Loka Shakuntala
Dushyantha is a well known emperor of Hastinawathi. In imperialist monarchy the emperor enjoys extraordinary importance, unlimited power and immeasurable wealth. For example, in the dynastic tradition, people are not very much worried if they themselves do not have offspring; but they feel concerned when their king does not have any. Because, he looks after the childless in their old age and also guards their property. But if the king himself has no off springs then everybody becomes an orphan. The king, with his unlimited power and the enormous responsibility of state administration becomes a mere 'body in power' bereft of the human personality. It so happens that he becomes inhuman in his attempt at going beyond the human, (whenever people select a leader for themselves they expect him to cross the human limits. But, to cross these limits, he will have to 'kill' what is human in him. This is the tragic irony inherent in hero-making). It is probably because of this that we notice the almost inevitable presence of a vidooshaka (clown) whatever royalty is portrayed. The king, living far from his people, needs this elemental man with an 'absurd personality for close company to be reminded, at least to some extent, of the essential human character of his own (king's) personality.
Monarchy, because of the expert administration of its groomed and ready-made leader, offers its subjects a life that is systematic, hopeful and peaceful. But, at the same time, the system also makes the ruler and his close counsellors rude and inhuman in course of time; naturally, this makes the people all the more powerless, hopeless and slavish. Many have the wrong notion that Kalidasa favoured monarchy and glorified it. But in fact, he considered monarchy the natural flowering of the culture of his time, accepted it, was close to it, and at the same time, was aware of its limitations. This is very clear in all his works. (Similarly, he loved the Aryan culture, but was not blind to the potentialities of the non-Aryan-Cultures). Let us consider the following examples: because of our presuppositions, we lose sight of the subtle suggestions Kalidasa deeps making from time to time and as usual try to see in Dushyantha the great ideal of the royal lineage, the saintly king and so on. For a king to marry-Dushyanta is no exception to this-the girl ought to be chaste, husband-worshipping (pativrata), of the right lineage, of the same caste and so on; but to wait upon him in the court, thanks to his gallantry, he would appoint only white-skinned Yavana lasses; this is what we fail to notice. Similarly, we start with the assumption that Kanwa is an ascetic, a saint, a great soul and so on, and thereby miss the chances of laughing at the simplicity, stupidity and naiveté of the forest-life (aaranyaka culture) which Kalidasa depicts so cleverly.
If the king is sensitive, at one time or the other, he will have to protest against himself. His human personality would try to fight and prohibit his royal personality. The tragic culmination of such extraordinary conflicts is what makes Shakespeare's plays great, isn't it? Well, that is what I think. Dushyanta is not an adolescent burning with desire; nor is he a traditional romantic here (sringara nayaka). Probably, he is middle aged. Even when carried away by passion, he is capable of remaining conscious and alert by being critically aware of his own actions. King Dushyanta, out on hunting, very unexpectedly enters Kanwa's ashrama. In the surroundings that are alien to his routine existence, he encounters that young and innocent beauty Shakuntala. This brings the king back to his human self. The embellishments of the royal figure wither away and he becomes a mere kid breathing human passion. (At this juncture, I cannot but recall the very religious Praneshacharya, protagonist of Dr.U.R.Ananthamurthy's novel 'Samskara'. He used to explain the story of Shakuntala to his disciples very colourfully, but the accidental 'touch' of Chandri makes him behave like a kid).
What comes out of this conflict between the two facets of his personality is what makes the rest of the play. This encounter makes him realise how dead his royal personality is. Thereafter, he learns at least once in a while, to look down upon his kingly duties. Just the strain of a melody can now make him feel guilty at having forgotten his beloved. Day and night, and, again and again the tussle between memory and oblivion makes him experience the intense pain of inner struggle.
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