Product Code Database
Shakuntala () is a heroine in ancient Indian literature, best known for her portrayal in the ancient Sanskrit play Abhijnanashakuntalam (The Recognition of Shakuntala), written by the classical poet Kalidasa in the 4th or 5th century AD. Her story, however, originates in the Hindu epic, the Mahabharata (c. 400 BC - 400 AD), where she appears in the Adi Parva ("The Book of Beginnings"). In both narratives, Shakuntala is the daughter of the sage Vishwamitra and the celestial nymph Menaka. Abandoned at birth, she is raised by the sage Kanva in a forest hermitage. She later falls in love with King Dushyanta and becomes the mother of Bharata, a celebrated emperor of India.
In the Mahabharata, Shakuntala and Dushyanta secretly get married through the gandharva tradition (love marriage) and consummate their marriage in her forest hermitage. When she later approaches him with their son Bharata, he hesitates to acknowledge them. Shakuntala rebukes him forcefully until a celestial voice confirms the truth, compelling Dushyanta to accept her and their son.
Abhijnanashakuntalam dramatizes the story with poetic elegance. In this version, after King Dushyanta departs from the hermitage, Shakuntala, lost in thoughts of him, fails to greet the irascible sage Durvasa, who curses her so that Dushyanta will forget her entirely. The curse can only be lifted if he sees a token of their love—a signet ring he had given her. The now-pregnant Shakuntala journeys to the palace, but she loses the ring in a river and is rejected by Dushyanta, who fails to recognise her. Humiliated and abandoned, she is lifted away by celestial beings to her divine mother Menaka’s abode. The lost ring is later found in a fish’s belly and returned to Dushyanta, restoring his memory. Overcome with remorse, he longs for Shakuntala, and in time, reunites with her—now with their son, Bharata.
Shakuntala has been a significant figure, often seen as a symbol of Indian womanhood, inspiring numerous literary, artistic, and visual adaptations.
In the Adi Parva of Mahabharata, Kanva says:
She was surrounded in the solitude of the wilderness by śakuntas,
therefore, hath she been named by me Shakuntala (Shakunta-protected).
Years later, Dushyanta, King of Hastinapur incounters Shakuntala in Kanva’s hermitage while hunting in the forest. In the absence of Kanva, the two developed mutual affection and married according to the Gandharva tradition. After spending some time together, Dushyanta returned to his kingdom, and Shakuntala became pregnant. Upon Kanva’s return, he accepted the marriage as part of divine destiny. In due course, Shakuntala gave birth to a son, named Sarvadamana due to his ability to suppress everyone, including animals like lions. Seeing the boy’s prowess, Kanva decides it is time for Shakuntala to present him to Dushyanta. Shakuntala, with her son, is escorted by Kanva's students and reaches the royal court and introduces him to the king, urging him to fulfill his promise and acknowledge their child as his heir.
Dushyanta, however, denies any memory of their union and dismisses Shakuntala’s claim. Stunned, she quickly regains her composure and rebukes him for his dishonor. She reminds him that truth is the foundation of righteousness and warns that the gods, who witness all actions, will judge him. Despite her impassioned plea, Dushyanta refuses to accept the boy, mocking her lineage. At that moment, a celestial voice resounds from the heavens, confirming Shakuntala’s words. It declares that the son is indeed Dushyanta’s and must be recognized. The voice further proclaims that because the king is commanded to cherish him, the boy shall be named Bharata, meaning "the cherished one". Realizing his error, Dushyanta joyfully accepts his son and formally installs him as heir. Embracing Bharata, he seeks Shakuntala’s forgiveness, explaining that he had only delayed recognition to ensure the child’s legitimacy. Under Bharata’s rule, the kingdom flourishes, and he becomes a legendary monarch, earning the title of Chakravartin, a universal ruler. His reign is marked by justice, prosperity, and grand sacrifices, including the horse sacrifice. From his name, the land of India comes to be known as Bharatavarsha, cementing his legacy for generations to come.
In Abhijnanamshakuntalam, Shakuntala is the daughter of Vishvamitra and Menaka, and is raised in Kanva’s hermitage alongside her companions Anasuya and Priyamvada. She encounters Dushyanta during a hunting expedition. Captivated by her beauty, grace, and modesty, Dushyanta learns from her Anasuya and Priyamvada that she is of royal birth despite her upbringing in the ashram. Enamored by her, Dushyanta courts Shakuntala, and their mutual attraction blossoms into love. Overwhelmed by his emotions, Dushyanta convinces Shakuntala to marry him through the gandharva rite, a form of spontaneous union that does not require formal rituals or parental approval. The two consummate their love, and Dushyanta promises to return for her after fulfilling his royal duties. Before departing, he gives Shakuntala a signet ring as a token of remembrance.
While deeply engrossed in thoughts of Dushyanta, Shakuntala inadvertently offends the irascible sage Durvasa by failing to notice his arrival. Feeling slighted by her inattention, Durvasa curses her, declaring that the one she loves will forget her entirely. Although her companions plead for mercy, the sage, unable to revoke the curse, grants a reprieve: Dushyanta’s memory will be restored only when he sees the token of their love. Unaware of the full consequences of the curse, Shakuntala waits for Dushyanta’s return. When Kanva learns of her condition, he prepares for her departure to Dushyanta’s court, entrusting her to his disciples Sharadvata and Sharngarava. Along the way, while crossing a river, Shakuntala accidentally loses the signet ring when it slips from her finger and falls into the water, unnoticed.
Upon reaching Dushyanta’s palace, Shakuntala confidently presents herself as his wife. However, because of the curse, Dushyanta does not recognize her and denies any knowledge of their marriage. The courtiers regard her with suspicion, and without the ring as proof of her identity, her claims appear baseless. Humiliated and heartbroken, Shakuntala laments her fate. In an act of divine intervention, she is suddenly lifted away by celestial beings to her mother Menaka’s realm in the heavens, sparing her further disgrace at court. Dushyanta, despite his rejection, is deeply unsettled by the encounter and feels an inexplicable sadness, though he cannot understand its cause.
Time passes, and one day a fisherman catches a fish in whose stomach he finds the royal signet ring. Recognizing it as Dushyanta’s, he returns it to the king. The moment Dushyanta sees the ring, his memories flood back, and he is struck with immense guilt and sorrow. Realizing that he has wronged Shakuntala, he is tormented by remorse and desperately seeks a way to reunite with her, but she has vanished, leaving him to wander in anguish. In his despair, Dushyanta embarks on a campaign to defeat a group of demons, earning divine favor along the way. During his journey, he arrives at the hermitage of the celestial sage Marichi, where he unexpectedly encounters a young boy playing with a lion cub. The child, fearless and noble, immediately captures Dushyanta’s attention. The boy, named Bharata, is revealed to be his own son—a fact Dushyanta had not known. The sage explains that Bharata is indeed his son and that Shakuntala has been living in the celestial realm all along. At last, Dushyanta and Shakuntala are reunited, their love restored and strengthened by the trials they endured. Now a mature and dignified woman, Shakuntala forgives Dushyanta, and they are finally recognized as husband and wife.
| Ancient renditions of the myth of Shakuntala (2nd century BC, Shunga Empire period) | ||
| The Indian plaque of Ai-Khanoum File: Kulu vase drawing detail.jpg | The Kulu Vase | |
Varma’s works were equally admired by Orientalists and Indian nationalists. In 1895, Varma’s first lithographic print, The Birth of Shakuntala, won the "Best Lithograph" prize at the Bombay Art Society’s annual exhibition. The choice of this subject was highly symbolic; by this time, Shakuntala had come to represent an idealized vision of Indian womanhood. Within the context of colonial modernity, her birth was seen not just as the emergence of India’s ancestral matriarch but also as a metaphorical rebirth of the ideal Hindu woman—an embodiment of the virtues that both Orientalists and Indian nationalists sought to define in the image of the "modern" Indian woman.
By the 18th century, Western poets were beginning to get acquainted with works of Indian literature and philosophy. The German poet Goethe read Kalidasa's play and has expressed his admiration for the work in the following verses:
In 1808 Friedrich Schlegel published a German translation of the Shakuntala story from the Mahabharata.Figueira 1991, pp. 19–20
The 2009 Indian television show, Shakuntala, was an adaptation of the play by Kalidasa.
| +Films and Television Shows depicting Shakuntala !Year !Films and Television Shows !Portrayed by !Directed by | |||
| 1920 | Shakuntala | Dorothy Kingdom | Suchet Singh |
| 1920 | Shakuntala | Shree Nath Patankar | |
| 1929 | Shakuntala | Fatma Begum | |
| 1931 | Shakuntala | Khurshid Begum | Mohan Dayaram Bhavnani |
| 1931 | Shakuntala | J.J. Madan | |
| 1932 | Sakunthala | Surabhi Kamalabai | Sarvottam Badami |
| 1940 | Sakuntalai | M. S. Subbulakshmi | Ellis R. Dungan |
| 1941 | Shakuntala | Jyotsna Gupta | Jyotish Bannerjee |
| 1943 | Shakuntala | Jayashree | V. Shantaram |
| 1961 | Shakuntala | Amala Katarki | Bhupen Hazarika |
| 1961 | Stree | Sandhya Shantaram | V. Shantaram |
| 1965 | Sakunthala | K. R. Vijaya | Kunchacko |
| 1966 | Shakuntala | K. R. Vijaya | Kamalakara Kameswara Rao |
| 1985 | Anantyatra | Anuradha Patel | Jayoo Patwardhan, Nachiket Patwardhan |
| 1985 | Raja Rishi | Nalini | K. Shankar |
| 1988 | Bharat Ek Khoj | Pallavi Joshi | Shyam Benegal |
| 1991 | Brahmarshi Viswamitra | Madhumita | N. T. Rama Rao |
| 2000 | Gaja Gamini | Madhuri Dixit | M. F. Husain |
| 2009 | Shakuntala | Neha Mehta | Various |
| 2021 | Sakuntalam | Payal Shetty | Dushyanth Sridhar |
| 2023 | Shaakuntalam | Samantha | Gunasekhar |
|
|
