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Examine the difference between the Shakuntala in Abhijnana Shakuntala and the Shakuntala episode in the Mahabharata

 Although the great heroine Shakuntala has become a part of popular imagination because of the play by Kalidasa, the great Sanskrit dramatist, the original story of this distinguished lady occurs in the Mahabharata from which Kalidasa took his inspiration. The Mahabharata story is slightly different from Kalidasa’s version. The primary thrust in the Mahabharata is to teach us the nuances of dharma through the poignant love story of Shakuntala and king Dushyanta.

Dushyanta was a powerful and virtuous king. Once, while he was out hunting in the forests, he came across a picturesque hermitage which was as peaceful as it was beautiful. There he saw numerous saints engaged in various Vedic activities like performing yajnas and the teaching and chanting of Vedas. He came to know that the hermitage belonged to the great saint named Kanva. Wanting to pay his obeisance to the sage, he went over to his hut and called out from outside, “Is anybody there?”. In answer to his call, there emerged from inside a maiden, who was dressed like an ascetic and was as beautiful as goddess Lakshmi herself. As soon as she saw that it was a guest, she welcomed him and gave him a seat, presenting him with water. She thus honoured him in appropriate ways and then smilingly asked him the purpose of his visit. The king informed her that he had come to pay respects to the illustrious sage Kanva. Shakuntala replied that he was her father and had gone out to collect fruits. She asked him to wait a while for his return.

Observing her sophistication and grace, the king could not help noticing that she was a dazzling maiden with a charming smile and a well proportioned physical form. Her attractiveness was defined as much by her youthful physical beauty as it was by her evident austere life and humility. 

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