topics: |  drama | india | sanskrit | comic

As in Subodh Ghosh's Love stories from the Mahabharata, these love
stories involve royals and rishis and celestials.

mAlavikAgnimitra : Among Kalidasa's early work, considered relatively
	immature.  The plot is rather melodramatic.  Malavika, princess from
	Vidisha, arrives at Agnimitra's court in Vidisha, in disguise, and
	becomes a Queen's maid.  However, the king Agnimitra falls in love
	with her (after seeing a portrait), and eventually the two are united
	after some complex machinations by court jester Gautama.

abhijnanam shakuntalA: the classic tale of the king Dushyanta's love
	for hermit girl S, and how he forgets all after a curse by durvAsA.
	however, a ring given to her as a gift rekindles old memories.

vikramorvashiyam: the love affair of the celestial urvashi and the
	mighty pururavas.  in a celebrated scene, the lovelorn urvashi,
	during the dance Lakshmi's choice, says 'pururavas' for
	'purushottam'.  her guru bharata (of nATyashAstra fame), banishes
	her from heaven for this violation, but she comes to live with
	pururavas on earth, with further complications.

encountering these stories in such distilled comic versions, i was struck by
the power of the institution of marriage; even kings find it difficult to 
licence a second wife.