Sakuntala of Kalidasa – English Translation

Posted on April 18, 2009 by bharateeya

English Prose Translation of “Abhijnaana Saakuntalam of Kalidasa” by Sir Monier Williams (1819–1899).

The term Shakuntala means one who is brought up by birds (Shakun). There are references stating that Shakuntala was found by Rishi Kanva in forest as a baby surrounded by or as some believe being fed by birds, after being left by her mother, Menaka.

In Hindu mythology Sakuntala is the mother of Emperor Bharata and the wife of Dushyanta who was the founder of the Paurav Dynasty. Her story is told in the Mahabarata, Adi Parva and was dramatized by Kalidasa in his play Abhijnaana Saakuntalam (The Recognition of Sakuntala).

Kālidāsa is widely regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language. His place in Sanskrit literature is akin to that of Shakespeare in English. His plays and poetry are primarily based on Hindu mythology and philosophy.

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Comments

Sakuntala of Kalidasa – English Translation — 29 Comments

Ashish Kumar Jaiswal on June 4, 2011 at 8:47 am said:

Congratulations for your wonderful website.

A Request
Could you please post a Hindi translation of the above work: Kalidasa’s Shakuntala.

Thanks

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- bharateeya on June 4, 2011 at 9:54 am said:
  
  Ashishkumar,
  
  You may download Hindi translation of Shakuntam by JP Mishra from the following link: http://www.mediafire.com/?8asq2hooxlsy41m
  
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  - mathan on January 21, 2016 at 5:41 pm said:
    
    I want to download in tamil trsltn
    
    Reply ↓
Ashish Jaiswal on June 16, 2011 at 1:13 am said:

Thanks a lot for your excellent service

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Rajesh kumar gupta on January 24, 2012 at 6:35 am said:

Where can one find a down load of english translation of Shiv puran by kalidas. If not english then Hindi ? Please help .

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- blogadmin on March 22, 2012 at 6:26 am said:
  
  I have not heard about Siva Puran authored by Kalidasa. Are you sure that Kalidasa has written a book named “Siva Purana”? Did you mean “Kumara Sambhava”?
  
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priyamvada on February 23, 2012 at 10:29 am said:

Hi,
Good that I found this book.
Could any one tell me whether there is any telugu translation for this book.

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shanti patel on October 6, 2012 at 9:57 pm said:

excellent work done ! superb..
whre would i find original sanskrit text alongwith translation in hindi ? can anyone guide me ?
once again Thanks excellent work done here..
Hari OM TATSAT

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- bharateeya on October 7, 2012 at 4:37 am said:
  
  Shanti Patel,
  
  There are several Hindi translations of Sakuntalam with Sanskrit text available at DLI – Digital Library of India – dli.gov.in
  You could download books from DLI in PDF format using DLI Downloader, a free software available at aupasana.com
  
  Reply ↓
shanti patel on October 6, 2012 at 10:01 pm said:

i have posted this entry at 3.28 AM on October 7,2012 then how come it shows different date & timing ? My system updates are ok !

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- bharateeya on October 7, 2012 at 4:36 am said:
  
  Shanti Patel,
  
  May be it is showing US time. I am not sure.
  
  Reply ↓
mahabala rao on February 25, 2013 at 3:28 pm said:

is it there drama of hanuma kavi hanumannatakam or mahanatakam ?

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- bharateeya on February 25, 2013 at 3:38 pm said:
  
  Both the books, Hanumannatakam and Mahanatakam, are available at DLI.
  
  Reply ↓
  - mahabala rao on April 2, 2013 at 4:29 pm said:
    
    NAMASTE HOW CAN I GET THOSE BOOKS ( HANUMANNATAKAM OR MAHANATAKAM )
    
    Reply ↓
    - bharateeya on April 2, 2013 at 4:38 pm said:
      
      Mahabala Rao,
      
      I have sent you a mail with detailed instructions for downloading the books.
      
      Reply ↓
Frederick on August 20, 2013 at 3:16 am said:

I read the email exchange: “Both the books, Hanumannatakam and Mahanatakam, are available at DLI. NAMASTE HOW CAN I GET THOSE BOOKS ( HANUMANNATAKAM OR MAHANATAKAM ). I have sent you a mail with detailed instructions for downloading the books.

I am also interested in obtaining a English language version of Hanumannatakam and Mahanatakam. Are these available and how can i obtain them.

thank you

Frederick

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- Frederick on August 20, 2013 at 3:25 am said:
  
  Also, do you know of this work and how it can be obtained?
  
  Munnalal Abhimanyu, Hanuman-natakam (Varanasi:Chowkhamba, 1992)
  
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  - bharateeya on August 20, 2013 at 3:31 am said:
    
    Frederick,
    
    You can purchase hard copies of the book from the publishers. Their contact details are available at the following webpage – http://www.swb.co.in/publisher/chaukhamba-sanskrit-pratishthan
    
    Reply ↓
- bharateeya on August 20, 2013 at 3:34 am said:
  
  Fredicick,
  
  Giving below Digital Library of India (DLI) links to Hanumannatakam. You can download them using DLI Downloader available at http://dli-downloader.blogspot.in/2013/04/fast-dli-downloader-tool-to-download.html or using any batch downloading software.
  
  Hanumannatakam., 99999990233864. Anumat. 1909. sanskrit. Vaidik sahitya. 226 pgs.
  Hanumannatkam., 99999990293460. Hanumata. 1900. sanskrit. Devotional. 262 pgs.
  Hanumannnatak., 2020010005272. RAM SWAROOP SHARMA. 1958. SANSKRIT. . 238 pgs.
  
  You can download Mahanatakam from Google Books. Link is given below.
  
  GOOLE BOOKS LINK
  
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  - Frederick on August 20, 2013 at 8:03 am said:
    
    Thank you for the very quick reply. All these appear to be in Sanskrit, do you know if there are any English language versions of these works?
    
    thank you
    
    Frederick
    
    Reply ↓
    - bharateeya on August 20, 2013 at 8:27 am said:
      
      There is an English translation of Mahanataka available at Google books – Mahanataka. A dramatic history of King Rama. Translated
      into English and edited by K. K. Bahadur. Calcutta, 1840. Its link is given below.
      
      http://books.google.co.in/books?id=sGxWAAAAcAAJ&lpg=PA37&ots=yrIcW3Aar5&dq=A%20Dramatic%20History%20of%20King%20Rama&pg=PA37#v=onepage&q=A%20Dramatic%20History%20of%20King%20Rama&f=false
      
      Reply ↓
      - Frederick on August 20, 2013 at 10:13 am said:
        
        Wow, you are such a font of knowledge. This is exactly what I was looking for. Unfortunately, google books won’t let me download it where I am located now (thailand) but I will try to get someone in the US to do it for me.
        
        Now one more question. I am trying to find a English translation, or very good summary, of the Bengali version of Ramayana. Do you know if one exists and/or where it might be available.
        
        Thank you
        
        Frederick
Shekar on September 11, 2017 at 3:42 pm said:

Who’s translation in Kannada shkuntala drama

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Krishana on April 23, 2018 at 3:49 pm said:

What is the difference between the two books wrote in English and Sanskrit of Shankutala.

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- bharateeya on April 23, 2018 at 3:58 pm said:
  
  Your question is not clear. If you are asking about the difference between the works of Kalidasa and Monier Williams, ‘Abhijnana Sakuntalam’ by Kalidasa is an original work in Sanskrit while Monier Williams’s work is only an English translation of Kalidasa’s Sakuntalam.
  
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M.kriahnakumar on November 21, 2019 at 6:39 am said:

Any Tamil commentary on abignana sakuntalam except nakai vefachalam available

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M.krishnakumar on November 21, 2019 at 6:40 am said:

Any Tamil word to word Sanskrit meaning of abginjnana sakuntalam by kalidoss

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Vinay S on September 18, 2021 at 5:00 pm said:

Where can I get only Sanskrit text of Abhijyana shankuntala plz help me .

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- bharateeya on September 20, 2021 at 8:28 am said:
  
  Link to Sanskrit Unicode text of Abhijnana-Sakuntalam – https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http://www.sanskritworld.in/public/assets/book/book_50dd2508f1f66.txt
  
  Reply ↓