Reading Notes: Sakuntala (Part 2)

Sakuntala: Youth

In this part of the story, it describes Sakuntala's younger years. She grows up with Kanava and his sister Goutami as parent figures in their ashram, which is a small village of religious hermits. Her best friends are like sisters to her, Priyambada and Anushua. Sakuntala's beauty is breathtaking and everyone in the ashram loves her, however she is unconscious of her beauty and grows up very modest and humble. She picked flowers, sung to the animals and also befriended them. One day when Sakuntala and her friends are older, they are sitting in the forest picking flowers and talking when a beetle startles Sakuntala. They all joke and one of her friends says that she should ask Dushmanta Maharajah, the handsome king of Hastinagar and noble knight. He happens to be hunting in the same forest, and hears his name. He follows the voices and approaches Sakuntala and her friends. He is instantly memorized by Sakuntala, but she is incredibly shy and can barely look at him. Her friends leave and Sakuntala and Dushmanta talk alone. He asks her to be his love, but she says she must ask her father. He complies and waits for her father for many days, but he must leave to return to his kingdom, so he marries Sakuntala with her friends and aunt Goutami as witnesses. Sakuntala does not want Dushmanta to leave because she's afraid he will forget her, so he gives her his ring and says that by the time she's done reading the letters, one for each day, his messengers will be back to escort her to the kingdom. He then leaves for Hastinagar, leaving Sakuntala in the ashram.

I think this would be a great story to retell in a very Disney-esque way by having Sakuntala be Ariel and Dushmanta be Eric. When I first read this, that's what immediately came to mind for some reason. If I don't recreate it in that way, I would like to add more details and dialogues between Sakuntala and Dushmanta so the readers can focus more on the love story.

(Dushmanta and Sakuntala, Wikipedia Commons)

Bibliography: Sakuntala, by Sunity Devee from "Nine Ideal Indian Women" pages 57-60.