The story so far is a tale of love that takes place in the king’s antaḥpura and the garden. Though there are incidents connected with the politics of the kingdom, release of a captive, and a victorious military conquest, it all happens in the background and we only get to hear about it; none of those incidents are staged; however, they contribute towards enhancing the main plot. In fact, the vidūṣaka’s friendly conspiracies are closer to the focal point of the play than the political incidents in the kingdom; thanks to him, Mālavikā and Agnimitra get introduced to each other and thanks to the largesse of Queen Dhāriṇī, the two get married. Though Mālavikā is not the chief queen, she is the nāyikā of the story; her character spans the entire play. If we are to agree that the title Śākuntala is befitting to a play in which Śakuntalā plays the main role, then, the current play must actually be called Mālavikā, for she plays a role even greater than Agnimitra’s. Just as Udayana is to the play Svapnavāsavadatta, Agnimitra is like the canvas to the current play. The connoisseurs’ heart and attention are always directed towards Mālavikā. The poet does not seem to be feel enough of describing her beauty; he makes King Agnimitra extoll Mālavikā’s charm again and again. In fact, nowhere else has Kālidāsa invested so many verses in describing the nāyikā’s beauty. Unlike the descriptions of women in the later-day poems, Kālidāsa’s descriptions are not an artificial amalgamation of cliched poetic conventions and alliterations. It appears as though Kālidāsa had actually seen a beautiful young girl in his king’s antaḥpura and had relished her charm as well as her skill at arts; he must have then penned the verses describing Mālavikā, mainly based on his own experience. The nature of love is different in Vikramorvaśīyam and Abhijñāna-śākuntalam; while one captures the story of an apsarā, a superhuman being endowed with divine characteristics, the other relates to āśramas of ṛṣis. Urvaśī and Śakuntalā are daughters of ṛṣis. The śṛṅgāra that is seen in their lives is not the same as that in the royal harem. Kālidāsa makes this beautiful damsel Mālavikā, who belongs to the antaḥpura dance. He decks her in beautiful clothes and ornaments and also describes her captivating movements; he captures through words her beauty as she performs different activities – she sits, stands, turns around, smiles, laughs, picks flowers, dons them, performs namaskāra, and so on; he creates contexts and incidents through with he gives himself an opportunity to describe her. He has also designed episodes where he brings out her enthusiasm, joy, shyness, fear, and expectation. If a capable actress takes on the role of Mālavikā, it is surely going to be rewarding today – it can certainly engross the onlooker. The poet has strung together episodes that work as an impressive canvass to bring out Mālavikā’s character. Most of the story takes place in the king’s antaḥpura. Puṣyamitra’s yajña-śālā is far removed from the antaḥpura and so is the battlefield in which Vasumitra fought the war. Agnimitra’s antaḥpura is a kingdom of women; it is associated with an impressive garden with spring blossoms, fountains, a creeper-pavilion, and a swinging arena; We see Irāvatī who comes there to enjoy playing on the swing with her husband; she is a prauḍhā nāyikā and comes intoxicated. We also encounter Mālavikā in the garden, who is like vasanta-lakṣmī, an embodiment of the beauty of the Spring season; this good-hearted maiden, an expert in dance, is given to bashfulness and has inhibitions. She is the daughter of a king, who was living incognito like the moon which has been eclipsed by an evil planet. She is accompanied by her friends who befit her form and character; they are given lovely names too – Bakulāvalikā, Kaumidikā, Nipuṇikā, Madanikā, etc.
To be continued ...
The current series of articles is an enlarged adaption of Prof. A. R. Krishnasastri's Kannada treatise Saṃskṛta-nāṭaka. They are presented along with additional information and footnotes by Arjun Bharadwaj.
