PROLOGUE
Abhigyanashakuntalam (The Recognition of Shakuntala) opens with a Prologue with the presentation of the characters, followed by a ceremonial appeal for blessings from divine beings. Subsequently, the Sutradhar, or the director, summons the Nati, or the actress.
The interaction between the Sutradhar and Nati reveals that the drama’s initial performance took place during the summer season. At the conclusion of a brief musical piece, the Sutradhar alludes to the story’s central figures, Shakuntala and King Dushyanta.
ACT – I (THE CHASE)
Act I of Abhigyanashakuntalam, “The Chase,” opens with King Dushyanta pursuing a blackbuck in the Himalayan foothills. This pursuit foreshadows the imminent romantic chase between lovers.
The King, relentlessly following the animal in his chariot, directs his charioteer, Suta, to continue the pursuit. The chase ends abruptly when the blackbuck seeks protection from a nearby sage. Showing respect, the King immediately halts the hunt and returns his arrow to the quiver.
Before departing, the ascetic advises the King to visit Rishi Kanva’s hermitage along the banks of the river Malini. He informs the King that Rishi Kanva, is away on a pilgrimage to Somatirtha to propitiate the adverse fate that might threaten the happiness of Shakuntala, his foster daughter. He further adds that the hermitage is presently presided over by Shakuntala, and she would greet him.
Upon hearing this, the King proceeds towards the hermitage. Before entering the premises of the hermitage, he removes his royal attire and, after brief instructions to Suta, proceeds to the hermitage.
In the sacred grove, the King encounters the exceptionally beautiful Shakuntala, who is tending to plants with her friends, Anasuya and Priyamvada. As Shakuntala becomes frightened by a buzzing bee, the King intervenes to help. He introduces himself as a royal court minister and presents them with a ring bearing the royal emblem.
Following the meeting, a budding romance ignites between Shakuntala and King Dushyanta. As the women engage in a conversation, the King inquires about Shakuntala’s parentage. Anasuya and Priyamvada reveal that she is the biological daughter of the esteemed Royal Sage Kausika and the celestial dancer Menaka. They explain that Rishi Kanva adopted her after finding her abandoned in the forest. The King then asks if Shakuntala is bound to the ashram or if her adoptive father would allow her to leave. Priyamvada responds that the Rishi intends to arrange Shakuntala’s marriage when he finds a suitable match.
Act I concludes with the cries of alarm regarding a loose elephant. The women hurry back to the hermitage, including Shakuntala, who, even while departing with her friends, gazes longingly at the King.
ACT – II (CONCEALMENT OF THE TELLING)
Act II of Kalidasa’s Abhigyanashakuntalam introduces Madhavya, the court jester and close companion of King Dushyanta. Madhavya expresses his frustration at being forced to join the King on a tiring hunting expedition. In a private moment, Madhavya reveals Dushyanta’s growing interest in Shakuntala, which he hopes to use as a reason to request the King to end the hunt so that he can rest his weary body.
Madhavya suggests that the King should halt the chase. King Dushyanta instructs the guard, Raivataka, to summon General Bhadrasena. Upon arrival, he instructs General Bhadrasena recall the hunting party and set up camp nearby.
As Dushyanta and Madhavya discuss the King’s longing for Shakuntala and how to re-enter the hermitage, two young ascetics arrive at the camp. They present offerings to the King and request him to protect their hermitage from the demons as long as Rishi Kanva is away. Dushyanta readily agrees to assist them.
As Act II progresses, the King prepares to visit the hermitage, both to offer protection and to secretly meet Shakuntala. However, he faces a dilemma when a messenger, Karabhaka, arrives from the capital, informing the King that his mother summons him home. Dushyanta resolves the conundrum by sending Madhavya to the palace in his stead, choosing to go to the hermitage himself. He refrains from sharing his true motives with Madhavya, believing the jester to be indiscreet. This action aligns with the title “Concealment of the Telling,” as Dushyanta masks his desire to see Shakuntala under the guise of royal duty, dismissing his feelings as a mere whim.
ACT – III (LOVE’S FRUITION)
Act III of Kalidasa’s Abhigyanashakuntalam opens with a prologue featuring a hermit residing in Rishi Kanva’s retreat. The hermit inquires about Shakuntala’s well-being from Priyamvada, inadvertently informing the audience that Shakuntala is suffering from a heat stroke. Priyamvada is seen carrying medicinal ointments and lotus stems for Shakuntala near the Malini River’s edge.
Following the prologue, King Dushyanta appears before the audience, deeply troubled by his intense feelings of love. As he wanders towards the Malini’s banks, lost in thought, he encounters a visibly unwell Shakuntala being tended to by her companions. Dushyanta conceals himself behind a tree, overhearing a conversation that reveals Shakuntala’s affliction is not from heat, but from love-mirroring his own condition. The King silently rejoices upon learning that Shakuntala reciprocates his strong affection. He then makes his presence known as Shakuntala inscribes a love note to him on a lotus leaf using her fingernail.
Subsequently, Anasuya and Priyamvada leave the two alone to address their feelings. King Dushyanta shares his intention to marry Shakuntala through the Gandharva custom. However, their moments of intimacy is cut short by the arrival of the hermitage’s matron, Gautami, who checks on Shakuntala’s health before escorting her back to the retreat. The act concludes with a sense of yearning and blossoming romance between the two.
ACT – IV (SHAKUNTALA’S DEPARTURE)
Act IV of Kalidasa’s Abhigyanashakuntalam chronicles Shakuntala’s journey from her father’s residence to her husband’s palace. The act commences with a prologue revealing Shakuntala’s secret marriage to King Dushyanta, who has returned to his Kingdom, leaving her longing for his message.
The prologue further informs that while Shakuntala was lost in thoughts of her beloved, neglecting her hermitage duties, she was visited by sage Durvasa. Being ignored repeatedly, he cursed Shakuntala, declaring that the object of her thoughts would forget her entirely. Realizing Shakuntala’s unawareness, her friends, Priyamvada and Anasuya, tried their best to help Shakuntala. Anasuya appealed to the sage, who stated that while the curse couldn’t be nullified, its effects could be reversed by presenting a significant item or a token given by the person occupying Shakuntala’s thoughts. Anasuya and Priyamvada also decide to hide the matter of this curse from Shakuntala for the time being, so as not to upset her.
As time passed without news from the capital, Shakuntala’s friends grew concerned about the curse’s fulfillment. They considered using the ring King Dushyanta had given Shakuntala, which bore his name, as a potential solution. While deliberating on who could deliver the ring, they learned that Rishi Kanva had discovered Shakuntala’s marriage and pregnancy through a divine message during a fire ritual.
Rishi Kanva blessed his daughter and arranged for her safe travel to her husband’s abode. Act IV concludes with Shakuntala’s emotional farewell to her friends and family. During her departure, her companions advise her to present the ring in the King’s court, hinting at possible complications. This suggestion fills Shakuntala with unexpected apprehension. The act ends with Shakuntala leaving the hermitage alongside her companions, Gautami, Sarangrava, and Saradvata, carrying a sense of foreboding and potential heartbreak.
ACT – V (THE REPUDIATION OF SHAKUNTALA)
Act V of Kalidasa’s Abhigyanashakuntalam fulfills the ominous anticipation established in the final section of Act IV.
The act commences with a prelude featuring the Royal Court Chamberlain contemplating how to inform his fatigued monarch about the arrival of ascetics from Rishi Kanva’s hermitage. After the King dismisses Madhavya, the Chamberlain approaches and relays this information. Dushyanta instructs the Chamberlain to escort the visitors respectfully to the meeting grounds. He then discusses with Vetravati, the palace guard, his suspicions regarding this unexpected visit, particularly noting the presence of women among the male ascetics.
The four visitors enter the grounds with apprehension, a feeling that has lingered since their arrival in the capital. Upon meeting the King, they receive his reverence and offer their blessings. When asked about their purpose, they convey Rishi Kanva’s message, presenting Shakuntala as Dushyanta’s bride, now carrying his unborn child. The King appears perplexed, claiming no recollection of this and accuses Shakuntala of deception when she fails to produce the ring he supposedly gave her. Despite pleas from Sarngarava, Saradvata, and Gautami, the King remains steadfast in his denial.
The visitors decide to abandon Shakuntala to protect her father’s reputation. The King seeks counsel from the High Priest, who suggests that Shakuntala reside at his home until childbirth, after which a decision can be made about their fate.
As the High Priest prepares to take Shakuntala to his residence, an otherworldly light appears, and a female figure emerges from the world of Apsaras, whisKing Shakuntala away. The day’s events leave the King deeply troubled as he retires.
ACT – VI (SEPARATION FROM SHAKUNTALA)
Act VI of Abhigyanashakuntalam commences with a Prelude that sets the stage for King Dushyanta’s memory restoration. The Prelude opens with local authorities apprehending a fisherman under suspicion of stealing a ring bearing the royal seal and the monarch’s name.
Upon interrogation by the chief of police, the detained fisherman proclaims his innocence. He explains that he discovered the ring inside a carp while fishing and, recognizing its value, went to the market to sell it. The authorities later released him after verifying his account, and offering him an appropriate royal reward for returning the ring.
Subsequently, Dushyanta is seen wandering the pleasure gardens, visibly distressed and guilt-ridden, accompanied by his friend Madhavya and discreetly followed by Misrakesi, a celestial dancer and friend of Menaka. Misrakesi observes the King’s remorse and longing for both Shakuntala and the unborn child he unknowingly rejected. She determines that his feelings for Shakuntala are sincere and resolves to inform the heartbroken girl, who continues to pine for her love.
The act concludes with the arrival of Matali, Lord Indra’s charioteer. On behalf of Lord Indra, Matali requests King Dushyanta to vanquish “the race of Titans, the invincible brood of the demon Kalanemi.” This call to action rouses the King from his melancholy, and he departs, bow in hand, to fulfill his royal obligations.
ACT – VII (SHAKUNTALA’S PROSPERITY)
The Act – VII and final act of the play, Kalidasa Abhigyanashakuntalam portrays the aftermath of King Dushyanta’s triumph over demons and his departure from the celestial realm of Lord Indra.
While journeying in Indra’s chariot, steered by Matali, Dushyanta contemplates Indra’s son Jayanta, which stirs his desire for offspring. The chariot descends towards Earth, encountering the ethereal Hema-Kuta mountain, home to Rishi Marica and Mother Aditi, progenitors of the Devas. The King opts to enter the sage’s hermitage to present his respects.
As Dushyanta waits for the sage to conclude a conversation, he witnesses an extraordinary scene: a young hermitage boy attempting to separate a lion cub from its nursing mother. Despite the efforts of hermit women to intervene, the child’s strength proves overwhelming. Dushyanta ultimately assists in freeing the cub from the boy’s grasp.
During this encounter, the King learns of the child’s true parentage and is overjoyed to discover that the boy, named Sarvadamana and later Bharata by Sage Marica, is his own son. Marica subsequently elucidates the circumstances leading to Dushyanta’s memory loss. The narrative concludes with Shakuntala’s reunion with her husband and Dushyanta’s liberation from the cycle of rebirth through Sage Marica’s blessings. Thus, the play Recognition of Shakuntala, which began with a pursuit, culminates in fulfillment.
