The figure of Sakuntala appears in many forms throughout South Asian literature, most famously in the Mahabharata and in Kalidisa's fourth-century Sanskrit play, Sakuntala and the Ring of Recollection. In these two texts, Sakuntala undergoes a critical transformation, relinquishing her assertiveness and autonomy to become the quintessentially submissive woman, revealing much about the performance of Hindu femininity that would come to dominate South Asian culture. Through a careful analysis of sections from Sakuntala and their various iterations in different contexts, Romila Thapar explores the interactions between literature and history, culture and gender, that frame the development of this canonical figure, as well as a distinct conception of female identity.
- ISBN10 0231156553
- ISBN13 9780231156554
- Publish Date 12 April 2011 (first published 31 December 1999)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Columbia University Press
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Pages 296
- Language English