Penn in Hand: Selected Manuscripts

Kālidāsa.

Śakuntalā, 1768.

1 item (37 leaves) : paper ; 12 x 26 cm.

Manuscript for private contemplation or public recitation/performance and is a full version of the dramatic retelling of the Hindu mythological figure Śakuntalā, an orphan girl from the union of a renunciant and a heavenly nymph (apsarā). The narrative follows the love affair and marriage between Śakuntalā and king Duṣana and their various trials and adventures. Originally told in the epic Mahābhārata, the story was adapted by the poet Kālidāsa in the 5th century.

Title from margin abbreviations throughout, upper left verso.

Written in 11-12 lines per leaf.

37 leaves foliated 1-37, upper left and lower right verso.

Colophon: iti niṣkrā[n]tāḥ sarve saptamoṃkaḥ kṛtiriyaṃ kālidāsasya saṃvat 1825 aśvanavadi 14 [//] (f. 37v).

Dated saṃvat 1825 (1768) (f. 37v).

Mistakes covered over in yellow or blacked out; some corrections and additions in margins; significant syllables, words, or phrases highlighted in red throughout; vertical margins marked with quadruple black line.

UPenn Ms. Coll. 390, Item 524

Collection of Indic Manuscripts. Item 524

Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts University of Pennsylvania Ms. Coll. 390

शकुन्तला, १७६८.