Dushyantha and Shakunthala

Dushyantha and Shakunthala

Apasaras are dancers in the court of Indra. One of the very pretty Apsara was Ramba. She and Sage Viswamithra had a girl child called Shakunthala. Since both were busy, Shakunthala was brought up in the home of Sage Kanva. She grew up in to a pretty lady. Once when Sage Kanva was away, King Dushyantha came to the house of Kanva. He land Shakunthala liked each other and decided to marry. The marriage was celebrated in secret. Suddenly Dushyantha was forced to leave. He gave his ring to Shakunthala and asked her to bring it along with her when she came to see him. When Sage Kanva returned, he sent Shakunthala along with a junior sage to the kingdom of Dushyantha. On the way, while washing her hand in a river, Shakunthala lost her ring. When she reached the palace of Dushyantha, he did not recognize her. She did not have the ring also. So she lived in a nearby forest. She also got a son called Bharata. Meanwhile, the ring which fell in to the river was swallowed by a fish. This fish was caught by a fisherman in the kingdom of Dushyantha. When he cut open the fish, he saw the king’s ring. He took the ring to Dushyantha. As soon as he saw the ring, Dushyantha remembered all about Shakunthala. He searched for her and found her out. Shakunthala pardoned him and came to the palace of Dushyantha. Their son Bharata later became the king. Our country Bharata gets its name from this son of Shakunthala.