The Separation of Sakuntala

There are many themes in Sakuntala, the one that stuck out to me the most is separation. Before we get into that however, can we just appreciate the fact that a common theme in romances is star-crossed lovers from different classes/factions. From Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet to the more modern film The Prince and me, love seems to spring up where it isn’t supposed to. When the love is from different classes, the supposed higher class individual seems to always be framed in that they are just so benevolent that they look past this person’s class to deem them worthy. Seperation of classes is evident in Sakuntala as well, with the King hiding his identity seemingly out of moral desires.

KING [stepping down]. Driver, all men should look modest and humble when they enter such a holy grove—so take these.

Kalidasa. The Recognition of Sakuntala (Oxford World’s Classics) (p. 10). OUP Oxford. Kindle Edition.

And upon seeing Sakuntala tending to her chores he spies upon her like Actaeon spying upon Artemis, except instead of being punished the King is rewarded by a kindling of emotion in the maiden he watches.

ŚAKUNTALĀ [to herself]. But how can it have happened that, simply at the sight of this man, I am shaken with a passion so at odds with the religious life?

Kalidasa. The Recognition of Sakuntala (Oxford World’s Classics) (p. 15). OUP Oxford. Kindle Edition.

Of course the King knows that for him to be attracted to this female, she can’t be of mortal birth. He is of course attracted to her otherworldly beauty. There might be some slight sarcasm there. It just appears classist that the King who presents himself as a lower rank can’t be attracted to a someone of lower birth, they have to have something different about them.

KING. It all makes sense, for How could such beauty stem from mortal birth? (23) Does lightning strike upwards out of the earth?

Kalidasa. The Recognition of Sakuntala (Oxford World’s Classics) (p. 17). OUP Oxford. Kindle Edition.

But this seperation of classes is only the beginning. There is a physical separation after their secret marriage. And after Sakuntala has offended a supposed great sage, she is cursed to be forgotten by her love. [Why is always the woman who are cursed, who offend some great person and thus are “bad”?]

PRIYAṂVADĀ. Ah! What a disaster! Absent-minded Śakuntalā has offended someone she should have welcomed. [Looking ahead] And not just anyone—it’s the great sage Durvāsas—short-tempered’s not the word! Now he’s cursed her, spun on his heel, and shot off like a flaming arrow!

Kalidasa. The Recognition of Sakuntala (Oxford World’s Classics) (p. 44). OUP Oxford. Kindle Edition.

The physical separation can be marked by the river that must be crossed in order to reach the King’s side. This physical marker of separation that swallows the only token by which the King might recognize Sakuntala. Sakuntala is turned away by the King and called a liar.

Why is it that the woman is always punished more then the man? Sakuntala is humiliated and sent away in shame, when the King eventually recalls what happened he is distraught and made out to be a figure of pity. He suffers so. The separation of how the different genders is treated is just another distinction.

Why does this matter? Why does the separation and my viewing of it matter? It matters because it is literature that shows not only the classism but also the misogyny that is present in humanity. Even a tale liek this which seems so pure, can show differences that have continued for years. The Jasmine flowers that Sakuntala loved represent her in my drawing, the King is shown by the crown, the ring is in the river. The river exists as a physical reminder of their seperation.