SASA Mini Reading Group: Loving, Losing, Remembering: Kālidāsa’s "The Recognition of Śakuntalā"

Previous participation and previous knowledge not required.

“Wouldst thou the earth and heaven itself in one sole name combine? I name thee, O Śakuntalā! and all at once is said."

Goethe famously dedicated these lines to the protagonist of his favorite Sanskrit play. What is it about the figure of Śakuntalā, a young woman forgotten by her husband as the result of a curse, that has captivated audiences—ancient and modern, Eastern and Western—alike? In this reading group, we will study (in translation) Kālidāsa’s Abhijñānaśākuntalam (The Recognition of Śakuntalā), arguably the most influential play from ancient India. We will begin by reading the original story found in the first book of the Mahābhārata and then analyze how Kālidāsa alters the form and the narrative to reflect a new cultural milieu, one that has moved away from a bardic tradition patronized by clansmen to an emerging urban aristocracy. Examining the play in…