Name: Gerald Flores

Section: BSED 2F
SHAKUNTALA
Author background
Kalidasa is a poet Dramatist Author and genre of his work are about Sanskrit, drama, and
Classical literature. For instance, the subject of his work is an epic poetry and puranas
furthermore kalidasa was a classical Sanskrit author. His plays and poetry are primarily based on
the vedus, the Ramayana, the mahabrata and puranas. His surviving works consist of three plays,
two epic poems and two shorter poems. Moreover, kalidasa and his life is unknown.
Introduction
Shakuntala is a great love story told in Hindu epic a short story form from mahabrata.
Shakuntala is a beautiful and brave woman moreover she was a abandoned by her parent
Vishvamitra and the nymph Menaka but someone who lived in the woods found shakuntala and
raised her as own daughter and this is konva a great sage furthermore konva is the one who gave
the name to shakuntala.
Characterization
Shakuntala
Shakuntala is a beautiful and brave woman but in the otherside she was abandoned by his part.
She is the daughter of visvamarita a royal sage and the nymph Menaka but konva was there to
take the responsibility to be parents of shakuntala and raised her as own child. She lives an
ascetic in konva’ hermitage, where she tends the sacred trees and live them like sister. When
king dusyanta want to meet great acsetic sage konva. He visits the hermitage but he unexpectedly
saw a beautiful woman and this is shakuntala there are both attracted to each other. They get
married and shakuntala also get pregnant and give birth to their son.
King Dusyanta
King Dusyanta is a strong and handsome man. At the beginning of the play he visits konva’s
hermitage and immediately falls in love to a beautiful girl named shakuntala when he saw her
accidentally at hermitage. Shakuntala also fell in love with king Dusyanta so they decided to get
married and shakuntala get pregnant but king dusyanta need to go back to his kingdom to do his
obligation and responsibility for his palace but before he came back to his palace he promised to
shakuntala to send them to his kingdom in the right time and it’s really happened in the end of
story even their face trouble and confusion.
Bharata
Bharata The son of king dusyanta and shakuntala. He destined to become a world emperor a fate
prophesied by Vaikhanasa at the beginning of the play.
Kanva
Kanva is a great ascetic sage, head of the hermitage that’s the setting of the play first few acts,
and shakuntala’s beloved foster father. At beginning of play. He is absent from his hermitage
because he’s trying to appease the gods on shakuntala behalf. When she returned, he’s pleased to
learn of his daughter’s good married and sends her join king dusyanta accompanied by an escort
of ascetics and seers.
Durvasas
Durvasas is a not tempered sage who visits the hermitage, then place a curse on shakuntala and
king Dusyanta because shakuntala distracted by her new husband’s absence and her pregnancy
she fails to welcome him with appropriate formality. Durvasas cursed causes dusyanta to forget
shakuntala and the fact that they’re married. With the exception that if the king sees a moento,
such as his signet. The curse will be lifted.
Morica
Morica is the father of the god. Indra and divine sage, the head of the celestial hermitage to
which shakuntala was spirited away by nymph and has since lived with her son. Sarvadamana at
the end of the play. He explains Durvasas’s curse to shakuntala king dusyanta, blesses their
family and sends them to live together in the king court.
Conflict
The conflict in shakuntala is the time when shakuntala planned to go in the kingdom of king
dusyanta. On the way, as shakuntala was crossing a river, her wedding ring fell into the water. A
fish swallowed the ring. When shakuntala arrived at the palace the king didn’t recognize her. He
asked her to prove her identity but shakuntala didn’t have the ring to show it. The ring was lost
she crept and told the ring about. The time be couldn’t remember anything, shakuntala feel sad to
what happed and left palace and suffered for 6 years.
Climax
When the great king dusyanta visited the palace of great ascetic sage konva he accidentally saw
shakuntala the foster daughter of konva while he pursuing a deer. He caught sight of shakuntala
and lost his heart with beauty and grace of shakuntala. The king proposed to shakuntala and they
were married secretly
Resolution
There in the kingdom of Dusyanta, one fisherman caught a fish that swallowed the royal king
that slipped from the finger of shakuntala. One day the good new arrived a fisherman bought him
a ring. The told the king that he had found the ring in the stomach of a fish that he had brought it
straight to him. When the king saw the ring. The curse was broken and the king dusyanta
remembered about Shakuntala, the king went to place of his wife and son, begged their and with
honor and festivity he brought them to their kingdom.
Analyst
Theme
The shakuntala theme is a about genuine love. There were many obstacles go through just to
pursue the love they want. People with love will fight for it and there were conditions of their
relationship won’t be easily resolved. They can face full of trouble and confusion but this is not
really matter in their relationship if they love each other with genuine love. Like the story of
shakuntala and king dusyanta furthermore around the same time love must be right at the right
time.
Plot
Plot similar to the play appear in earlier text. There is a story mentioned in the mahabrata. A
story of similar plot appears in the buddist jakata tales as well. In the mahabrata the story appears
as a precursor to the pandava and kauravas’s lineages. In the story king Dusyanta and shakuntala
meet in the forest and get estranged and ultimately reunited. Their son bharata laid the
foundation of the dynasty that ultimately led to konvaras and pandavas.
Key moment
The key moment/points of illumination in shakuntala a short story told hindu epic the time when
Bharata said to her mother that animals in their place like lion didn’t hurt him. In this case we
can see the potential of bharata to be destined as world emperor.
Message
The love can be responsible for trouble and confusion but in the end love proves nothing possible
when you really have it. We can pursue anything we want but there’s no easy way to get it.
Furthermore, love must be genuine if you know how to wait. Close to the story of Shakuntala
and King Dusyanta