Artbeatz Fabric Painting of Sakuntala; click here.
For this chapter, I have chosen to tell you about Sakuntala. This is not a swayamvara ritual like my other stories, but I still think you will like it. Sakuntala had a very rough start in life. I think a lot of you will be able to identify with her struggle. This is a tragic, touching story that I think you will enjoy.
Sakuntala was born in the forest and left there, probably to die. But, she was very lucky. Some of the birds in the forest fed her until the sage, Kanwa, found her. Kanwa was a very nice sage, much nicer than the other sages we have seen. A sage is similar to today’s psychics, clairvoyants and medicine men all in one. Kanwa took her in and treated her like she was his own daughter; in fact he often called her “daughter”. Sakuntala had parents, even though she was born in the forest. She was the daughter of Menaka and Vishvamitra. However, she only knew the sage Kanwa, as a caregiver.
While Sakuntala was outside one day, King Dushyanta saw her and fell in love. After much talking, he finally convinced Sakuntala that he was a worthy husband for her. And King Dushyanta asked her to make a gandharva wedding. A gandharva wedding is a little like a contract. It basically says that both people mutually accept and agree that they want to be married, but does away with the ceremony. After this, King Dushyanta gave Sakuntala a ring to show his love. King Dushyanta told her he had to return to his city and he departed. Sakuntala was very excited and she headed back to Kanwa’s house. She was so excited that King Dushyanta wanted to marry her that she did not notice what was going on around her. She did not see that the sage, Durvasas, was also in the forest. Durvasas was heading to Kanwa’s as well. Durvasas was having a bad day and he put a curse on Sakuntala. The curse said that King Dushyanta would forget Sakuntala, and therefore their love would never last. But later on, Durvasas began to feel guilty, and said that the curse would be reversed as soon as Sakuntala showed King Dushyanta the ring he had given her. Sadly, Sakuntala realized she was pregnant and immediately set off to find her husband. She wanted to look good for King Dushyanta, so she took a bath in some sacred water along the way. She did not realize it at the time, but she had lost her ring while taking a bath. After walking for miles and miles she finally made it to King Dushyanta’s palace and he did not recognize her. He refused to have anything to do with her. So, Sakuntala did the only thing she knew to do. She went back to the forest and gave birth to a son, Bharata.
Now, Sakuntala believed very much in fate, and knew that King Dushyanta would remember her and his son Bharata. As luck would have it, a fisherman caught a huge fish in the water where Sakuntala was bathing, and inside the fish was Sakuntala’s ring. The fisherman recognized it as King Dushyanta’s symbol and immediately took it back to him. The king remembered Sakuntala, and accepted her and his beautiful son, Bharata, into the palace. And everyone lived happily ever after (with the possible exception of the fish).
Analysis:
I really fell in love with this story while I was looking for a story to revise for my fourth chapter. I really liked all of the different elements that were contained within this story. I like that there are elements of fate, love, and hope. I also thought that this story was easy to relate to, even today. I think that everyone can identify with the horrible feelings Sakuntala must have been having when King Dushyanta turned her away, especially since she was pregnant. This story also reminded me of Sita. Both women have to prove themselves to their husbands, while enduring great hardships and pregnancy. Also, I like this story because neither Sita nor Sakuntala gave up hope that their husbands would find/believe them. I really enjoyed this story because it had a happy ending. Who doesn’t love a story with a happy ending? Since we have seen the epic tradition is not full of happy endings. There are more stories coming, so please check back soon! Also, please feel free to e-mail me; the link is at the top of the page.
Resources Used:
Resources used for the story:
Class Site:
Website: Epics of India Online
http://mythfolklore.net/india/encyclopedia/sakuntala.htm
Originally from:
Dowson, John (1820-1881). A classical dictionary of Hindu mythology and religion, geography, history, and literature. London: Trübner, 1879 [Reprint, London: Routledge, 1979].
Resources used for the image:
Website: Fabric Painting Art
http://artbeatz.com/fabricpaintings.html
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Chapter Two: Nala and Damayanti
Chapter Six: Krishna and Rukmini