Abhijnana Sakuntalam of Kalidasa (कालिदासकृत अभिज्ञानशाकुन्तलम्)

Description

कालिदासकृत अभिज्ञानशाकुन्तलम् (Abhijnana Sakuntalam of Kalidasa) Of the forms of Poetry, the drama is the most charming; among dramas, the Śākuntala” (काव्येषु नाटकं रम्यं तत्रापि च शकुन्तला). “No composition of Kālidāsa displays more (than the Śākuntala) the richness of his poetical genius, the exuberance of his imagination, the warmth and play of his fancy, his profound knowledge of the human heart, his delicate appreciation of its most refined and tender emotions, his familiarity with the workings and counter-workings of its conflicting feelings-in short, more entitles him to rank as the Shakespeare of India”-Sir Monier Williams. These quotations are only typical of the chorus of praise and admiration which this play has won from scholars, both Indian and non-Indian. In India the play has an eternal appeal to the mind and heart of the people whose thoughts, feelings, aspirations, ideals-in a word, whose national soul is revealed in it in a manner and measure not quite approached, much less surpassed.

Indeed, the Śākuntala exercises an almost nostalgic influence on the Indian mind and heart with its holy penance-groves, hermitages full of spiritual calm where Nature is as instinct with life as man, sages engrossed in spiritual meditation, kings full of reverence for these forest dwellers rich in asceticism and ever abiding by the law, the rich happiness of family-life, the social qualities of courtesy and respect for guests and the high regard for moral conduct. Likewise, ever since it was first translated into English by Sir William Jones more than a hundred and fifty years ago, the play has fascinated the Western mind and heart as shown by the lavish tributes showered upon it by Goethe, Lassen, Schelegel, W. Von Humbolt, Sir Monier Williams, Herder, Hillebrandt, to name only a few. It has been translated practically in all the prominent languages of the world; and even stage versions of it have been attempted to suit the Western theatre. The story of the drama drawn on the vast canvas of the world is as high as the heavens, as wide as the world and as deep as the human heart. It is told in terms of love and its vicissitudes with a profound understaning of human nature and the human heart.