Vada in Theory and Practice: Studies in Debates, Dialogues and Discussions in Indian Intellectual Discourses c6.s3.35

c6.s3.35

*Śākuntalopākhyāna* in *Mahābhārata* is comprised of a vigorous debate between a lady and her lover who deliberately refuses to recognize her in public. Duṣṣanta,⁷⁴ an emperor of Kuru dynasty, is enchanted by the beauty of Śakuntalā when he visits the hermitage of Kaṇva. Śakuntalā accepts the proposal of a *gāndharva-vivāha* (love marriage) from him on the condition that her son, born from this marriage, will be given the royal throne. After making love with her, the king leaves the forest grove assuring her that a royal entourage will soon be sent to bring her to the capital. The promise was never fulfilled and when, Bharata, the son, born out of this marriage grew up to be young enough, Śakuntalā came to Hastināpura, Duṣṣanta’s capital, and met the king with a demand for being accepted as the queen in the royal harem and enthronement of her son. Duṣṣanta’s ill-conceited and roguish denial to recognize her resulted in a fierce debate between the two, which involved moral and ethical issues apart from the personal grievance of the lady. Śakuntalā said: