Mahābhārata – Episode 111 - Śakuntalopākhyānam - Part 2

This article is part 111 of 112 in the series Mahābhārata

Duṣyanta – “Listening to the story you just narrated confirms that you indeed are a princess from a royal lineage. Please be my wife! Tell me what you desire to have! Golden necklaces, clothing, earrings, bangles, gems and gold coins – I will give them all. My entire kingdom will be yours. Please be my wife. Let us get married through gāndharva-vivāha. It is the best among the various kinds of marriages.”

Śakuntalā – “O King! My father is gone to fetch fruits. Once he comes back, he will hand me over to you!”

Duṣyanta – “You come to me on your own. I am here only for your sake. My heart has dissolved in you. A person should always be independent. Handover yourself to me on your own – this will certainly not be against dharma. For a kṣatriya, gāndharva and rākṣasa-vivāhas are dhārmic too. You and I are in love with each other. Thus, become my wife through the gāndharva-marriage.

Śakuntalā – “If you say that this is dhārmic and that I have the freedom to offer myself to you, I would like to make an agreement with you before I proceed. The son born to me through you should become the crown-prince. He should occupy the throne after you. Only if you agree with my condition, I will proceed to unite with you.”

The king, without thinking twice declared – “So be it!”. With these words, they became got into a wedlock and consummated their marriage.

“I will send my entire retinue of army to fetch to my palace!”  - the king kept telling her so again and again to gain her confidence in him. The king returned to his city constantly fearing what Kaṇva would think and do to him.

After a while, the sage Kaṇva returned to the āśrama. Śakuntalā felt embarrassed to even see him. Kaṇva came to know about everything that had transpired through his divine sight. He called his daughter to his side and spoke words filled with love to her – “O dear one, you have got into the contact of the king without consulting me – doing so does not count towards transgressing dharma. Gāndharva-vivāha is sacred for a kṣatriya. Duṣyanta, the man you have married with intense love is known for his adherence to dharma. You will beget a great son who will rule the entire earth with its expance until the oceans”

Śakuntalā washed her father’s feet, received the fruits he had brought home and requested him – “O father, you should bless Duṣyanta, my husband!”

Kaṇva – “Dear child! I am happy with Duṣyanta and have nothing against him. Tell me what else you desire to have”

Śakuntalā requested her father to bless Duṣyanta such that he will remain dhārmic at all times and that he will not lose the kingdom that he is ruling. Kaṇva consented.

After a few months, Śakuntalā gave birth to a charming and radiant son. Kaṇva performed jātakarma and other rites on the child. The child was very brave and even in his sixth year, he would combat wild animals such as lions, boars, elephants, buffaloes and tie them to a tree. He would play with them. He would climb on their backs and ride on them around the forest. The residents of the āśrama who saw his valour named him ‘Sarvadamana’. Looking at his strength and capability, Kaṇva thought that it was time to anoint him as the crown prince. He called his students and said – “Drop off Śakuntalā and her son at her husband’s place. It is not right for women to stay at her relatives’ place for long. It will spoil their name, dharma and character”

Accordingly, the students escorted Śakuntalā and her son to Duṣyanta’s kingdom. She saw the king, bowed down before him and said – “O Emperor! This is my son – born to me through you. Coronate him as the crown-prince! Please adhere to your words. Recall the promise that you made to me when we met in Kaṇva’s āśrama!”

The king, upon hearing these words, said that he did not remember a thing, though he recalled all the incidents. He said – “You cruel ascetic! Who are you? I can’t recall having united with you either for dharma, artha or kāma! Go back! Or, if you would like to stay, you may! Do whatever you want!”

The tender-hearted Śakuntalā was humiliated by the king’s words. She felt as though she was going to lose her consciousness. She could not think of anything and stood like a tree with its branches cut off. She got back to her senses and with rage and quivering lips and eyes, she said – “O Emperor! Though you know everything that transpired very well, why do you speak like a lowly person and claim that you know nothing at all? Your heart knows what is true. Don’t cheat your conscience by lying. A person who cheats himself is the worst kind of sinner. Your antarātmā watches over every deed you perform! Thus, don’t be under the presumption that there is no one to monitor your actions. Sūrya, Candra, Vāyu, Agni, Ākāśa, Bhūmi, Jala, Hṛdaya, Yama, Day, Night, Sandhyā and Dharma – these keep a check on man’s actions. Don’t shun me away just because I have come by myself to take refuge in you. I am a pativrata. You should honour your noble wife. Seems like my words are like a cry in the forest to you. They don’t fall on your ears. Duṣyanta! If you don’t listen to my words though I beg you to, your head will break into a thousand pieces. What more joy can a father have, than having his child jump over him, after having played outdoors? When such a child has come on its own and is looking at you helplessly, why do you want to reject it? Even ants protect their eggs. They don’t break them apart. When such is the case, a dhārmic person like you should not be discarding away your own son! I don’t know what sins I had performed in my previous birth. My parents abandoned me when I was a child. If you shun me away now, I will return to the āśrama. I beg you not to send this child away, though!”

Duṣyanta – “I cannot identify the child born to you. Women are known to be liars. Who can trust their words. Your mother Menakā is a whore. She discarded you at the foothills of the Himālayas just like doing away with a garland that is worn out. Your father too is a heartless man. He was born as a kṣatriya and desired to become a brāhmaṇa. He was lustful in his deeds. Don’t you feel ashamed to utter these words which no one can believe? You speak in such a manner in front of me! Go out, you evil tāpasī! Where is the demonic sage? Where is the apsara Menakā? How are you related to the two of them, you pitiable woman? How was your son born and how did he grow? Has he grown as tall as a shaala-vrksha at such a young age? You were born to Menakā as an illicit child and you also appear like a whore to me. Go back on the same path you arrived here!

Śakuntalā – “O king! You seem to point out at the minutest of the faults of the others; You are oblivious to your own shortcomings which are of greater magnitude. Menakā stays in the world of the devatās. The devatās too spend time with her. Therefore, my birth is of a better kind than yours. Duṣyanta! You can only walk on the earth but I can move around in the skies. The difference between you and me is like the difference between the Meru mountain and a mustard seed. I’ll give you an example, please excuse me for doing so. An ugly person thinks that he is more handsome and charming than everyone else until he looks at himself in the mirror. Only after he looks at the mirror and realises how ugly looking he is, will he be able to estimate the value of the others. It pains a noble-hearted person to humiliate the other but a wicked one finds tremendous joy in defaming others. What’s more ridiculous than a wicked person calling a noble soul as an evil one? An atheist too fears a wicked person like fearing a poisonous snake. When such is the case, should we say anything about the theists? If you discard a son born to you, the devatas will destroy all your wealth. Such a person will be doomed with ill-fate. Thus, don’t get rid of your son because of your immoral nature. O king! There is no other dharma greater than satya. There is no sin that is graver than falsehood. Keep you your words and you will be recognised as an honest man. If you have no faith in me and want to resort to dishonesty, I will go away from here. I don’t desire to have the company of a person like you. My son can take care of the world even without your help.”

With these words, Śakuntalā started leaving from the place. Right at the moment, an incorporeal voice spoke from the skies. The voice was heard by the ministers and the purohita as well. It said – “O Duṣyanta! Protect your son. Don’t reject Śakuntalā. You are his father and what Śakuntalā has said so far is true; A wife begets a part of her body as her child. Pray listen to us. He will soon become famous as Bharata.”

Listening to this, Duṣyanta addressed the assembly of ministers there – “You all heard the words of the divine messenger, right? I know that the child is my son; However, if I just welcome him and accept him as mine only with an oral testimony, the entire world will ridicule me later on. His name would get tarnished too. Now that the divine messenger has given his words, I am delighted!”

With these words, Duṣyanta embraced the child and smelled his head. He welcomed Śakuntalā with great honour and consoled her – “Devī! The world does not know that we have spent time together. I wanted your name to be unblemished and thus spoke all this. I have pardoned everything that you said out of your anger.”

Śakuntalā became his beloved wife. They named their son Bharata was coronated him as the yuava-rāja. Bharata grew into a powerful king, performed several yajñas and yāgas.

His lineage came to called the Bharata-vaṃśa and the people belonging to the lineage are called the ‘Bhārata’. The lineage gave birth to several noble kings, who were known for the moral values and integrity.

 

This is an English translation of Prof. A R Krishna Shastri’s Kannada classic Vacanabhārata by Arjun Bharadwaj and Hari Ravikumar published in a serialized form.

The original Kannada version of Vacanabhārata is available for free online reading here. To read other works of Prof. Krishna Shastri, click here.

Author(s)

About:

Prof. A R Krishna Sastri was a journalist, scholar, polyglot, and a pioneer of the modern Kannada renaissance, who founded the literary journal Prabuddha Karnāṭaka. His Vacana-bhārata and Kathāmṛta are classics of Kannada literature while his Saṃskṛta-nāṭaka and Bankimacandra are of unrivalled scholarship.

Translator(s)

About:

Arjun is a writer, translator, engineer, and enjoys composing poems. He is well-versed in Sanskrit, Kannada, English, Greek, and German languages. His research interests lie in comparative aesthetics of classical Greek and Sanskrit literature. He has deep interest in the theatre arts and music. Arjun has (co-) translated the works of AR Krishna Shastri, DV Gundappa, Dr. SL Bhyrappa, Dr. SR Ramaswamy and Shatavadhani Dr. R Ganesh

About:

Hari is an author, translator, editor, designer, and violinist with a deep interest in philosophy, education pedagogy, literature, and films. He has (co-)written/translated and (co-)edited some forty books, mostly related to Indian culture.

Prekshaa Publications

Indian Perspective of Truth and Beauty in Homer’s Epics is a unique work on the comparative study of the Greek Epics Iliad and Odyssey with the Indian Epics – Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata. Homer, who laid the foundations for the classical tradition of the West, occupies a stature similar to that occupied by the seer-poets Vālmīki and Vyāsa, who are synonymous with the Indian culture. The author...

Karnataka’s celebrated polymath, D V Gundappa brings together in the sixth volume of reminiscences character sketches of prominent public figures, liberals, and social workers. These remarkable personages hailing from different corners of South India are from a period that spans from the late nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century. Written in Kannada in the 1970s, these memoirs go...

An Introduction to Hinduism based on Primary Sources

Authors: Śatāvadhānī Dr. R Ganesh, Hari Ravikumar

What is the philosophical basis for Sanātana-dharma, the ancient Indian way of life? What makes it the most inclusive and natural of all religio-philosophical systems in the world?

The Essential Sanātana-dharma serves as a handbook for anyone who wishes to grasp the...

Karnataka’s celebrated polymath, D V Gundappa brings together in the fifth volume, episodes from the lives of traditional savants responsible for upholding the Vedic culture. These memorable characters lived a life of opulence amidst poverty— theirs  was the wealth of the soul, far beyond money and gold. These vidvāns hailed from different corners of the erstwhile Mysore Kingdom and lived in...

Padma Bhushan Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam represents the quintessence of Sage Bharata’s art and Bhārata, the country that gave birth to the peerless seer of the Nāṭya-veda. Padma’s erudition in various streams of Indic knowledge, mastery over many classical arts, deep understanding of the nuances of Indian culture, creative genius, and sublime vision bolstered by the vedāntic and nationalistic...

Bhārata has been a land of plenty in many ways. We have had a timeless tradition of the twofold principle of Brāhma (spirit of wisdom) and Kṣāttra (spirit of valour) nourishing and protecting this sacred land. The Hindu civilisation, rooted in Sanātana-dharma, has constantly been enriched by brāhma and safeguarded by kṣāttra.
The renowned Sanskrit poet and scholar, Śatāvadhānī Dr. R...

ಛಂದೋವಿವೇಕವು ವರ್ಣವೃತ್ತ, ಮಾತ್ರಾಜಾತಿ ಮತ್ತು ಕರ್ಷಣಜಾತಿ ಎಂದು ವಿಭಕ್ತವಾದ ಎಲ್ಲ ಬಗೆಯ ಛಂದಸ್ಸುಗಳನ್ನೂ ವಿವೇಚಿಸುವ ಪ್ರಬಂಧಗಳ ಸಂಕಲನ. ಲೇಖಕರ ದೀರ್ಘಕಾಲಿಕ ಆಲೋಚನೆಯ ಸಾರವನ್ನು ಒಳಗೊಂಡ ಈ ಹೊತ್ತಗೆ ಪ್ರಧಾನವಾಗಿ ಛಂದಸ್ಸಿನ ಸೌಂದರ್ಯವನ್ನು ಲಕ್ಷಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ತೌಲನಿಕ ವಿಶ್ಲೇಷಣೆ ಮತ್ತು ಅಂತಃಶಾಸ್ತ್ರೀಯ ಅಧ್ಯಯನಗಳ ತೆಕ್ಕೆಗೆ ಬರುವ ಬರೆಹಗಳೂ ಇಲ್ಲಿವೆ. ಶಾಸ್ತ್ರಕಾರನಿಗಲ್ಲದೆ ಸಿದ್ಧಹಸ್ತನಾದ ಕವಿಗೆ ಮಾತ್ರ ಸ್ಫುರಿಸಬಲ್ಲ ಎಷ್ಟೋ ಹೊಳಹುಗಳು ಕೃತಿಯ ಮೌಲಿಕತೆಯನ್ನು ಹೆಚ್ಚಿಸಿವೆ. ಈ...

Karnataka’s celebrated polymath, D V Gundappa brings together in the fourth volume, some character sketches of the Dewans of Mysore preceded by an account of the political framework of the State before Independence and followed by a review of the political conditions of the State after 1940. These remarkable leaders of Mysore lived in a period that spans from the mid-nineteenth century to the...

Bharatiya Kavya-mimamseya Hinnele is a monograph on Indian Aesthetics by Mahamahopadhyaya N. Ranganatha Sharma. The book discusses the history and significance of concepts pivotal to Indian literary theory. It is equally useful to the learned and the laity.

Sahitya-samhite is a collection of literary essays in Kannada. The book discusses aestheticians such as Ananda-vardhana and Rajashekhara; Sanskrit scholars such as Mena Ramakrishna Bhat, Sridhar Bhaskar Varnekar and K S Arjunwadkar; and Kannada litterateurs such as DVG, S L Bhyrappa and S R Ramaswamy. It has a foreword by Shatavadhani Dr. R Ganesh.

The Mahābhārata is the greatest epic in the world both in magnitude and profundity. A veritable cultural compendium of Bhārata-varṣa, it is a product of the creative genius of Maharṣi Kṛṣṇa-dvaipāyana Vyāsa. The epic captures the experiential wisdom of our civilization and all subsequent literary, artistic, and philosophical creations are indebted to it. To read the Mahābhārata is to...

Shiva Rama Krishna

சிவன். ராமன். கிருஷ்ணன்.
இந்திய பாரம்பரியத்தின் முப்பெரும் கதாநாயகர்கள்.
உயர் இந்தியாவில் தலைமுறைகள் பல கடந்தும் கடவுளர்களாக போற்றப்பட்டு வழிகாட்டிகளாக விளங்குபவர்கள்.
மனித ஒற்றுமை நூற்றாண்டுகால பரிணாம வளர்ச்சியின் பரிமாணம்.
தனிநபர்களாகவும், குடும்ப உறுப்பினர்களாகவும், சமுதாய பிரஜைகளாகவும் நாம் அனைவரும் பரிமளிக்கிறோம்.
சிவன் தனிமனித அடையாளமாக அமைகிறான்....

ऋतुभिः सह कवयः सदैव सम्बद्धाः। विशिष्य संस्कृतकवयः। यथा हि ऋतवः प्रतिसंवत्सरं प्रतिनवतामावहन्ति मानवेषु तथैव ऋतुवर्णनान्यपि काव्यरसिकेषु कामपि विच्छित्तिमातन्वते। ऋतुकल्याणं हि सत्यमिदमेव हृदि कृत्वा प्रवृत्तम्। नगरजीवनस्य यान्त्रिकतां मान्त्रिकतां च ध्वनदिदं चम्पूकाव्यं गद्यपद्यमिश्रितमिति सुव्यक्तमेव। ऐदम्पूर्वतया प्रायः पुरीपरिसरप्रसृतानाम् ऋतूनां विलासोऽत्र प्रपञ्चितः। बेङ्गलूरुनामके...

The Art and Science of Avadhānam in Sanskrit is a definitive work on Sāhityāvadhānam, a form of Indian classical art based on multitasking, lateral thinking, and extempore versification. Dotted throughout with tasteful examples, it expounds in great detail on the theory and practice of this unique performing art. It is as much a handbook of performance as it is an anthology of well-turned...

This anthology is a revised edition of the author's 1978 classic. This series of essays, containing his original research in various fields, throws light on the socio-cultural landscape of Tamil Nadu spanning several centuries. These compelling episodes will appeal to scholars and laymen alike.
“When superstitious mediaevalists mislead the country about its judicial past, we have to...

The cultural history of a nation, unlike the customary mainstream history, has a larger time-frame and encompasses the timeless ethos of a society undergirding the course of events and vicissitudes. A major key to the understanding of a society’s unique character is an appreciation of the far-reaching contributions by outstanding personalities of certain periods – especially in the realms of...

Prekṣaṇīyam is an anthology of essays on Indian classical dance and theatre authored by multifaceted scholar and creative genius, Śatāvadhānī Dr. R Ganesh. As a master of śāstra, a performing artiste (of the ancient art of Avadhānam), and a cultured rasika, he brings a unique, holistic perspective to every discussion. These essays deal with the philosophy, history, aesthetics, and practice of...

Yaugandharam

इदं किञ्चिद्यामलं काव्यं द्वयोः खण्डकाव्ययोः सङ्कलनरूपम्। रामानुरागानलं हि सीतापरित्यागाल्लक्ष्मणवियोगाच्च श्रीरामेणानुभूतं हृदयसङ्क्षोभं वर्णयति । वात्सल्यगोपालकं तु कदाचिद्भानूपरागसमये घटितं यशोदाश्रीकृष्णयोर्मेलनं वर्णयति । इदम्प्रथमतया संस्कृतसाहित्ये सम्पूर्णं काव्यं...

Vanitakavitotsavah

इदं खण्डकाव्यमान्तं मालिनीछन्दसोपनिबद्धं विलसति। मेनकाविश्वामित्रयोः समागमः, तत्फलतया शकुन्तलाया जननम्, मातापितृभ्यां त्यक्तस्य शिशोः कण्वमहर्षिणा परिपालनं चेति काव्यस्यास्येतिवृत्तसङ्क्षेपः।

Vaiphalyaphalam

इदं खण्डकाव्यमान्तं मालिनीछन्दसोपनिबद्धं विलसति। मेनकाविश्वामित्रयोः समागमः, तत्फलतया शकुन्तलाया जननम्, मातापितृभ्यां त्यक्तस्य शिशोः कण्वमहर्षिणा परिपालनं चेति काव्यस्यास्येतिवृत्तसङ्क्षेपः।

Nipunapraghunakam

इयं रचना दशसु रूपकेष्वन्यतमस्य भाणस्य निदर्शनतामुपैति। एकाङ्करूपकेऽस्मिन् शेखरकनामा चित्रोद्यमलेखकः केनापि हेतुना वियोगम् अनुभवतोश्चित्रलेखामिलिन्दकयोः समागमं सिसाधयिषुः कथामाकाशभाषणरूपेण निर्वहति।

Bharavatarastavah

अस्मिन् स्तोत्रकाव्ये भगवन्तं शिवं कविरभिष्टौति। वसन्ततिलकयोपनिबद्धस्य काव्यस्यास्य कविकृतम् उल्लाघनाभिधं व्याख्यानं च वर्तते।

Karnataka’s celebrated polymath, D V Gundappa brings together in the third volume, some character sketches of great literary savants responsible for Kannada renaissance during the first half of the twentieth century. These remarkable...

Karnataka’s celebrated polymath, D V Gundappa brings together in the second volume, episodes from the lives of remarkable exponents of classical music and dance, traditional storytellers, thespians, and connoisseurs; as well as his...

Karnataka’s celebrated polymath, D V Gundappa brings together in the first volume, episodes from the lives of great writers, poets, literary aficionados, exemplars of public life, literary scholars, noble-hearted common folk, advocates...

Evolution of Mahabharata and Other Writings on the Epic is the English translation of S R Ramaswamy's 1972 Kannada classic 'Mahabharatada Belavanige' along with seven of his essays on the great epic. It tells the riveting...

Shiva-Rama-Krishna is an English adaptation of Śatāvadhāni Dr. R Ganesh's popular lecture series on the three great...

Bharatilochana

ಮಹಾಮಾಹೇಶ್ವರ ಅಭಿನವಗುಪ್ತ ಜಗತ್ತಿನ ವಿದ್ಯಾವಲಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಮರೆಯಲಾಗದ ಹೆಸರು. ಮುಖ್ಯವಾಗಿ ಶೈವದರ್ಶನ ಮತ್ತು ಸೌಂದರ್ಯಮೀಮಾಂಸೆಗಳ ಪರಮಾಚಾರ್ಯನಾಗಿ  ಸಾವಿರ ವರ್ಷಗಳಿಂದ ಇವನು ಜ್ಞಾನಪ್ರಪಂಚವನ್ನು ಪ್ರಭಾವಿಸುತ್ತಲೇ ಇದ್ದಾನೆ. ಭರತಮುನಿಯ ನಾಟ್ಯಶಾಸ್ತ್ರವನ್ನು ಅರ್ಥಮಾಡಿಕೊಳ್ಳಲು ಇವನೊಬ್ಬನೇ ನಮಗಿರುವ ಆಲಂಬನ. ಇದೇ ರೀತಿ ರಸಧ್ವನಿಸಿದ್ಧಾಂತವನ್ನು...

Vagarthavismayasvadah

“वागर्थविस्मयास्वादः” प्रमुखतया साहित्यशास्त्रतत्त्वानि विमृशति । अत्र सौन्दर्यर्यशास्त्रीयमूलतत्त्वानि यथा रस-ध्वनि-वक्रता-औचित्यादीनि सुनिपुणं परामृष्टानि प्रतिनवे चिकित्सकप्रज्ञाप्रकाशे। तदन्तर एव संस्कृतवाङ्मयस्य सामर्थ्यसमाविष्कारोऽपि विहितः। क्वचिदिव च्छन्दोमीमांसा च...

The Best of Hiriyanna

The Best of Hiriyanna is a collection of forty-eight essays by Prof. M. Hiriyanna that sheds new light on Sanskrit Literature, Indian...

Stories Behind Verses

Stories Behind Verses is a remarkable collection of over a hundred anecdotes, each of which captures a story behind the composition of a Sanskrit verse. Collected over several years from...