"Śakuntalā Looking Back to Glimpse Dushyanta" from the Wikipedia article about Shakuntala
This week I chose to continue reading Nine Ideal Indian Women by Sunity Devee.
The first section of the reading, focused on Sakuntala, was probably one of my favorite stories I've read so far. The first part of the story was interesting, where Sakuntala's father was becoming too powerful because he was so good at abstaining from all human needs. When people noticed this, they immediately tried to figure out how to trip him up. This is not one of those times where people are revered for being awesome, it's a time when people who are awesome are constantly tripped up by people who are less awesome. I get that.
The main storyline was about Sakuntala and her lover, Dushmanta. Finally, finally, there's a story where the woman has the higher moral ground, and I love it. Sakuntala and Dushmanta fall madly in love, but he heads back to the kingdom and says he'll send someone back for her. Unfortunately, before that can happen, Sakuntala accidentally ignores a hermit and he curses her by making Dushmanta forget who she is. General chaos ensues, but the main point is that Sakuntala gets the moral high ground and Dushmanta has to come beg for her forgiveness. Unlike every time a wife has done something mildly wrong and then gets banished for it, Sakuntala takes Dushmanta back in a heartbeat. I approve of her being a generally good person, and then she turns into the greatest queen India ever saw, which is also pretty great.
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