Śakuntalā and The Ring of Recollection by Kālidāsa

My initial thoughts on Śakuntalā and The Ring of Recollection was that it should be just as famous as Romeo and Juliet. I also think that this story should surpass Romeo and Juliet. Secret love, fate and a curse, happy ending? Sounds like an awesome story because the lovers do not die in the end! I know that Romeo and Juliet is a tragic story about forbidden love and is like the ultimate love story, but in Kālidāsa's story they end up together which inspires hope for the rest of us. I don't know about you, but I like a story that brings hope that a happy ending is achievable rather than one that says a secret/forbidden love is not achievable while alive. Call me a hopeless romantic, but I am what I am.

Initially, I was going to focus on connecting the dots between Romeo and Juliet with Dushyanta and Śakuntalā. While I would like to do that, I had an epiphany. I really enjoyed this story and it seemed somewhat familiar to me. Then it hit me: the Disney movie, Mulan II, has similar aspects and themes to this story.

How you may ask? Allow me to explain my thought process. Some basic comparisons that I can make would be the different castes (social classes) of the Mulan and Shang when compared to Dushyanta and Śakuntalā. Dushyanta was a king and Śakuntalā was a female ascetic although we find out later on that Śakuntalā is the daughter of a nymph and therefore is not actually in the same caste as her adopted father. Mulan was a member of one of the lower classes who moved to the warrior class in the first movie. She becomes known as the hero of China.

Śakuntalā completely ignores her dharma (her duty) of receiving guests and showing them the hospitality of the ascetics and the hermitage. Therefore the consequences of ignoring "the hermit" (who turns out to be Durvasa) are he curses Śakuntalā. The curse is that her husband, Dushyanta, will not remember who she is until he sees the ring he gave her. (I'm just giving some background on the specifics of the curse; there isn't a curse in Mulan, but there are consequences that happen as well from ignoring the dharma.) Mulan's duty is to bring the Emperor's three daughters to their new husbands through an arranged marriage that will help cement that country's friendship and alliance. Mulan's first duty was supposed to be to her Emperor but she tried to follow the duty she had to her heart first. By encouraging the daughters to do the same, they end up falling in love with the soldiers guarding them. She gets in a fight with her partner and fiance, Li Shang, and their relationship is in tatters because he believes in his duty/dharma to the Emperor. Through an ambush, Li Shang is believed to be dead and Mulan mourns him. The next morning, she leaves the princesses with their lovers and decides it is more important to complete the mission herself.

Both stories have happy endings. Li Shang stops the wedding of Mulan to the foreign prince and is able to marry her himself and Dushyanta finds Śakuntalā and reunites with her. I know that was probably a vague overview of what happened in The Ring of Recollection but I would encourage you to read the story to get the whole romantic story. So much happens that it is better to experience yourself than to read a summary for you would miss some of the best parts.