Śakuntalā

Śakuntalā was the daughter of the ṛṣi-king Viśvāmitra and the apsaras (heavenly dancer) Menakā. She was raised in the forest āśrama (hermitage) of Kaṇva Maharṣi. She married Duṣyanta by the Gāndharva rite, and her son became the great Emperor Bharata. This places her at the origin of the Bhārata line. The Bhāgavata says she carried the light of Śrī Hari’s amśa (part) in her womb. The ākāśavāṇī (voice from the sky) that stood by her in Duṣyanta’s court showed that she spoke the truth and that her child had a divine birth.

Birth and upbringing

Śakuntalā was born of Viśvāmitra and Menakā. In his earlier life Viśvāmitra was a kṣatriya king of the line of Gādhi. Indra had sent Menakā to break his tapas (austerity). When Menakā had done what she came to do, she left the baby in the forest.

Śakunta birds protected the child until Kaṇva Maharṣi found her. He named her Śakuntalā after those birds. He raised her in his āśrama with all the care of a father. She grew into a young woman there, radiant in form and gracious in manner.

Marriage to Duṣyanta

The kṣatriya king Duṣyanta came to Kaṇva’s āśrama while hunting. Śakuntalā welcomed him with offerings of fruit and with hospitality. He was drawn to her at once. He learned who her family was and asked her to marry him.

Śakuntalā thought it over. Her father Viśvāmitra was a kṣatriya, and the Gāndharva vivāha (marriage by mutual choice) was the proper rite for kṣatriya women who chose for themselves. She agreed. They were married by a vow to each other, and Duṣyanta left at dawn.

Bharata’s birth and the ākāśavāṇī

Śakuntalā gave birth to a son of great power. He had the mark of the cakra on his right hand and the marks of the padma (lotus) on his feet. These are the bodily signs of a cakravartī (a universal emperor). Even as a child, the boy played by tying up lions. Kaṇva Maharṣi performed all the sacred saṃskāras (rites of life) for the child in the forest.

In time Śakuntalā took the boy to Duṣyanta’s court. At first the king refused to know her or the child. The whole court saw Śakuntalā standing before them, upright and unafraid, holding to the truth. Then, before everyone, an ākāśavāṇī (a voice from the sky with no speaker to be seen) declared:

“The son is truly the father’s alone. The mother is only the receptacle. O Duṣyanta, sustain this son; do not dishonour Śakuntalā. The son saves the father from falling into naraka.”

The voice from the sky confirmed everything Śakuntalā had said. Duṣyanta accepted both her and the child. The boy was named Bharata, from the word bharasva (“sustain him”) in the voice’s words.

Sources

• Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 9th Skandha, Chapter 20
• Mahābhārata, Ādi Parva, Sambhava Parva, Chapters 62–74