Sakuntala and Dushyanta
Tale of an Emperor, or Princess, and a Fatal Ring
From The Indian Story Book, by Richard Wilson
Online Source
Story starts off very similarly to a Jataka tale: a king hunting an antelope with golden arrows, only to be stopped in the hunt, and then blessed with good fortune because of it.
Now he's in the monk's grove and it's a bit fairy-tale land esque with all the friendly animals and thriving plants and such. Here he meets Sakuntala, a beautiful maiden and daughter of sage Canna. (Side note I definitely would've guessed Sakuntala would turn out to be an animal of some kind)
Wow the king and Sakuntala (who is actually a princess) got married really quickly. What else is happening in the story?
Now Sakuntala is leaving the grove to be with him, and is left with a fine gown woven by fairies and all the blessing of the grove "May favoring breezes sprinkle for her delight the dust of rich blossoms," etc.
Except turns out the king has completely forgotten her existence and all that occurred, and the ring he gave her which would've been proof was gone too so he rejects her.
People act so ridiculous in these stories when it comes to love. The king doesn't do anything anymore, even the flowers don't bloom and he's restless and acts like he's in a vision and sleepless, worn and weary.
Then the king rose to the occasion when his jester was taken, but it turns out it was by Indra's charioteer who wanted to get him up and help stop the Daravas from disrespecting the gods.
Big focus on description throughout this story: "The balmy air was full of fragrance from the trees of life.."
So turns out the king had a child with Saku and he's discovering this now on a paradise island. There's an amulet that would turn to a serpent if it were dropped on the ground and picked up by someone other than the boy's parents (convenient huh).
It's interesting that the enchantment or curse that made him randomly forget his wife was never explained--a discrepancy I would remedy if I rewrite this.
Once they were reunited it was happily ever after.
Note: In choosing my image, I wanted to find one that shows the setting of the forest where the two of them first meet. This one looks like it was out of a fairytale with the sunlight through the trees, which is why I thought it was fitting.
Tale of an Emperor, or Princess, and a Fatal Ring
From The Indian Story Book, by Richard Wilson
Online Source
Story starts off very similarly to a Jataka tale: a king hunting an antelope with golden arrows, only to be stopped in the hunt, and then blessed with good fortune because of it.
Now he's in the monk's grove and it's a bit fairy-tale land esque with all the friendly animals and thriving plants and such. Here he meets Sakuntala, a beautiful maiden and daughter of sage Canna. (Side note I definitely would've guessed Sakuntala would turn out to be an animal of some kind)
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| The forest where Sakuntala lives (Source) |
Wow the king and Sakuntala (who is actually a princess) got married really quickly. What else is happening in the story?
Now Sakuntala is leaving the grove to be with him, and is left with a fine gown woven by fairies and all the blessing of the grove "May favoring breezes sprinkle for her delight the dust of rich blossoms," etc.
Except turns out the king has completely forgotten her existence and all that occurred, and the ring he gave her which would've been proof was gone too so he rejects her.
People act so ridiculous in these stories when it comes to love. The king doesn't do anything anymore, even the flowers don't bloom and he's restless and acts like he's in a vision and sleepless, worn and weary.
Then the king rose to the occasion when his jester was taken, but it turns out it was by Indra's charioteer who wanted to get him up and help stop the Daravas from disrespecting the gods.
Big focus on description throughout this story: "The balmy air was full of fragrance from the trees of life.."
So turns out the king had a child with Saku and he's discovering this now on a paradise island. There's an amulet that would turn to a serpent if it were dropped on the ground and picked up by someone other than the boy's parents (convenient huh).
It's interesting that the enchantment or curse that made him randomly forget his wife was never explained--a discrepancy I would remedy if I rewrite this.
Once they were reunited it was happily ever after.
Note: In choosing my image, I wanted to find one that shows the setting of the forest where the two of them first meet. This one looks like it was out of a fairytale with the sunlight through the trees, which is why I thought it was fitting.
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