Socontala is a play translated by William Jones in English.
Abhijnanasakuntalam, a play written by Kalidasa, is one of the masterpieces of world literature. It is thrilling love story of the exquisitely beautiful Shakuntala and the mighty king Dushyanta. Dushyanta is the hero of the play. He possesses almost all the qualities of a brave and nobel minded hero. Dushyanta was the founder of the Puru Dynasty. He was the ruler of a great empire. He was a powerful king and his subjects were happy and prosperous under his rule. King Dushyanta loved hunting. Once, while hunting in a forest , Dushyanta happens to meet Shakuntala, a beautiful young lady living in a hermitage. He falls in love with Shakuntala, and is enthralled to find that she is attracted to him in the same manner.
The first Act begins with the description of the summer season by the narrator (Sutradhar). He also introduces king Dushyanta. Then king Dushyanta chasing a deer, enters the ashram of the sage Kanva in his Chariot. The king aims at the deer but a monk restricts him to hunt in the premises of sage Kanva.
In Sacontala, the theme of concealment becomes evident in Act 1 itself when Duhsyanta takes off his royal garments and weapons on entering the Hermitage of Kanva. Even
though he undertakes this action as a sign of respect for the sacred space,
it allows him to take off the mask of a king and conceal his real identity. He
introduces himself to Shakuntala as a court official out inspecting the penance
grooves. This deception makes space for a much more relaxed interaction
between Duhsyanta and Shakuntala and her companions, without the strict rules
of engagement mandated for royals. Literally throwing off the mantle of his
kingship, Duhsyanta presents himself as a man first and Shakuntala is attracted
to this noble court official at first. When Duhsyanta comes again to woo her,
he can no longer hide his true identity as he is performing his kingly duty of
protecting the Hermitage from demons.
The second act of concealment occurs in Act II when Duhsyanta is urgently
called by his mother to the Royal Palace. He is torn between his duty towards
his mother and his kingdom, and his desire to see Shakuntala again. The dilemma
is solved when the ascetics’ request his help. As he sends Madhavya in his
stead to the capital city, he tells Madhavya that he is staying back to do his
duty towards these ascetics and not out of his desire for Shakuntala. He further
tells his friend to consider all he said about Shakuntala as a joke. Duhsyanta
therefore, conceals his true feelings for Shakuntala as well as his reason for
staying back at the Hermitage. This concealment creates a sense of foreboding
in the play as it allows their marriage to be a secret from everyone outside
the Hermitage and therefore, there are no witnesses who can support Shakuntala
when she comes to the Royal Court.
The next concealment takes place in Act III when a lovesick Shakuntala writes
a love letter to Duhsyanta. The problem, however, is its delivery since Duhsyanta
is busy protecting the ascetics in their ritual. It is Priyamvada who devices
a plan to disguise the letter with other offerings for the ritual, thus allowing her
to give it to Duhsyanta. Duhsanta’s timely appearance saves them from
actualising the plan. This event again points to the incongruity of love’s
actualisation in the hermitage, where such actions don’t sit well with a holy space
established on abstinence and austerity.
In the same act we see one of the most important scenes of concealment.
Shakuntala is so disheartened and distracted by the thoughts of Duhsyanta that
she unknowingly angers the sage Durvasa Rishi, who then curses her. She also
fails to register the curse and is oblivious of it. It is her companions who hear
the curse and on receiving the reprieve from the sage decide not to inform
Shakuntala about the curse. Thus, it is their concealment of the truth of the
curse that leads her to arrive at Duhsyanta’s court unaware of the reason why
he no longer remembers her. Had she been warned, perhaps Kanva would
have gone with his daughter to the court to help her or Shakuntala herself
would have been more careful with the ring and not lost it in the river. With
the ring as a token that would break the curse, Duhsyanta and Shakuntala’s
union would have occurred much earlier and without so much pain on both
sides.
The final concealment occurs in Act VI, where Misrakesi hides herself to observe
the repenting king. She observes how deeply Duhsyanta regrets not juts his
rejection of Shakuntala but also the loss of the son who could have continued
the Puru clan. Even as Misrakesi feels sad for both the suffering lovers, she
does not intervene because the gods have a plan for Duhsyanta and have devised
their reunion in accordance to Indra’s wishes. Here we see how the events
of the story are not completely in the hands of the two protagonists. The reunion
only occurs according to the plans of the gods. Even the curse and the subsequent
loss of memory cannot be controlled by either of the two, as both are unaware
of it. This makes the audience aware of the ambiguous and complex nature
of Fate.
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