Look Inside

Shakuntala Or The Fatal Ring An Indian Drama

$31
FREE Delivery
Treasure of Kalidasa Series: 1
Quantity
Delivery Usually ships in 3 days
Item Code: UBA629
Author: KALIDASA AND WILLIAM JONES
Publisher: Gyan Publishing House, New Delhi
Language: English
Edition: 2021
ISBN: 9788121227537
Pages: 215
Cover: PAPERBACK
Other Details 8.50 X 5.50 inch
Weight 200 gm
Fully insured
Fully insured
Shipped to 153 countries
Shipped to 153 countries
More than 1M+ customers worldwide
More than 1M+ customers worldwide
100% Made in India
100% Made in India
23 years in business
23 years in business
Book Description
About the Book

The story of the drama Shakuntala is about the love affair of Shakuntala and Dushyanta. The plot is based upon love, secret marriage, separation of imprecation and reunion of immortal love of Dushyanta and Shakuntala. The theme of the drama is based on the Indian philosophy, "true love is immortal". Kalidasa has shown that while love leads to failure, kindness reaches the completion. The curse plays a vital role which makes Dushyanta to forget everything about Shakuntala. But the supreme form of love is the serene that was sharply followed and got succeeded by Shakuntala. Kalidasa concludes this drama with declaration of Shakuntala's life is a creation of factual love and external beauty that determined true love is immortal. Shakuntala, based on a story from the Mahabharata, represents the high point of ancient Indian drama. The themes of purity of love and patient acceptance of the will of the gods are characteristic of the genre. This drama, Sir William Jones' translation of Kalidasa's play, was first published in Calcutta, followed by European republications in 1790, 1792 and 1796.

About the Author

Sir William Jones (28 September 1746 - 27 April 1794) was an Anglo-Welsh philologist, a puisne judge on the Supreme Court of Judicature at Fort William in Bengal, and a scholar of ancient India, particularly known for his proposition of the existence of a relationship among European and Indian languages, which would later be known as Indo-European languages. He, along with Henry Thomas Colebrooke and Nathaniel Halhed, founded the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1784.

Preface

IN one of the letters which bear the title of EDI- FYING, though most of them swarm with ridiculous errors, and all must be consulted with extreme diffidence, I met, some years ago, with the following passage:-"In the north of India there are many books, called Nataka, which, as the Brahmanas assert, contain a large portion of ancient history without any mixture of fable," and having an eager desire to know the real state of this empire before the conquest of it by the Savages of the North, I was very solicitous, on my arrival in Bengal, to procure access to those books, either by the help of translations, if they had been translated, or by learning the language in which they were originally composed, and which 1 had yet a stronger inducement to learn from its connection with the administration of justice to the Hindus; but when I was able to converse with the Brahmanas, they assured me that the Natakas were not histories, and abounded with fables, that they were extremely popular works, and consisted of conversations in prose and verse, held before ancient Rajas in their public assemblies, on an infinite variety of subjects, and in various dialects of India: this definition gave me no very distinct idea; but I concluded that they were dialogues on moral or literary topics; whilst other Europeans, whom I consulted, had understood from the natives that they were discourses on dancing, music, or poetry. At length a very sensible Brahmana, named Radhakanta, who had long been attentive to English manners removed all my doubts, and gave me no less delight than surprise, by telling me that our nation had compositions of the same sort, which were publicly represented at Calcutta in the cold season, and bore the name, as he had been informed, of plays. Resolving at my leisure to read the best of them, I asked which of their Natakas was most universally esteemed; and he answered without hesitation, Shakuntala, supporting his opinion, as usual among the Panditas, by a couplet to this effect: "The ring of Shakuntala, in which the fourth act, and four stanzas of that act, are eminently brilliant, displays all the rich exuberance of Kalidasa's genius." I soon procured a correct copy of it, and, assisted by my teacher Ramalochana, began with translating it verbally into Latin, which bears so great a resemblance to Sanskrit, that it is more convenient than any modern language for a scrupulous interlineary version: I then turned it word for word into English, and afterwards, without adding or suppressing any material sentence, disengaged it from the stiffness of a foreign idiom, and prepared the faithful translation of the Indian drama, which I now present to the public as a most pleasing and authentic picture of old Hindu manners, and one) of the greatest curiosities that the literature of Asia has yet brought to light.














Frequently Asked Questions
  • Q. What locations do you deliver to ?
    A. Exotic India delivers orders to all countries having diplomatic relations with India.
  • Q. Do you offer free shipping ?
    A. Exotic India offers free shipping on all orders of value of $30 USD or more.
  • Q. Can I return the book?
    A. All returns must be postmarked within seven (7) days of the delivery date. All returned items must be in new and unused condition, with all original tags and labels attached. To know more please view our return policy
  • Q. Do you offer express shipping ?
    A. Yes, we do have a chargeable express shipping facility available. You can select express shipping while checking out on the website.
  • Q. I accidentally entered wrong delivery address, can I change the address ?
    A. Delivery addresses can only be changed only incase the order has not been shipped yet. Incase of an address change, you can reach us at help@exoticindia.com
  • Q. How do I track my order ?
    A. You can track your orders simply entering your order number through here or through your past orders if you are signed in on the website.
  • Q. How can I cancel an order ?
    A. An order can only be cancelled if it has not been shipped. To cancel an order, kindly reach out to us through help@exoticindia.com.
Add a review
Have A Question

For privacy concerns, please view our Privacy Policy