Depicting Artist and Viewer: Performed Aesthetics in Kalidasa's "Sakuntala"

The influential Sanskrit aesthetic works of Abhinavagupta present an elaborate and compelling system of artistic interpretation. His treatises appeared several centuries after Kalidasa, the classical Sanskrit playwright, wrote his AbhijnanaSakuntalam, to which they often turn for supporting examples of their theories. Discussions of Sanskrit Drama regularly use the terms and categories of the great aesthetician in analyzing plays of the earlier periods, including Sakuntala. The play itself, however, is remarkably replete with instances of ekphrasis and musical performance that have an impact within the social world on stage. Visual art and songs appear at pivotal moments in the drama, and play significant roles in shaping both the plot and character development. The leading motivation for this paper is the thought that, instead of imposing the terms and categories of later thinkers on Kalidasa, one could well deduce elements of Kalidasa's own poetology and aesthetic principles by examining his treatment of art in this play. The text's language and dramatic situations provide rich fodder for discussions on various aspects of aesthetic investigation. This paper teases out the drama's textual and performative stances, which are not always in agreement with one another, on debates that animate both Kalidasa's work and more contemporary speculation about art. The essay is an exploration of the aesthetic principles implicit in the actions of art in society depicted in Kalidasa's drama.