my
men camp at a distance from the pious grove. But I cannot turn my own
thoughts from Shakuntala.
ACT II
THE SECRET
_Clown_ (_sighing_). Damn! Damn! Damn! I'm tired of being friends with
this sporting king. "There's a deer!" he shouts, "There's a boar!" And
off he chases on a summer noon through woods where shade is few and
far between. We drink hot, stinking water from the mountain streams,
flavoured with leaves--nasty! At odd times we get a little tepid meat
to eat. And the horses and the elephants make such a noise that I
can't even be comfortable at night. Then the hunters and the
bird-chasers--damn 'em--wake me up bright and early. They do make an
ear-splitting rumpus when they start for the woods. But even that
isn't the whole misery. There's a new pimple growing on the old boil.
He left us behind and went hunting a deer. And there in a hermitage
they say he found--oh, dear! oh, dear! he found a hermit-girl named
Shakuntala. Since then he hasn't a thought of going back to town. I
lay awake all night, thinking about it. What can I do? Well, I'll see
my friend when he is dressed and beautified. (_He walks and looks
about_.) Hello! Here he comes, with his bow in his hand, and his girl
in his heart. He is wearing a wreath of wild flowers! I'll pretend to
be all knocked up. Perhaps I can get a rest that way. (_He stands,
leaning on his staff. Enter the king, as described_.)
_Clown_. Good! You hit a man in the eye, and then ask him why the
tears come.
_Clown_. When a reed bends over like a hunchback, do you blame the
reed or the river-current?
_Clown_. It's a fine thing for you to neglect your royal duties and
such a sure job--to live in the woods! What's the good of talking?
Here I am, a Brahman, and my joints are all shaken up by this eternal
running after wild animals, so that I can't move. Please be good to
me. Let us have a rest for just one day.
_King_ (_smiling_). What more could I mean? I have been thinking that
I ought to take my friend's advice.
_Clown_ (_angrily_). Get out! Get out with your strenuous life! The
king has come to his senses. But you, you son of a slave-wench, can go
chasing from forest to forest, till you fall into the jaws of some old
bear that is looking for a deer or a jackal.
_King_. Send back the archers who have gone ahead. And forbid the
soldiers to vex the hermitage, or even to approach it. Remember:
_King_ (_to his attendants_). Lay aside your hunting dress. And you,
Raivataka, return to your post of duty.
_Clown_. You have got rid of the vermin. Now be seated on this flat
stone, over which the trees spread their canopy of shade. I can't sit
down till you do.
_King_. Friend Madhavya, you do not know what vision is. You have not
seen the fairest of all objects.
_King_. Yes, every one thinks himself beautiful. But I was speaking of
Shakuntala, the ornament of the hermitage.
_King_. Fool!
And is it selfish longing then,
That draws our souls on high
Through eyes that have forgot to wink,
As the new moon climbs the sky?
_King_.
_Clown_ (_laughing_). You are like a man who gets tired of good dates
and longs for sour tamarind. All the pearls of the palace are yours,
and you want this girl!
_King_. My friend, you have not seen her, or you could not talk so.
_Clown_. Marry her quick, then, before the poor girl falls into the
hands of some oily-headed hermit.
_Clown_. But how does she feel toward you? _King_. My friend,
hermit-girls are by their very nature timid. And yet
When I was near, she could not look at me;
She smiled--but not to me--and half denied it;
She would not show her love for modesty,
Yet did not try so very hard to hide it.
_Clown_. Did you want her to climb into your lap the first time she
saw you?
_King_. But when she went away with her friends, she almost showed
that she loved me.
_Clown_. She has given you some memories to chew on. I suppose that is
why you are so in love with the pious grove.
_King_ (_Listening_). The voices are grave and tranquil. These must be
hermits. (_Enter the door-keeper_.)
_Door-keeper_. Yes, your Majesty. (_He goes out, then returns with the
youths_.) Follow me.
_Second youth_.
_King_ (_receiving it and bowing low_). May I know the reason of your
coming?
_The two youths_. The hermits have learned that you are here, and they
request----
_The two youths_. The powers of evil disturb our pious life in the
absence of the hermit-father. We therefore ask that you will remain a
few nights with your charioteer to protect the hermitage.
_King_. I shall be most happy to do so.
_Clown_ (_to the king_). You rather seem to like being collared this
way.
_Clown_. I _did_ have an unending curiosity, but this talk about the
powers of evil has put an end to it.
_Door-keeper_. Yes.
_King_. I will send all the soldiers with you, for the pious grove
must not be disturbed. _Clown_ (_strutting_). Aha! Look at the
heir-apparent!
ACT III
THE LOVE-MAKING
Well, I will take this sacred grass to the priests, to strew the
altar. (_He walks and looks about, then speaks to some one not
visible_.) Priyamvada, for whom are you carrying this cuscus-salve and
the fibrous lotus-leaves? (_He listens_.) What do you say? That
Shakuntala has become seriously ill from the heat, and that these
things are to relieve her suffering? Give her the best of care,
Priyamvada. She is the very life of the hermit-father. And I will give
Gautami the holy water for her. (_Exit. Enter the lovelorn king_.)
Oh, mighty Love, thine arrows are made of flowers. How can they be so
sharp? (_He recalls something_.) Ah, I understand.
Indeed, the moon and thou inspire confidence, only to deceive the host
of lovers.
And yet
I have driven off the powers of evil, and the hermits have dismissed
me. Where shall I go now to rest from my weariness? (_He sighs_.)
There is no rest for me except in seeing her whom I love. (_He looks
up_.) She usually spends these hours of midday heat with her friends
on the vine-wreathed banks of the Malini. I will go there. (_He walks
and looks about_.) I believe the slender maiden has just passed
through this corridor of young trees. For
(_He feels a breeze stirring_.) This is a pleasant spot, with the wind
among the trees.
I will hide among the branches, and see what happens. (_He does so.
Joyfully_.) Ah, my eyes have found their heaven. Here is the darling
of my thoughts, lying upon a flower-strewn bench of stone, and
attended by her two friends. I will hear what they say to each other.
_The two friends_ (_fanning her_). Do you feel better, dear, when we
fan you with these lotus-leaves?
_Shakuntala_ (_wearily_). Oh, are you fanning me, my dear girls? (_The
two friends look sorrowfully at each other_.)
_Priyamvada_ (_aside to_ ANUSUYA). Anusuya, since she first saw the
good king, she has been greatly troubled. I do not believe her fever
has any other cause.
_Shakuntala_ (_sighing_). I could not tell any one else. But I shall
be a burden to you.
_The two friends_. That is why we insist on knowing, dear. Grief must
be shared to be endured.
_King_.
_Shakuntala_. Ever since I saw the good king who protects the pious
grove--(_She stops and fidgets_.)
_Shakuntala_. Then, if you think best, make the good king take pity
upon me. If not, remember that I was. _King_. Her words end all
doubt.
_Priyamvada_. Why, the good king shows his love for her in his tender
glances, and he has been wasting away, as if he were losing sleep.
_King_.
And again:
_The two friends_. You are too modest about your own charms. Would
anybody put up a parasol to keep off the soothing autumn moonlight?
_Shakuntala_ (_reads_).
_King_ (_advancing_).
_The two friends_ (_perceive the king and rise joyfully_). Welcome to
the wish that is fulfilled without delay. (SHAKUNTALA _tries to
rise_.)
_King_.
_Priyamvada_. Well, our friend has been brought to this sad state by
her love for you. Will you not take pity on her and save her life?
_King_.
_Anusuya_. But, your Majesty, we hear that kings have many favourites.
You must act in such a way that our friend may not become a cause of
grief to her family.
_The two friends_ (_smiling_). Anybody who says it was rude, may ask
his pardon. Nobody else feels guilty.
_Shakuntala_. Your Majesty, pray forgive what we said when we did not
know that you were present. I am afraid that we say a great many
things behind a person's back.
_King_ (_smiling_).
_Shakuntala_ (_feigning anger_). Stop! You are a rude girl. You make
fun of me when I am in this condition.
_King_. Why should I not have my way? (_He approaches and seizes her
dress_.)
(_He looks about_.) Ah, I have come into the open air. (_He leaves_
SHAKUNTALA _and retraces his steps_.) _Shakuntala_ (_takes a step,
then turns with an eager gesture_).
O King, I cannot do as you would have me. You hardly know me after
this short talk. But oh, do not forget me.
_King_.
_King_. Oh, my belovèd, my love for you is my whole life, yet you
leave me and go away without a thought.
_King_. What have I to do here, where she is not? (_He gazes on the
ground_.) Ah, I cannot go.
_Shakuntala_ (_looking at her arm_). Why, I was so weak and ill that
when the lotus-bracelet fell off, I did not even notice it.
_Shakuntala_. I cannot hold back after that. I will use the bracelet
as an excuse for my coming. (_She approaches_.)
_Shakuntala_ (_standing before the king_). When I was going away, sir,
I remembered that this lotus-bracelet had fallen from my arm, and I
have come back for it. My heart seemed to tell me that you had taken
it. Please give it back, or you will betray me, and yourself too, to
the hermits.
_King_. Let us sit on this stone bench. (_They walk to the bench and
sit down_.)
_Shakuntala_. I cannot see it. The pollen from the lotus over my ear
has blown into my eye.
_King_ (_to himself_). I shall not break the bonds of this sweet
servitude. (_He starts to raise her face to his_. SHAKUNTALA _resists
a little, then is passive_.)
_King_. Oh, my bewitching girl, have no fear of me.
(SHAKUNTALA _darts a glance at him, then looks down. The king raises
her face. Aside_.)
_King_. The lotus over your ear is so near your eye, and so like it,
that I was confused. (_He gently blows her eye_.)
_Shakuntala_. Thank you. I can see quite well now. But I am ashamed
not to make any return for your kindness.
(_He reflects_.) Alas! I did wrong to delay when I had found my love.
So now
(_Exit_.)
ACT IV
SHAKUNTALA'S DEPARTURE
SCENE I
_Anusuya_. The sacrifice is over and the good king was dismissed
to-day by the hermits. He has gone back to the city and there he is
surrounded by hundreds of court ladies. I wonder whether he will
remember poor Shakuntala or not.
_Priyamvada_. You need not be anxious about that. Such handsome men
are sure to be good. But there is something else to think about. I
don't know what Father will have to say when he comes back from his
pilgrimage and hears about it.
_Priyamvada_. Why?
_Anusuya_. Why not? You know he wanted to give his daughter to a lover
worthy of her. If fate brings this about of itself, why shouldn't
Father be happy?
_Anusuya_. But we must make an offering to the gods that watch over
Shakuntala's marriage. We had better gather more.
_Priyamvada_. Oh, dear! The very thing has happened. The dear,
absent-minded girl has offended some worthy man.
_Priyamvada_. Nothing burns like fire. Run, fall at his feet, bring
him back, while I am getting water to wash his feet.
_Priyamvada_. Even that is a good deal for him. Tell me about it.
_Anusuya_. When he would not turn back, I fell at his feet and prayed
to him. "Holy sir," I said, "remember her former devotion and pardon
this offence. Your daughter did not recognise your great and holy
power to-day."
_Anusuya_. Then he said: "My words must be fulfilled. But the curse
shall be lifted when her lover sees a gem which he has given her for a
token." And so he vanished.
_Priyamvada_. We can breathe again. When the good king went away, he
put a ring, engraved with his own name, on Shakuntala's finger to
remember him by. That will save her.
_Anusuya_. Come, we must finish the sacrifice for her. (_They walk
about_.)
_Pupil_. Father Kanva has returned from his pilgrimage, and has bidden
me find out what time it is. I will go into the open air and see how
much of the night remains. (_He walks and looks about_.) See! The dawn
is breaking. For already
And again:
And again:
_Anusuya_. The dawn is breaking. I am awake bright and early. But what
shall I do now that I am awake? My hands refuse to attend to the
ordinary morning tasks. Well, let love take its course. For the dear,
pure-minded girl trusted him--the traitor! Perhaps it is not the good
king's fault. It must be the curse of Durvasas. Otherwise, how could
the good king say such beautiful things, and then let all this time
pass without even sending a message? (_She reflects_.) Yes, we must
send him the ring he left as a token. But whom shall we ask to take
it? The hermits are unsympathetic because they have never suffered. It
seemed as if her friends were to blame and so, try as we might, we
could not tell Father Kanva that Shakuntala was married to Dushyanta
and was expecting a baby. Oh, what shall we do? (_Enter_ PRIYAMVADA.)
_Priyamvada_. I found her hiding her face for shame, and Father Kanva
was embracing her and encouraging her. "My child," he said, "I bring
you joy. The offering fell straight in the sacred fire, and auspicious
smoke rose toward the sacrificer. My pains for you have proved like
instruction given to a good student; they have brought me no regret.
This very day I shall give you an escort of hermits and send you to
your husband."
_Priyamvada_. We must hide our sorrow as best we can. The poor girl
must be made happy to-day.
_A voice behind the scenes_. Gautami, bid the worthy Sharngarava and
Sharadvata make ready to escort my daughter Shakuntala.
_Gautami_. My child, may you receive the happy title "queen," showing
that your husband honours you.
_The two friends_. You ought not to weep, dear, at this happy time.
_Priyamvada_. You are so beautiful, you ought to have the finest gems.
It seems like an insult to give you these hermitage things. (_Enter_
HARITA, _a hermit-youth with ornaments_.) _Harita_. Here are
ornaments for our lady. (_The women look at them in astonishment_.)
_Harita_. Father Kanva has gone to the bank of the Malini, to perform
his ablutions. I will tell him of the favour shown us by the trees.
(_Exit_.)
_Anusuya_. My dear, we poor girls never saw such ornaments. How shall
we adorn you? (_She stops to think, and to look at the ornaments_.)
But we have seen pictures. Perhaps we can arrange them right.
_Shakuntala_. I know how clever you are. (_The two friends adorn her.
Enter_ KANVA, _returning after his ablutions_.)
_Kanva_.
_Gautami_. My child, here is your father. The eyes with which he seems
to embrace you are overflowing with tears of joy. You must greet him
properly. (SHAKUNTALA _makes a shamefaced reverence_.)
_Kanva_. My child,
_Kanva_. My daughter, walk from left to right about the fires in which
the offering has just been thrown. (_All walk about_.)
The holy fires around the altar kindle,
And at their margins sacred grass is piled;
Beneath their sacrificial odours dwindle
Misfortunes. May the fires protect you, child!
_Kanva_. Now you may start, my daughter. (_He glances about_.) Where
are Sharngarava and Sharadvata? (_Enter the two pupils_.)
_Invisible beings_,
_Gautami_. My child, the fairies of the pious grove bid you farewell.
For they love the household. Pay reverence to the holy ones.
_Priyamvada_. You are not the only one to feel sad at this farewell.
See how the whole grove feels at parting from you.
_Kanva_. I know your love for her. See! Here she is at your right
hand.
_Kanva_.
_The two friends_. But who will care for poor us? (_They shed tears_.)
_Kanva_.
_Kanva_. Do not weep, my child. Be brave. Look at the path before you.
_Kanva_. My daughter, may all that come to you which I desire for you.
_The two friends_ (_do so_). Dear, if the good king should perhaps be
slow to recognise you, show him the ring with his own name engraved on
it.
_Kanva_. My daughter,
When you have shared for many years
The king's thoughts with the earth,
When to a son who knows no fears
You shall have given birth,
_Shakuntala_. Yes, Father. You will be busy in the grove. You will not
miss me. But oh! I miss you. _Kanva_. How can you think me so
indifferent? (_He sighs_.)
_The two friends_ (_gazing long after her. Mournfully_). Oh, oh!
Shakuntala is lost among the trees.
_Kanva_. Anusuya! Priyamvada! Your companion is gone. Choke down your
grief and follow me. (_They start to go back_.)
_The two friends_. Father, the grove seems empty without Shakuntala.
(_Exeunt omnes_.)
ACT V
SHAKUNTALA'S REJECTION
(_Enter a chamberlain_.)
The king is within. I will tell him of the urgent business which
demands his attention. (_He takes a few steps_.) But what is the
business? (_He recalls it_.) Yes, I remember. Certain hermits, pupils
of Kanva, desire to see his Majesty. Strange, strange!
(_He walks about. Enter the king, the clown, and retinue according to
rank_.) _King_ (_betraying the cares of office_). Every one is happy
on attaining his desire--except a king. His difficulties increase with
his power. Thus:
_First poet_.
_Second poet_.
_Clown_. Does a bull forget that he is tired when you call him the
leader of the herd?
_King_ (_smiling_). Well, let us sit down. (_They seat themselves, and
the retinue arranges itself. A lute is heard behind the scenes_.)
_Clown_. Yes, sir. (_He rises_.) But, man, you are using another
fellow's fingers to grab a bear's tail-feathers with. I have about as
much chance of salvation as a monk who hasn't forgotten his passions.
_Chamberlain_. Yes.
_Portress_. Follow me, your Majesty. (_She walks about_) Your Majesty,
here is the terrace of the fire-sanctuary. It is beautiful, for it has
just been swept, and near at hand is the cow that yields the milk of
sacrifice. Pray ascend it.
(_Enter the chaplain and the chamberlain, conducting the two pupils
of_ KANVA, _with_ GAUTAMI _and_ SHAKUNTALA.)
_Gautami_. Heaven avert the omen, my child. May happiness wait upon
you. (_They walk about_.)
_Portress_. Your Majesty, the hermits seem to be happy. They give you
gracious looks.
_Sharngarava_. He says: "Since you have met this my daughter and have
married her, I give you my glad consent. For
She is with child. Take her and live with her in virtue."
_Gautami_. Bless you, sir. I should like to say that no one invites me
to speak.
_Gautami_.
_Sharngarava_ (_furiously_).
_Portress_ (_to herself_). What a virtuous king he is! Would any other
man hesitate when he saw such a pearl of a woman coming of her own
accord?
_King_. Hermit, I have taken thought. I cannot believe that this woman
is my wife. She is plainly with child. How can I take her, confessing
myself an adulterer?
_Shakuntala_ (_to herself_). Oh, oh, oh! He even casts doubt on our
marriage. The vine of my hope climbed high, but it is broken now.
_Shakuntala_. Very well. If you have acted so because you really fear
to touch another man's wife, I will remove your doubts with a token
you gave me.
_Shakuntala_ (_touching her finger_). Oh, oh! The ring is lost. (_She
looks sadly at_ GAUTAMI.)
_Gautami_. My child, you worshipped the holy Ganges at the spot where
Indra descended. The ring must have fallen there.
_Shakuntala_. At that moment the fawn came up, my adopted son. Then
you took pity on him and coaxed him. "Let him drink first," you said.
But he did not know you, and he would not come to drink water from
your hand. But he liked it afterwards, when I held the very same
water. Then you smiled and said: "It is true. Every one trusts his own
sort. You both belong to the forest."
_Shakuntala_ (_angrily_). Wretch! You judge all this by your own false
heart. Would any other man do what you have done? To hide behind
virtue, like a yawning well covered over with grass!
_King_ (_to himself_). But her anger is free from coquetry, because
she has lived in the forest. See!
No, she saw that I was doubtful, and her anger was feigned. Thus
_Sharngarava_. Ruin.
_Chaplain_. Let the woman remain in my house until her child is born.
_Chaplain_. The chief astrologers have told you that your first child
was destined to be an emperor. If the son of the hermit's daughter is
born with the imperial birthmarks, then welcome her and introduce her
into the palace. Otherwise, she must return to her father.
_King_. What?
_Chaplain_.
(_Exit_.)
_King_. Vetravati, I am bewildered. Conduct me to my apartment.
(_Exeunt omnes_.)
ACT VI
(_Enter the chief of police, two policemen, and a man with his hands
bound behind his back_.)
_Second policeman_. You thief, we didn't ask for your address or your
social position.
_Fisherman_. Well, one day I was cutting up a carp. In its maw I see
this ring with the magnificent great gem. And then I was just trying
to sell it here when you kind gentlemen grabbed me. That is the only
way I got it. Now kill me, or find fault with me.
_The two policemen_ (_to the fisherman_). Move on, you cutpurse, move
on. (_They walk about_.)
_Chief_. Suchaka, wait here at the big gate until I come out of the
palace. And don't get careless.
_The two policemen_. Go in, chief. I hope the king will be nice to
you.
_Suchaka_. All right, chief. He is a dead man come back to life. (_He
releases the fisherman_.)
_Chief_. Get up, get up! Here is a reward that the king was kind
enough to give you. It is worth as much as the ring. Take it. (_He
hands the fisherman a bracelet_.)
_Suchaka_. Chief, the reward shows that the king thought a lot of the
ring. The gem must be worth something.
_Chief_. No, it wasn't the fine gem that pleased the king. It was this
way.
_The two policemen_. Well?
_Januka_. All for the sake of this fish-killer, it seems to me. (_He
looks enviously at the fisherman_.)
_Januka_. Fisherman, you are the biggest and best friend I've got. The
first thing we want, is all the brandy we can hold. Let's go where
they keep it. (_Exeunt omnes_.)
_First maid_.
_Second maid_. What are you chirping about to yourself, little cuckoo?
_First maid_. Why, little bee, you know that the cuckoo goes crazy
with delight when she sees the mango-blossom.
_First maid_. Yes, little bee. And this is the time when you too buzz
about in crazy joy. _Second maid_. Hold me, dear, while I stand on
tiptoe and offer this blossom to Love, the divine.
_First maid_. If I do, you must give me half the reward of the
offering.
_Second maid_. That goes without saying, dear. We two are one. (_She
leans on her friend and takes the mango-blossom_.) Oh, see! The
mango-blossom hasn't opened, but it has broken the sheath, so it is
fragrant. (_She brings her hands together_.) I worship mighty Love.
O mango-twig I give to Love
As arrow for his bow,
Most sovereign of his arrows five,
Strike maiden-targets low.
_The two maids_ (_frightened_). Forgive us, sir. We did not know.
_Chamberlain_. What! You have not heard the king's command, which is
obeyed even by the trees of spring and the creatures that dwell in
them. See!
_First maid_. A few days ago, sir, we were sent to his Majesty by his
brother-in-law Mitravasu to decorate the garden. That is why we have
heard nothing of this affair.
_The two maids_. But we are curious. If we girls may know about it,
pray tell us, sir. Why did his Majesty forbid the spring festival?
_Mishrakeshi_. Kings are fond of celebrations. There must be some good
reason.
_The two maids_. Yes, sir. The king's brother-in-law told us, up to
the point where the ring was recovered.
_Chamberlain_. There is little more to tell. When his Majesty saw the
ring, he remembered that he had indeed contracted a secret marriage
with Shakuntala, and had rejected her under a delusion. And then he
fell a prey to remorse.
_Clown_. You have got rid of the vermin. Now amuse yourself in this
garden. It is delightful with the passing of the cold weather.
_Clown_. Well, you told one of the maids, the clever painter, that
you would spend this hour in the bower of spring-creepers. And you
asked her to bring you there the picture of the lady Shakuntala which
you painted on a tablet.
_Mishrakeshi_. I will hide among the vines and see the dear girl's
picture. Then I shall be able to tell her how deep her husband's love
is. (_She hides_.)
_Clown_. No, I didn't forget. But when you had told the whole story,
you said it was a joke and there was nothing in it. And I was fool
enough to believe you. No, this is the work of fate.
_Clown_. But, man, this isn't right at all. A good man never lets
grief get the upper hand. The mountains are calm even in a tempest.
_King_. Who else would dare to touch a faithful wife? Her friends told
me that Menaka was her mother. My heart persuades me that it was
she, or companions of hers, who carried Shakuntala away.
_Clown_. But in that case, you ought to take heart. You will meet her
again.
_King_. My friend,
_Clown_. Don't talk that way. Why, the ring shows that incredible
meetings do happen.
_King_ (_looking at the ring_). This ring deserves pity. It has fallen
from a heaven hard to earn.
Your virtue, ring, like mine,
Is proved to be but small;
Her pink-nailed finger sweet
You clasped. How could you fall?
_King_. Listen, my friend. When I left the pious grove for the city,
my darling wept and said: "But how long will you remember us, dear?"
_King_. Then I put this engraved ring on her finger, and said to
her----
_King_.
_Mishrakeshi_. It was
too charming an agreement to be frustrated by fate.
_Clown_. But how did it get into a carp's mouth, as if it had been a
fish-hook?
_Clown_. I see.
_Mishrakeshi_. That is why the virtuous king doubted his marriage with
poor Shakuntala. Yet such love does not ask for a token. How could it
have been?
_Clown_ (_smiling_). And I will reproach this stick of mine. Why are
you crooked when I am straight?
And yet
_Maid_. Your Majesty, here is the picture of our lady. (_She produces
the tablet_.)
_King_ (_sighing_).
_Clown_. There are three figures in the picture, and they are all
beautiful. Which one is the lady Shakuntala?
_Mishrakeshi_. The poor fellow never saw her beauty. His eyes are
useless, for she never came before them.
Chaturika, I have not finished the background. Go, get the brushes.
_Clown_. What?
_King_.
_Clown_. But why does she cover her face with fingers lovely as the
pink water-lily? She seems frightened. (_He looks more closely_.) I
see. Here is a bold, bad bee. He steals honey, and so he flies to her
lotus-face.
_King_. True. O welcome guest of the flowering vine, why do you waste
your time in buzzing here?
_Clown_. This kind are obstinate, even when you warn them.
_King_. A picture?
_King_. Well?
_Maid_. I met Queen Vasumati with the maid Pingalika. And the queen
snatched the box from me, saying: "I will take it to the king myself."
_King_. My friend, the queen has come because she feels touched in her
honour. You had better take care of this picture.
_Clown_. "And yourself," you might add. (_He takes the picture and
rises_.) If you get out of the trap alive, call for me at the Cloud
Balcony. And I will hide the thing there so that nothing but a pigeon
could find it. (_Exit on the run_.)
_Portress_. Yes, your Majesty. But she turned back when she saw that I
carried a document.
_King_. The queen knows times and seasons. She will not interrupt
business.
_Portress_. Your Majesty, the minister sends word that in the press of
various business he has attended to only one citizen's suit. This he
has reduced to writing for your Majesty's perusal.
_King_. The child shall receive the inheritance. Go, inform the
minister.
_Portress_. The proclamation shall be made. (_She goes out and soon
returns_.) Your Majesty, the royal proclamation was welcomed by the
populace as is a timely shower.
_King_.
_Maid_. Do not give way to grief, your Majesty. You are in the prime
of your years, and the birth of a son to one of your other wives will
make you blameless before your ancestors. (_To herself_.) He does not
heed me. The proper medicine is needed for any disease. _King_
(_betraying his sorrow_). Surely,
(_He swoons_.)
_Mishrakeski_. Shall I make him happy now? No, I heard the mother of
the gods consoling Shakuntala. She said that the gods, impatient for
the sacrifice, would soon cause him to welcome his true wife. I must
delay no longer. I will comfort dear Shakuntala with my tidings.
(_Exit through the air_.)
_Maid_. Your Majesty, I hope that Pingalika and the other maids did
not catch poor Madhavya with the picture in his hands.
_King_. The Brahman's voice seems really changed by fear. Who waits
without? (_Enter the chamberlain_.)
_Chamberlain_.
_King_ (_hears the voice and quickens his steps_). Have no fear, my
friend.
_The voice_. Have no fear! When something has got me by the back of
the neck, and is trying to break my bones like a piece of sugar-cane!
_Greek woman_. A bow and arrows, your Majesty. And here are the
finger-guards. (_The king takes the bow and arrows_.)
_The Clown's voice_. Save me, save me! I see you, if you can't see me.
I am a mouse in the claws of the cat. I am done for.
_Matali_.
Take your bow at once, enter my heavenly chariot, and set forth for
victory.
_King_. I am grateful for the honour which Indra shows me. But why did
you act thus toward Madhavya?
_Matali_. I will tell you. I saw that you were overpowered by some
inner sorrow, and acted thus to rouse you. For
_Matali_. Enter the chariot. (_The king does so. Exeunt omnes_.)
ACT VII
(_Enter, in a chariot that flies through the air, the king and_
MATALI.)
_Matali_. O King, know that each considers himself the other's debtor.
For
_King_. Ah, no! For the honour given me at parting went far beyond
imagination. Before the gods, he seated me beside him on his throne.
And then
_Matali_. But what do you not deserve from heaven's king? Remember:
_Matali_.
_King_. That is why serenity pervades me, body and soul. (_He observes
the path taken by the chariot_.) It seems that we have descended into
the region of the clouds.
_King_.
_Matali_. You are right. And in a moment you will be in the world over
which you bear rule.
_King_ (_looking down_). Matali, our quick descent gives the world of
men a mysterious look. For
_Matali_. Such is the glory of the chariot which obeys you and Indra.
_Matali_. The chariot obeys the word of command. I too will descend.
(_He does so_.) Before you, O King, are the groves where the holiest
hermits lead their self-denying life.
_Matali_. The desires of the great aspire high. (_He walks about and
speaks to some one not visible_.) Ancient Shakalya, how is Marichi's
holy son occupied? (_He listens_.) What do you say? That he is
explaining to Aditi, in answer to her question, the duties of a
faithful wife? My matter must await a fitter time. (_He turns to the
king_.) Wait here, O King, in the shade of the ashoka tree, till I
have announced your coming to the sire of Indra.
_King_. Very well. (_Exit_ MATALI. _The king's arm throbs, a happy
omen_.)
_Second woman_. The lioness will spring at you if you don't let her
baby go.
_Boy_ (_smiling_). Oh, I'm dreadfully scared. (_He bites his lip_.)
_First woman_. Let the little lion go, dear. I will give you another
plaything.
_Boy_. Where is it? Give it to me. (_He stretches out his hand_.)
_Hermit-woman_ (_shaking her finger_). Won't you mind me? (_She looks
about_.) Which one of the hermit-boys is here? (_She sees the king_.)
Oh, sir, please come here and free this lion cub. The little rascal is
tormenting him, and I can't make him let go.
To animals he is as good
As good can be;
You spoil it, like a black snake's brood
In sandal tree.
_King_. So it would seem, both from his looks and his actions. But in
this spot, I had no suspicion of anything else. (_He loosens the boy's
hold on the cub, and touching him, says to himself_.)
But how could human beings, of their own mere motion, attain this
spot?
_Hermit-woman_. You are quite right, sir. But the boy's mother was
related to a nymph, and she bore her son in the pious grove of the
father of the gods.
_King_ (_to himself_). Ah, a second ground for hope. (_Aloud_.) What
was the name of the good king whose wife she was?
_Hermit-woman_. Who would speak his name? He rejected his true wife.
_King_ (_to himself_). This story points at me. Suppose I ask the boy
for his mother's name. (_He reflects_.) No, it is wrong to concern
myself with one who may be another's wife.
(_Enter the first woman, with the clay peacock_.)
_Boy_ (_looks about_). Where is my mamma? (_The two women burst out
laughing_.)
_First woman_. It sounded like her name, and deceived him. He loves
his mother.
_Second woman_. She said: "See how pretty the peacock is." That is
all.
_King_ (_to himself_). His mother's name is Shakuntala! But names are
alike. I trust this hope may not prove a disappointment in the end,
like a mirage.
_Boy_. I like this little peacock, sister. Can it fly? (_He seizes the
toy_.) _First woman_ (_looks at the boy. Anxiously_), Oh, the amulet
is not on his wrist.
_The two women_. Oh, don't, don't! (_They look at him_.) He has
touched it! (_Astonished, they lay their hands on their bosoms, and
look at each other_.)
_King_. Why did you try to prevent me?
_First woman_. Listen, your Majesty. This is a divine and most potent
charm, called the Invincible. Marichi's holy son gave it to the baby
when the birth-ceremony was performed. If it falls on the ground, no
one may touch it except the boy's parents or the boy himself.
_King_. Did you ever see this happen to any one else?
_King_.
_King_.
_King_.
_King_. Then let the vine receive her flower, as earnest of her union
with spring.
(_Enter_ MATALI)
_King_. My dear wife, bring our son. I could not appear without you
before the holy one.
_Matali_. O King, the parents of the gods look upon you with a glance
that betrays parental fondness. Approach them. _King_. Matali,
_Kashyapa_. My daughter,
_Aditi_. My child, keep the favour of your husband. And may this fine
boy be an honour to the families of both parents. Come, let us be
seated. (_All seat themselves_.)
_Kashyapa_. My daughter, you know the truth. Do not now give way to
anger against your rightful husband. Remember:
_King_. I anticipate everything from him, since you have performed the
rites for him.
_Aditi_. Kanva also should be informed that his daughter's wishes are
fulfilled. But Menaka is waiting upon me here and cannot be spared.
_Shakuntala_ (_to herself_). The holy one has expressed my own desire.
_Kashyapa_. Kanva knows the whole matter through his divine insight.
(_He reflects_.) Yet he should hear from us the pleasant tidings, how
his daughter and her son have been received by her husband. Who waits
without? (_Enter a pupil_.)
_Kashyapa_ (_to the king_). My son, enter with child and wife the
chariot of your friend Indra, and set out for your capital.
_King_. Can there be more than this? Yet may this prayer be fulfilled.
(_Exeunt omnes_.)
* * * * *
THE STORY OF SHAKUNTALA
In the first book of the vast epic poem _Mahabharata_, Kalidasa found
the story of Shakuntala. The story has a natural place there, for
Bharata, Shakuntala's son, is the eponymous ancestor of the princes
who play the leading part in the epic.
Once that strong-armed king, with a mighty host of men and chariots,
entered a thick wood. Then when the king had slain thousands of wild
creatures, he entered another wood with his troops and his chariots,
intent on pursuing a deer. And the king beheld a wonderful, beautiful
hermitage on the bank of the sacred river Malini; on its bank was the
beautiful hermitage of blessèd, high-souled Kanva, whither the great
sages resorted. Then the king determined to enter, that he might see
the great sage Kanva, rich in holiness. He laid aside the insignia of
royalty and went on alone, but did not see the austere sage in the
hermitage. Then, when he did not see the sage, and perceived that the
hermitage was deserted, he cried aloud, "Who is here?" until the
forest seemed to shriek. Hearing his cry, a maiden, lovely as Shri,
came from the hermitage, wearing a hermit garb. "Welcome!" she said at
once, greeting him, and smilingly added: "What may be done for you?"
Then the king said to the sweet-voiced maid: "I have come to pay
reverence to the holy sage Kanva. Where has the blessèd one gone,
sweet girl? Tell me this, lovely maid." Shakuntala said: "My blessèd
father has gone from the hermitage to gather fruits. Wait a moment.
You shall see him when he returns."
The king did not see the sage, but when the lovely girl of the fair
hips and charming smile spoke to him, he saw that{} she was radiant in
her beauty, yes, in her hard vows and self-restraint all youth and
beauty, and he said to her:
"Who are you? Whose are you, lovely maiden? Why did you come to the
forest? Whence are you, sweet girl, so lovely and so good? Your beauty
stole my heart at the first glance. I wish to know you better. Answer
me, sweet maid."
The maiden laughed when thus questioned by the king in the hermitage,
and the words she spoke were very sweet: "O Dushyanta, I am known as
blessed Kanva's daughter, and he is austere, steadfast, wise, and of a
lofty soul."
[Shakuntala here explains how she is the child of a sage and a nymph,
deserted at birth, cared for by birds (_shakuntas_), found and reared
by Kanva, who gave her the name Shakuntala.]
"So be it," said the king without thinking, and added: "I will bring
you too to my city, sweet-smiling girl."
So the king took the faultlessly graceful maiden by the hand and dwelt
with her. And when he had bidden her be of good courage, he went
forth, saying again and again: "I will send a complete army for you,
and tell them to bring my sweet-smiling bride to my palace." When he
had made this promise, the king went thoughtfully to find Kanva. "What
will he do when he hears it, this holy, austere man?" he wondered, and
still thinking, he went back to his capital.
Now the moment he was gone, Kanva came to the hermitage. And
Shakuntala was ashamed and did not come to meet her father. But
blessed, austere Kanva had divine discernment. He discovered her, and
seeing the matter with celestial vision, he was pleased and said:
"What you have done, dear, to-day, forgetting me and meeting a man,
this does not break the law. A man who loves may marry secretly the
woman who loves him without a ceremony; and Dushyanta is virtuous and
noble, the best of men. Since you have found a loving husband,
Shakuntala, a noble son shall be born to you, mighty in the world."
Sweet Shakuntala gave birth to a boy of unmeasured prowess. His hands
were marked with the wheel, and he quickly grew to be a glorious boy.
As a six years' child in Kanva's hermitage he rode on the backs of
lions, tigers, and boars near the hermitage, and tamed them, and ran
about playing with them. Then those who lived in Kanva's hermitage
gave him a name. "Let him be called All-tamer," they said: "for he
tames everything."
But when the sage saw the boy and his more than human deeds, he said
to Shakuntala: "It is time for him to be anointed crown prince." When
he saw how strong the boy was, Kanva said to his pupils: "Quickly
bring my Shakuntala and her son from my house to her husband's palace.
A long abiding with their relatives is not proper for married women.
It destroys their reputation, and their character, and their virtue;
so take her without delay." "We will," said all the mighty men, and
they set out with Shakuntala and her son for Gajasahvaya.
When Shakuntala drew near, she was recognised and invited to enter,
and she said to the king: "This is your son, O King. You must anoint
him crown prince, just as you promised before, when we met."
When the king heard her, although he remembered her, he said: "I do
not remember. To whom do you belong, you wicked hermit-woman? I do not
remember a union with you for virtue, love, and wealth.[1] Either go
or stay, or do whatever you wish."
When he said this, the sweet hermit-girl half fainted from shame and
grief, and stood stiff as a pillar. Her eyes darkened with passionate
indignation; her lips quivered; she seemed to consume the king as she
gazed at him with sidelong glances. Concealing her feelings and nerved
by anger, she held in check the magic power that her ascetic life had
given her. She seemed to meditate a moment, overcome by grief and
anger. She gazed at her husband, then spoke passionately: "O shameless
king, although you know, why do you say, 'I do not know,' like any
other ordinary man?"
Dushyanta said: "I do not know the son born of you, Shakuntala. Women
are liars. Who will believe what you say? Are you not ashamed to say
these incredible things, especially in my presence? You wicked
hermit-woman, go!"
Shakuntala said: "O King, sacred is holy God, and sacred is a holy
promise. Do not break your promise, O King. Let your love be sacred.
If you cling to a lie, and will not believe, alas! I must go away;
there is no union with a man like you. For even without you,
Dushyanta, my son shall rule this foursquare earth adorned with kingly
mountains."
When she had said so much to the king, Shakuntala started to go. But a
bodiless voice from heaven said to Dushyanta: "Care for your son,
Dushyanta. Do not despise Shakuntala. You are the boy's father.
Shakuntala tells the truth."
When he heard the utterance of the gods, the king joyfully said to his
chaplain and his ministers: "Hear the words of this heavenly
messenger. If I had received my son simply because of her words, he
would be suspected by the world, he would not be pure."
Then the king received his son gladly and joyfully. He kissed his head
and embraced him lovingly. His wife also Dushyanta honoured, as
justice required. And the king soothed her, and said: "This union
which I had with you was hidden from the world. Therefore I hesitated,
O Queen, in order to save your reputation. And as for the cruel words
you said to me in an excess of passion, these I pardon you, my
beautiful, great-eyed darling, because you love me."
Then King Dushyanta gave the name Bharata to Shakuntala's son, and had
him anointed crown prince.
It is plain that this story contains the material for a good play; the
very form of the epic tale is largely dramatic. It is also plain, in a
large way, of what nature are the principal changes which a dramatist
must introduce in the original. For while Shakuntala is charming in
the epic story, the king is decidedly contemptible. Somehow or other,
his face must be saved.
To effect this, Kalidasa has changed the old story in three important
respects. In the first place, he introduces the curse of Durvasas,
clouding the king's memory, and saving him from moral responsibility
in his rejection of Shakuntala. That there may be an ultimate recovery
of memory, the curse is so modified as to last only until the king
shall see again the ring which he has given to his bride. To the
Hindu, curse and modification are matters of frequent occurrence; and
Kalidasa has so delicately managed the matter as not to shock even a
modern and Western reader with a feeling of strong improbability. Even
to us it seems a natural part of the divine cloud that envelops the
drama, in no way obscuring human passion, but rather giving to human
passion an unwonted largeness and universality.
In the second place, the poet makes Shakuntala undertake her journey
to the palace before her son is born. Obviously, the king's character
is thus made to appear in a better light, and a greater probability is
given to the whole story.
But these changes do not of themselves make a drama out of the epic
tale. Large additions were also necessary, both of scenes and of
characters. We find, indeed, that only acts one and five, with a part
of act seven, rest upon the ancient text, while acts two, three, four,
and six, with most of seven, are a creation of the poet. As might have
been anticipated, the acts of the former group are more dramatic,
while those of the latter contribute more of poetical charm. It is
with these that scissors must be chiefly busy when the play--rather
too long for continuous presentation as it stands--is performed on the
stage.
The conventional clown plays a much smaller part in this play than in
the others which Kalidasa wrote. He has also less humour. The real
humorous relief is given by the fisherman and the three policemen in
the opening scene of the sixth act. This, it may be remarked, is the
only scene of rollicking humour in Kalidasa's writing.
The forest scenes are peopled with quiet hermit-folk. Far the most
charming of these are Shakuntala's girl friends. The two are
beautifully differentiated: Anusuya grave, sober; Priyamvada
vivacious, saucy; yet wonderfully united in friendship and in devotion
to Shakuntala, whom they feel to possess a deeper nature than theirs.
Kanva, the hermit-father, hardly required any change from the epic
Kanva. It was a happy thought to place beside him the staid, motherly
Gautami. The small boy in the last act has magically become an
individual in Kalidasa's hands. In this act too are the creatures of a
higher world, their majesty not rendered too precise.
Dushyanta has been saved by the poet from his epic shabbiness; it may
be doubted whether more has been done. There is in him, as in some
other Hindu heroes, a shade too much of the meditative to suit our
ideal of more alert and ready manhood.
But all the other characters sink into insignificance beside the
heroine. Shakuntala dominates the play. She is actually on the stage
in five of the acts, and her spirit pervades the other two, the second
and the sixth. Shakuntala has held captive the heart of India for
fifteen hundred years, and wins the love of increasing thousands in
the West; for so noble a union of sweetness with strength is one of
the miracles of art.
Kalidasa has added much to the epic tale; yet his use of the original
is remarkably minute. A list of the epic suggestions incorporated in
his play is long. But it is worth making, in order to show how keen is
the eye of genius. Thus the king lays aside the insignia of royalty
upon entering the grove (Act I). Shakuntala appears in hermit garb, a
dress of bark (Act I). The quaint derivation of the heroine's name
from _shakunta_--bird--is used with wonderful skill in a passage (Act
VII) which defies translation, as it involves a play on words. The
king's anxiety to discover whether the maiden's father is of a caste
that permits her to marry him is reproduced (Act I). The marriage
without a ceremony is retained (Act IV), but robbed of all offence.
Kanva's celestial vision, which made it unnecessary for his child to
tell him of her union with the king, is introduced with great delicacy
(Act IV). The curious formation of the boy's hand which indicated
imperial birth adds to the king's suspense (Act VII). The boy's rough
play with wild animals is made convincing (Act VII) and his very
nickname All-tamer is preserved (Act VII). Kanva's worldly wisdom as
to husband and wife dwelling together is reproduced (Act IV). No small
part of the give-and-take between the king and Shakuntala is given
(Act V), but with a new dignity.