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Lit
Supreme Theme: Stigara or Love
It
mañjart; the expected development did not come; she too failed, like Vasumati, to give Duşyanta a son. So, Duşyanta turned his back on sensual pleasures and sought some peace of mind and consolation in the mature company of his elder queen. must be remembered that at the juncture in the play when the song of Hamsapadika is presented, Dusyanta has no memory of Sakuntala. Kalidasa's picture of Dusyanta at this stage is, therefore, of a hero 'whose heart conceals a profound agony'49. This is the poet's own answer to the supposed lustful character of Dusyanta and the socalled transformation-sublimation interpretation raised on it.
(8) what then is the significance of the torture of separation through which the heroes of Kalidasa go? Once it is seen that the poet did not intend the suffering as a punishment for physical attachment, which the poet regards as natural, and a means, as it were, for sublimating the physical love, which the poet nowhere condemns, the significance of the suffering appears to be quite plain. In the polygamous society which gave man not only a power over woman but also a sort of license for free sex behaviour, the sufferings of heroes are an assurance and guarantee to the heroines that their husbands' love for them is constant, steady and abiding. This is art rendering poetic justice to the woman who was unfairly treated by the social and religious laws. What Kalidasa could not, or did not, do in the social sphere he endeavoured to achieve in the sphere of art.
The pain and sorrow of Aja at the sudden death of Indumati terminated; only at his own death. Aja was quite wise and intelligent. He was capable of understanding the philosophy of life and death which Vasistha preached him in weighty and convincing words. And yet, Aja's love for Indumati was so deep and intense that he could not live without her. He waited with fortitude till his little son Dasartha came of age; but he was not prepared to wait for natural death; he ended his life by committing suicide50. This may be an exceptional example in Sanskrit literature; but Kalidasa seems to have noted it deliberately to illustrate the profound attachment of love between husband and wife. Urvasi's sudden disappearance is such a terrible mental shock to Pururavas that it snaps the balance of his mind and takes away his sanity. The ravings and the sufferings of the mad Puräravas wandering through the woodland searching for his lost beloved, like Rāma wandering in the Dandakā forest in search of Sitä, are, fortunatey, visible to the heart' of Urvasi who was transformed into a creeper; they are an eloquent testimoney to the intense and unchangeable love of Pururavas for Urvasi. Kalidasa contrives to reunite them on the background of this mad but moving demonstration of love. Sakuntala is not so lucky. The dramatic design of the paly does not provide her the opportunity to eye-witness the sufferings of Duşyanta and the fact that he still clings to the memory of that love, although he sees no possibility of getting Sakuntala back. But her mother's friend Sanumati sees all this, hears the actual words of Dusyanta, remaining invisible but close at his back; the poet arranges this in his dramatic construction. Sakuntala can take the report of Sanumati on fullest trust and feel assured of Duşyanta's love for
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