The story goes that a very erudite princess would marry no one, because she insisted on marrying only someone wiser than herself. the condition was that the suitor must defeat her in a shastrarth ( interpretation of the shastras). the shastrarth had to be mauna (silent, using only actions).
kalidasa, who was a simple fool, was dressed and brought to this swayamvara by some of the rejected suitors. The princess first raised a hand. In response, Kalidasa raised 2 hands. Next, the princess showed him her hand outstreched, to which he replied by flashing his fist in air.
The princess accepted defeat. However, everyone in the assembly was curious and asked the princess to explain. She said: "i first said, there is one sun, and he said, no, there are two - the sun and the moon are cosmic partners. Then, i showed him 5 fingers for the 5 elements, and his reply to that was that they all come together to form the substance, like the 5 fingers come together to form a fist."
Everyone, except the rejected suitors who brought Kalidasa to the swayamnvara, was very impressed. but the suitors took Kalidasa away and asked him for his interpretation of the shastraarth.
Kalidasa:
First she said, i will pull out one of your eyes, and i said, i will pull out both of your eyes!
Then she threatened me with a slap and i replied to say she will get a punch if she tries that with me!
kalidasa, who was a simple fool, was dressed and brought to this swayamvara by some of the rejected suitors. The princess first raised a hand. In response, Kalidasa raised 2 hands. Next, the princess showed him her hand outstreched, to which he replied by flashing his fist in air.
The princess accepted defeat. However, everyone in the assembly was curious and asked the princess to explain. She said: "i first said, there is one sun, and he said, no, there are two - the sun and the moon are cosmic partners. Then, i showed him 5 fingers for the 5 elements, and his reply to that was that they all come together to form the substance, like the 5 fingers come together to form a fist."
Everyone, except the rejected suitors who brought Kalidasa to the swayamnvara, was very impressed. but the suitors took Kalidasa away and asked him for his interpretation of the shastraarth.
Kalidasa:
First she said, i will pull out one of your eyes, and i said, i will pull out both of your eyes!
Then she threatened me with a slap and i replied to say she will get a punch if she tries that with me!
Moral of the story: All our actions are interpreted by our contexts.
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