Kalidasa’s famous simile

Kalidasa was one of the most famous among the ancient Sanskrit poets. His works, especially, the play called “Abhijnana Sakuntalam” is world renowned. He became famous after he wrote the great poem “the dynasty of Raghu (Raghu Vamsam)”.

Kalidsa shines in several aspects of poetry. His narrations of nature are superb. Probably, he is best known for his similes.

Simile comes so naturally to him that there is one in almost every stanza in Raghuvamsam. Almost all of them can be quoted for their beauty and imagination. But, the one which earned him the adjective of “torchlight (deepaSikha) Kalidasa” is the most famous.

The wedding of princess Indumati

The poem starts the narration of kings in the dynasty in Raghuvamsam with king Dileepa. His son was named Aja. He was one of the invitees at the time of the wedding of the princess Indumati of Vidarbha. As was the common practice in those days among the royals, Indumati could make her free will (Swayamvara), while choosing a prince from those assembled as her groom.

The Simile

The arrangement used to be to seat the invited kings on suitable thrones around a marriage hall. The princess, then, would be taken around by her friends. As the party neared a particular king the friends of the bride would go into the qualities of the prospective groom. They would narrate the history of the dynasty with details of some famous kings in that. They, then, would go into the merits, including the wars won, of the prospective groom.

The king on his part would have already known about the beauty and other accomplishments of the bride. Naturally, each among those assembled would have lost his heart for the princess. As the procession leading the princess in front approached a king even from a distance, his face would light up with expectation. The nearer the princess came the brighter would be the face of the king. If the princess rejected him and proceeded ahead without placing the garland of acceptance around his neck, his face would naturally fall. This mood is what is described in the following four lines by Kalidasa.

“sancaariNee deepaSikhaiva raatrou

yam yam vyateeyaaya patimvaraa saa

narendra margaatta iva prapede

vivarNabhaavam sa sa bhoomipaalah”

Moving like a torch light at night, she (Indumati), that suitor of a husband, (the face of ) each (king) whom she left behind and went ahead, like a house along the royal arcade (on the approach of the burning torch), turned bleak. (The face brightening up earlier on her approach is thereby implied)

The simile was so acclaimed that Kalidasa became famous as “deepasikhaa Kalidasa” or Kalidasa of Deepasikha fame.

The Indian calendar (solar)

India follows both the lunar and solar calendars. Both use the actual movement of the moon or the sun during the current year. That is, the start of the month and the number of days, have to be calculated afresh each year. The traditional system was lunar. The religious ceremonies, even now, are mostly based on that. Some parts of India, still, follow it socially also.

The Solar calendar

Luckily, the question is on the Malayalam calendar followed in Kerala.

Indians use the signs of the Zodiac, called “raaSi” for astrological purposes. This is, of course, solar. We, in Kerala, follow the “raaSi” for the calendar.

This solar system uses the twelve signs of Zodiac. The names of constellation as known in the west are given below. The Sanskrit names with the meaning are given in brackets: Aries (Mesha – ram), Taurus (rshabha – bull), Gemini (mithuna – twins), Cancer (karkitaka – crab), Leo (simha – lion), Virgo (kanya – maiden), Libra (tula – scales), Scorpio (vriscika – scorpion), Sagittarius (dhanus – bow), Capricorn (makara – shark or crocodile), Aquarius (kumbha – water pot), Pisces (meena – fish) .The meaning differs somewhat in English and in Sanskrit. E.g. Virgo = woman (kanya – maiden). Sagitarius = archer (dhanus – bow). Capricorn = horn of goats (makara – shark or crocodile), Aqvuarius = figure of water carrier (kumbha – pot)

The name of months as used in Kerala is close to the Sanskrit name of “raasi”, but, not exactly the same.

New Year

The day in summer on which the sun came right on top of the equator (the spring equinox) was taken to be the start of the year. Thousands of years ago that happened on the start of Aries (mesha) which was around the middle of April. Later astrologers (astronomers) have realized that the calendar needed correction (by about a month). But, the old system prevails.

One king in Kerala, 1183 years ago, arbitrarily decided to shift the new year to the first of Leo (“sinha”). So, the new calendar starts with “sinha”, but, the new year remains as the 1^st of “mesha”.

Several other places in India, understandably, base their calendar on the same system. But, the name of months is different. The start of the year also changes by a few days. The difference must only be due to the difference in calculating the movement of the sun.

Variable days

There is something peculiar about this system. Months have days varying between 28 and 32 and the number of days can differ from year to year. This is because the calendar is not one that is fixed arbitrarily. Instead, the actual position of the sun (and hence, of the earth) with respect to the twelve constellations is calculated afresh every year.

One advantage of the system is that it does not have to bother about the complexity of leap year. The correction on that account is absorbed in the number of days in months each year.

It goes without saying that this system will never meet the Julian calendar. There is almost a fixed difference in the start of the year.

I am trying to get information on the solar calendar followed elsewhere in India. The lunar calendar shall be posted separately.

The significance of various numbers in Ancient Indian Knowledge

There is an interesting comment by one of the readers, posted to Arshajnanam, in the context of the story of the sixteen kings. The question is about the significance of the number sixteen and whether it has any relation to the number, four, signifying various concepts like the four Vedas and the four stages in life. The answer to that question, probably, is “no”.

The number four is important, no doubt about it. So are many of the others as given below. As far I understand the reason for picking up sixteen kings is not because of the four Vedas or the four epochs. There are so many other issues with sixteen. For example, there are sixteen purification ceremonies (for Brahmins) – the shoDaSa samskaaraas - starting from conception of the embryo till death. The moon is supposed to have sixteen (and not fifteen) phases (Kala) which is reflected in many of the Tantric rituals.

Most of the numbers starting from 1 (and even zero) have significance associated with them in the ancient Indian sciences. In a philosophical discussion, if some one mentioned the number 1, it may be interpreted as signifying one god or the one absolute truth. Two could mean the two aspects of god, one being the reflection of the other, like the temporal (of humans or the “jeevaatma”) and the absolute (of the ultimate god or the “paramaatma”). Three signifies the three worlds, the three fires in rituals and so on.

Associating concepts with numbers is used widely in ancient Indian knowledge like astronomy and mathematics. Poetry was the medium to record and transmit knowledge. Words meaning elements in nature and concepts in philosophy fit in better than numbers in poems. The following two stories, though esoteric, demonstrate the significance of numbers.

The story of Ashtavakra

We had covered the story of the great scholar with eight bends on his body (Ashtaavakra) in Samskruthi. We mentioned, in that context, a philosophical discussion he had with an opponent by name Vandi. We did not go into the details. Let us go a bit into that now.

Vandi started. “One is the fire which burns in different forms, one is the sun that alights the whole world, …”

To that Ashtaavakra responded. “Two are the gods – Indra and Agni, two are the heavenly sages – Narada and Parvata, ….”

Vandi refuted. “……There are three offerings – savanam- in Yajnas , there are three worlds and ….”.

It went on and on, one upping the other with the significance of the next number. When Ashtaavakra reached thirteen Vandi accepted defeat.

A parody for the story

There is an amusing story which sounds like a parody of the above. It is widely told and retold, but, we are not sure of its origin.

As in the case of Ashtaavakra a great scholar announced his arrival at the palace of a king and challenged all in the kingdom to meet him on a scholarly debate. It was the custom for such scholars to go around, challenge opponents, defeat them and win gifts and fame in the process.

The reputation of the visitor was such that no one in the host kingdom dared to face him in a verbal duel. If they got beaten which was highly likely, they would get into the bad books of the king. The scholars of the land went into quick consultations on the possible way out. Finally, they came up with a plan. They caught hold of the greatest fool around and gave him strict instructions to follow. The first rule was that he should not open his mouth at all. What all he needed to do was to raise one finger more than what was shown by the opponent, in response.

The Debate

Then, they went to the king and revealed their arrangement to him. They convinced the king that that was the only way to face the opponent and retain the prestige of the kingdom. The king realized the situation and gave his approval. Then, they announced in the assembly that the scholar of their choice was, unfortunately, in his period of silence (Mauna Vratam). But, there was no problem. He would meet the visitor in a debate. He would listen to the arguments and respond appropriately by raising his fingers. It used to be quite a normal practice those days for people to observe periods of silence. It even carried a certain respect for such people. The guest was impressed with the arrangement. But, he was confident that he could beat any opponent, silent or not. Against a silent opponent what was the need to talk? He was quite capable of arguing a point through gestures.

The debate started. The visitor raised his finger, probably meaning that god was one. As arranged, the defender looked at the raised ringers with a grim expression and, after giving the right time gap raised his two fingers.

The challenger was not worried with the response. He could easily interpret the response as “the ultimate god may be one, but, is manifested as two – the Jeevaatma and the Paramaatma”. He thought for the appropriate argument against it and raised three of his fingers. He might have meant to say that the real manifestation is as the triumvirate – Brahma, Vishnu and Siva or that the two are manifested throughout the three worlds. It made no difference for the defender.

After a short “studied” pause four fingers of the defending scholar were raised. The visitor looked at the fingers and thought. “Surely he is saying that the god is manifested as three, but, we know about them through the four Vedas”. He was impressed. How profound!

How to refute that argument? He thought deeply and raised five fingers. Soon enough, he was refuted by six raised fingers of his defender. The debate went on and on like that. Each response from the defending scholar made the challenger go deeper and deeper into thought, pondering over all the sciences and scriptures. His respect for the defender increased every time he was refuted ‘appropriately’ by him. Finally, he gave up. He accepted defeat. It was a great privilege for him to meet such a brilliant scholar, well versed in all fields of knowledge!

The king was happy. He rewarded both the challenger and defender with lavish gifts. He did not leave out the supporters of the great scholar. It was not a small matter that the prestige of the whole country was held high by the silent scholar.

The story of Sakuntala (Part 2)

Sarvadamana was six years of age when sage Kanva thought that it was time for Sakuntala to go to Dushyanta with her son. He asked his disciples to accompany the pair to the king.

The meeting

The party announced their arrival to the king as was the custom and then entered the royal court. Dushyanata received the visitors seated on his throne. He did not give out any hint of recognizing his wife, wedded by mutual consent (Gandharava Vidhi).

Sakuntala bowed before the king and announced herself and her son. “King, here is your son whom you have promised to make the heir apparent. Please accept him and keep your word”.

Dushyanta feigned ignorance and spoke words that would have hurt the feelings of any woman in that situation. He said. “I do not recognize you nor do I remember giving any such words. You must be a cunning woman appearing in the guise of a hermit. I refuse to accept you or your son. You may leave or remain as you like”.

Poor Sakuntala was shocked with the turn of events which was so unexpected. She stood hanging her head down and sending angry side glances towards the king. She could not speak for a few moments.

Then she spoke going into the details of her birth, how she was adopted by sage Kanva, how Dushyanta happened to meet her in the hermitage, how they got into marriage and finally how the boy was born as a result. She concluded asking “why do you pretend ignorance of things that you surely know about? The sun, the moon and other elements of nature stood witness to our affairs”

Dushyanta went a step further to insult Sakuntala saying, “if that was how you were born, I am not surprised that you made this false allegation against me”.

There were some hot exchanges between Sakuntala and Dushyanta, each giving the other lessons on moral codes. The king maintained his stand till the very end. Finally Sakuntala said. “If you refuse to honour your words I shall leave with my son. But, remember, this son of yours is destined to rule the entire world when he grows up”.

It is said that at the very instant a voice was heard from heaven which said. “Dushyanta, what Sakuntala said is true. Accept her and her son who is yours as well. He shall rule your land and become famous by the name of Bharata (one who rules admirably)”

Dushyanta accepts Sakuntala

Dushyanta heard the words and turned to all present in the court including the priests and elders of the society. “Did you all hear the words from heaven? I knew the truth of Sakuntala’s words even earlier. But, if I had accepted her merely on her words without any convincing evidence, doubts might have lingered in some of your minds. The lineage of the future monarch of this country should never be in question. That is why I had to pretend ignorance at the beginning even at the cost of hurting my legally wedded queen”.

Thus, Sakuntala was accepted by the king along with her son. Sarvadamana grew up to become the monarch of the vast kingdom and earned the name of Bharata as prophesied. India, and the epic Mahabhaaratam, got the name because of him.

Kalidasa’s Sakuntalam

Kalidasa makes the story a lot more interesting through a couple of twists in the plot. He introduces a curse on Sakuntala from the mercurial sage, Durvasa, that Dushyanata would fail to recognize her when she went to him. That was because Sakuntala, lost in thought of Dushyanta, failed to notice the visiting sage. When pacified, the sage toned the curse down saying that any identification would help the king to get back his memory. Hence the name, “of Sakuntala with the signet for identification (Abhijnana Sakuntalam)”

Kalidasa’s Sakuntala was sent to Dushyanta while she was still pregnant. She had taken with her the royal signet that the king had given her before parting (in Kalidasa’s Sakuntalam). Unfortunately, that was lost in the river on the way. No one noticed the loss at that time. Naturally, Dushyanata refused to recognize Sakuntala, genuinely in Kalidasa’s version. She tried to remind the king quoting events of their honeymoon in the hermitage. That did not help him either. In utter despair, Sakuntala appealed to mother earth to take her into her fold, away from the king. The poet says that a divine person appeared there at that time and carried Sakuntala away from the scene. She was taken to the hermitage of sage Mareeca where she delivered a boy and lived happily.

The ring was swallowed by a fish which happened to be caught by a fisherman. Soldiers hearing about the incident took the fisherman along with the ring to the king. The sight of the ring brought back the lost memory of Sakuntala to Dushyanta. He started repenting for not recognizing and accepting Sakuntala.

Later, while on an expedition to fight against a demon, Dushyanta reached the hermitage where Sakuntala lived with her boy. The happy re-union of the king with his wife and son took place there.

Extra characters

Kalidasa has introduced a few additional characters for effectiveness. The king was accompanied by his court jester (Vidooshaka) most of the time in the play. Sakuntala has two friends in the hermitage of Kanva with whom she was close. There was also a deer that was her pet. These characters added a lot more life to the story in the play, especially in the parting scene.

Kalidasa’s poetry and drama

The whole play by Kalidasa is packed with drama brought out by poetry of extreme beauty. The very first act has one stanza which is worth quoting. The king’s entry to the hermitage is highly dramatic, chasing a deer in his chariot. He describes the movements of the escaping animal to his jester thus:

“Look at the deer. He is running ahead constantly turning his back to me fearing my arrow. Thus, his head appears to be broken at the neck, as though. The half chewed grass is being dropped all along his path. He is taking such long leaps into the air that he hardly touches the ground in between”. It is a three dimensional and highly dynamic picture that the four lines of poetry so deftly portray.

At that very time there is a voice from the background, “this is a hermitage and everything around this place, including this animal, is part of it. No killing here, please!”

Dushyanta’s first meeting with Sakuntala is another good example of Kalidasa’s poetic excellene. She was plucking flowers for use by the hermits and is being harassed by a bee. At the same time she is aware of the arrival of the king with his companion on the scene, but, pretends ignorance. She is darting her glances slyly here and there with exaggerated movement of her eye lashes. She is also taking steps from one flower to the other, at the same time preventing the attack of the bee. On the whole she was moving “like a danseuse without the accompaniment of (drum) music”.

Let us go to the scene after the king recovered from the curse and recollected his days with Sakuntala. He was highly nostalgic and wanted to paint the scenes in the hermitage. He talks with his court jester.

“I want to paint the river (Malini by name) that flows gently, along with the pair of swans which usually takes rest on its sandy banks. I want to include the hill which rises behind that with its gentle slopes. There is that old tree which stands bare after it has pealed its skin off its trunk. Resting under the tree is the usual pair of deer. The female is gently rubbing its eye against the horn of its partner and there by is trying to get relief from the itching. (There is so much peace and mutual trust)”

There is no end, if we try to go into the highly dramatic scenes in the play. Sakuntala’s farewell to the in-mates of Kanva’s hermitage is worth mentioning. Sage Kanva who was a recluse exclaimed. “The thought of Sakuntala’s departure fills my eyes with tears, chokes my throat and turns my mind blank. If that is my state who has abandoned all worldly ties, what will be the condition of householders in the same circumstance?”

It is so frustrating and almost ridiculous to try to narrate Kalidasa’s world famous play in a few lines. Yet, we have to do what is possible for the sake of comparison.

(concluded)

The story of Sakuntala

King Dushyanta

It is said that Dushyanata presided over an empire that spread as far as the oceans on all sides. He was a just king and ruled the land strictly by the law. There was plenty everywhere and the people lived happily without fear of robbers and thieves.

The hunting expedition

The kings in those days frequently used to go hunting. It was partly for the fun and partly to protect hermits from wild animals, and demons who harassed them. One day Dushyanta set on such an expedition. An army of assistants accompanied the king with hunting equipment and taking with them horses and dogs to chase game animals. The citizens watched with pride as their king march through the land and were all in his praise looking at his handsome figure.

The party hunted in a forest not too far away from the palace throughout the day and was soon overwhelmed with thirst and physical exhaustion. They started looking for water and found a clearing which drew the attention of the king. He asked the people behind him to move with caution and went ahead to explore the place.

The hermitage of a great sage

What lay ahead was a place of heavenly beauty and absolute peace. Green meadows were interspersed with trees in full blossom. Flowers that fell from the trees made patterns over the meadows. Birds of various types sang with an abandon. Bees sat on tree trunks and helped themselves lavishly on honey that was in plenty. Vedic hymns gently resonated out of a few hermitages that were concealed behind the thick growth of trees. There was a river that quietly flowed behind the row of the hermits’ huts. Perfect tranquility prevailed over the entire terrain.

The king entered the area warning his companions not to disturb the peace of the hermitage at any cost. As he advanced, a gentle breeze blew carrying the intoxicating fragrance from the flowering trees with it. Dushyanta thought that it must be a sage of great penance who lived in such a place cut off completely from human habitation.

A sweet welcome

Finding no one around, Dushyanta announced himself politely, as was the custom, and asked for the hosts who lived there. He was surprised to find a damsel emerging out of a hut who, to the eyes of the young king, did not fit in the harsh living conditions of a hermitage. She simply and sweetly spoke the words of welcome and offered her guest a seat, and water to wash his feet as per the tradition. Then she asked. “What can I do for you, your excellency?”

Dushyanta replied. “I am king Dushyanta of the dynasty of Purus. I came hunting and arrived at this place by accident. Now I want to pay my respects to the sage who lives here. Who are you, fair maiden? You do not seem from your appearance to belong to this place.”

Sakuntala’s Story

In reply, the sweet young girl introduced herself. She was the daughter of sage Viswamitra born of the celestial damsel, Menaka. The sage was performing long years of penance performing a number of sacrificial rituals (Yajna) that terrified Indra, the king of gods. There is a tradition that one who performed one hundred such rituals qualified himself to the heavenly throne. Indra wanted to disturb the meditation of Viswamitra by whatever means at his disposal. The first and easiest choice fell on Menaka, one of the most beautiful and talented among the celestial damsels. That was normally an unfailing tool in the hands of the king of gods.

Menaka was apprehensive of the sage and his powers from meditation. Indra assured her of her safety. That was how the heavenly lady set out on her mission. Menaka sang sweetly and danced seductively and waited for the sage to open his eyes. When it was time for sage Viswamitra to open his eyes a gentle breeze blew, apparently instigated by Indra, to expose the curves of Menaka. Indra did not go wrong in his calculation.The pent up emotions of sage Viswamitra was roused at the sight of the pretty and voluptuous Menaka. The result was their union and the birth of a pretty female baby. It is said Menaka abandoned her at birth, as nursing the baby was not part of the deal. Viswamitra’s only concern was to get back to his penance and make up for all the damage that was done to it by his not so pious adventure. The hapless baby found only the company of some little birds that perched around and took care of her.

Sage Kanwa happened to pass by the scene and stumbled upon the abandoned child. He adopted the baby out of kindness and left it under the care of his good lady. The baby was named Sakuntala as she was saved by the little birds known by the name, Sakunta.

A marriage of consent

Dushyanta had already fallen in love at the very first sight of the sweet Sakuntala. The knowledge that she was the daughter of Viswamitra who was originally a king himself, assured the king that she was one of his kind. The king proposed a marriage of mutual consent (Gaandharva Vidhi) which was widely accepted as one suitable for the royalty. Sakuntala was apprehensive in the beginning, though she was charmed by the looks of the young king. Dushyanta assured her that he would make her his queen in due course. Sakuntala asked for a better commitment from the king. If a male child was born to them, he should be made the future king. Dushyanta was willing to give his word on that.

The two accepted each other as husband and wife. Only the birds and trees of the hermitage stood witness for the unusual marriage. The king left in due course without waiting for sage Kanwa to return. He did promise to send his emissaries to take his queen to the palace in due course.

Soon, Kanwa returned. Sakuntala’s mind was in turmoil thinking about the reaction of his guardian when he would hear about the recent events that took place in his absence. But, she had to boldly tell him the truth. The sage was not upset on hearing the story. He was not against the alliance as he knew that the right place for his adopted daughter was a palace.

Sakuntala gave birth to a son in due course. Kanwa performed all the ceremonies that were due for a royal child from birth onwards. The boy grew playing with the wild animals that roamed near the hermitage and soon was acclaimed to be one of extraordinary strength and courage. Accordingly, he was named Sarvadamana or one who subdued all around him.

(To be concluded in the next episode)