Application of Shringara Rasa in Kalidasa’s Abhijnanashakuntalam

Abstract

The theme of Abhijnanashakuntalam , the masterpiece of Kalidasa, is based on the oriental philosophy that true love is immortal. His power of characterization reveals his clear understanding of the tender emotions of human heart. He has concentrated mainly on the hero and the heroine.The dominating rasa in the play is shringara where Kalidasa explores the twin aspects of shringara– sambhoga shringara and vipralambha shringara. The sambhoga shringara is shown as erotic and the vipralambha shringara as sublime. The presentplay is the story of love of Shakuntala and Dushyanta who fall in love, separate and at the end reunite.The beautiful surrounding, the inner joy of Dushyanta and the beauty of Shakuntala trigger the feeling of love in Dushyanta. Act III of the play is full of the erotic elements of sambhoga shringara. For Shakuntala, vipralambha starts from the time Dushyanta left for Hastinapur. With the curse of Durvasa in the fourth act begins the separation as Dushyanta forgets Shakuntala as a result of the curse. But in the fifth act when Dushyanta does not recognize her and refuses to accept her, the separation becomes a grief for her. Dushyanta realizes his mistakes as he sees the lost ring found by the fisherman. Now begins Dushyanta’s vipralambha. In the sixth act, he withdraws all his interests from worldly pursuits and repents on his cruel behavior towards his beloved. In the seventh act, Kalidasa returns to sambhoga shringara but the reunion in this act does not show sensuous love as it was in the first act.Rather the meaning of lovehas been raised from the physical to the spiritual ideal. Hence, shringara rasa is no more in its erotic aspect, it has transcended to a more meditative behavior of the matured lovers. HereKalidasa is not concerned only with shringara where there is only physical love. He concentrates on the spiritualization. This is made possible only through separation. Hence, the vipralambha shringara is resulted to the exposure of the inner spiritual beauty of the lovers.Love cannot end; true love has to continue. The love of Shakuntala and Dushyanta continues to flourish through their offspring Sarvadamana. Thus, Kalidasa applies shringara rasa in this play to elevate love from mere physical pleasure to an experience that is highly spiritual.