Abhijnanashakuntalam is a great play written by the great poet "Kalidas." He was also known as "Mahakavi." Kalidas was the court poet of the great Ujjain king "Vikramaditya." Kalidas was one of the Navaratnas of Vikramaditya's court. Also known as the 'Nine Gems.'
The other known writings of Kalidas are 'Meghasandesham,' 'Raghuvamsam,' and 'Kumarasambhavam.' Kalidas is also known as the 'Shakespeare of India.' Now coming to our story Abhijnanashakuntalam, which is a story of Dushyant and Shakuntala. Abhijnanashakuntalam is also known as Shakuntala, The Recognition of Shakuntala, and The Sign of Shakuntala.
Back Story of Dushyant and Shakuntala
It is a beautiful love story between Dushyant, the great king of Chandravamsha, and Shakunthala, the daughter of both Vishwamitra and apsara Menaka. This story ages back to the early era before the time of Harischandra. The main protagonist of the story of Dushyant and Shakuntala play is Shakuntala. It is a beautiful love story written by Kalidas. Let us know in detail about the love of Shakuntala and Dushyanta.
Who was Dushyant?
Kalidasa's Shakuntala Birth
Once upon a time, Sage Vishwamitra was doing great penance to Lord Shiva. Indra, the king of devas was worried about the intensity of Vishwamitra's ascetic practice as it would give Vishwamitra enormous powers.
To disturb the penance, Indra sent apsara Menaka to seduce Vishwamitra and nullify his penance. Menaka visited the forest where Vishwamitra was doing great penance and changed the entire forest into a beautiful garden with her powers.
Later Menaka succeeded in her attempt of disturbing Vishwamitra's penance. Both Vishwamitra and Menaka had a beautiful daughter but were left abandoned by both her parents. Later that baby girl was taken by Sage Kanva.
The baby girl was named 'Shakuntala.' She grew up as a comely innocent maiden in the Sage Kanva's ashram. Along with Shakuntala, the famous women of Hindu mythology also grew up in the Kanva Maharshi ashram. They were Anasuya (later famously known as Sati Anasuya) and Priyamvada.
The Meeting of Dushyant and Shakuntala
One fine day, Sage Kanva and other elders of the ashram are away on a pilgrimage. At that time the great Indian king Dushyant, the king of Hastinapura comes for hunting to that forest. While during his hunting practice, he saw a beautiful woman Shakuntala. His glance at her raised the love between them. This became the starting stone of the story of Dushyant and Shakuntala.
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The Love Story of Dushyant and Shakuntala
The first meeting between Dushyant and Shakuntala blossomed their love for each other. Both Dushyant and Shakuntala fell in love and married according to the Gandharva practice. They had a beautiful baby boy as a symbol of their love. But due to some reasons King Dushyant left Shakuntala and his baby boy and went to Hastinapura. While leaving he gave his ring to Shakuntala to be presented to him when she appears in his court to claim her place as a queen.
Why did Durvasa Cursed Shakuntala?
After a few days, while Shakuntala was lost in her thoughts about Dushyanta, Sage Durvasa visits the ashram. But Shakuntala failed to attend to the sage, Duravsa who was known for his anger and cursed Shakuntala by bewitching Dushyanta into forgetting her existence.
Worried Shakuntala became sad about the curse and what to do next. Later, after the return of sage Kanva, Shakuntala told the entire story of Dushyant and Shakuntala. Their love story and the child's birth and also the Durvasa's curse.
After hearing the entire story, sage Kanva said a solution for the Durvasa's curse. The solution is the ring given by Dushyant as his identity to Shakuntala.
Dushyant and Shakuntala Son
In the meantime, the baby child who was the Shakuntala and Dushyant son grew up and showed immense valor and he dominated everyone at the Kanva ashram. Seeing the boy's abilities, Kanva Maharshi named the son of Shakuntala and Dushyant as 'Sarvadaman' (meaning all-subduing).
As suggested by sage Kanva, Shakuntala traveled to Hastinapura to meet King Dushyant. During her journey, Shakuntala has to cross a river. The ring got lost when she playfully dips her hand in the water. With that distress, she visited Hastinapura hoping that king Dushyant would recognize her.
Because of the curse, Dushyant didn't recognize Shakuntala and therefore refuses to acknowledge her. Later she came to Kanva ashram with disappointment. Shakuntala's companions also abandoned her because she must remain with her husband and return to their hermitage.
A Twist in the Dushyant and Shakuntala Story
Till now everything happened in a sequence but we have forgotten about the ring. Where did it go? What happened to it? The ring lost by Shakuntala was swallowed by a fish. A fisherman found the fish and the ring in its belly.
Seeing the ring, the fisherman presents it in the king's court. Seeing the ring, Dushyanta realizes the mistake he had made. He immediately decided to visit the Kanva maharshi ashram and meet Shakuntala. But everything won't happen like our wish, Dushyant was asked to help in defeating the army of Asuras.
Dushyanta fought a fierce battle with the Asura army and finally succeeded in defeating Asuras. For his excellence and courage, Indra rewarded Dushyanta with a journey through heaven. It was common in those days, a normal living man was allowed to heaven. We also have seen many examples in history and mythology. Once Arjuna went to heaven after Khandava Dhana, where he got cursed to become a transgender which aided him in his exile.
The Reunion of Dushyant and Shakuntala
Now coming to our story of Dushyant and Shakuntala, after returning to Earth years later, Dushyant finds Shakuntala and their son by chance and recognizes them. In some other versions, especially the one in the Mahabharata, both Dushyant, and Shakuntala were not united until their son Bharata was born.
In Mahabharata, it is said that one day Dushyant found a boy who was playing with the lion cubs. Seeing the boy's courage Dushyant met the boy and asked about his parents. Later Dushyant found that the boy was his son.
The boy was named Sarvadaman later named the great king of India called Bharata. The area ruled by him became the 'Bharatvarsha' or 'The Land of Bharata.' Bharata was also the ancestor of both Kauravas and Pandavas. Because of King Bharata, India was named 'Bharatavarsha.'
