“Abhigyan
shakuntalam” represents the best of Kalidasa. It is his magnum
opus. In this work he interprets the Mahabharatha story involving the falling
in love of Dushyantha and Shankunthala. This is my favourite love story of all
time.
Shakunthala was this stunningly
beautiful daughter of Vishwamitra and Menaka. Dushyantha was the king of
Hastinapura. Dushyantha happens to meet Shakunthala, falls in love, impregnates
her :-) and then has to leave back to Hastinapura due to certain circumstances.
Shakunthala meanwhile earns the misfortune of being cursed by - who else - the
eternal angry old sage Durvasa. As a result of this curse Dushyantha completely
loses memory of ever meeting Shakunthala. How circumstances led him to remember
her forms the rest of the story.
My favorite interpretation of
this love story is how this separation and reunification happens across life
and birth cycles. Each boy and girl pair is a version of Dushyanthan and Shakunthala
story. A men and women in love and united in marriage play out the Dushyantha
and Shakunthala in an infinite loop. The live a fulfilling life of marriage and
die. The next birth makes them forget each other for a while but at the right
time the man's thoughts are sparked off the way Dushyantha's was when he saw
the ring. Ultimately the man searches, knocks door after door until he finally
finds his Shakunthala and asks her in marriage. Almost always it feels like
they were meant to be united. That they had known each other for several years
but for some reason had forgotten. In every birth Dushyantha and Shakunthala
may wander, may get lost, they may even get married to the wrong person. But
come the moment their destiny leads them towards each other. This story is so
fascinating that even the gods love to participate in this game. This is why
Meera meets her Krishna. Andal meets her Rangamannar.
p.s: The image is Raja ravi Varma's painting of Shakunthala
looking longingly at Dushyantha
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