A Ring of love- Shakuntala's story of lost love and identity

The seed of Mahabharata was planted by Shakuntala and Dushyanta. But their love and happiness was sullied by the curse of Brahmins. If this cant be a bad omen, then what else can be? To give the message that when sometimes starting cant be made right, what can be said of the ending and what went on in between? When Shakuntala's love and honor was questioned in front of the whole court, the court was cursed thereon.

A wandering and waiting woman in forest- the embodiment of Shakuntala, Source: Pinterest

<p class="ql-align-justify">Memory is a limited phenomenon yet it has been proven that human memory did survive for a long period of their lifetime, a bit smooth on the edges, a few names forgotten but the face of loved ones remain intact. After all, how can one forget the face of one’s beloved?</p><p class="ql-align-justify">History has proven to deflate many of mankind’s beliefs and when it comes to love and memory, Shakuntala’s name sadly comes on the lips of those who fear to share a similar faith as hers, in terms of forgotten ties and promises, leading to endless, tormenting- waiting.</p><p class="ql-align-justify">When Kalidasa wrote Abhijnansakuntalam, Sanskrit “The Recognition of Shakuntala”, his Sanskrit play, advocating the tragic fate of Shakuntala, the woman who is considered to have given birth to the Kuru Clan of Mahabharata, he would never have imagined that his simple tale would be interpreted as a discourse in women’s literature apart from it being a Puranic tale. No one wants to end up like Shakuntala, waiting and waiting for what seems like an eternity only to meet the beloved and hear that he doesn’t remember her or worse that all that happened was a shameful lie.</p><p class="ql-align-justify">The story of Shakuntala’s birth and existence itself echoed abandonment and alienation. She was born to parents who always lived on their whims and desires. Her mortal father, Saint Vishwamitra on being seduced purposedly by her immortal mother, the apsara Menka fathered two children. A boy and a girl. Theirs was an alliance that was flawed and based on lies from the start and so Vishwamitra left Menka. Menka doesn’t seem too distraught by the fact because she was a celestial figure with a seat reserved at Indra’s court. But her moral children had no future at Indra’s court so she left them by a riverside and with time Rishi Kanva found them and took them to his hermitage. The Rishi would eventually adopt them, he would name the baby girl Shakuntala, because when she was found Shakuntala birds were singing around the vast forest as if narrating sagas of soothing times which the girl would bring. The boy would be called Pramiti and would go on to become an Acharya himself.</p><p class="ql-align-justify">Shakuntala grew up to be a beautiful woman with a graceful personality. Rishi Kanva’s hermitage lay in the heart of enchanting woodlands and the girl grew within nature, learning everything about life with the simple, complacent nature of animals. She was the apple of her father’s eyes, who like every father wanted only the utmost happiness for her. However, the faith which Shakuntala chose didn’t resonate with rationality but with passion and youthful infatuation.</p><p class="ql-align-justify">Shakuntala met king Dushyant from the Puru dynasty while he was on a royal hunt, the King was instantly enamored with this celestial beauty in human form and decided to woe Shakuntala. As young and gullible as Shakuntala was, she also fell into his charms and they decided to get united with the ritual of Gandharva Marriage, which is one of the seven forms of the Marriage system recognized by Hinduism. However, what makes Gandharva questionable is that it's based on just a consensual sexual relationship which is considered a pact of union, as the animals do, hence this marriage promise was acceptable for Shakuntala who grew up with wildlife.</p><p class="ql-align-justify">Then Dushyant had to return to his royal responsibilities, promising his new Gandharva wife that he would send for her soon. He left his ring with her, as a gift, which bore the royal sign of the Pauravs. And so started Shakuntala’s clock of waiting, which didn’t seem to end for months, until Shakuntala realized that she was with a child.</p><p class="ql-align-justify">But much before that, an incident happened that altered Shakuntala’s future of blissful marital life. Maharishi Durvasa, the saint who was as famous for his greatness as his arrogance and rage, was visiting Kanva’s hermitage and everyone was soulfully engaged in taking care of his needs. Except for young Shakuntala, who was too immersed in the daydreams of her royal husband to spare any attention for anyone else, whether it be the rageful Durvasa. And so Shakuntala’s romantic-youthful distracted mind irked the Maharishi so much that he cursed her that whoever she has been thinking about would truly forget her. Shakuntala was horrified and so were her friends, so they went to the Maharishi and explained Shakuntala’s situation and by then Durvasa’s rage had quietened. But the words of a Brahmin can't be taken back, so Durvasa altered his curse. If Shakuntala would show her husband anything which would remind the king of their time together, the curse would be broken.</p><p class="ql-align-justify">And so after Shakuntala’s pregnancy resurfaced, her father along with a large caravan ventured to take his daughter to her rightful place beside the king. On their journey, they set up a camp beside a river and while boating, Shakuntala caressed the gentle waters and lost the ring, the only link which can unite the young woman to her lord husband. And so was lost Shakuntala’s love and identity in the eyes of Dushyanta because of a ring which was the souvenir of their union. Dushyanta had no memory of ever taking a wife, in fact, he already had a wife at his palace who even went forward to call Shakuntala a common prostitute, yearning to claim the king by thrusting her sinful offspring on the king.</p><p class="ql-align-justify">Shakuntala and Kanva were distraught, but nothing could have been done then. Now Shakuntala’s celestial mother comes to her rescue and to save her daughter’s honor she took Shakuntala to her heavenly abode.</p><p class="ql-align-justify">Years later, a common fisherman catches a big fish from the same river where Shakuntala lost the symbol of her love and marriage. When the fisherman tore apart the fish’s fleshy stomach, a ring was found with the royal Siegel. The fisherman immediately took the ring to its owner, the king suddenly realized he had a wife called Shakuntala.</p><p class="ql-align-justify">When the war with demons was going on, Dushyanta appeared in heaven to fight the evil spirits and finds a young boy with sturdy legs and the spirit of that of a Puru warrior. It was Shakuntala’s and Dushyanta’s son, Bharata. And so the family was tearfully reunited.</p><p class="ql-align-justify">King Bharata would eventually establish the Kuru Dynasty and Hastinapur, whose throne would become the reason for a bloodthirsty war between the blood of the same family, the heirs of Shakuntala and Dushyanta. When Durvasa cursed Shakuntala’s love, the line which she birthed was cursed along, with unsatisfaction, deceit, and selfishness, the tragedies which complied the Mahabharata.</p><p class="ql-align-justify">&nbsp;</p>