Ravi Varma’s Shakuntala
Raja Ravi Varma(1848 -1906) is considered one of the greatest painters in the history of Indian Art. He was the first and the best painter whose paintings represented Indian culture and iconography in European academic style. His paintings were sold as lithographs at very affordable prices to the public. His portrayal of Hindu Gods reached every Hindu household, especially when the caste system didn’t allow all believers to enter temples.
Ravi Varma had a special place for Shakuntala (from the Indian epic Mahabharata) which is evidently seen in his paintings that depict scenes from various stages of Shakuntala’s life. Here is the story of Shakuntala through the eyes of Raja Ravi Varma.
Act 1–7 is a summary of her life and love (summarized from the English translation of Kalidasa’s play Abhijnanashakuntalam). Act 0 is the prequel of how Shakuntala was born to her parents, Vishwamitra and Menaka.
Act 1
On his chariot, King Dushyanta is chasing an antelope when two hermits interrupt him. They request him to spare the antelope as it belongs to their ashram (hermitage). The King respects their request and puts his arrow back into the quiver. In return, the hermits bless him that he will have a son who will reign the entire world. The king bows his head in reverence. The hermits invite the King to their ashram and accept their hospitality. They tell him that the ashram belongs to their Guru Rishi (saint) Kanwa, but he has currently gone to Somatirtha (a type of pilgrimage) for the sake of his daughter Shakuntala and left her in charge of the ashram in his absence. The king accepts the invitation and follows the hermits to the ashram, leaving behind all his regal ornaments with his charioteer.
When Dushyanta enters the ashram, he sees three beautiful women and watches them from behind the trees. He sees that Shakuntala is being teased by her friends Priyamvada and Anasuya and a bee hovering around her. He is enamored by Shakuntala’s beauty. While he watches this from a distance, Shakuntala suddenly cries out for help. Dushyanta uses this opportunity and appears in front of Shakuntala to help her and introduce himself. Later, while walking in the forest Shakuntala hurts her foot by a pointed Kusha grass and asks her friend to support her. While removing the thorn she looks out to catch a glimpse of Dushyanta.
Act 2
Dushyanta is sitting in his hut completely love-struck by Shakuntala and her beauty. Madhavaya, the King’s minister, comes to Dushyanta and tells him that there are difficulties to hunt. Dushyanta orders Madhavaya to stop the hunting activities completely for now. Dushyanta goes on to describe Shakuntala’s beauty to Madhavaya when two hermits walk into his hut. The hermits request Dushyanta to protect their ashram from demons while their Rishi Kanwa is away. Dushyanta obliges and accepts their request. A messenger from the Queen, his mother, arrives from the capital where she asks him to return to Hastinapur to perform some rituals. This puts Dushyanta in a dilemma. After some thought, he requests Madhavaya to go to the capital in his place well aware that the Queen brought him up like her own son. While bidding farewell to Madhavaya, Dushyanta reminds him to not talk about Shakuntala at the palace and tell the family the actual reason for him to stay back, his word to protect the hermitage.
Act 3
The disciples of Kanwa at the hermitage thank Dushyanta for protecting them against the demons during their rituals. Dushyanta walks into the hermitage hoping to see Shakuntala. Dushyanta prays to the love God to make Shakuntala fall in love with him. Meanwhile, Shakuntala and her friends head towards the river Malini. Dushyanta follows the footprints towards a bower at the banks of the river and spots the three women. Priyamvada and Anasuya are comforting Shakuntala who feels a deep love for the Dushyanta. They suggest to her that she should write her feeling in a letter that they will give to Dushyanta.
While she starts writing on a lotus leaf, Dushyanta advances towards them from behind the trees. He tells Shakuntala that he accepts her feelings and his feelings reciprocate. Dushyanta proposes to Shakuntala for a Gandharva Viviah (Hindu love marriage without rituals or witnesses) with nature as a witness. As a token of their marriage, he presents her with a signet ring with his name engraved.
Act 4
Dushyanta receives news of unrest at the capital and has to rush back. Shakuntala and her friends are in the forest gathering flowers while they talk about how happy they are as Shakuntala got married to a person of her choice. Deep in the thought of Dushyanta, Shakuntala lacks to show her invitation and hospitality to Rishi Durvasa who is visiting the hermitage.
Known for his anger, Durvasa feels offended and curses Shakuntala that the person of her thoughts will have no memory of her. Shakuntala begs for forgiveness along with Priyamvada and Anasuya. Durvasa accepts her apology and tells her that once shown an ornament of love to the person, will bring back the lost memories.
A pupil of Kanwa comes to inform them of his return. Priyamvada and Anasuya come to inform Kanwa regarding Shakuntala’s marriage and pregnancy. He immediately arranges for Shakuntala to go to the palace of her wedded King. Priyamvada and Anasuya adorn Shakuntala with ornaments and flowers from the forest as they prepare for her departure.
Shakuntala departs the ashram with Gautami and two hermits.
Act 5
At Hastinapur, Dushyanta’s wife, Hansavati, is practicing her singing while the King is in a meeting with Madhavaya. Dushyanta gets mesmerized by her melodious voice and forgets about Shakuntala completely because of Durvasa’s curse. In a few days, Shakuntala and the others arrive to the court and a messenger comes to announce this to the king. Dushyanta is in shock to hear this and has no memory of Shakuntala or the marriage. Gautami removes Shakuntala’s veil to show her face to Dushyanta. Seeing her beauty Dushyanta is spellbound once again but he rejects her as she is pregnant.
Gautami tells Dushyanta that his marriage to Shakuntala was without any witnesses. Unable to accept this, the King asks for some evidence of the nuptials. Shakuntala tells him about the ring but when she looks at her finger, the ring isn’t there. Worried and sad, Shakuntala looks at Gautami for comfort. Gautami tells Shakuntala that the ring might have fallen into the Sanchi river while drinking water.
Dushyanta discusses the matter with the priest Somarata, who agrees to give pregnant Shakuntala an abode until her delivery. The king is upset and unhappy that he had to send her away.
Seeing this from the heaven above, Shakuntala’s mother Menaka comes to rescue her. She takes pregnant Shakuntala with her back to the celestial world.
Act 6
The superintendent of police comes to the King’s court with two officers and a handcuffed man. The officers tell the King that the man is a thief and possesses a signet ring of the King. The man tells the King that he is a fisherman. He caught a big Rohit fish, and he found the ring in its stomach. The officers present the King with his ring and upon one sight of it, Dushyanta gets his memory back. The curse of Durvasa is removed, and he remembers everything about Shakuntala and their marriage. Dushyanta feels miserable that he abandoned pregnant Shakuntala.
In the capital, there are rising concerns from the people that the king has no heir. Dushyanta calls Madhavaya for help but he appears to have been kidnapped by some demon. Dushyanta draws an arrow but before he could shoot it Madhavaya appears with Mitali. Mitali is Lord Indra’s (king of Gods) charioteer who has come to ask Dushyanta to come to fight demons in the celestial world. Dushyanta and Mitali leave for the celestial region.
Act 7
Dushyanta fights the demons and defeats them. After his victory, Dushyanta wants to pay his respects to Rishi Marichi. He goes to the ashram of Marichi and encounters a small boy, Sarvadamana or Bharata, playing with a lion’s cub.
Dushyanta is astonished at the boy’s courage. He feels affection towards the boy as if he were his own son. During a conversation, the boy announces his mother’s name as Shakuntala. Dushyanata is elated with joy that this boy is his son, Bharata. He follows the boy to his mother. Dushyanta falls to Shakuntala’s feet as soon as he sees her. He asks for forgiveness for what he has done.
Shakuntala forgives Dushyanta and they all go to see Marichi. They take his blessings and return to their rightful home, Hastinapur. Later, Bharata becomes the emperor of the land called Bharata (known as India today).
Act 0 (Birth of Shakuntala)
Rishi Vishwamitra was a powerful sage and the most respected for his near-divine powers.
Indra who was frightened by Vishwamitra sent the most beautiful apsara (celestial nymph) to lure him and disrupt his meditation. Looking at Menaka’s beauty Vishwamitra broke his meditation. Menaka falls in love with Vishwamitra, and they have a girl child.
Vishwamitra finds out that this was Indra’s trick and curses Menaka.
Menaka knew that she had to return to Indra’s court, so she leaves the baby in the forest. Rishi Kanwa finds the baby surrounded by birds and names her Shakuntala (bird). He raises her like his own daughter.
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