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This play was one of the first examples of Indian literature to be seen in Europe; it attracted considerable attention (among others, from Goethe), and indeed pained surprise that such a sophisticated art-form could have developed without the rest of the world noticing. A good deal of that surprise will be revived by the hitherto untranslated Kashmirian recension.Kali·dasa's The Recognition of Shak?ntala is a play that scarcely needs introduction. Among the first works of Sanskrit literature translated into European languages, its skilful plot of thwarted love and eventual redemption has long charmed audiences around the world. Shakúntala's story is a leitmotiv that recurs in many works of Indian literature and culminates in the master Kali·dasa's drama for the stage.Co-published by New York University Press and the JJC FoundationFor more on this title and other titles in the Clay Sanskrit series, please visit http://www.claysanskritlibrary.org
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THE CLAY SANSKRIT LIBRARY FOUNDED BY JOHN & JENNIFER CLAY GENERAL EDITOR RICHARD GOMBRICH EDITED BY ISABELLE ONIANS SOMADEVA VASUDEVA WWW.CLAYSANSKRITLIBRARY.COM WWW.NYUPRESS.ORG c 2006 by the CSL. Copyright All rights reserved. First Edition 2006. The Clay Sanskrit Library is co-published by New York University Press and the JJC Foundation. Further information about this volume and the rest of the Clay Sanskrit Library is available on the following Websites: www.claysanskritlibrary.com www.nyupress.org. ISBN 0-8147-8815-7 Artwork by Robert Beer. Printed in Great Britain by St Edmundsbury Press Ltd, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, on acid-free paper. Bound by Hunter & Foulis Ltd, Edinburgh, Scotland. The Recognition of Shakuntala ´ by Kalid ¯ asa ¯ EDITED AND TRANSLATED BY SOMADEVA VASUDEVA NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS JJC FOUNDATION 2006 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data K¯alid¯asa ´ [Sakuntal¯ a. English & Sanskrit] The recognition of Shakuntala / by Kalidasa ; edited and translated by Somadeva Vasudeva. p. cm. – (The Clay Sanskrit library) Play. In English and Sanskrit; includes translation from Sanskrit. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8147-8815-7 (cloth : alk. paper) I. Vasudeva, Somadeva. II. Title. III. Series. PK3796.S4V37 2006 891’.22 2 22 2004029513 Contents Sanskrit alphabetical order CSL conventions ´ THE RECOGNITION OF SAKUNTAL A¯ Introduction Dramatis Personæ Prologue Act One: The Chase Act Two: The Secret Act Three: The Passion Act Four: The Farewell Act Five: The Tragedy Act Six: The Longing Act Seven: The Absolution Paraphrase of Prakrit (ch¯ay¯a) Notes Index 7 7 13 47 50 58 98 130 176 218 258 316 365 403 411 csl conventions sanskrit alphabetical order Vowels: Gutturals: Palatals: Retroflex: Dentals: Labials: Semivowels: Spirants: a a¯ i ¯ı u u¯ .r .¯r .l .¯l e ai o au m . h. (f ) k kh g gh n˙ c ch j jh n˜ .t .th d. d.h n. t th d dh n p ph b bh m yrlv ´s .s s h guide to sanskrit pronunciation a a¯ , aˆ i ¯ı, ˆı u u¯ ,ˆu .r but rather sit fee put boo vocalic r, American purdy or English pretty lengthened .r .¯r vocalic l, able .l e, ˆe, ¯e made, esp. in Welsh pronunciation ai bite o, oˆ, o¯ rope, esp. Welsh pronunciation; Italian solo au sound m anusv¯ara nasalizes the pre. ceding vowel h., f visarga, a voiceless aspiration (resembling English h), or like Scottish loch, or an aspiration with a faint echoing of the preceding k kh g gh n˙ c ch j jh n˜ .t .th d. vowel so that taih. is pronounced taihi . In Kashmirian practice, when visarga is followed by p or ph it is replaced by upadhm¯an¯ıya, here written as f, and pronounced as an unvoiced, short blow of air. luck blockhead go bighead anger chill matchhead jog aspirated j, hedgehog canyon retroflex t