“An Afternoon with Shakuntala” by Vaidehi

Introduction to Vaidehi

Vaidehi, another name for the goddess Sita

Vaidehi (Kannada writer) (born 1945), Kannada language writer

Janaki Srinivasa Murthy (born as Vasanti on 12 February 1945), popularly known by her nickname Vaidehi is an Indian writer and well-known writer of modern Kannada language fiction.( stories, novels, etc. which describe events and people that are not real) Vaidehi is one of the most successful women writers in the language and a recipient of prestigious national and state-level literary awards. She has won the Sahitya Akademi Award for her collection of short stories, Krauncha Pakshigalu in 2009.

Vaidehi was born on 12 February 1945 to Hebbar (father) and Mahalakshmi (mother) in Kundapura taluk of Udupi district, Karnataka.She grew up in a large traditional Brahmin family. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in Commerce from the Bhandarkar College in Kundapura. Her father is a lawyer and her mother was a homemaker. At home, a dialect of Kannada called Kundapur Kannada is spoken and she uses this dialect in her works as well. Vaidehi became her pen-name under unusual circumstances. Early in her writing career, she had sent a story to the Kannada weekly magazine Sudha for publication but later requested the publisher not to go ahead with the print as the story was non-fictional and included a real-life story. However, the editor went ahead with the publication by changing the author's name to 'Vaidehi'. This name stuck in her later writings as well as she gained popularity.

 

An Afternoon with Shakuntala Theme 

Shakuntala (Jayshree) is the daughter of sage Vishwamitra and Menaka, but is brought up by the sage Kanva, and stays with him in a forest dwelling.(Adivasi,House in forest) She meets King Dushyanta (Chandra Mohan), when he comes there for a hunt. The two fall in love and get married, with Dushyanta staying with her.

 

An Afternoon with Shakuntala Explanation

Shakuntala (Sanskrit: Śakuntalā) is the wife of Dushyanta and the mother of Emperor Bharata. Her story is told in the ancient Indian epic Mahabharata and dramatized by many writers, the most famous adaption being Kalidasa's play Abhijñānaśākuntala (The Sign of Shakuntala,The Recognition of Shakuntala).

Once, Vishwamitra started to meditate to earn the status of a Brahmarshi. The intensity(great energy, strength)of his penance(a punishment that you give yourself to show you are sorry for doing something wrong) frightened Indra. He feared that Vishwamitra might want his throne. To end his penance, Indra sent Menaka, an apsara, to lure him and bring him out of his penance. Menaka reached Vishwamitra's meditating spot and started to seduce him. Vishwamitra could not control his lust and desire and his penance was broken. Vishwamitra and Menaka lived together for a few years and a daughter was born to them. Later, Vishwamitra realized that all those things were Indra's tricks. He realized that he needed to control his emotions. Vishwamitra left Menaka and Menaka left the baby near Rishi Kanva's hermitage before returning to heaven.

Rishi Kanva found that baby in his hermitage surrounded by Shakunta birds (Sanskrit: शकुन्त, śakunta). Therefore, he named her Shakuntala (Sanskrit: शकुन्तला), meaning Shakunta-protected.

In the Adi Parva of Mahabharata, Kanva says:

She was surrounded in the solitude of the wilderness by śakuntas,
therefore, hath she been named by me Shakuntala (Shakunta-protected).

Marriage with Dushyanta

King Dushyanta first encountered Shakuntala while travelling through the forest with his army. He was pursuing a male deer wounded by his weapon. Shakuntala and Dushyanta fell in love with each other and got married as per Gandharva marriage system.

Before returning to his kingdom, Dushyanta gave his personal royal ring to Shakuntala as a symbol of his promise to rahul and bring her to his palace.

Durvasa's curse

Sage Durvasa curses Shakuntala

Shakuntala spent much time dreaming of her new husband and was often distracted by her daydreams. One day, a powerful rishi, Durvasa, came to the ashrama but, lost in her thoughts about Dushyanta, Shakuntala failed to greet him properly. Incensed by this slight, the rishi cursed Shakuntala, saying that the person she was dreaming of would forget about her altogether. As he departed in a rage, one of Shakuntala's friends quickly explained to him the reason for her friend's distraction. The rishi, realizing that his extreme wrath was not justified, modified his curse saying that the person who had forgotten Shakuntala would remember everything again if she showed him a personal token that had been given to her.

Journey to Hastinapura

Time passed, and Shakuntala, wondering why Dushyanta did not return for her, finally set out for the capital city with her foster father and some of her companions. On the way, they had to cross a river by a canoe ferry and, seduced by the deep blue waters of the river, Shakuntala ran her fingers through the water. Her ring (Dushyanta's ring) slipped off her finger without her realizing it.

Sakuntala leaving for her husband king Dushyanta's palace

Arriving at Dushyanta's court, Shakuntala was hurt and surprised when her husband did not recognize her, nor recollected anything about her. She tried to remind him that she was his wife but without the ring,

 

Dushyanta did not recognize her. Humiliated, she returned to the forests and, collecting her son, settled in a wild part of the forest by herself. Here she spent her days while Bharata, her son, grew older. Surrounded only by wild animals, Bharata grew to be a strong youth and made a sport of opening the mouths of tigers and lions and counting their teeth.

Reunion with Dushyanta

Meanwhile, a fisherman was surprised to find a royal ring in the belly of a fish he had caught. Recognizing the royal seal, he took the ring to the palace and, upon seeing his ring, Dushyanta's memories of his lovely bride came rushing back to him. He immediately set out to find her and, arriving at her father's ashram, discovered that she was no longer there. He continued deeper into the forest to find his wife and came upon a surprising scene in the forest: a young boy had pried open the mouth of a lion and was busy counting its teeth. The king greeted the boy, amazed by his boldness and strength, and asked his name. He was surprised when the boy answered that he was Bharata, the son of King Dushyanta. The boy took him to Shakuntala, and thus the family was reunited.

Variants

An alternate narrative is that after Dushyanta failed to recognize Shakuntala, her mother Menaka took Shakuntala to Heaven where she gave birth to Bharata. Dushyanta was required to fight at the side of the devas, from which he emerged victoriously; his reward was to be reunited with his wife and son. He had a vision in which he saw a young boy counting the teeth of a lion. His kavach (armband/armour) had fallen off his arm. Dushyanta was informed by the devas that only Bharata's mother or father could tie it back on his arm. Dushyanta successfully tied it on his arm. The confused Bharata took the king to his mother Shakuntala and told her that this man claimed to be his father. Upon which Shakuntala told Bharata that the king was indeed his father. Thus the family was reunited in Heaven, and they returned to earth to rule for many years before the birth of the Pandava.