Implications of the translations

A close reading of these four translations of the same passage from the play shows the differing perspectives of the translators. Sir William Jones has translated the verse into prose. The passage is much reduced as he has also edited the passage. Sakuntala does not sweat and the sirisa flower disappears. Monier-Williams also avoids the reference to Sakuntala's perspiration. Harish Trivedi points out that Jones was not aware that sweating in the Indian context could also indicate sexual interest and arousal. A reference to sweat in women was unacceptable to the Victorian sense of propriety and he had to do away with this indecorous trait to cater to those sensibilities. Trivedi is of the view that this is an indication of the “common translatorial temptation to erase much that is culturally specific, to sanitize much that is comparatively odorous” (7). Perhaps it is the difficulty to capture the culture specific flora that also prompts him to drop the name of the flower Sirisa. It is also interesting that both Jones and Monier-Williams think that Sakuntala must have used a string to tie up her hair. Jones says her locks are disheveled because ‘the string has dropped' and Monier-Williams refers to the ‘fillet' of her hair which indicates that she had some sort of band around her hair. Indians would know that this was unusual for women in Sakuntala's time. That is why both Kale and Rajan refer to her ‘knot of hair', which is how women usually tie up their hair, without the help of a string or band.

Kale also has dropped the verse form, but has given a word-for-word translation that does not help in smooth reading. This is because he has retained the word order and structure of the original. Kale has the original Sanskrit text on one page and the English translation on the other, with copious notes in Sanskrit and English. It is an annotated version meant for the reader who would know both Sanskrit and English, or the student of Sanskrit who might find the translation useful. This is ‘faithful' translation carried to the extreme, without heed for the reader unfamiliar with the original language and culture. Kale does not feel the need to help the contemporary Indian reader who might not know the culture of Kalidasa, either.

Chandra Rajan has verse translation and it has sense for sense translation that retains the feel of the original. It is difficult to capture the meter of the Sanskrit original and she has tried to make the best of it, without sacrificing the culture-specific references. She also has the Sirisa which is a common flower in Kalidasa's time. While Kalidasa just has ‘sirisha' in his verse, all the translators feel obliged to add ‘flower' or ‘blossom' to clarify that sirisha is a flower.