Shakuntala and the Lost Ring
The lovely Shakuntala is wooed by a great King, but almost at once he forgets her.
400s
The lovely Shakuntala is wooed by a great King, but almost at once he forgets her.
400s
‘The Recognition of Shakuntala’ is a play by fifth-century Indian dramatist Kalidasa, derived from the ancient Mahabharata, and made popular in Georgian England by Calcutta judge William Jones. It tells of a shy young woman who is wooed and wedded by a great King, who afterwards cannot remember her at all.
KING Dushyánta met Shakúntala while out deer-hunting, and would not return home to his palace until he had married her. As her guardian, the hermit Kanva, was away, the King left Shakuntala behind until he had Kanva’s blessing, but promised to send for her soon.
The King was barely gone when the seer Durvásas paid a visit. Shakuntala, dreaming of her husband, was not the perfect hostess and Durvasas felt neglected. ‘May your lover forget you’ he grumbled unkindly; then he relented, prophesying that Dushyanta would remember his bride if she showed him the ring he had given her.
Kanva returned and gave his blessing, so with some misgivings Shakuntala, who was already with child, took the ring and went up to the capital. As she feared, the King could not remember her; and when she stretched out her hand the ring was not on her finger. ‘It must have fallen off in the Ganges!’ she wailed, but the King’s face was as stone.
Traditionally, the capital was Hastinapur in Uttar Pradesh, northern India, about 60 miles northeast of New Delhi, and 20 miles northeast of Meerut.
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
When he returned to his palace, why did King Dushyanta leave Shakuntala behind?
He did not have Kanva’s blessing yet.