Shakuntala: Difference between revisions

'''Shakuntala''' ([[Sanskrit]]: ''{{lang-sa|शकुन्तला|Śakuntalā''}}) is the wife of [[Dushyanta]] and the mother of [[Bharata (Mahabharata)|Emperor Bharata]]. Her story is told in the ''[[Adi Parva]]'', the first of eighteen parts of the ancient Indian epic ''[[Mahabharata]]'', and dramatized by many writers, the most famous adaptation being [[Kālidāsa|Kalidasa]]'s play ''[[Shakuntala (play)|Abhijñānaśākuntala]]'' (''The Sign of Shakuntala'').<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=http://www.dollsofindia.com/library/shakuntala/|title=Shakuntala - the Epitome of Beauty, Patience and Virtue|website=Dolls of India|date=16 September 2011|access-date=2016-03-08}}</ref>

[[Rishi]] [[Kanva]] found the beautiful baby in his hermitage surrounded by Shakunta birds ([[Peacocks]]) ({{lang-sa|शकुन्त}}, ''śakunta''). Therefore, he named the baby girl ''Shakuntala'' ({{lang-sa|शकुन्तला|links=no}}), meaning ''Shakunta-protected''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m01/m01073.htm|title=The Mahabharata, Book 1: Adi Parva: Sambhava Parva: Section LXXII|website=www.sacred-texts.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/mbs/mbs01066.htm|title=The Mahabharata in Sanskrit: Book 1: Chapter 66|website=www.sacred-texts.com}}</ref>

King [[Dushyanta]] first encountered Shakuntalawas whileonce travelling through the forest with his army. He wasfalls pursuingin love with Shakuntala, who is one of three girls that he sees gardening and watering plants at a malehermitage. [[deer]]The woundedother bytwo hisare her companions Anasuya and weaponPriyamvada. AsThe heking wasgoes aboutforth toat killa thesuitable deerplace in their talk, aand rishiaddresses [[Vaikhanasa]]them. informsIn himthe course of the general conversation that ensues, he learns that Shakuntala is Kanva's adopted daughter, being born of the deerApsara belongsMenaka toby the ashramsage Visvamitra, and deserted by her natural parents. He thus discovers that she is of Rishi[[Kshatriya]] Kanvaparentage, and therefore a suitable bride for him. Shakuntala and Dushyanta fellfalls in love with each other and after some time they got married as per the [[Gandharva marriage]] system. Before returning to his kingdom, Dushyanta gave his personal royal ring to Shakuntala as a symbolsign of histheir promise to his wife to bring her to his palace as queenlove.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Miller|first1=Barbara Stoler|title=Theater of Memory: The Plays of Kalidasa|date=1984|publisher=Columbia University Press|location=New York|page=122}}</ref>

* [[Ernest Reyer]] (1823–1909) composed a ballet ''Sacountala'' on a work by Théophile Gautier in 1838.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Grove |first1=George |title=A Dictionary of Music and Musicians: (A.D. 1450-1880) |date=1883 |publisher=Macmillan |page=122 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oR2LKcIyX1QC&dq=sacountala+Th%C3%A9ophile+Gautier&pg=PA122 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Thapar |first1=Romila |title=Sakuntala: Texts, Readings, Histories |date=12 April 2011 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-52702-6 |page=207 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sY2o_SE1MisC |language=en}}</ref>