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Unit 3: Chitra by Rabindranath Tagore

and springtime. They ask Chitra who she is and what is worrying her, to which she replies that Notes
she is the daughter of the king of Maripur and has been brought up like a boy as her father had
no male heir. She is a great warrior and a hero in spite of being born as a woman, but has never
had any chance to truly live like a woman or learn how to use “feminine wiles”. Chitra explains
that she had met the warrior hero Arjuna after seeing him in the forest while she was hunting for
game. Despite knowing that he had pledged several vows including one for twelve years of
celibacy, Chitra fell instantly in love with him. The following day she tried to speak to him and
plead her case, but Arjuna turned her away due to his vows. Chitra begs with the two gods to
give her a day of perfect beauty so she can win over Arjuna and have just one night of love with
him. Moved by her pleas, the two gods give her not just one day but an entire year to spend with
Arjuna.
The next scene opens with Arjuna admiring over the perfect beauty he has seen. Chitra, the
beauty of which he states, enters and Arjuna instantly strikes up a conversation with her. He
requests to know what she is looking for, to which Chitra bashfully replies that she is in search
of the man of her desires. The two go back and forth until Chitra admits that she is looking for
him, which prompts Arjuna to say that he will no longer hold to his vows of chastity. Chitra
realises that rather than feeling happy, hearing this makes her awfully miserable as he is not
falling for her true self. She then tells him not to fall for an illusion.
Later the next day, Chitra confesses to Vasanta and Madana that she had spurned Arjuna due to
him falling for what she saw as a false image of herself. The two gods scold her as they had only
given her what she had asked of them. Chitra says that despite their gift, she sees the perfect
beauty as a being separate from herself and that even if she had slept with Arjuna, it would not
be the true her that he loved only her beauty. Vasanta advises Chitra to go to Arjuna and spend
the year with him and that at the end of the year Arjuna will be able to embrace the true Chitra
once the spell of perfect beauty is gone. Chitra does so, but during their year together she thinks
that Arjuna will not love her once the year is over. After much time has passed, Arjuna begins to
grow restless and longs to hunt once again. He also begins to ask Chitra questions about her
past, speculating if she has anyone at home that is missing her. Chitra comments that she has no
past and that she’s as transient as a drop of dew, which disappointments Arjuna. With the year
approaching its end, Chitra asks that the two gods make her last night her most beautiful, which
they do.
However, around the same time Arjuna hears tales of the warrior Princess Chitra and begins to
wonder what she might be like. As she has never having told him her name, Chitra assures
Arjuna that he would never have noticed Chitra if he had passed by her and tries to persuade
him into bed. Arjuna declines, saying that some villagers have informed him that Maripur is
under attack. Chitra tries to assure him that the city is fully protected, but to no avail, Arjuna’s
mind is engaged in thoughts of the princess Chitra. bitterly asks if he would love her more if she
were like the Princess Chitra he admires. Arjuna replies that since she has always kept her true
self a secret, he has never sincerely grown to love her as much as he could and that his love is
“incomplete”. Noticing that this upsets her, Arjuna endeavours to console his companion.
The play ends with Chitra finally admitting to Arjuna that she is the princess of which he spoke
of and that she pleaded for beauty in order to win him over. She confesses that she is not a perfect
beauty, but that if he would accept her then she would stay with him forever. Chitra also
discloses that she is pregnant with his son. Arjuna meets this news with joy and states that his life
is truly full.

3.3.2 Characters of the Play

The characters of ‘Chitra’ are as follows:
Vasanta: The god of springtime and eternal youth.
Madana: The god of love.

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