अभिज्ञानशाकुन्तलम्

Abhijñānaśākuntalam

The Recognition of Śakuntalā · Play in seven acts · verse and prose

Kālidāsa's best-known play takes an episode from the Mahābhārata and turns it into a study of memory, love and the ache of parting. Its fourth act, in which Śakuntalā leaves her forest hermitage for her husband's court, is often called the most moving thing in Sanskrit literature.

Verses prepared for reading

1. Abhijñānaśākuntalam 1.20 · Mālinīसरसिजमनुविद्धं शैवलेनापि रम्यंWeed tangled in a lotus does not spoil it. The dark mark on the moon only makes it lovelier. So this slim girl, in her rough bark dress, is more beaut…Read this verse
2. Abhijñānaśākuntalam 4.5 · Śārdūlavikrīḍitaयास्यत्यद्य शकुन्तलेति हृदयं संस्पृष्टमुत्कण्ठयाThe thought — she leaves today — takes hold of my heart. My throat closes on tears I will not shed; my eyes see nothing. And I am only an ascetic of t…Read this verse
3. Abhijñānaśākuntalam 4.18 · Śārdūlavikrīḍitaशुश्रूषस्व गुरून् कुरु प्रियसखीवृत्तिं सपत्नीजनेWait on your elders. Treat your husband's other wives as friends. Even if he hurts you, do not turn on him in anger. Be generous to the servants, and …Read this verse
4. Abhijñānaśākuntalam 5.2 · Vasantatilakāरम्याणि वीक्ष्य मधुरांश्च निशम्य शब्दान्Why does beauty make even a happy person ache? Surely because the mind is remembering, without knowing that it remembers, affections from another life…Read this verse