Shakuntala Part 4: Vyasa's choice of words

We humans know that if someone abuses their child, parents get agitated, angry, and agonize over the situation. Parents feel compelled to hunt down the person responsible and bring them to justice. This particular emotional reaction hasn't changed from the time of the Mahabharat to the time it is today. This emotion is even common among all other animals, not just humans. It is extraordinary how Veda Vyasa chose and employed the words carefully to describe the aftermath of Dushyanth's combination of Rakshasa and Gandharva forms of marriage to Shakuntala. It goes like this:

The moment the king had gone away, Kanva came to the hermitage. But Shakuntala did not go out to receive her father for shame.

Note: It is not a few moments later', 'a little later' or 'after a while,' or 'after some time.' It is 'The moment the king had gone away.'

The tremendous ascetic Kanva, possessed of spiritual sight, knew all. Having thus seen everything with his spiritual sight, the illustrious man was pleased and said -

Note: The illustrious man was Pleased.

Listen carefully to what he says to Shakuntala. He states, "O amiable child, the act you committed today in secret, without waiting to receive my permission, has not diminished your virtue. The marriage, according to the Gandharva form, without mantras and between a willing woman and a willing man, is the best for a Kshatriya. The best of men, Dushyant, is virtuous-minded and high-souled. You have accepted him as your husband. The son you will bear will extend his sway over the world bounded by the sea. When that illustrious king of kings (your son) marches against his foe, his army will be irresistible to all opposition."

Note: The act 'you' committed; we all already knew that it was Dushyant, and not Shakuntala, who committed 'the act.' How do we know? Because Vyasa said that a few paragraphs back. Still, the blame got pinned on Shakuntala. Why? Because she was vulnerable and an easy target. There was nobody to stand on her side.

Kanva—"In secret without waiting to receive my permission!" Shakuntala told Dushyant to wait and get her father's permission. Dushyant crossed the line in haste. But her father,

A great Rishi, after seeing everything with his spiritual sight, blamed her.

"Has not diminished your virtue" - So, the act that questions the person's moral turpitude till today in traditional India didn't apply to Shakuntala. Especially in that world that emphasized the purity and sanctity of women and was obsessed with it? - Because Dushyant, the King, was involved in this!!?

"Best for Kshatriya" or What's best for Shakuntala? Whose side the Rishi must take?

'The son' you will bear...... Unfortunately, they can't even imagine the possibility of a daughter.

I sometimes wonder if women's conditions have changed at the root cause level in today's India since Mahabharat! If so, then how much? And is it enough?