The Recognition of Sakuntala

Dusyanta is the hero of the play, its brave male protagonist. He is a king of the powerful Puru dynasty of north India and is described as handsome, athletic, and strong. In terms of the aesthetic principles of The Natyashastra (See: Background), Dusyanta unites the heroic and the romantic: While he is adept at warfare and hunting, Dusyanta also immerses himself in the beauty of nature, song, and painting. Correspondingly, Dusyanta is often in conflict over his private, romantic self, and his public and social duties, or dharma, as a king.

Like Sakuntala, Dusyanta is a dynamic character who changes over the course of the plot. Dusyanta is a complement and contrast to Sakuntala. While Sakuntala is very young, it is suggested Dusyanta may be older, perhaps in his late twenties or early thirties. Sakuntala is sheltered from the world, while Dusyanta is courtly and urbane. Sakuntala is synonymous with nature, but Dusyanta belongs to the city. He is engaged in matters of state and juggling the affections of his first wives (like many kings of his time, Dusyanta has more than one wife). Thus, while Sakuntala represents the purity of the wild, Dusyanta is immersed in power and its corrupting influence. Given their differences, Dusyanta’s union with Sakuntala represents his desire to return to the pure, wild realm of nature.

While the Dusyanta of Act V behaves harshly toward Sakuntala when a curse causes him to forget her, he soon repents and dons penitent’s robes in atonement. In the final act, he defeats evil spirits—an act which symbolizes him slaying his own inner demons. Just as he approached Sage Kanva’s grove with humility in Act I, he approaches the celestial hermitage of Sage Marici with reverence in Act VII. Therefore, he tempers his power with modesty, appearing as more than an arrogant king. He falls at Sakuntala’s feet to beg forgiveness, an act which represents the growth in his character.

At the end of the play, Dusyanta balances and upholds peace and order in all areas of his life: the personal (by honoring his wife and son); the public (by honoring his elders, defeating demons, and striving to be a good king); and the spiritual and the ethical (by praying at the end of the play for moksha, or release from the cycle of birth and rebirth). He thus manages to achieve harmony between his personal desires and his public duties.

A great and wise sage, Kanva is the adoptive father of Sakuntala. Kanva found the infant Sakuntala guarded by birds in a grove, and decided to raise her as his daughter in his hermitage. Kanva is often called Father Kanva by the forest-dwellers and his pupils. He performs important fire rituals, penances, and pilgrimages for the larger good. These acts show that Kanva is a compassionate character and benevolent patriarch. Kanva derives some of his power from his vow of celibacy. He protects the animals and trees of his hermitage as if they were his own children, and the text often refers to deer and plants as Sakuntala’s siblings. Kanva also has the power of prophecy: He predicts Sakuntala’s fate and knows the real reason behind Dusyanta forgetting her. He loves Sakuntala fiercely and mourns sending her away to Dusyanta.

While Sakuntala represents nature and youth, Kanva represents the greater social order and the wisdom of age. He is a hermit himself, but intends for Sakuntala to marry and have children, since this act will ensure the larger good. Thus, he tells her that is time for her to leave the sanctuary of the ashram and enter the larger world, fulfilling her social duties as a wife and mother. Kanva’s exhortation to Sakuntala to always obey her husband reflects the cultural mores of Kalidasa’s time.

Moreover, Kanva’s teachings to Sakuntala are based on his precognition of her ultimately favorable destiny. Since he knows she will be eventually adored and honored by her husband, her devotion to him is reciprocal. In the play’s socioreligious context, Kanva is an upholder of the dharma or the universal law, ensuring that everyone performs their duties in their prime years. He promises Sakuntala that she and Dusyanta will return to the lap of nature once they have fulfilled their public duties as royals and parents. Thus, he represents wisdom, foresight, and dharma.

Madhavya is a vidusaka or fool-entertainer, a stock character in Sanskrit drama. Typically depicted as an overweight, bald, and hunched Brahmin, the vidusaka carries a crooked stick and is the source of much physical comedy. At the same time, the vidusaka cannot be dismissed, because he moves the plot along and sometimes provides important social commentary.

In The Recognition of Sakuntala, Madhavya infuses irreverent humor in the proceedings, such as when he cheekily asks Dusyanta if he expects a young, protected Sakuntala to fling herself at him. He also often tries to lighten Dusyanta’s mood, such as in Act VI when he tries to distract the king from his state of apathy. Since Madhavya’s character is a type, it is static and does not show much change over the course of the play.

Sakuntala’s loyal and loving friends, Priyamvada and Anasuya, are also young women in their late teens. Although they often appear together, their characters are distinct. While Anasuya is quieter and more susceptible to doubt, Priyamvada is bolder and more optimistic. Priyamvada’s name literally means “one who speaks pleasant words,” and she is accordingly effusive and adept at word play.

Priyamvada and Anasuya have an important role in the plot, since it is they who encourage the romance between Sakuntala and Dusyanta. Priyamvada also intercedes with the ill-tempered Durvasas on Sakuntala’s behalf, persuading him to modify his curse. Priyamvada and Anasuya represent the loving sanctuary of the hermitage as well as Sakuntala’s nurturing sisterhood with women and nature.