The Heroine of the Play: -As already stated above, the heroine of the play is Urvashi, a celestial damsel. The birth from a celestial woman is owed by his another heroine, Shakuntalā as well. His Mālavikā though neither celestial nor quasi-celestial, is however born in the purple and is possessed of all qualities of sublime birth. His other two heroines are swakiyā or belonging to the hero alone as married wives, whereas Urvashi is a dancer and constitutes the powerful and light army of Indra in his bevy of chosen ladies (Ref. "सुकुमारं प्रहरणमिन्द्रस्य".) Urvashi is, however, addressed as common or Sadharani in a pure technical sense, for want of shackles of the marriage system in vogue in heavens (Obs. even Indrani is not married to a particular Indra but holds office of the queen of Heavens and consort of Indra ex-officio), otherwise she is very chaste to her fiance Paruravas and prepared herself to deteriorate in mortal society and limit her enjoyments to the modest paraphernalia of a human king. She is so much devoted to the king that she wholly loses herself and invites upon her the wrath of the Muni Bharat. Her sacrifice at the alter of Love is very supreme, though sufferings of Shakuntalā may be calculated perhaps no less; but Urvashi surpasses both of his heroines in respect of her poorva-rag, for she is not a mugdha type of a girl or a simpleton as was the case with Malavikā or Shakuntalā. Malavikā, a stranded young girl of high birth thrown into the state of serfdom under Dharini had no prospect of emancipation from that sad plight except in courting the advances of Agnimitra. Mālavikā's ready acceptance of the advances of the hero was more an emergency measure than a spirit of sacrifice for love. More miserable was the case of Shakuntalā, an unsophisticated (mugdha) girl brought up in an artless atmosphere of an hermitage, who fell a victim to the enamouring wiles of an over bearing king (a master in arts of handling simple girls to his free will. Obs. his deceit in not disclosing himself) who could succeed in overpowering the girl only in two visits to the extent of even the consummation of marriage and could afford conveniently to forget her for good—an action in apology of which the celebrated poet had to introduce the episode of malediction, which also served indirectly to bring about a separation and intensify the so-called feeling of love in the drama. It is to be noted by critics that the artifice of malediction introduced in Shākuntalam is an apology for a serious fault in the character of Dushyanta, whereas the malediction in the case of Urvashi is a self-invited
