Love Is Here To Interfere- Shakuntala Updated

Jack Shebell

Global Literature

Nicholas Helms

November 22nd, 2020

Love Is Here To Interfere 

“Only once in your life, I truly believe, you find someone who can completely turn your world around. You tell them things that you’ve never shared with another soul, and they absorb everything you say and actually want to hear more…”- Bob Marley. Boob Marley talks about how you can find someone in life who completely changes your life, and they become someone you can rely on. This is what happens with Dushyanta the king of India. He meets Shakuntala and his whole world changes as he ditches his duty in the name of love.

Dushyanta is the king of India, and one day he is hunting on sacred grounds of a religious establishment. A hermit reminds him that he has sworn to protect the religious folks that live there. He then leaves and begins to wander through the hallowed groves, and soon he finds love. Once he has found love, his whole world is completely turned around, and he begins to abandon his actual duty for the sake of love. Although will he soon abandon another duty other than being king?

Once Dushyanta meets Shakuntala his whole world turns around as he begins to abandon his duty for love at first sight. Dushyanta was hiding in a bush, but soon a bee had gotten angry about their presence, and a woman jokingly called out for the king to save her. Although she didn’t know that the king was actually there, Dushyanta steps out and shows himself. Dushyanta is the king, but he doesn’t announce himself as the king. He reveals himself as the king’s representative that is assigned to oversee the safety of the grove and those living there. This is an early sign of Dushyanta, the king, abandoning his duty and lying about being a king representative. Why lie, though? Dushyanta then learns that Shakuntala is not an ordinary maid but is the child of a Braham and a Water Nymph. It is known that Dushyanta falls in love with Shakuntala, and she begins to feel the same way for him. From here on out is where you see Dushyanta, the king of India, start to abandon his duties for the sake of love. “Only when I forget myself. [Approaches the jasmine and gazes at it] The union of this tree and this jasmine has taken place at the most wonderful time—the jasmine is a young plant, covered in fresh blossoms, the mango has soft buds, and is ready for enjoyment…” (Shakuntala) What I gained from this quote is that she is saying that, when you forget yourself, that is when real change occurs, that is when the environment changes around you as well. It is quite interesting she says this because when Dushyanta forgets his duties as a king, that is when we, the audience, sees a change of character. 

This is truly where the signs begin to show as it seems that Dushyanta is losing interest in being king. Next, we see Mathavya, the king’s jester, begin to complain that the king and his love spend too much time hunting and that the life of a king is too hard for him. The king says, ”Suddenly, the city doesn’t seem so attractive. I’ll link up with my followers and camp just outside this sacred grove. The truth is, I can’t get Shakuntala out of my head.” Meaning he would rather spend time with Shakuntala rather than doing his duties in the palace. He wants to have more time to seek out and understand his love, Shakuntala; the king calls off any further hunting and orders his retinue to camp near the sacred grove where Shakuntala lives. He does this for himself and his love for Shakuntala. He abandons his own hunting and protecting orders to spend more time with the one he loves, Shakuntala. After a little while of being at the sacred grove, the camp hears word that Dushkaynta’s mother wants her son, the king, to return to the capital to take part in certain ceremonies. Although Dushyanta is so in love with Shakuntala and wants to spend more time with her, he sends his entourage back so he can remain at the sacred grove with Shakuntala. Now the audience begins to see how Dushyanta would instead feel love than do his king’s duties. 

Love is here to interfere! Soon Dushyanta revisits the grove again, and the audience is able to tell that they are still madly in love with each other. However, both of them don’t know how to tell each other. Shakuntala begins to write a note to the king, and this is when Dushyanta hears her speaking the words allowed. This is what he needed to know that she loves him. He steps out from his place of concealment, and he begins to tell her of his determination to make her his consort and the head of his household, which would put her above all his other wives. It is crazy how much effort Dushyanta has put towards loving Shakuntala, as he is abandoning all of the duties he should be doing as a king. However, Shakuntala is unable to give consent because her foster father, Kanwa, is absent at the moment.  

If you truly love someone you will fight and argue, but in the end you come out with a stronger bond, and understanding of each other. A little while later, he returns to the sacred grove, and this time he is angered by Shakuntala. He feels that she has not accomplished the rites of hospitality to suit him, so he thinks that she has not been doing her duties to receive his true love. In anger, he calls down a curse on Shakuntala without her even knowing. The curse is that the lover will not remember her until he sees the ring of recognition that he will give her. “ Because your heart, by loving fancies blinded, Has scorned a guest in pious life grown old, Your lover shall forget you though reminded, Or think of you as of a story told.” (The curse) The attendants who hear the curse are now frightened to tell Shakuntala because they fear she will become ill from worry. Not only has Dushyanta pushed all of the duties of protecting the people to the side, but now he has worried them with the curse he has placed on Shakuntala. Will he abandon his duty of loving Shakuntala? 

From personal experience of being in a long distance relationship it does get tough, but it is definitely worth it. Before Dushyanta leaves the sacred grove to return to his palace, Shakuntala agrees to have a secret marriage and becomes his wife. However, she decides to remain at the grove until her foster father returns. Before Dushyanta leaves, he gives her a ring as a sign of her new status, the king’s wife. After Dushyanta leaves, Kanwa returns, and he has the gift of omniscience, meaning he knows all that has taken place. When he reenters the sacred grove, a supernatural voice informs him that Shakuntala is destined to give birth to a child that will rule the world. Soon Shakuntala has premonitions that her future with the king will not be a happy one. Kanwa insists that she leaves, allowing her son to be born in her father’s place. When Shakuntala arrives at the palace, the curse has proven to be true because the king fails to Shakuntala and their marriage. Shakuntala looks for the ring of recognition the king had given her, but it had been lost on the journey from the sacred woods to the palace. A good man never lets grief get the upper hand. The mountains are calm even in a tempest.” (Shakuntala) This is where Shakuntala shows strength and independence.

In comparison, Dushyanta has simply relied on those around him to help him in his journey to find love. Now Dushyanta is on the brink of allowing his duties of finding love to vanish. He had already thrown away his true responsibilities in order to love Shakuntala, but now what will happen?

Dushyanta sends Sakuntala out of his presence, and soon after, courtiers come to tell him that a strange, winged man had picked up Shakuntala and carried her into the heavens. The king is very disturbed by this, but he decides to try and forget that it ever happened. Now the king is trying to push his duty of finding love away… Shaking my head. A few moments later, the ring of recognition was found in the hands of a poor fisherman, and he explains that he had found it in the belly of a Carp. The ring is then brought to Dushyanta, and as soon as he lays his eyes on it he remembers Shakuntala and their marriage. Dushyanta becomes very sad because he has no way of getting Sakuntala back, but little does he know that the Nymph who stole Shakuntala is watching him. The Nymph notices how sad he is, and she sends down the chariot of God Indra down to earth to bring Dushyanta to heaven to see Shakuntala. 

Once in heaven, the king finds a young boy playing with a lion. This amazes him, and he feels a strong attraction towards the young boy. Soon Dushyanta is recognized as the boy’s true father, and he is taken to Shakuntala. She forgives her husband because she had read the story of the curse, and soon the gods send them back to earth with their son Bharata. From there, they live for many years in happiness together!

Throughout the story, the audience can see how Dushyanta, the king, abandons all of his duties to find love. From the beginning of the story, when Dushyanta loves Shakuntala at first sight, all of his priorities now change. He is supposed to protect the people of the world but only begins to focus on his love for Shakuntala. You see those around him go out of their ways to please and help the king. At the same time, he does nothing to help those around them as he becomes very selfish. This is the change you see of Dushyanta while other characters stay true to themselves.