The Recognition of Sakuntala

“King, this is a hermitage deer. You should not—you must not kill it!

Indeed, indeed, no missile should be shot,

Scorching, like a flame through velvet petals,

This young fawn’s tender head.

Alas, what is the filigree life

In this poor animal’s frame,

Beside the adamantine rain

Of bowshot?”

These lines are an example of Kalidasa’s rich figurative language. In these lines, the ascetic Vaikhanasa juxtaposes soft and harsh images to capture the dichotomy between the natural and urban, material worlds, such as the delicate filigree life of the deer versus the flame of the adamantine arrow. The imagery introduces the play’s key theme of Nature’s Purity Versus Urban Corruption.

“ANASUYA. Dear Sakuntala, I suspect Father Kanva loves the ashram’s trees even more than he loves you – for delicate as jasmine bloom yourself, he has still appointed you to water their roots.

SAKUNTALA. It’s not just father’s instructions. I love them like sisters.”

This exchange between Sakuntala and her friend Anasuya emphasizes Sakuntala’s deep connection to the natural world. Sakuntala calling the trees her “sisters” is an example of personification, while also illustrating Sakuntala’s communion with nature and her dutiful and selfless nature.

“The lotus glows, though weeds drag down its roots,

A dark penumbra makes the moon more light,

And this slight child beggars her beggar’s clothes,

All rags are gown on girls who burn this bright.”

Dusyanta notes that just like the blossoms amidst wild weeds, Sakuntala blooms in her coarse attire. Dusyanta calling her a “slight child” emphasizes Sakuntala’s slenderness and youth, and also establishes that Dusyanta is quite a bit older. Sakuntala’s natural unadorned beauty evokes Nature’s Purity Versus Urban Corruption.