The Recognition of Sakuntala

The central conflict in The Recognition of Sakuntala is the tension between private desire and public duties. The play’s resolution must therefore involve a harmonious balance between these two opposing strands: Kama or desire must ultimately help strengthen the social order and contribute to the public good while securing the private happiness of Dusyanta and Sakuntala.

Duty (dharma) is specific and contextual: A king’s dharma differs from that of an ascetic; a hermit-woman’s duty diverges from that of a married wife and mother. Sakuntala and Dusyanta’s dharma binds each of them to the public good and the social order. As a woman destined to be the mother of a great king, all Sakuntala’s actions must orient her toward that duty. Similarly, as Dusyanta is a king, his actions are necessarily public in nature, with greater consequences. Dusyanta first forgets his dharma when he suspends the hunt, causing his retinue to wander aimlessly. In a second instance, he does not adhere to his mother’s imperative to return to the city.

The disruptive power of kama (sexual and romantic love) leaves Dusyanta feeling torn between his private love and filial duty, while Sakuntala first transgresses her duty as a hermit-woman when she feels desire for Dusyanta.