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MADHAVYA, _a clown, his companion_.

His charioteer.

RAIVATAKA, _a door-keeper_.

BHADRASENA, _a general_.

KARABHAKA, _a servant_.

PARVATAYANA, _a chamberlain_.

SOMARATA, _a chaplain_.

KANVA, _hermit-father_.


SHARNGARAVA }

SHARADVATA } _his pupils_.

HARITA }


DURVASAS, _an irascible sage_.

The chief of police.


SUCHAKA }
} _policemen_.
JANUKA }


A fisherman.

SHAKUNTALA, _foster-child of Kanva_.


ANUSUVA }
} _her friends_.
PRIYAMVADA }


GAUTAMI, _hermit-mother_.

KASHYAPA, _father of the gods_.

ADITI, _mother of the gods_.

MATALI, _charioteer of heaven's king_.

GALAVA, _a pupil in heaven_.

MISHRAKESHI, _a heavenly nymph_.

_Stage-director and actress (in the prologue), hermits and
hermit-women, two court poets, palace attendants, invisible fairies_.

The first four acts pass in Kanva's forest hermitage; acts five and
six in the king's palace; act seven on a heavenly mountain. The time
is perhaps seven years.



SHAKUNTALA

PROLOGUE

BENEDICTION UPON THE AUDIENCE

Eight forms has Shiva, lord of all and king:
And these are water, first created thing;
And fire, which speeds the sacrifice begun;
The priest; and time's dividers, moon and sun;
The all-embracing ether, path of sound;
The earth, wherein all seeds of life are found;
And air, the breath of life: may he draw near,
Revealed in these, and bless those gathered here.

_The stage-director_. Enough of this! (_Turning toward the
dressing-room_. ) Madam, if you are ready, pray come here. (_Enter an
actress_. )

_Actress_. Here I am, sir. What am I to do?

_Director_. Our audience is very discriminating, and we are to offer
them a new play, called _Shakuntala and the ring of recognition_,
written by the famous Kalidasa. Every member of the cast must be on
his mettle.

_Actress_. Your arrangements are perfect. Nothing will go wrong.

_Director_ (_smiling_). To tell the truth, madam,

Until the wise are satisfied,
I cannot feel that skill is shown;
The best-trained mind requires support,
And does not trust itself alone.

_Actress_. True. What shall we do first?

_Director_. First, you must sing something to please the ears of the
audience.

_Actress_. What season of the year shall I sing about? _Director_.
Why, sing about the pleasant summer which has just begun. For at this
time of year

A mid-day plunge will temper heat;
The breeze is rich with forest flowers;
To slumber in the shade is sweet;
And charming are the twilight hours.

_Actress_ (_sings_).

The siris-blossoms fair,
With pollen laden,
Are plucked to deck her hair
By many a maiden,
But gently; flowers like these
Are kissed by eager bees.

_Director_. Well done! The whole theatre is captivated by your song,
and sits as if painted. What play shall we give them to keep their
good-will?

_Actress_. Why, you just told me we were to give a new play called
_Shakuntala and the ring_.

_Director_. Thank you for reminding me. For the moment I had quite
forgotten.

Your charming song had carried me away
As the deer enticed the hero of our play.

(_Exeunt ambo_. )


ACT I


THE HUNT

(_Enter, in a chariot, pursuing a deer_, KING DUSHYANTA, _bow and
arrow in hand; and a charioteer_. )

_Charioteer_ (_Looking at the king and the deer_). Your Majesty,

I see you hunt the spotted deer
With shafts to end his race,
As though God Shiva should appear
In his immortal chase.

_King_. Charioteer, the deer has led us a long chase. And even now

His neck in beauty bends
As backward looks he sends
At my pursuing car
That threatens death from far.
Fear shrinks to half the body small;
See how he fears the arrow's fall!

The path he takes is strewed
With blades of grass half-chewed
From jaws wide with the stress
Of fevered weariness.
He leaps so often and so high,
He does not seem to run, but fly.

(_In surprise_. ) Pursue as I may, I can hardly keep him in sight.

_Charioteer_. Your Majesty, I have been holding the horses back
because the ground was rough. This checked us and gave the deer a
lead. Now we are on level ground, and you will easily overtake him.

_King_. Then let the reins hang loose.

_Charioteer_. Yes, your Majesty. (_He counterfeits rapid motion_. )
Look, your Majesty!

The lines hang loose; the steeds unreined
Dart forward with a will.
Their ears are pricked; their necks are strained;
Their plumes lie straight and still.
They leave the rising dust behind;
They seem to float upon the wind.

_King_ (_joyfully_). See! The horses are gaining on the deer.

As onward and onward the chariot flies,
The small flashes large to my dizzy eyes.
What is cleft in twain, seems to blur and mate;
What is crooked in nature, seems to be straight.
Things at my side in an instant appear
Distant, and things in the distance, near.

_A voice behind the scenes_. O King, this deer belongs to the
hermitage, and must not be killed.

_Charioteer_ (_listening and looking_). Your Majesty, here are two
hermits, come to save the deer at the moment when your arrow was about
to fall.

_King_ (_hastily_). Stop the chariot.

_Charioteer_. Yes, your Majesty. (_He does so. Enter a hermit with his
pupil_. )

_Hermit_ (_lifting his hand_). O King, this deer belongs to the
hermitage.

Why should his tender form expire,
As blossoms perish in the fire?
How could that gentle life endure
The deadly arrow, sharp and sure?

Restore your arrow to the quiver;
To you were weapons lent
The broken-hearted to deliver,
Not strike the innocent.

_King_ (_bowing low_). It is done. (_He does so_. )

_Hermit_ (_joyfully_). A deed worthy of you, scion of Puru's race, and
shining example of kings. May you beget a son to rule earth and
heaven.

_King_ (_bowing low_). I am thankful for a Brahman's blessing.

_The two hermits_. O King, we are on our way to gather firewood. Here,
along the bank of the Malini, you may see the hermitage of Father
Kanva, over which Shakuntala presides, so to speak, as guardian deity.
Unless other deities prevent, pray enter here and receive a welcome.
Besides,

Beholding pious hermit-rites
Preserved from fearful harm,
Perceive the profit of the scars
On your protecting arm.

_King_. Is the hermit father there?

_The two hermits_. No, he has left his daughter to welcome guests, and
has just gone to Somatirtha, to avert an evil fate that threatens her.

_King_. Well, I will see her. She shall feel my devotion, and report
it to the sage.

_The two hermits_. Then we will go on our way. (_Exit hermit with
pupil_. )

_King_. Charioteer, drive on. A sight of the pious hermitage will
purify us.

_Charioteer_. Yes, your Majesty. (_He counterfeits motion again_. )

_King_ (_looking about_). One would know, without being told, that
this is the precinct of a pious grove.

_Charioteer_. How so? _King_. Do you not see? Why, here

Are rice-grains, dropped from bills of parrot chicks
Beneath the trees; and pounding-stones where sticks
A little almond-oil; and trustful deer
That do not run away as we draw near;
And river-paths that are besprinkled yet
From trickling hermit-garments, clean and wet.

Besides,

The roots of trees are washed by many a stream
That breezes ruffle; and the flowers' red gleam
Is dimmed by pious smoke; and fearless fawns
Move softly on the close-cropped forest lawns.

_Charioteer_. It is all true.

_King_ (_after a little_). We must not disturb the hermitage. Stop
here while I dismount.

_Charioteer_. I am holding the reins. Dismount, your Majesty.

_King_ (_dismounts and looks at himself_). One should wear modest
garments on entering a hermitage. Take these jewels and the bow. (_He
gives them to the charioteer_. ) Before I return from my visit to the
hermits, have the horses' backs wet down.

_Charioteer_. Yes, your Majesty. (_Exit_. )

_King_ (_walking and looking about_). The hermitage! Well, I will
enter. (_As he does so, he feels a throbbing in his arm_. )

A tranquil spot! Why should I thrill?
Love cannot enter there--
Yet to inevitable things
Doors open everywhere.

_A voice behind the scenes_. This way, girls!

_King_ (_listening_). I think I hear some one to the right of the
grove. I must find out. (_He walks and looks about_. ) Ah, here are
hermit-girls, with watering-pots just big enough for them to handle.
They are coming in this direction to water the young trees. They are
charming!

The city maids, for all their pains,
Seem not so sweet and good;
Our garden blossoms yield to these
Flower-children of the wood.

I will draw back into the shade and wait for them. (_He stands, gazing
toward them. Enter_ SHAKUNTALA, _as described, and her two friends_. )

_First friend_. It seems to me, dear, that Father Kanva cares more for
the hermitage trees than he does for you. You are delicate as a
jasmine blossom, yet he tells you to fill the trenches about the
trees.

_Shakuntala_. Oh, it isn't Father's bidding so much. I feel like a
real sister to them. (_She waters the trees_. )

_Priyamvada_. Shakuntala, we have watered the trees that blossom in
the summer-time. Now let's sprinkle those whose flowering-time is
past. That will be a better deed, because we shall not be working for
a reward.

_Shakuntala_. What a pretty idea! (_She does so_. )

_King_ (_to himself_). And this is Kanva's daughter, Shakuntala. (_In
surprise_. ) The good Father does wrong to make her wear the hermit's
dress of bark.
The sage who yokes her artless charm
With pious pain and grief,
Would try to cut the toughest vine
With a soft, blue lotus-leaf.

Well, I will step behind a tree and see how she acts with her
friends. (_He conceals himself_. )

_Shakuntala_. Oh, Anusuya! Priyamvada has fastened this bark dress so
tight that it hurts. Please loosen it. (ANUSUYA _does so_. )

_Priyamvada_ (_laughing_). You had better blame your own budding
charms for that.

_King_. She is quite right.

Beneath the barken dress
Upon the shoulder tied,
In maiden loveliness
Her young breast seems to hide,

As when a flower amid
The leaves by autumn tossed--
Pale, withered leaves--lies hid,
And half its grace is lost.

Yet in truth the bark dress is not an enemy to her beauty. It serves
as an added ornament. For

The meanest vesture glows
On beauty that enchants:
The lotus lovelier shows
Amid dull water-plants;

The moon in added splendour
Shines for its spot of dark;
Yet more the maiden slender
Charms in her dress of bark.

_Shakuntala_ (_looking ahead_). Oh, girls, that mango-tree is trying
to tell me something with his branches that move in the wind like
fingers. I must go and see him. (_She does so_. )

_Priyamvada_. There, Shakuntala, stand right where you are a minute.

_Shakuntala_. Why?

_Priyamvada_. When I see you there, it looks as if a vine were
clinging to the mango-tree.

_Shakuntala_. I see why they call you the flatterer.

_King_. But the flattery is true.

Her arms are tender shoots; her lips
Are blossoms red and warm;
Bewitching youth begins to flower
In beauty on her form.

_Anusuya_. Oh, Shakuntala! Here is the jasmine-vine that you named
Light of the Grove. She has chosen the mango-tree as her husband.

_Shakuntala_ (_approaches and looks at it, joyfully_). What a pretty
pair they make. The jasmine shows her youth in her fresh flowers, and
the mango-tree shows his strength in his ripening fruit. (_She stands
gazing at them_. )

_Priyamvada_ (_smiling_). Anusuya, do you know why Shakuntala looks so
hard at the Light of the Grove?

_Anusuya_. No. Why?

_Priyamvada_. She is thinking how the Light of the Grove has found a
good tree, and hoping that she will meet a fine lover.

_Shakuntala_. That's what you want for yourself. (_She tips her
watering-pot_. )

_Anusuya_. Look, Shakuntala! Here is the spring-creeper that Father
Kanva tended with his own hands--just as he did you. You are
forgetting her.

_Shakuntala_. I'd forget myself sooner. (_She goes to the creeper and
looks at it, joyfully_. ) Wonderful! Wonderful! Priyamvada, I have
something pleasant to tell you.

_Priyamvada_. What is it, dear?

_Shakuntala_. It is out of season, but the spring-creeper is covered
with buds down to the very root.

_The two friends_ (_running up_). Really?

_Shakuntala_. Of course. Can't you see?

_Priyamvada_ (_looking at it joyfully_). And I have something pleasant
to tell _you_. You are to be married soon.

_Shakuntala_ (_snappishly_). You know that's just what you want for
yourself.

_Priyamvada_. I'm not teasing. I really heard Father Kanva say that
this flowering vine was to be a symbol of your coming happiness.

_Anusuya_. Priyamvada, that is why Shakuntala waters the
spring-creeper so lovingly.

_Shakuntala_. She is my sister. Why shouldn't I give her water? (_She
tips her watering-pot_. )

_King_. May I hope that she is the hermit's daughter by a mother of a
different caste? But it _must_ be so.

Surely, she may become a warrior's bride;
Else, why these longings in an honest mind?
The motions of a blameless heart decide
Of right and wrong, when reason leaves us blind.

Yet I will learn the whole truth.

_Shakuntala_ (_excitedly_). Oh, oh! A bee has left the jasmine-vine
and is flying into my face. (_She shows herself annoyed by the bee_. )

_King_ (_ardently_).

As the bee about her flies,
Swiftly her bewitching eyes
Turn to watch his flight.
She is practising to-day
Coquetry and glances' play
Not from love, but fright.

(_Jealously_. )

Eager bee, you lightly skim
O'er the eyelid's trembling rim
Toward the cheek aquiver.
Gently buzzing round her cheek,
Whispering in her ear, you seek
Secrets to deliver.

While her hands that way and this
Strike at you, you steal a kiss,
Love's all, honeymaker.
I know nothing but her name,
Not her caste, nor whence she came--
You, my rival, take her.

_Shakuntala_. Oh, girls! Save me from this dreadful bee!

_The two friends_ (_smiling_). Who are we, that we should save you?
Call upon Dushyanta. For pious groves are in the protection of the
king.

_King_. A good opportunity to present myself. Have no--(_He checks
himself. Aside_. ) No, they would see that I am the king. I prefer to
appear as a guest.

_Shakuntala_. He doesn't leave me alone! I am going to run away.
(_She takes a step and looks about_. ) Oh, dear! Oh, dear! He is
following me. Please save me.

_King_ (_hastening forward_). Ah!

A king of Puru's mighty line
Chastises shameless churls;
What insolent is he who baits
These artless hermit-girls?

(_The girls are a little flurried on seeing the king_. )

_Anusuya_. It is nothing very dreadful, sir. But our friend
(_indicating_ SHAKUNTALA) was teased and frightened by a bee.

_King_ (_to_ SHAKUNTALA). I hope these pious days are happy ones.

(SHAKUNTALA's _eyes drop in embarrassment_. )

_Anusuya_. Yes, now that we receive such a distinguished guest.

_Priyamvada_. Welcome, sir. Go to the cottage, Shakuntala, and bring
fruit. This water will do to wash the feet.

_King_. Your courteous words are enough to make me feel at home.

_Anusuya_. Then, sir, pray sit down and rest on this shady bench.

_King_. You, too, are surely wearied by your pious task. Pray be
seated a moment.

_Priyamvada_ (_aside to_ SHAKUNTALA). My dear, we must be polite to
our guest. Shall we sit down? (_The three girls sit_. )

_Shakuntala_ (_to herself_). Oh, why do I have such feelings when I
see this man? They seem wrong in a hermitage.

_King_ (_looking at the girls_). It is delightful to see your
friendship. For you are all young and beautiful.

_Priyamvada_ (_aside to_ ANUSUYA). Who is he, dear? With his mystery,
and his dignity, and his courtesy? He acts like a king and a
gentleman.

_Anusuya_. I am curious too. I am going to ask him. (_Aloud_. ) Sir,
you are so very courteous that I make bold to ask you something. What
royal family do you adorn, sir? What country is grieving at your
absence? Why does a gentleman so delicately bred submit to the weary
journey into our pious grove?

_Shakuntala_ (_aside_). Be brave, my heart. Anusuya speaks your very
thoughts.

_King_ (_aside_). Shall I tell at once who I am, or conceal it? (_He
reflects_. ) This will do. (_Aloud_. ) I am a student of Scripture.
It is my duty to see justice done in the cities of the king.
And I have come to this hermitage on a tour of inspection.

_Anusuya_. Then we of the hermitage have some one to take care of us.

(SHAKUNTALA _shows embarrassment_. )

_The two friends_ (_observing the demeanour of the pair. Aside to_
SHAKUNTALA). Oh, Shakuntala! If only Father were here to-day.

_Shakuntala_. What would he do?

_The two friends_. He would make our distinguished guest happy, if it
took his most precious treasure.

_Shakuntala_ (_feigning anger_). Go away! You mean something. I'll not
listen to you.

_King_. I too would like to ask a question about your friend.

_The two friends_. Sir, your request is a favour to us.

_King_. Father Kanva lives a lifelong hermit. Yet you say that your
friend is his daughter. How can that be?

_Anusuya_.