Shakuntala Recognized

by Kālidāsa, G.N. Reddy

Shakuntala Recognized is a translation of the Sanskrit play, Abhijyanashakuntalam, by the great poet and playwright Kalidasa. As a poet of mellifluous charm and as a master of Simile, he indulged in Sringara Rasa (Eros)the sensuous aspects of human condition. This play is perhaps his most powerful expression of that sensuality. Extolled by Goethe, and German Romanticists and others, the play uniquely weaves a magical fabric of life with the threads of human frailties and tragedies. The plot for this play is based on a tale in the Indian epic Mahaabhaarata. The tale depicts how India came to be called Bharatavarsha or Bharat, a name that is still official in the Indian languages.

Genres: Plays, Classics, India, Fiction, Drama, Indian Literature, Literature

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 400

About the author

Poetry of Indian dramatist and lyric poet Kalidasa (circa 375-circa 415) represents the height of the kavya style, which his epic poem Raghuvamsha and his lyric poem Meghaduta exemplify.

Poeple widely regard Kālidāsa (Devanāgarī: कालिदास "servant of Kali") as the greatest renowned writer in the classical Sanskrit language.

We know nothing with certainty about the life of Kālidāsa apart from works but speculate about the place where he lived or the dates of his birth and death. According to legend, his known beauty brought him to the attention of Vidyottama, princess, who married him.
Kālidāsa, however, legendarily lacked much education, and his ignorance and coarseness shamed the princess. A devoted worshipper of Kali (by other accounts of Saraswati), Kālidāsa is said to have called upon his goddess for help when he was going to commit suicide in a well after he was humiliated by his wife, and was rewarded with a sudden and extraordinary gift of wit. He is then said to have become the most brilliant of the "nine gems" at the court of the king Vikramaditya of Ujjain. Legend also has it that he was murdered by a courtesan in Sri Lanka during the reign of Kumaradasa.

Reviews

[Το Άθχημο γατί του θενιόρ Γκουαναμίρου · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kalidasa was a great Indian poet and playwright who lived sometime between the 4th and 5th centuries AD during the Gupta dynasty. It was a time of prosperity and flourishing of arts and letters.

The work entitled "The Recognition of Sakudala" is a combination of dialogues and songs, written partly in Sanskrit and partly in the simple, colloquial known as Prakrit. The main plot is based on a story that can be found in the Indian epic Mahabharata, Shakuntala's love affair with King Dushyanta (Dushyanda).

Ο Kalidasa υπήρξε σπουδαίος Ινδός ποιητής και δραματουργός που έζησε κάπου ανάμεσα στον 4ο και 5ο μΧ αιώνα, την εποχή της δυναστείας των Gupta. Πρόκειται για μια εποχής ευημερίας και άνθισης των τεχνών και των γραμμάτων. Όπως αναφέρεται και στην εισαγωγή της συγκεκριμένης έκδοσης:

"Το βασίλειο περιελάμβανε ολόκληρη την κοιλάδα του Ινδού στα δυτικά, έφτανε ως την Myanmar στην Ανατολή, το Νεπάλ στον Βορρά και στο Νότο έφτανε ως τον ποταμό Narmada. Πρωτεύουσά του ήταν η πόλη Ujjain. Την εποχή εκείνη σημειώθηκε μια οργανωμένη προσπάθεια αναβίωσης του βεδικού παρελθόντος, στα λατρευτικά έθιμα αλλά και στη χρήση της σανσκριτικής γλώσσας [...] Πρόκειται κατά την άποψη πολλών ερευνητών για μια Ινδική Χρυσή Εποχή [...] Μια ευημερούσα χώρα με σωστή διακυβέρνηση, ωραίες πόλεις, νοσοκομεία και πανεπιστήμια. Οι κάτοικοι διαθέτουν ελευθερία στις μετακινήσεις τους, δεν υπόκεινται σε σωματικές τιμωρίες, οι δημόσιοι λειτουργοί έχουν σταθερούς μισθούς [...] ένας ευτυχισμένος τόπος όχι μόνο για το ιερατείο και τους αυλικούς ποιητές αλλά και για τον λαό εξίσου".

Το έργο με τίτλο "Η Αναγνώριση της Σακούνταλα" απαρτίζεται από έναν συνδυασμό διαλόγων και τραγουδιών, γραμμένων εν μέρει στα σανσκριτικά και εν μέρει στην απλή, λαϊκή καθομιλουμένη, γνωστή ως Prakrit. Η υπόθεση του έργου είναι παρμένη από μια ιστορία η οποία, εκτός των άλλων, συναντάται και στο ινδικό έπος Mahabharata. Μέσα σε επτά θεατρικές πράξεις εκτυλίσσεται η ερωτική ιστορία της Shakuntala (Σακούνταλα) με τον βασιλιά Dushyanta (Ντουσιάντα).

Η νέα είναι είναι θετή κόρη του ερημίτη Kashyapa (ο αληθινός πατέρας της είναι ο βασιλιάς Kaushika και μητέρα της είναι η νύμφη - apsaras - Menaka). Ζει σε ένα ειδυλλιακό μοναστήρι - ερημητήριο, κοντά στον ποταμό Malini, στους πρόποδες την Ιμαλαΐων. Το όνομά της κατά μία εκδοχή σημαίνει "πουλάκι" καθώς όταν την βρήκε, βρέφος, εγκαταλειμμένο στο δάσος, ο ερημίτης, τα πουλιά (sakunta) την προστάτευαν από τα άγρια θηρία. Η κοπέλα μεγαλώνει ανάμεσα σε σοφούς και καλόκαρδους ανθρώπους, σε ένα δάσος όπου απαγορεύεται το κυνήγι των ζώων - η ίδια εμφανίζεται να έχει υιοθετήσει ένα ορφανό ελαφάκι - μια ωραία και αγνή κόρη σε έναν τόπο που επικρατεί η γαλήνη και η ομορφιά:

"Κάτω από τα δέντρα φυτρώνουν
καρποί από άγριο ρύζι, φερμένοι από τα ράμφη
των παπαγάλων που φωλιάζουν στα δέντρα,
κι αλλού βλέπει κανείς πέτρες που λαμποκοπούν
από τα έλαια των καρπών ινγκούντι.
Τα ελαφάκια είναι τόσο άφοβα που τους μιλάς
και δεν δείχνουν το ελάχιστο ξάφνιασμα
τα μονοπάτια και οι λιμνούλες φέρουν σημάδια
από τα βρεγμένα ενδύματα,
τα καμωμένα από φλοιούς δέντρων
που φορούν οι μοναχοί".

Ο βασιλιάς την συναντά την ώρα που ποτίζει τα δέντρα, μαζί με τις δύο πιστές της φίλες και μέσα από μια ιδιαίτερα χαριτωμένη σκηνή, όπου μια μέλισσα επιτίθεται στο κορίτσι κι εκείνος σπεύδει να τη βοηθήσει, γίνεται η πρώτη τους γνωριμία. Ο έρωτάς τους ολοκληρώνεται μέσα από ένα είδος γάμου που βασίζεται στην συναινετική ερωτική συνεύρεση, λέγεται gandharva και είναι απολύτως αποδεκτός από την ινδουϊστική θρησκεία.

Όταν ο βασιλιάς υποχρεώνεται να εγκαταλείψει το μοναστήρι, της υπόσχεται πως σύντομα θα στείλει να την φέρουν κοντά του:

"Μία - μία, κάθε μέρα,
μέτρα κι από μία συλλαβή του ονόματός μου.
Όταν θα έχεις φτάσει στην τελευταία, αγάπη μου,
ένας απεσταλμένος μου θα έρθει
να σε οδηγήσει και να σε φέρει στο παλάτι,
εκεί που ζουν οι βασιλικές μου σύζυγοι"

Μέσα στην ερωτική της μελαγχολία, η Shakuntala, η οποία έχει μείνει έγκυος, παραβλέπει να ασκήσει τους κανόνες τις φιλοξενίας, αγνοώντας την παρουσία ενός πολύ διακεκριμένου προσώπου με μαγικές δυνάμεις, πρόκειται για τον προφήτη ή μάντη Durvasas, ο οποίος ρίχνει επάνω της μια κατάρα: Να την ξεχάσει αυτός τον οποίο εκείνη σκέφτεται. Και μόνο μετά από τα παρακάλια των φιλενάδων της ο Durvasas ελαφρύνει την κατάρα του με ένα όρο: Τα μάγια θα λυθούν μόλις ο αγαπημένος της αντικρίσει το σύμβολο της αγάπης τους. Πρόκειται για ένα δαχτυλίδι που φέρει την σφραγίδα του.

Κάπως έτσι ξεκινά για την ηρωίδα μια θλιβερή περιπέτεια, μια φοβερή δοκιμασία. Η οποία ωστόσο θα έχει αίσια έκβαση.

Μέσα από διάφορα σημεία του έργου παρουσιάζονται ορισμένοι θεσμοί και κοινωνικές αντιλήψεις πάνω στις οποίες βασίζεται ο συγκεκριμένος πολιτισμός της εποχής του Kalidasa. Πάνω από όλα υπάρχουν οι κάστες που καθορίζουν τη θέση και το επάγγελμα ενός ανθρώπου:

"Λένε πως όποιο κι αν είναι το
κληρονομικό επάγγελμα του καθένα,
αυτό είναι υποχρεωμένος να ασκεί
ακόμα κι αν το απεχθάνεται.
Ένας μορφωμένος Βραχμάνος, γεμάτος συμπόνια
είναι υποχρεωμένος να σκοτώνει ζώα
για τις λατρευτικές θυσίες".

Η πολυγαμία αποτελεί προνόμιο του βασιλιά (ισχύει και για άλλα μέλη των ευπορότερων κοινωνικών στρωμάτων) κι ανάμεσα στις βασιλικές συζύγους, η πρώτη που θα φέρει στον κόσμο ένα αρσενικό παιδί, έχει την υψηλότερη θέση ανάμεσα στις άλλες, καθώς ο μικρός της ορίζεται ως διάδοχος του βασιλικού θρόνου. Ο ρόλος και η συμπεριφορά μιας καλής συζύγου ορίζεται από συγκεκριμένους κανόνες:

"Να υπακούς τους μεγαλύτερούς σου
να είσαι καλή με τις άλλες συζύγους του άνδρα σου.
Αν αυτός σε προσβάλει να μην του αντιμιλήσεις με οργή.
Πάντα να είσαι ευγενική με τους υπηρέτες
να μην κομπάζεις για την ευτυχία σου.
Με αυτόν το τρόπο τα νέα κορίτσια γίνονται
οι Κυρίες ενός σπιτιού.
Όσες δεν τηρούν του κανόνες
φέρνουν δυστυχία στο σπιτικό".

Από την άλλη, αν και δεν δίνει πολλά στοιχεία για αυτές, ο βασιλιάς διαθέτει στον στρατό του ένα επίλεκτο γυναικείο σώμα από πολεμίστριες. Πρόκειται για τις Yavanani ή γυναίκες της Ιωνίας, οι οποίες φέρουν τόξα και προέρχονται από μέρη που παλαιότερα αποτελούσαν τμήμα των ελληνιστικών βασιλείων.

Το κείμενο αισθητικά, διέπεται από έναν ιδιαίτερο αισθησιασμό. Πίσω από τις τρυφερές στιχομυθίες του νεαρού ζευγαριού, παρουσιάζεται ένα παθιασμένο ερωτικό παιχνίδι, μια μύηση στις χαρές και τις απολαύσεις της σεξουαλικής πράξης, όπως αυτή εκδηλώνεται μέσα από τρυφερές χειρονομίες, φλογερές ματιές, στιγμιαία αγγίγματα, λόγια και εκφράσεις που εκφράζουν μια έντονη ερωτική έλξη.

Aπό μία παράσταση της Λήδας Shantala, που ανέβηκε στην Αθήνα το 1991, πληροφορίες και ένα ενδιαφέρον βίντεο με ένα χορευτικό απόσπασμα από το έργο:

http://www.shantala.gr/x_shakunthala0...

[Vikas Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful read which is a feast to the soul. Unlike numerous literal and academic translations, this translation is not only easy to read and absorb, it is also contemporary in its treatment. Vinay has ensured that the translation is relevant to the modern times and yet comprehensive. An academic work which is not academically boring, the accompanying notes and appendixes, provide additional interesting reading material for the reader who wishes to immerse more in this timeless classic.

[Daisy · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is incredible to think that this play was written 1300 years ago when it is so accessible and the themes are still forming the basis of many current dramas. The plot is one that would not be out of place in a soap opera while it has the inclusion of gods acting as catalysts in the same vein as Greek stories.

The king, Dushyanta, is hunting in the forest when like in all good fairy tales he sees Sakuntala, a beautiful girl, innocent and at one with nature (there are definite parallels with Snow White in this opening section) and of course falls in love. They spend the night together and make a marriage troth whereupon he ups and leaves for the palace promising he will return for her and she finds she is pregnant. Neither her father nor her friends seem concerned with this course of events and life goes on with her mooning about in lovesick distractedness. The weakest point in the play is the catalyst for the drama. Sakuntala has a stranger come to her door and because she did not invite him in and offer refreshment the stranger, outraged that she has neglected the rules of hospitality, puts a curse on her (or the King to be precise). The overreaction stretched credulity but I suppose even Shakespeare had his characters admitting to destruction and madness resulting from a mere trifle so one must just go with it.

After months of hearing nothing from the King and heavily pregnant, Sakuntala decides to go and confront him (if it was a soap opera she’d have put on her slingbacks and leopard print coat and gone hammering on his front door). The curse has wiped her from his memory and like any modern day lothario in an interview with the CSA he denies ever having met her and is adamant the baby is not his, “Bruv, I’ve never even met the girl”.

Having been sent away Sakuntala gives birth and raises her baby who the king only claims as his own once the beauty, strength and bravery of the boy becomes apparent after a few years and the curse starts to lift. He apologises, is forgiven and they all live happily ever after.

What is more interesting is that in the original story in the Mahabharata, on which this play is based, Sakuntala is a much stronger character. She does not meekly leave and wait for the king to change his mind, instead when he denies her she remonstrates with him, confronts him with evidence and shames him to the point where he makes such a lame excuse you wonder why she wanted him at all after it. He tells her he did it so that his people would accept her as queen and not just think of her as a prototype golddigger.

Both versions are so contemporary in themes and are very accessible and proffers a lot of wisdom that has much to teach us today. I shall conclude with this pearl of wisdom that if everyone adhered to would make the world a far more peaceful place,
”However provoked, the wise man
Says nothing to offend a woman,”

[Dusty · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read Sakuntala in 2009, when I was a teacher's assistant to a university course on "Masterworks of World Literature." I think the translation by W.J. Johnson, which I read the first time, does a better job conveying the romance of Dushyanta and Sakuntala's forest encounter, but the Arthur W. Ryder translation, which I read the second time, helps the play feel weightier, like a Greek epic. Anyway, I continue to marvel at this story of the conflicts between duty and pleasure, nature and nurture. I am teaching my own college-level course on world literature in a couple of months, and this is the text we're starting with. A beautiful, joyful, timeless classic.

My original review (2009):

The story is maddeningly simple: While hunting, King Dusyanta wanders into an ascetic commune, sees a beautiful woman (Sakuntala), promises to make her first amongst his wives, impregnates her, returns to his palace and, through an inconvenient curse, he forgets all about her. Years pass, the curse is reversed, he realizes his mistake, and he pines to find and claim his lost wife Sakuntala. You've probably already guessed the ending, but in case your imagination is creaky today, I'll give you a hint: This story is a comedy.

Sakuntala, or The Recognition of Sakuntala, or Sakuntala and the Ring of Recognition, or however else it has been translated, is from my perspective chauvinistic, elitist and classist. This may be more a problem with my perspective than the text -- the play was written some 1700 years ago and by/for a culture about which I am absolutely clueless. Yet despite my horror at the playwright's politics, I couldn't help but find passion and beauty in his language and imagery. The metaphor of the husband as mango tree, the wife (wives?) as the vines that encircle and bejewel it, is sexist, absolutely -- but in its way it is also gorgeous.

In American schools we study many (ideologically flawed) pieces of drama -- Sophocles, Shakespeare, Arthur Miller, etc. -- but what of the dramatic and literary traditions of non-Western societies? Given its prominence in India (and other pockets of Asia), why is Kalidasa a name so few people here have heard? I saw my first Bollywood movie when I was an undergraduate, and it was one of the weirdest, most unsettling cinematic experiences I had had to that point. Why am I just learning now that joyous wedding-planning, exaggerated emotional performances, last-minute divine interventions and spontaneous eruptions into song actually have long traditions in Indian literature?

Again, I conclude a "masterwork" of world literature with mixed thoughts: (1) This play is wonderful. (2) Why the hell haven't I read it before?

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I used to stalk the local university library alone in the evenings like a kid exploring ancient temple ruins. One night long ago I pulled this Sanskrit masterpiece somewhat flippantly from the shelf at around 7pm and didn't lift my head from it again until the intercom announced the library would be closing in 30 minutes. There is an effect that literature can have that is often shaped by the particulars of the moment in which it was first encountered. We don't only have favorite reads, we also have favorite readings. And my first and only reading of Shakuntala was one of them.

[Ziba Ghodsifar · Rating 4 out of 5]

خواندن از ادبیات کلاسیک هند برای من تجربه جدیدی بود که از آن بسیار لذت بردم.

[Kiana · Rating 3 out of 5]

شیرین بود؛🪷🧚🏻

[david · Rating 3 out of 5]

An Indian play. First written in Sanskrit.

A mixture of Hindu thought and mythology.

By one of this continent's greatest poets, Kalidasa.

A love story; a King and a hermit girl.

A long time ago (five hundred a.c.e.) Only the scenery has changed.

What was, is. What will be, has happened.

Delightful.

(3.5*)

[Nazanin · Rating 3 out of 5]

چند سال قبل، بزرگواری در صحبت های خود اشاره هایی داشتند به نمایشنامه " شکونتلا " و شاعرانگی این اثر و تشویق به خواندنش، در همان زمان اسمش را یادداشت کردم و بعد از جست و جو در گوشه و کنار و تعاریفی که از این اثر خواندم ، قاطعانه با خودم عهد بستم که حتما روزی به سراغش بروم و سرانجام هم ، این فرصت فراهم شد...
شکونتلا نمایشنامه ای ست هندی اثر کالیداس (که زندگی و تاریخ حیات و مماتش دقیق مشخص نیست شاید بین قرن اول تا پنجم میلادی) که در هفت پرده آفریده شده است، درباره دلدادگی پادشاهی به دخترکی (همان شکونتلا به معنای مرغ پرورده !!) که دخترک خود حاصل دل باختن مردی روحانی به پری آسمانی ! است که البته، راهب محترم، فرزند خود را نمی پذیرد و در جنگل رهایش میکند... ( و تا آخر داستان هم دیگر هیچ اشاره ای به آن مرد بسیارخداشناس و سرنوشتش نمی شود، شاید توبه کرده و بعد هم با سایر پریان آسمانی محشور شده ...!) اما کودک در جنگل بین درختان و آهوان و ... رشد می کند تا اینکه زائری او را یافته و سرپرستی اش را در صومعه خود، به عهده می گیرد و چند سال بعد پادشاهی از آن دیار عبور می کند وچشمش به دخترک که حالا زیبا و دلربا هم شده می افتد و بله.... اما این پایان ماجرا نیست...

در مقدمه، تحسین و تمجید فراوانی از اثر را می خوانیم " گوته شاعر آلمانی هنگامیکه درام شکونتلا را مطالعه کرد چنان شیفته آن شد که گفت خواندن این منظومه بزرگترین حادثه عمر من است... دانشمندانی دیگر مانند دکتر کیت هرتل و اد گرتون ازغرب وبزرگان و سخنورانی هندی همچون تاگور ، گاندی ، مهاتما ارویند گوش و ساروجینی نایدو هریک نظرات عالی خود را درباره کالیداس بیان کرده اند...ص 9 ...یا هنر شعر در آثار کالیداس به منتها درجه کمال و نضج رسیده است ...او در بیان احساسات لطیف بشری بیش از سادگی و روانی، عظمت و شکوه سخن را حفظ کرده است. کالیداس کسی ست که با قلم سحرانگیز و افسونگر خود توانست پرده های خیال خود را روح دهد و به صورت درامهای هیجان انگیز مجسم سازد ....ص 8" و ....

و همه اینها مرا بیش از پیش مشتاق خواندن این نمایشنامه کهن کرد ( اگرچه که به لطف مقدمه سخاوتمندش– مقدمه که چه عرض کنم، مِگا اسپویل ! - از صفر تا صد داستان مشخص شد).
اما با همه این اوصاف و صدالبته بر خلاف انتظارم والبته با پوزش از روح همه بزرگانی که این اثر را ستوده اند ، بویژه جناب گوته ، این کتاب برای من یک داستان یک خطی، خنثی و کم قوام بود، نظیرش را فراوان خوانده ایم، در کتاب داستانهای کودکی، افسانه های پریان و ... . از همان پرده اول ، سقوط آزادم از بلندایی که در ذهن از شکونتلا داشتم آغاز شد،از آن همه وصف طبیعت و شرح زیبایی و چه و چه که در مقدمه مژده بارانم کرده بود، نشانی نیافتم، و از قلم سحرانگیز کالیداس گرامی ، نه شگفتی دیدم و نه افسونی و تنها چند جمله و عبارت، پرده پنجم را تکانکی داد که آنها هم آنقدر خارق العاده یا متفاوت نبودند! خب راستش را بخواهید وقتی به انتها رسیدم کمی هم عذاب وجدان گرفتم که اصلا به چه جراتی ، جسارت کردم و شکونتلایی را که آن همه عشاق سینه چاک و گرانقدردر عالم ادبیات داشته، دوست نداشتم!؟ به هر حال یا من خبر ندارم یا او نشان ندارد...
اما و اما هرگز نمی خواهم از کناراثری که چه بخواهیم چه نخواهیم ، به هرحال ستایش شده است، چنین عبور کنم :
این نمایشنامه بر اساس مقدمه ، در اصل ترکیبی از نثر و نظم بوده است وشکوه آن در قدرت سرایندگی کالیداس وتوصیفاتش بوده است و به گفته مترجم آثار این ادیب هندی در ادبیات سانسکریت ، جایگاهی معادل آثار شکسپیر در انگلستان یا سعدی و حافظ و فردوسی در ادبیات پارسی دارد، اگرچه که ترجمه ای که خواندم بسیار خوب بود و بی عیب ، اما خب باید این مورد را در نظر گرفت که هرچقدر هم ترجمه چنین آثاری (مخصوصا کهن) دقیق و بی نقص باشد اما شاید واقعا نتواند حق مطلب اثر را ادا کند
همانطور که به نظرم یک خواننده غیر فارسی زبان ، شاید هرگز نتواند شیرینی شهد آن همه طنازی ابیات مثلا حافظ را (حتی با یک ترجمه عالی) بچشد و این موضوعی دور از انتظار نیست
مثلا این بیت :
رشته تسبیح اگر بگسست معذورم بدار
دستم اندر ساعد ساقی سیمین ساق بود

به راستی کدام مترجم می تواند ، این رقص، این شور، این همه دلبری را که در هم نشینی دل انگیز و مستی آفرین ابیات حافظ ، غوغا می کند، عین به عین به زبان دیگر برگرداند و تقدیم خواننده اش کند؟

بنابراین فکر میکنم شکونتلایی که چندان به دلم ننشست، برای من ِ فارسی زبان، دست کم از نظر ساختار و هنر زبانی که سروده شده همان حکمی را دارد که غزلیات شمس برای یک غیر فارسی زبان ، با این توضیح و توجیه کمی از هم بار عذاب وجدانم کاسته شد :) اگرچه که در مورد خط داستانی و محتوایش، بیرحمانه بر همان باورم که اشاره کردم :|


:و این هم یک چکه یادگاراز این تجربه
تا وقتی که در آسمان آفتاب می درخشد، سپاه تاریکی، یارای پایدای ندارد ص 112

[Uroš Đurković · Rating 4 out of 5]

Laza Kostić peva u „Među zvezdama” – Danta, Tasa, Kalidasa... Kosmičko putovanje Lazine Vilovanke podržano je najvažnijim svetskim književnim glasovima, među kojima se nalazi i ime sanskritskog klasika iz četvrtog veka nove ere. Ime Kalidasa, inače, znači „rob boginje Kali” i o njegovom životu se, osim imena i pokoje legende, gotovo ništa ne zna. To se ne može reći za planetarnu popularnost njegovog dela, koje su na zapadu od 1789. godine i prevoda Vilijama Džounsa, zdušno prigrlili romantičari. „Sakuntalom” je bio fasciniran i Gete i postoji mogućnost da je uvodni deo „Fausta” upravo njome inspirisan, a izdanje o kome pišem, u živopisnom prevodu Pera Budmanija, upravo počinje stihovima koje je Gete posvetio drami. Nije nevažno primetiti da je film rađen po „Sakuntali” iz 1943. bio prvi indijski film u Americi prikazan u redovnoj distribuciji. I nakon desetak ekranizacija koje sam uspeo da pronađem, ove godine izlazi najnoviji bolivudski hit – „Shaakuntalam”. Međutim, bez obzira na očitu popularnost, Kalidasin dramski jezik je toliko udaljen od nama poznate pozorišne tradicije da je potreban nemali napor da se uopšte obuhvate obrisi sveta dela. Ako se tome doda inspirativni, ali arhaični prevod Budmanija, kao i pregršt specifičnosti vezanih za indijsku kulturu i mitologiju, čine sve složenijim. Čim se malo odmaknemo od Evrope, možemo videti kako pojmovi do kojih nam je stalo lako postaju rašrafljeni, redefinisani. A menjaju se i uloge. Tako kralj Dušjanat ima tzv. „javanske robinje” – drugim rečima: Grkinje! Dakle, ratni plen. Zanimljva je i tipska uloga „vidušaka” kao lakrdijaša i pouzdanog druga protagoniste. Asocijacije na Šekspirove (mudre) lude se smesta nameću, ali to, naravno, nije to. Uz uloge, menjaju se i ekosistemi. Gotovo je dirljivo, ali gotovo isto tako i nefunkcionalno kako je Budmani opisivao svaku bogovetnu indijsku biljčicu u delu. A ima ih dosta. Jezik likova je toliko aluzivan, a egzotični detalji tako brojni, da radnja vrlo brzo pada u drugi plan, a najzanimljiviji put do dela je zapravo put iskosa. Da, potreban je možda drugi kôd za razumevanje Kalidase, ali opštedostupna suština je, ipak, tu: ljubav.

[Saranya De (Dido's Willow) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The beauty of this legendary story🤌🤌🤌

The author- Kalidasa, was born way before Shakespeare... Unfortunately, he is known as the Shakespeare of India and not the other way round:(

This is a masterclass in ancient rom-com. It's got everything- a king who forgets his wife thanks to the curse🥺🥺- a sage's curse and a ring that's more crucial to a marriage than a modern prenup. The characters are delightfully dramatic... the plot a beautiful mess of divine intervention and human folly. It’s a story that proves even in the third millennium BCE,

A timeless tale of love, loss and the importance of keeping your wedding jewelry secure... haha
Enjoy!!!

[Achyuth Murlei · Rating 4 out of 5]

An expert and professional rendition of a concised version of Kalidasa's magnum opus.

The musicians must be lauded for providing the necessary atmosphere within which the play takes place, be it audally signalling the rise of a tense interaction, realisation of an error, or the soothing forest ambience. The virtuosos made you feel as though you were witnessing the play before your very eyes.

The narrator's voice harmonised perfectly with the music, which resulted in not just a wonderful story but a captivating experience altogether. The narration flowed like maple - slow and consistent, with no abrupt pauses and as immersive as it can get, short of physically playing a charatcer in the story.

The congruous confluence of the narrator's voice and pacing, and the musicians rhythym turned a one hour tragiromance into a day's experience, a perfect precursor to the legacy left behind by the Pandavas.

[Mina · Rating 5 out of 5]

The French Academy can take the Three unities and stuff them.

What is this marvel? In the fifth century AD, a time when theatre was barely accepted in Europe solely for marketing Christianity purposes, we have a story of drama, crushed hopes, joyful reunions, curses, magic bracelets, nymphs and out-of-stage sex. Patriarchal values aside, this piece is particularly rich and enchanting in comparison with the Greek, Roman formality, before, and French, afterwards.

Charming!

[Yasemin Sandıkçı · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kalidasa şiir ve dram yazarı MÖ 1 yüzyıl ve MS 4 yüzyıl arasında yaşadığı tahmin edilmekle birlikte tarih kesin değildir. Ona Hint’in Shakespeare’i de denmektedir fakat ondan, 1.000 yıldan fazla zaman önce yaşamıştır.

Kalidasa, tıpkı diğer Sanskrit yazarlar gibi, eserlerinin konusunu tarih, mitoloji ve dinsel eserlerden almıştır. Şakuntala’da, Mahabharata destanının bir bölümünden esinlenerek yazılmıştır.

Kitapta, Kalidasa hakkında bilgi, Şakuntala dramının özeti, Şakuntala’nın Mahabharata Destanı’ndaki orijinal anlatımı, Kalidasa’nın metinde yaptığı değişiklikler ve son olarak dramın kendisini okuyoruz. Kitabın başında değerli üstat çevirmen Prof. Dr. Korhan Kaya’nın önsözü ve bitiminde kaynakça vardır.

Ünlü Alman şairi Goethe, Şakuntala için şöyle der:
“İlkbaharın çiçeklerini mi,
Yoksa sonbaharın meyvelerini mi istersin?
Dinlenmek, haz almak veya sarhoş olmak mı istersin?
Şakuntala derim…”

Bu dramın İngilizce tercümesi 1789’da, Almanca tercümesi 1791’de yapılmıştır. Türkçeye ilk çevirisi 1942 yılında yapılmıştır. Benim okuduğum 2005 yılında Prof. Dr. Korhan Kaya’nın Sanskrit orijinalinden ve birkaç İngilizce çevirisinden karşılaştırılarak yapılan İmge Yayınları baskısıdır.

Önsözden kısa bir alıntı:
“Şakuntala öyle bir eser ki kişinin sanat damarlarını açıyor. Bu eseri çevirirken hayalimde ben de kameriyede “kral ile peri kızının” resmini birkaç kez çizdim. Ayrıca peri rolünde birkaç soprano, ermişlerden tenorlar, saray erkânından da baritonlar ve baslarla hayalimde bir Şakuntala operası yarattım.
Şakuntala, bize yaşamın güzelliklerini sunuyor, Şakuntala bizi yaşama bağlıyor.
Prof. Dr. Korhan Kaya”

[lethe · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

My edition also includes the chapters from the Mahābhārata on which Kālidāsa based his play, a prose version for children by Abanindranath Tagore from 1895, and some early-19th-century miniatures depicting the story.

I liked the version by Abanindranath Tagore best.

The language of the play is beautiful in places and the clown is funny, but the story is rather slight. I was also not very impressed with king Dushyanta's love for Śakuntalā. He takes one look at her and declares that she is the one and only, whereas he has a harem full of women to whom he has probably said the same thing in the past. In fact, two of them are mentioned by name and they appear unhappy because Dushyanta does not pay attention to them anymore. So Śakuntalā will very likely not be the last of his conquests.
(And the less said about how he treats her in the Mahābhārata, the better!)

But I am glad to have finally read it*, so I can make room on my shelves for something else.

*Thanks to a challenge in the Netherlands & Flanders group, where I also left a short review in Dutch.

[Luther Obrock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sanskrit is a hard language to crack, and, from my experience, even harder to translate. It seems that translators usually fall back on one of two methodologies: Some, like Shulman and Heifitz, try to "transcreate," so that often the idea of a verse remains the similar, but the actual words are vastly different. Others try to literally transalte word for word, ending up with a sort of pseudo-Victorian Indologese.

Happily, Somdev Vasudev manages to translate the Shakuntala of Kalidasa in a way that is both fairly literal and readable. This is not to say that the play is easy to read--the Gupta-era aesthetic is much different than that of say Sophocles or Shakespeare. Vasudev provides a useful introdution that succincly explains Sanskrit terminology like rasa, etc.

[S.Ach · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kalidasa's AbhijnanaShakuntalam - a classic tale of love and separation of Dushyanta and Shakuntala, is known to all Indians. Most of us grew up listening to this story from our grandparents.
When I saw high rating for this English translated version on Audible, with a listening length of just over an hour, I was little skeptical, considering my recent experiences with translated texts.
But, boy! Was I pleasantly surprised?

What an exquisite performance by Shobhana and team!

The soothing background music, the hypnotic vedic chanting, and the occasional recitation of key shlokas, augment the mesmerizing narration by Shobhana.

A Treasure.

[Regina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was awfully cute, actually.

[kuzzeen · Rating 3 out of 5]

untuk memahaminya...sampai aku terpaksa mencari edisi adaptasi dlm bentuk animasi.

Terima kasih TiubKau ;p

[library ghost (farheen) · Rating 3 out of 5]

so the prose is the best element of sakuntala but that means the original, which is in sanskrit and not the decent, but unremarkable translation i read. so really giving it 3 stars out of respect for its classic status because almost every character in this drama is stereotypical and dumb. the plot is fine, but a little contrived and also, a little dumb.
i did accidentally gained a superiority complex because of the amount of annotations i didn't need so that's a plus point ig.

[Waqas Manzoor · Rating 4 out of 5]

The language of the rendition is poetic prose that doesn't lose its چاشنی.

[Hadi · Rating 3 out of 5]

حداقل ۱۶ قرن پیش "کالیداس" هندی، نمایشنامه‌ای منظوم به زبان سانسکریت نوشته است که پر است از خدایگان و مرتاضان و طبیعت و زندگی.
داستانی اساطیری درباره پادشاهی عادل با زنی پریزاد به اسم "شکونتلا". در نگاه اول شاید این نمایشنامه چیز چندانی برای گفتن نداشته باشد اما وقتی به عمر آن می‌اندیشیم که حتی به قبل از میلاد مسیح نیز اشاره شده است، هم ارزش تاریخی-اساطیری آن را درک میکنیم و هم ارزش هنری آن را.
شاید به این دلیل بوده‌ که گوته این نمایشنامه را گل سرسبد ادبیات جهانی میدانسته است.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy, enjoyable, a classic love story from India. I didn't understand the cause of the curse that causes the king's amnesia. Was one of the gods upset with somebody? If it was explained, I missed it. Recommended.

[Jhuma Khan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have always been resistant when it comes to reading plays. The only ones I had touched were penned by Shakespeare. This bias stemmed from my lack of exposure to theatre and the belief that the absence of narrative prose makes for an unsatisfactory reading experience.

The Recognition of Shakuntala was my first non-Shakespearean play. I'm certain I wouldn’t have picked it up if not for my college course. However, having read it now, it has found a closer place in my heart than any of the Shakespearean plays I’ve had the pleasure of reading.

My familiarity with the culture might have been the biggest factor in my adoration of this play. The aesthetics, the evocatively expressive poems brimming with well-written lyrics and beautiful melody, and the story itself all played a huge part in my speaking so highly of it.

Kalidasa precedes Shakespeare by roughly 1,000 years. This gave rise to an assumption in my mind that Kalidasa's work would be so ancient that it would be beyond my comprehension. Thankfully, the translation modernized the text by a few centuries, which made it easier for me to avoid stumbling my way through the entire play.

I was surprised by how modern the themes felt too. Here was a story of a man and a woman who fell so passionately in love with each other that they defied cultural norms to be together—and when separated, were so engulfed by thoughts of one another that they fell into a state of depression. Shakuntala, when denied by her husband—whose memory, cursed, failed to recall a wife's love—even had the courage to chastise him. Not just a man, but a king, calling him a "fraud" in his own palace. Indeed, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

The eroticism of the play was one of the things that won me over. To see a text convey the attraction between a man and a woman in such a pure and sincere manner was a revelation.

The only complaint I had was that the play often skipped over certain scenes that would have been delightful to read.

[Andràș-Florin Răducanu · Rating 5 out of 5]

NR. 30
"Sacontala" de Calidasa
Număr de pagini: 216
Citită în 11 iulie.
Pot aprecia după mult timp altă operă decât una europeană sau americană. Întâlnesc prima scriere literară de pană acum din India, dacă exclud repovestirile celor două mari epopei sanskrite. Această poveste de dragoste cu accente
tragice este cu putință să
fie una dintre cele mai
frumoase pe câte le-am citit vreodată. Există aici o trăsătură interesantă, anume forța destinului. Asta este lucrul pe care Calidasa
o revin și ni-l expune, altele asupra cărora nu voi insista.
Nota: 10.

[Dany · Rating 5 out of 5]

INTRODUCTION:
The action has thus progressed from the love-permeated, natural world of Sakuntala's forest hermitage, through the duty-bound world of the royal court, to conclude in the celestial hermitage, where love and duty are unified in a complementary relationship.

Thus, a long time before postmodernism, the ancient Indians had realized that aesthetic response depends as much on the expectations and conditioning of the audience as it does on poetry, theatrical conventions, and styles of acting. Indeed, some of the later Indian commentators stressed the role of the spectator above that of the actor in achieving the aesthetic goal.20

This concentration on the unfolding of mood, through the interaction of stereotypes (king, beautiful woman, ascetic, etc.) rather than individual characters, has led some analysts to view plot, conflict, and character development as subordinate, not to say incidental, to rasa in the Sanskrit drama.

Mood (rasa) determines the play's content, as well as its form (a combination of speech, pantomime, dance, and music), and is likewise the vehicle of its plot development.

The hero or nãyaka (i.e the king in Sakuntala) is presented as the ideal man of 'feeling', the rasika or 'connoisseur' of poetry,45 also known as the sahrsdaya, the ideal spectator 'whose heart is at one with the author's'. The moment he feels an emotion (bhava), he distils it through a poetic utterance to its corresponding rasa or mood, and so savours it, becoming, in a sense, the spectator of his own feeling, while at the same time involving the audience in his desire and its attendant problems.

This aesthetic resolution is what constitutes Kalidasa's 'peculiarity' - what distinguishes him from his sources, including the Mahabharata episode.48 Virtually every difference between the epic version of the story and kalidāsa's play can be analysed as being at the service of rasa aesthetics, not least the major change in terms of the plot, the reason for Sakuntala's rejection by the king.




THE RECOGNITION WAS OF SAKUNTALÀ:
[SAKUNTALÀ to herself]. But how can it have happened that, simply at the sight of this man, I am shaken with a passion so at odds with the religious life?

KING [wanting to catch hold of her, but then restraining himself].
Ah, the workings of a lover's mind are almost actions in themselves!
For I Seemed to go, and yet (26)
I never moved towards her
Nice manners suddenly disabling
My pursuit of the forest sage's daughter.

KING.
Suddenly, the city doesn't seem so attractive.
I'II link up with my followers and camp just outside this sacred grove.
The truth is, I can't get Sakuntala out of my head.
My body forges on, my restless mind streams back - (31)
A silken banner borne against the wind.

When she looked lovingly (2) at someone or something else,
When she moved with heavy hips as though slowed down by love,
When she spoke so sharply to the friend who tried to halt her,
I read all these as secret signs
For me alone-
Such is the power that lovers have
To make the world their own.

KING.
Madhavya, you'll never know why you were given eyes
until you've seen the one thing really worth seeing.

KING.
Did the great Creator first draw her in a masterpiece,
And then touch life into his art?
Or did he make her in his mind alone,
Drawing on beauty's every part? No -considering her singular
perfection
And her maker's true omnipotence,
I suppose her some quite unique creation
In femininity's treasure house.

SAKUNTALA.
Darlings, who else could I tell but you? But it will upset you.
ANASÜYA AND PRIYAMVADÃ.
That's exactly why we've asked you.
When you share your unhappiness with your closest friends, you make it bearable.

SAKUNTALA [aside].
Heart, when what you most desired was within your grasp, why was it that you still couldn't overcome your shyness? So now you'll pay the price and suffer the pain of separation and regret.

KING [to himself].
Why should this song fill me with desire, when I'm not even separated from someone I love? But perhaps
It's what survives of love from other lives,
Trapped in certain forms and sounds,
And then released by song,
That keys my mood
From happiness to longing.

SÂRADVATA.
How are we supposed to feel in such a place? Look at these city people,
These pleasure-lovers:
I feel like a man fresh from the bath
Caught in a filthy beggar's gaze-
Pure among the polluted,
Awake amons sleepers,
At liberty with slaves.

KING [staring at SAKUNTALÀ; to himself].
They offer me this flawless girl...
Could I have married her? I no longer know.
Like a bee mithering at dawn
Round a jasmine soaked in dew,
I can neither approach her, nor go.

KING.
Old woman:
Cuckoos get other birds to raise their chicks (22)
And teach them flight. Females of every kind
Have natural cunning to perform these tricks,
But women, in addition, have devious minds.
SAKUNTALÀ [angrily].
Wicked man! You see everything through the distorted lens of your own heart. Who else would stoop so low? You cover yourself in virtue like a derelict well, overgrown with weeds.

SARÑGARAVA.
These impulsive actions always end in pain:
It was all too easy (24) To contract a secret union
And not divine your lover's true intention,
Which, as so often, was betrayal.

KING.
Why, Sir, when you have nothing but this lady's word to go on,
do you continue to make these gross insinuations?
SARNGARAVA [disdainfully].
I'd forgotten —yours is a world turned upside-down:
Those raised to innocence are full of artifice,
But you can trust the liars, —they've put in the practice.

MAN. Listen, will you? I'm just a poor fisherman, trying to make a living at Indra's Resort...
SECOND POLICEMAN. Did we ask about your caste, thief?
CHIEF. Sucaka, let him tell it in order from the beginning. Don't keep interrupting!
POLICEMEN. Whatever you say, Chief. Speak up!
MAN. I feed my family by fishing, with nets and hooks, and so on ...
CHIEF. What a pure profession! (sarcastically)
MAN. You shouldn't say that, sir:
Others may abuse me, (1)
But this is my duty:
No one says to the priest: 'You're scum—you feel no pity
For the sacrificed beast.'

FIRST POLICEMAN.
Jānuka, my hands are itching to tie on this thief's execution garland.
[He points to the MAN]
MAN.
It's not right -you shouldn't talk about killing a man for no reason at all.

BOTH GARDENERS. Sir, we're terribly curious ... If it's allowed, can you tell us why the spring festival has been cancelled?
SÂNUMATi [aside]. Mortals love festivals—there must be a pressing reason.

CHAMBERLAIN.
In short, the festival's been banned because of the king's depression.

KING.
My friend, I'm utterly defenceless against a memory…

KING.
Her picture's flawed, and she is not -
Ilack the art to draw perfection.
But though it's daubed, there is some
Part of her survives its execution.

KING.
I rejected my love (16) when she stood before me,
Yet now I'm obsessed by her painted image:
I crossed the stream of living water
To drink from a mirage.

KING.
Indra honours me, indeed. But why this rough treatment of Mâdhavya?
MATALI.
Quite simple. I saw you were depressed for one reason or another, and sought to rouse you by making you angry.
Stir the embers and the fire leaps up,
Threaten the snake and its hood expands—Everything in nature, if provoked, responds.

KING.
My dear,
Memory breaks my black delusion:
Beautiful as Rohini,
Back with her lord
After his lunar eclipse,
You stand before me.

KING.
Lord, my deepest wish was granted first, and then I saw you an unprecedented kindness, for:
Causes normally usher in effects- (30)
Clouds bubble up before a downpour,
The flower blossoms first, and then the fruit—But here, fortune anticipates your favour.
MATALI.
This is the way creators create blessings.

KING.
It all seems so strange ..
I am like a man who disbelieves
The evidence of his eyes:
For all its obvious size,
He doubts the elephant exists-
Until there's no elephant, only prints,
And then he's suddenly convinced.
Such was the miasma that poisoned my mind.

[Mohammad Ali Shamekhi · Rating 3 out of 5]

کلیت داستانی - آن گاه که به صورت نمادین نگریسته شود - و گاهی اشعار طبیعت محوری که در میان گفتگوها نقل می شوند، برای من جذاب بودند. حضور شخصیت بذله گو هم جالب بود، هر چند هم ظهور محدودی داشت و هم در ترجمه آن گونه که می شد شیرین و طنزآمیز در نیامده بود.

وضع کیفی ترجمه متوسط به بالا است - از نظر زبان فارسی - اما ظهور ادبی چندانی ندارد. بهتر بود تلاش بیشتری برای ادبی کردن ترجمه به کار می رفت.

برای من اصولا حضور نفرین آن راهب به مثابه عامل فراموشی دوشیانت مهم است. این ترفند نشان از نگاه مثبت به ذات انسانی است. اگر آدمی اشتباهی می کند، اگر محبت و عشق و وفا را فراموش می کند، این فراموشی از عاملی بیرونی نشئت می گیرد. ذات انسان پاک است. خود متن از استعاره ی آینه استفاده می کند و می گوید آینه آنگاه که زنگار بگیرد تصویر را ناکامل و مغشوش بازمی نمایاند. ( درست است که خود نفرین حاصل حواس پرتی شکونتلا است اما این حواس پرتی هم ناشی از عشق است ).
دعای پایانی دوشیانت که رهایی از چرخه ی تناسخ را می خواهد بسیار برای من شیرین بود. با وساطت انگشتر شکونتلا که "پریزاد" است و "گم شده" از نو یافته می شود. حال که شکونتلا برگشته است دیگر چه نیازی است به رفتن دوباره در چرخه های تناسخ؟ مگر نه اینکه تناسخ تا آن هنگام ادامه دارد که آدمی به مقام تنویر نرسیده باشد؟

[David]

Verdensbiblioteket 10/100.

Återigen det här med att läsa pjäser, men tyckte det fungerade rätt bra även med denna. Kul att läsa en pjäs utanför den västerländska traditionen! Kul att läsa en kärlekspjäs. Kul med generellt vackert språk. Synd att karaktärerna inte riktigt engagerade (extra synd när karaktärernas relation är hela poängen).

"O bee—again and again, you get to brush against
This girl's fluttering eyelids,
And against her eyes, watering with fright;
You get to buzz around her ears,
Like a secretive lover whispering sweet nothings;
She drives you away with both her hands,
But you get to taste her lips longing for love—
O you are the one who is truly fortunate,
While I am left fretting, unsatisfied!"

[Vinay Leo]

I have not read a play in quite a while, and not one from Indian mythology, far as I can remember. I knew the story of Shakuntala and Dushyanta, and this book was good to read. The book is famous, of course, and the translation I felt did justice to the poetry in it. I'd got this book in a lucky pick at a literary festival, and I'm glad I picked this book in the few seconds I had to choose from many.

[denudatio_pulpae]

Pierścień fatalny.

Siakuntala była piękną dziewicą, która wpadła w oko królowi. Niestety, przez przypadek uraziła wielkiego, potężnego ascetę, Durwasasę. Mędrzec był tak na nią wkurzony, że rzucił klątwę. Król nie rozpozna swojej ukochanej, dopóki ta nie pokaże mu podarowanego przez niego pierścienia. Oczywiście żeby była jakaś akcja, pierścień ten musiał zaginąć i król odprawił piękną Siakuntalę (ale już nie dziewicę, bo była w ciąży, król nie marnował czasu). Czy uda się odnaleźć klejnot i pocieszyć Siakuntalę?

Całkiem przyjemna bajeczka. Na pewno bardziej strawna niż Mahabharata czy Ramajana, przynajmniej dla mnie.