Page 25 - Seniors Today - Vol1 Issue 3

karshati
In another scene, Kalidas employs the child
psychology of Sarvadaman, when he asks a lion
to yawn so that he can count his teeth:
Jrimbhasva singha dantaste ganyishye
(yawn o’lion teeth want to count)
How beautifully Kalidas has described the
feelings of the birds, animals and plants when
Shakuntala was leaving the ashram to join king
Dushyant, can only be enjoyed by reading the
original script.

Sarvadaman playing with lions
he was, barely a few feet away from the lioness.
The baby sitter at that moment happened to
carry in her hand a clay Shakun bird toy. This is
what Kalidas made her say:
Baby sitter: Sarvadaman, shakuntlavanyum
prekshushva
(Sarvadaman, look at the beauty of this bird).
The child got confused as Shakuntala was his
mother’s name. He could only understand that
his mother’s name was being uttered.
So he said: Kutra va mum mata? (where is my
mother?) and came running to the baby sitter
So, now if you only read the English translation
of the dialogue, why Sarvadaman should
remember his mother, after hearing “look at the
beauty of this bird” from his baby sitter.
The dialogue also shows the child psychology
knowledge of Kalidas. In that situation what you
would have done? Instinctively, you would have
shouted “Sarvadaman don’t go further, come
back, the lioness will kill you” But we all know The story of Shakuntala has also been depicted in various dance
forms, including Bharatanatyam - being performed here by
that a child at that age does not have this type Rajeshwari Sainath
of understanding and will do just the opposite.
So, Kalidas got the child confused by showing
him a toy of the Shakun bird, which his mother
was named after.In another scene Sarvadaman
is shown playing with a lion cub, which he has
pulled out forcibly while it was being breast
fed. The cub is half fed and the milk trickling
out from its mouth during forcible traction has
made its moustache stiff.
If you have some knowledge of Sanskrit, you
may be able to appreciate the apt description of
this scene by Kalidas in this couplet:
Ardhapeetastanam maturamard clishtakesaram
Prakriditum singhashishum balatkarena

SENIORS TODAY | Volume 1 | Issue 3
25 A postage stamp showing a scene from Shakuntala, printed in
India circa 1960