Dushyanta
Encyclopedia
Dushyant or Dushyanta was a great king in classical India
n literature and mythology. He is the husband of Shakuntala
and the father of the Emperor Bharatha
. He appears in the Mahabarata and in Kalidasa
's play The Recognition of Sakuntala (c.
300 CE).
, Dushyanta is the son of Ilina and Rathantara. Dushyanta is said to have ruled, either directly or through his governors, from Gandhara
(present day Kandahar
in Afghanistan
) to the Vindhyas and beyond, and from Sindhu, (present day Pakistan
) to Vanga
, (present day Bangladesh
).
Dushyanta had by his wife Sakuntala
an intelligent son named Bharata
who became king. Bharata gave his name to the race of which he was the founder.
, has been immortalized in the Mahabharata
and in The Recognition of Sakuntala by the great Sanskrit
poet Kalidasa
.
Dushyanta meets Shakuntala, who is a daughter of Vishvamitra and Menaka
, while on an excursion from his kingdom. Depending on the source, Dushyanta is either the crown prince, or he is waiting to win back his kingdom from an enemy. Either way, he sees Shakuntala
in an ashram
(hermitage) of Rishi
Vasudeva Kanva
and falls in love. He and Shakuntala have a gandharva
marriage there. Having to leave after some time, Dushyanta gives Shakuntala a royal ring as a sign of their love, promising her that he will come to her.
But when Dushyanta becomes king, he becomes too absorbed for many years in affairs of state. Shakuntala waits and despairs.
One day, sage Durvasa visits the hermitage, but Shakuntala, who is too absorbed in her love for Dushyanta, forgets to serve him food. In a fit of anger, sage Durvasa curses her, saying that the person she is thinking about will forget her. A shocked Shakuntala begs for forgiveness and the sage, after recollecting his calm, assures her that the person will remember her again when she shows some proof of their acquaintance.
So, Shakuntala sets off to the capital, Hastinapur, to remind Dushyant of their past love. An accident occurs by which a fish consumes the royal ring, leaving Shakuntala with no formidable proof.
Dushyanta does not recollect Shakuntala, but his memory and love are rekindled when a sage (not the same who cursed Shakuntala) recovers the ring and brings it to the court. Dushyanta weds Shakuntala, who becomes his queen and mother of his son, Bharata.
A different version of the story involves Shakuntala's father, the great and legendary sage Vishwamithra, who is said to have bowed his head to none. Dushyanta's forgetting of Shakuntala was a device invented by the other sages, including Vashishtar, to make Vishwamithra bow. For the sake of his daughter the great sage is said to have bowed before the great king Dushyanta to persuade him to accept his daughter. The sages, delighted, immediately brought the memory of Shakuntala into the mind of Dushyanta.
Adiparva, Bharata
was born while Shakuntala awaited Dushyanta at her hermitage. A fisherman catches the same fish who had consumed the ring. His wife wants to make curry out of it, while cutting up the fish she finds the ring and takes it to the king. The king then remembers Shakuntala and goes to search for her.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n literature and mythology. He is the husband of Shakuntala
Shakuntala
In Hindu mythology Shakuntala is the wife of Dushyanta and the mother of Emperor Bharata. Her story is told in the Mahabharata and dramatized by Kalidasa in his play Abhijñānaśākuntalam .-Etymology:Rishi Kanva found her in forest as a baby surrounded by Shakunta birds...
and the father of the Emperor Bharatha
Bharata (emperor)
Bharata was a legendary emperor of India, and is referred to in Hindu and Jain mythology. He was son of King Dushyanta and Shakuntala and thus a descendant of the Lunar Dynasty of the Kshatriya caste. Bharata conquered all of greater Greater India, uniting it into a single entity which was named...
. He appears in the Mahabarata and in Kalidasa
Kalidasa
Kālidāsa was a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer, widely regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language...
's play The Recognition of Sakuntala (c.
Circa
Circa , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date...
300 CE).
Historical king
According to the MahābhārataMahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
, Dushyanta is the son of Ilina and Rathantara. Dushyanta is said to have ruled, either directly or through his governors, from Gandhara
Gandhara
Gandhāra , is the name of an ancient kingdom , located in northern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan. Gandhara was located mainly in the vale of Peshawar, the Potohar plateau and on the Kabul River...
(present day Kandahar
Kandahar
Kandahar is the second largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of about 512,200 as of 2011. It is the capital of Kandahar Province, located in the south of the country at about 1,005 m above sea level...
in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
) to the Vindhyas and beyond, and from Sindhu, (present day Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
) to Vanga
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
, (present day Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
).
Dushyanta had by his wife Sakuntala
Sakùntala
La leggenda di Sakùntala is a three-act opera by Franco Alfano, who wrote his own libretto, basing his work on Kalidasa's 5th-century BC drama Abhijñānaśākuntalam .-Première, Loss, Reconstruction, Rediscovery:...
an intelligent son named Bharata
Bharata (emperor)
Bharata was a legendary emperor of India, and is referred to in Hindu and Jain mythology. He was son of King Dushyanta and Shakuntala and thus a descendant of the Lunar Dynasty of the Kshatriya caste. Bharata conquered all of greater Greater India, uniting it into a single entity which was named...
who became king. Bharata gave his name to the race of which he was the founder.
Love for Shakuntala
The story of Dushyanta's encounter, marriage, separation and reunion with his queen, ShakuntalaShakuntala
In Hindu mythology Shakuntala is the wife of Dushyanta and the mother of Emperor Bharata. Her story is told in the Mahabharata and dramatized by Kalidasa in his play Abhijñānaśākuntalam .-Etymology:Rishi Kanva found her in forest as a baby surrounded by Shakunta birds...
, has been immortalized in the Mahabharata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
and in The Recognition of Sakuntala by the great Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
poet Kalidasa
Kalidasa
Kālidāsa was a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer, widely regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language...
.
Dushyanta meets Shakuntala, who is a daughter of Vishvamitra and Menaka
Menaka
In Hindu mythology, Menaka is considered one of the most beautiful of the heavenly Apsaras.She was sent by Indra, the king of the Devas, to break the severe penance undertaken by Vishwamitra. She successfully incited Vishwamitra's lust and passion when he saw her swimming naked in a lake near a...
, while on an excursion from his kingdom. Depending on the source, Dushyanta is either the crown prince, or he is waiting to win back his kingdom from an enemy. Either way, he sees Shakuntala
Shakuntala
In Hindu mythology Shakuntala is the wife of Dushyanta and the mother of Emperor Bharata. Her story is told in the Mahabharata and dramatized by Kalidasa in his play Abhijñānaśākuntalam .-Etymology:Rishi Kanva found her in forest as a baby surrounded by Shakunta birds...
in an ashram
Ashram
Traditionally, an ashram is a spiritual hermitage. Additionally, today the term ashram often denotes a locus of Indian cultural activity such as yoga, music study or religious instruction, the moral equivalent of a studio or dojo....
(hermitage) of Rishi
Rishi
Rishi denotes the composers of Vedic hymns. However, according to post-Vedic tradition, the rishi is a "seer" to whom the Vedas were "originally revealed" through states of higher consciousness. The rishis were prominent when Vedic Hinduism took shape, as far back as some three thousand years...
Vasudeva Kanva
Vasudeva Kanva
Vasudeva Kanva was the founder of the Kanva dynasty. He was originally an Amatya of last Sunga ruler Devabhuti. Bana's Harshacharita informs us that he came to power after the death of Devabhuti by a daughter of his slave woman disguised as his queen...
and falls in love. He and Shakuntala have a gandharva
Gandharva
Gandharva is a name used for distinct mythological beings in Hinduism and Buddhism; it is also a term for skilled singers in Indian classical music.-In Hinduism:...
marriage there. Having to leave after some time, Dushyanta gives Shakuntala a royal ring as a sign of their love, promising her that he will come to her.
But when Dushyanta becomes king, he becomes too absorbed for many years in affairs of state. Shakuntala waits and despairs.
One day, sage Durvasa visits the hermitage, but Shakuntala, who is too absorbed in her love for Dushyanta, forgets to serve him food. In a fit of anger, sage Durvasa curses her, saying that the person she is thinking about will forget her. A shocked Shakuntala begs for forgiveness and the sage, after recollecting his calm, assures her that the person will remember her again when she shows some proof of their acquaintance.
So, Shakuntala sets off to the capital, Hastinapur, to remind Dushyant of their past love. An accident occurs by which a fish consumes the royal ring, leaving Shakuntala with no formidable proof.
Dushyanta does not recollect Shakuntala, but his memory and love are rekindled when a sage (not the same who cursed Shakuntala) recovers the ring and brings it to the court. Dushyanta weds Shakuntala, who becomes his queen and mother of his son, Bharata.
A different version of the story involves Shakuntala's father, the great and legendary sage Vishwamithra, who is said to have bowed his head to none. Dushyanta's forgetting of Shakuntala was a device invented by the other sages, including Vashishtar, to make Vishwamithra bow. For the sake of his daughter the great sage is said to have bowed before the great king Dushyanta to persuade him to accept his daughter. The sages, delighted, immediately brought the memory of Shakuntala into the mind of Dushyanta.
Bharata
According to most mythological sources, Dushyanta was the father of Emperor Bharata, who is generally credited with uniting India under his rule (see origin of India's name). According to the MahābhārataMahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
Adiparva, Bharata
Bharata (emperor)
Bharata was a legendary emperor of India, and is referred to in Hindu and Jain mythology. He was son of King Dushyanta and Shakuntala and thus a descendant of the Lunar Dynasty of the Kshatriya caste. Bharata conquered all of greater Greater India, uniting it into a single entity which was named...
was born while Shakuntala awaited Dushyanta at her hermitage. A fisherman catches the same fish who had consumed the ring. His wife wants to make curry out of it, while cutting up the fish she finds the ring and takes it to the king. The king then remembers Shakuntala and goes to search for her.