Page 24 - Seniors Today - Vol1 Issue 3

Vikramaditya of Ujjayini. That means he lived Sarvadaman was brought up in the jungle
in the Vikram era which is 57 years older than atmosphere in the company of wild animals.
the Christian era. He was supposed to be an King Dushyant regained his memory after
ignorant person till he deceitfully got married to seeing the wedding ring recovered from a fish’s
a highly educated lady called Vidyotama. After a stomach, which Shakuntala, had lost while
shock treatment by his wife, who threw him out bathing in the river. He then apologized to
of the house, he diverted all his energies towards Shakuntala making it a happy ending.
getting educated and became a world renowned
poet and playwright.

Shakuntala, though an ancient tale, is a popular theme for theatre
performers
Shakuntala with Sarvadaman in Rishi Kashyaps ashram
An Overview Of ‘Abhigyan Shakuntalam’ Se-
This is a beautiful stage play depicting the rene Atmosphere
love story of a king called Dushyant and a Kalidasa has beautifully described the serene
jungle beauty called Shakuntala. She was an atmosphere of the ashram, where the humans,
illegitimate daughter of King Vishwamitra the animals and the birds lived fearlessly in an
abandoned in the jungle by her mother Menka. atmosphere of non-violence (ahinsa).
She was taken care of by a bird called Shakun It is a popular stage play not only in our country,
till she was picked up Rishi Kanva, who gave but also abroad. How translation spoils the
her shelter in his ashram and brought her up as show is shown in the following scene where
his own daughter. Kanva called her Shakuntala young Sarvadaman escapes the eye of the baby
after Shakun, the birds who initially took care of sitter and is seen running towards a lioness
her in the jungle. feeding her cubs. How craftily the baby sitter
King Dushyant met Shakuntala in the manages to call Sarvadaman back from where
jungle during one of his hunting expeditions
and got married by the Gandharva method.
A Gandharva marriage is one of the eight
classical types of Hindu marriages. This ancient
marriage tradition was based on mutual
attraction between two people with no rituals,
witnesses or family participation. Due to a
curse, the king forgot about this marriage and
Shakuntala was forced to live in the jungle as an
unwed mother in the ashram of Kashyap Rishi
with the king’s son called Sarvadaman. He was
also called Bharat and that’s how our country
came to be known as Bharat.

Artistes performing the play Anabhigna Shakuntala in Kannada
24 during the Abhinaya National Theatre Festival in Hyderabad
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