Complete Shakuntala Second Part Continued.

Dear Readers: here is my continuation of the second part of Shakuntala's story from the drama by Kalidasa, India's greatest Sanskrit poet, submitted for your approval.

Adventures of King Dushyant in the Golden Mountains of Kailash

In our last episode, we saw the heroic nature of King Dushyant. Concluding the battle they flew in winged chariots to a mystic golden mountain, the abode of King Kuvera, god of wealth, where Kasyapa does his penance. Matali, charioteer of the gods, did reverence to the Lord Kashyapa. His chariot glided in the air until they found the ashram of that great saint. Arriving there they found pools of nectar and sacred groves in a sylvan landscape known to future generations as the legendary Shangrila. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shangri-La 

"Our wheels are nearly touching the earth," Kalidasa, Ancient Sanskrit poet describing the descent of an aircraft

"We have reached our destination," Said Matali, charioteer to the gods. "Our wheels are nearly touching the earth." And indeed the chariot wheels were only a hair's breadth from land.  "We do not bump the fragile grass beneath our wheels, but we have reached the sage's hermitage. His wife, Aditi tends the coral trees."

Could "Shangrila" refer to the ancient ashramas of Mt. Kailash?

"All honor to Kayshapa," Dushyant said,"who mortifies his flesh so terribly,"
"Descend, O King."
"And you, my friend?"
"I will alight with you and leave our air- chariot, which follows my voice commands. I too descend."

"the air-chariot follows my voice commands" Kalidas, 5th century

And as they walked along through groves where holy hermits led their lives of self-abnegation, they marveled at the holy places there. The air was rich; the oxygen they breathed seemed permeated with herbs and life-giving minerals. 

Tibetan yogis

Some believe that ancient yogis there survived on holy water and on air.

Breatharian yogi meditating on Paramatma

Dushyant said, "Never in my travels as a king have I beheld such wonders or such a fair land as this. Unless I cast my memory back to Kanva's ashram, where Shakuntala dwelled. 

Shakuntala at Kanva's ashram 

Her hair black as the bumblebee, her eyes as blue as twin Himalayan lakes. But here they bathe religiously in pools where pink and golden lotuses flourish. Their humble abodes adorned with shining jewels whose light illuminates the night when no moon shines are emblems of their chastity and peace. Look there between those flowering trees where nymphs of heaven roam unashamed. They mortify desire and sin with chastity and harmony and spiritual peace. O Matali, charioteer of the gods, What is this place?"

Mountain lake

Matali replied, "It is a place of high ideals. The greatest souls have higher aspirations. And here there is no sense of exploitation, but all who live here meditate and pray. Their simple lives of devotion are examples to us all. Even Indra in heaven wishes to come here to this holy place of peace, to leave behind the cares and woes of kings."

King Indra

They walked until they came upon the ancient, Shakalya. Matali approached him and asked, "O wise one, we have come from far away on pilgrimage to see the holy sage Kashyapa. Is he receiving visitors, good man?"

"You must wait a fitter moment for your visit," said the wise Shakalya

And Shakalya said, "Aditi is questioning him on the nature of reality and metaphysics, ethics and the duties of a faithful wife. You must wait a fitter moment for your visit."
Matali said, "Thank you for your kindness." And turning to the king, he said, "Wait here Dushyant. I will see about our visit to my lord Indra's grandfather, the sage Kashyapa. And Matali went with Shakalya, deeper into the woods, to arrange the time.

Grove of ashoka trees

So it was that Dushyant found himself alone in the shade of an ashoka tree. And to the tree he said, "How strange; I feel a throbbing in my arm. This is a welcome omen. Some good luck will befall me."
And sheltered in the grove of ashoka trees, he heard a voice. It was a boy, at play.
The boy said, "Come here! That's it. No! Come back. Good boy. Now down! Down I say!"


Dushyant could not contain his curiosity. What games would children in these green woods? And spying around a tree he saw a boy. The child was playing with his pets, two lion cubs, rubbing their necks and dragging them by the tails. Wrestling the lioncubs to the ground and impugning them with his words. "Come here! Good girl." The boy played all kinds of tricks on the lion-cubs, who bared their teeth and growled. Two nursemaids appeared from the woods out of breath, as if chasing the little boy. They kept their distance from the lion cubs out of respect, but all the same approached him, worried at his little games with ferocious cats.

lion cubs at play

Holding the bigger cub's jaws with both hands and prying them apart, the boy said, "Open your mouth, I want to count your teeth." The lion pawed him.
Now this boy couldn't have been more than five or six years old. 

Had it really been so long without Shakuntala? The war campaign in the clouds was calculated according to the time of the gods. There was no telling how long he had been at war and away from home. But now this boy's voice was tugging at his heartstrings. 

"You naughty boy," said the nurse. "You wait until I tell your mother. We'll see how she likes this."
But there was something about the boy that struck the king in the heart. 
"And if you don't let that little cub go, her mother the lionness will certainly chastise you. She will spring at you and eat you."
"I'm so scared," said the little boy with golden hair, sticking his tongue out at the nurse.
The king smiled and thought, "This golden boy is the spark of a fire which when it grows will burn a wild conflagration. What passion! He reminds me of myself.
And from his hiding place behind the ashoka tree, the king saw the second nurse speaking sweet words to the boy.
"Let him go," she said, "And I'll give you this shiny ball. But this is for big boys. Only little boys play with pets."
"Where is it? Let me see!" said the boy, holding the lion's tail in his left hand and extending the palm of his right hand.

The boy played with lion cubs

And Dushyant in his curiosity focused his eyes on the little boys palm. What he saw astounded him. "Just see!" said the king to himself. "A blushing lotus opening to the morning sun is the very design of royalty that stamps his infant palm. This boy is not the son of humble stages. He is the very heir to India's throne!"
The ladies argued how to tame the child.  "Where's my ball!" he said, and understood their game. Meanwhile the lion cub had loosed his tail and ran off in the woods to join his mother. "Where's my ball?" the imperious golden boy cried again. And the nurses made excuses and went for toys.
"This boy plays on my heartstrings as an expert minstrel plays the vina," thought the king. "How strange that children with their rude voices conjure such music. Fathers find charm even in their dirty little feet." And taking his opportunity, now the boy was alone, King Dushyant emerged from his hiding place.
"Boy!" he said. "I am King Dushyant. I was coming through these words here and heard you shouting at your nurse. I think you must be the son of some saint or holy man. At your age you should know better than that. What would your father say?"

Holy man of India meditating by lotus pond

Just then the nurses returned and saw the king. "His father? But he's not the son of any hermit here."
"So it would seem," said the king. "I'm quite astonished at his conduct."
The nurses stared at the king. "I'm sorry. Did you hear me, maid?"

In a grove of Ashoka trees

"Of course," said the bolder of the two. "But I'm astonished at the resemblance."
"Resemblance?"
"Why yes, of course. The boy resembles you in every way."
"What is his family?"
"Well, he is said to come in the line of Puru."
"But this is my line. I am descended from the great King Puru."

"I am from the line of Puru? But his mother?"

"That's right, sir, the line of Puru. His father was a great king who went to war and left him when he was only a boy. And his mother...."
"His mother?"
With this, the boy threw his arms around the nurse's sturdy leg. "Where's my mother!" he cried.

"Where's my mother!"

"Just a moment," said the nurse. "Your nanny went for your mother. She's coming back."
"Quite right, sir. His mother was the daughter of a nymph and bore her son here in the holy sanctuary of the gods."
Dushyant smiled, a twinkle in his eye. "And what was the name of this king, the one who went to war?"
"I'm sure everyone has forgotten how to pronounce it. Anyway why would anyone vibrate his name? He abandoned and rejected his true wife. But here comes nanny with his toy."

Toy "Shakuntha" Bird.

Complete Shakuntala Second Part: Dushyant.

When the fool was kidnapped by a race of giant man-eating rakshasas, Indra himself descended on a winged chariot to plead for Dushyant to help him in the battle.

Battle of the Heavens

Then Dushyant ascended into the heavens on a winged chariot guided by Matali to assist the god of rain against the race of mighty demons and giants who had kidnapped his erstwhile fool. 

Rakshasa

Matali said, 'my lord the king of rain is powerless against this foe and bids you smite these demons with your sharp arrows. As darkness falls, the orb of night shall rise and light our way. Set us forth for victory, O King. Let us ride upon the clouds. until they fled.  And moving through the clouds they dispatched those hellish hordes, the invincible brood of Kalanemi.  The vampire demons were forced to release the jester of the king and swear allegiance to the god of rain. King Dushyant recovered his beloved clown in the battle while Indra was pleased to see the demons flee, screaming from the fight.

Concluding their battle they flew in winged chariots to the heavenly abode of Indra, where Dushyant was entertained for a time by the lord of heaven. He seated King Dushyant beside him on a throne of beaten gold and smiled. Then the lord of thunder Indra placed around his neck the heavenly wreath of flowers still fragrant from the sandalwood paste on his own neck. He lauded King Dushyant for his heroism in battle against the mighty rakshasa warriors.

Rakshasa

Dushyant bowed to Indra and said, "All servants owe their success to proper honor paid to their masters before the deeds are done. Dawn defeats the darkness by resting on the chariot of the sun."

To which Indra replied, "O earthly king! You have pleased me, the king of the gods. And so, your glory is greater by having been published in heaven by the gods with colors used by the apsaras to make their beauty glow. Your brave deeds have been written in the clouds, which even now blush before you."

The clouds blushed

And bidding leave of Indra, King Dushyant, along with his court jester, boarded the airship of Matali, chariot to the gods and so began the long descent to his earthly kingdom. And as they ranged the sky they passed many a snowcappped peak that pierced the clouds. And by and by they came to a mystic mountain range of purest gold. 

Mount Kailash

And Dushyant said, "When we passed this way before we fought the man-eating devils on their flying machines. I was so intent on unleashing showers of darts upon those fiends that I had not noticed this magic land. What windpath have we taken?"

Vamana Dev

And Matali replied, "When Lord Vishnu appeared as Vamana, he encompassed the three worlds in three strides. His second stride fell here. This is a paradise on earth where creatures live free from passion in constant peace and harmony."

"Even now," said Dushyant, "I feel a strange serenity possess my body and mind."

"We shall land down there for a time," said Matali, charioteer to Indra god of rain. And so saying, he began to guide the airship in its fall through the clouds. 

Chariot of the sun

"How strange to fall from the sky in your airship." Said the king. "Below I see the falcons turn and wheel, and far below us the plains come closer. A silver strip that streaks between the green becomes a raging river running through the wheat. And as we fall the river network is clear, the smaller streams appear. The spots of green have changed to massive trees. The valley of liquid gold has turned to a field of wildflowers mustard yellow. 

"As we fall, the river network is clear" Kalidas, Shakuntala

And when the craft had landed, Dushyant said, "How curious is this place. We are surrounded by snow-capped mountains where only stony crags welcome our view. But here a warm breeze wafts jasmine flowers through the fields. Eagles fly from their mountain caves high above us. But here below this valley is blessed with calm."

Matali said, "This golden peak was the abode of King Kuvera, god of forest creatures, lord of yakshas, king of all wealth. Here in these hills,  Kasyapa, the progenitor of gods resides and does his penance." 

Kashyapa Muni

The king said, "Guide this air chariot to the place where Kashyapa resides. Let us make pilgrimage to that holy place. Here the great hermits achieve their mystic powers absorbed in the secrets of yoga. Let us visit him."

And Matali said, "Your thoughts are worthy. So be it."

And so he hovered in his winged chariot a few palm's lengths above the ground. And so the airship glided on the wind until they found the ashram of that great saint Kashyapa, son of Marichi. 

And from a distance, Matali, charioteer of Indra pointed to a cave in darkened woods and said, "Look!"

"Through those trees. There stands the hermit himself, long of beard, austere in body. See how strangler vines are choking his wizened form. He stands half-buried in an ant-hill that surrounds him. He stands still as a wooden post, staring at the sun with eyes that know no rest. A  dried cobra skin adorns his breast. He has stood there unmoved for such a time that birds have built their nests within his matted hair. Behold Kashyapa Muni, son of Marichi, progenitor of gods.