As an ancient Indian poet-dramatist, Kālidāsa cannot be absorbed into the homogenizing tendencies of Hindu hagiography, as has often been attempted, especially in the period after independence. From being projected as a Brahmin by birth in legends, a Vedāntist and Vaishnavite in darsana (theology), and more recently, owing to Western theoretical perspectives being applied to texts separated in time and contexts, Kalidasa is critiqued for a patriarchal and casteist outlook. These various readings have privileged personal theories and validated them by reading literary texts in certain ways. ‘Memory, Metaphor and Mysticism in Kalidasa’s ‘AbhijñānaŚākuntalam’’ brings together scholars from both sides of the globe who offer possibilities for reviewing this text, not as an Oriental discovery or a cultural property, but as an ancient literary text that can be read in multiple philosophical contexts. Further, the translations of ‘AbhijñānaŚākuntalam’ into South Asian languages like Urdu and Nepali and a classical language like Persian are also included for detailed study for understanding the impact of this text in the respective literary traditions of these languages, and to assess the actual cross-literary dialogue that this text made, without hyperboles and generalizations, given the fact that many of these translation happened just before and after independence when literary historiography and nation writing project went hand in hand in India.

Namrata Chaturvedi is associate professor, School of Language, Literature and Culture Studies, SRM University, Sikkim.

Acknowledgments; Introduction, Namrata Chaturvedi; Section I: Metre, Structure and Dhvani; 1. ‘Upamā Kālidāsasya’: What Makes Kālidāsa the King of Metaphor, Ramkishor Maholiya; 2. What Happens in ‘Śakuntalā’: Conceptual and Formal Symmetries, Sheldon Pollock; 3. From Separation to Unity: Resonances of Kashmir Śaivism in ‘AbhijñānaŚākuntalam’, H. S. Shivaprakash and Namrata Chaturvedi; 4. ‘Śakuntalā’ and the Bible: Parallels and Resonances, Felix Wilfred; Section II: Commentaries and Criticism; 5. Love on One’s Terms: Perspectives on ‘Gāndharva Vivāha’ in ‘AbhijñānaŚākuntalam’, Wagish Shukla; 6. ‘AbhijñānaŚākuntalam’ in Indian Hermeneutics, Radhavallabh Tripathi; 7. The Seeker Finds His Self: Reading ‘Sārārthadīpikā’, the Advaita Commentary on ‘AbhijñānaŚākuntalam’, Godabarisha Mishra; Section III: Varied Grammars of Love; 8. ‘Not a Tale, but a Lesson’: Persian Translations of Kālīdāsa’s ‘AbhijñānaŚākuntalam’, Sunil Sharma; 9. Śakuntala in Hindustani: Reading select Urdu translations of ‘AbhijñānaŚākuntalam’, Khalid Alvi; 10. Dialogue between Two ‘Mahākavis’: Kālidāsa and Laxmi Prasad Devkota’s Three ‘Śakuntalās’, Gokul Sinha; Section IV: On the Stage: Personal Engagements with a Lived Tradition; 11. Staging ‘Śakuntalā’ in India: Observations and Reflections, Kamlesh Dutt Tripathi; 12. From the Stage to the Classroom: Engagement with ‘Śakuntalā’, Sreenivas Murthy; Index.