The Story of Shakuntala and Duswanto

This is a story from the Mahabarata about a pure princess called Shakuntala who was born in the forest. In this forest she had everything she needed. One day whilst out hunting, King Duswanto from a far away kingdom came across the beautiful Shakuntala meditating. He immediately fell in love with her and offered to take her away from the forest and marry her in the palace. At first Shakuntala refused Duswanto as she did not believe him and besides she had no need of a palace or gold. But then Duswanto gave his heart and Shakuntala fell in love. Together they made love in the forest and God witnessed this.

Duswanto told Shakuntala to wait in the forest until a carriage arrived to take her to her wedding ceremony. Shakuntala was already pregnant and Duswanto still hadn’t come to collect her. Nine months past and Shakuntala gave birth to a baby in the forest. She decided to go in search of the father of her child, wondering what it was that had made Duswanto forget her.
At the palace, a witch had fallen in love with Duswanto casting a spell on him, making him forget Shakuntala and all his responsibilities to the people of his kingdom and to the environment. Duswanto and the witch had passionate, vulgar sex all day long. One day, Shakuntala arrived at the palace with her babe in her arms. Duswanto did not want to receive her, throwing nasty insults at her. Shakuntala prayed to God to help her. The witch flew into a vicious rage and attacked Shakuntala but Shakuntala, with her years of meditation practice was able to beat the witch. Suddenly a voice from heaven was heard.
“Duswanto - Remember when you made love in the forest. You have come under the spell of Black Magic - the scent of Satan. This is your wife and your child - receive them.”  Duswanto remembered his love for Shakuntala and asked for forgiveness, taking the baby in his arms. And they lived happily ever after.

Balineselife
Tamyang Kuningan

Just as the penjor is usually identified with Galungan Day, Tamyang (an offering ornament) is much related to Kuningan Day. Kuningan Day is celebrated 10 days after Galungan day on Saturday Kliwon Wuku Kuningan. Just as most other sacred days, Kuningan Day is celebrated each 210 days or 6 months of Balinese calendar. In contrast to Galungan Day, during Kuningan Day the Balinese Hindu women are the busiest. A day before Galungan, Balinese men usually make penjor (a decorated bamboo pole) from the produce of the harvest. But on Kuningan Day the busiest individual is the woman, because while they are preparing an offering same as on Galungan Day, they should also make a Tamyang.

Tamyang is one of many kinds of ornaments in a Balinese offering. On Kuningan Day, Bali is merrier than on Galungan Day; it is already decorated with penjor on Galungan Day plus each of the buildings and houses are also decorated with Tamyang that hang in the corner. The Tamyang’s shape is just like a shield.
The sense of Tamyang can relates to Galungan Mythology, which is about the king of Bedahulu named Mayadanawa. He ruled Bali Island arbitrarily, considering himself a superb powerful king and even stronger and more powerful than the Gods. He also declared himself a God. He forbade the Balinese from carrying out any kind of religious ceremony at the temples. This made the people of Bali live in suffering, because the earth did not produce anything. Seeing this condition, the Gods in heaven chose Dewa Indra to save Bali. With his marvelous power, Dewa Indra succeeded in killing Mayadanawa, freeing the people of Bali and allowing them to have religious ceremony activities just like before. The victory of Dewa Indra’s troops against Mayadanawa’s troops is celebrated as the victory of Dharma against Adharma.
As explained by the Upadesa book, Kuningan Day is the arrival of the pitara (ancestors) with the Gods to protect human beings. With their arrival, the Island of Bali was saved. Thus, the Tamyang symbolizes the safety and protection of Kuningan Day. The meaning of Tamyang as the protection symbol is strengthened by its shape that resembles a Cakra. Cakra is the weapon of the God Wisnu as the guardian or protector. Kuningan Day is a symbol of Bali’s safety in a sheltered condition, where religious activities can be carried out in peace. (BTN/031)