शकुन्तला

नाम

अभिज्ञानशाकुन्तळस्य नायिका कण्वपुत्री

यन्त्रोपारोपितकोशांशः

कल्पद्रुमः

पृष्ठभागोऽयं यन्त्रेण केनचित् काले काले मार्जयित्वा यथास्रोतः परिवर्तयिष्यते। तेन मा भूदत्र शोधनसम्भ्रमः। सज्जनैः मूलमेव शोध्यताम्।

शकुन्तला, स्त्री, (शकुन्तैः पक्षिभिर्लाल्यते पाल्यते इति । ला + घञर्थे कः । स्त्रियामाप् ।) मेन- काप्सरःसु विश्वामित्रेण जनिता कन्या । सा कण्वमुनिना प्रतिपालिता । दुष्मन्तराजेन विवा- हिता । अस्याः पुत्त्रो भरतः राजचक्रवर्त्ती । अस्या नामकारणं यथा, -- “निर्जने तु वने यस्मात् शकुन्तैः परिरक्षिता । शकुन्तलेति नामास्याः कृतञ्चापि ततो मया ॥” इति महाभारते । १ । ७२ । १५ ॥ अस्या विववणं कालिदासकृताभिज्ञानशकुन्तल- नाटके द्रष्टव्यम् । पाद्मे स्वर्गखण्डे प्रथमादि- पञ्चाध्यायेषु महाभारते आदिपर्व्वणि ६९ अध्यायमारभ्य च ज्ञातव्यम् ॥

वाचस्पत्यम्

पृष्ठभागोऽयं यन्त्रेण केनचित् काले काले मार्जयित्वा यथास्रोतः परिवर्तयिष्यते। तेन मा भूदत्र शोधनसम्भ्रमः। सज्जनैः मूलमेव शोध्यताम्।

शकुन्तला¦ स्त्री॰ शकुन्तैः लायते ला--घञर्थे--क। मेनका-गर्भजातायां विश्वासित्रसुतायाम् सा च जातमात्रामात्रोत्सृष्टा शकुन्तलालिता पश्चात् कण्वमुनिना प्रति-पालिता दुष्मन्तनृपेण गान्धर्वविधिना व्यूढेति
“निर्जनेतु वने यस्मात् शकुन्तैः परिपालिताः। शकुन्तलोतलामास्याः कृतं चापि ततो मया” भा॰ आ॰

७२ अ॰। शकुन्तलामधिकृत्य कृतो ग्रन्थः। अण् आख्याकिकायांतस्य वा लुक्। कालिदासप्रणीते शकन्तलाधिकारेण कृते

२ नाटकभेदे च अणाऽए कि तु शाकुन्तल तत्रार्थे न॰। [Page5074-a+ 38]

शब्दसागरः

पृष्ठभागोऽयं यन्त्रेण केनचित् काले काले मार्जयित्वा यथास्रोतः परिवर्तयिष्यते। तेन मा भूदत्र शोधनसम्भ्रमः। सज्जनैः मूलमेव शोध्यताम्।

शकुन्तला¦ f. (-ला) The daughter of ME4NAKA4, the courtezan of Swarga, by the sage VISHWA4MITRA, brought up by KANWA the hermit, and afterwards married to DUSHYANTA, by whom she became the mother of BHARATA, the sovereign of all India. E. शकुन्त a bird, ला to get, affs. क and टाप्, being born in a solitary forest, and protected by the birds till found by KANWA.

Apte

पृष्ठभागोऽयं यन्त्रेण केनचित् काले काले मार्जयित्वा यथास्रोतः परिवर्तयिष्यते। तेन मा भूदत्र शोधनसम्भ्रमः। सज्जनैः मूलमेव शोध्यताम्।

शकुन्तला [śakuntalā], [शकुन्तैः लायते ला घञर्थे क] N. of the daughter of Viśvāmitra by the nymph Menakā who was sent down by Indra to disturb the sage's austerities. [When Menakā went up to the heaven she left the child in a solitary forest where she was taken care of by 'Śakuntas' or birds, whence she was called "Śakuntalā". She was afterwards found by the sage Kaṇva and brought up as his own daughter. When Duṣyanta in the course of his hunting came to the sage's hermitage, he was fascinated by her charms and prevailed on her to become his wife by the Gandharva form of marriage; (see Duṣyanta). She bore to him a son named Bharata, who became a universal monarch, and gave his name to India which came to be called Bharatavarsa.]

Monier-Williams

पृष्ठभागोऽयं यन्त्रेण केनचित् काले काले मार्जयित्वा यथास्रोतः परिवर्तयिष्यते। तेन मा भूदत्र शोधनसम्भ्रमः। सज्जनैः मूलमेव शोध्यताम्।

शकुन्तला f. (said to be fr. शकुन्त)N. of a daughter of the अप्सरस्मेनकाby विश्वामित्र(she was supposed to have been born and left in a forest , where she was protected by birds till found by the sage कण्व, who took her to his hermitage and reared her as his daughter ; she was there seen by king दुष्यन्त, when on a hunting expedition , and married by him , and became the mother of भरत, sovereign of all India ; the story of दुष्यन्त's accidental meeting with शकुन्तला, their marriage , separation , his repudiation of her through temporary loss of memory caused by a curse , his subsequent recognition of her by means of a ring which was lost but afterwards recovered , forms the subject of कालिदास's celebrated drama called अभिज्ञान-शकुन्तलाSee. ).

Purana index

पृष्ठभागोऽयं यन्त्रेण केनचित् काले काले मार्जयित्वा यथास्रोतः परिवर्तयिष्यते। तेन मा भूदत्र शोधनसम्भ्रमः। सज्जनैः मूलमेव शोध्यताम्।

--the daughter of विश्वामित्र and मेनका; was brought up in कण्व's आश्रम with नीवार food; दुष्- yanta who came there was entertained and was accepted as her Lord by गान्धर्व vidhi. Gave birth to the future Bharata and came to the king's palace with the child; was refused admission by the king who had forgotten her. A voice in the air urged the king to accept her and he did so; फलकम्:F1: भा. IX. २०. 8-२२ [1-2]; M. ४९. ११; चा. ९९. १३४.फलकम्:/F a queen of दुष्यन्त and mother of Bharata. फलकम्:F2: Vi. IV. १९. १२-13.फलकम्:/F

Purana Encyclopedia

पृष्ठभागोऽयं यन्त्रेण केनचित् काले काले मार्जयित्वा यथास्रोतः परिवर्तयिष्यते। तेन मा भूदत्र शोधनसम्भ्रमः। सज्जनैः मूलमेव शोध्यताम्।

ŚAKUNTALĀ : Foster-daughter of sage Kaṇva.

1) Birth. Śakuntalā was a daughter born to Viśvā- mitra of the Apsarā woman called Menakā. Viśvāmitra was engaged in intense tapas on the banks of river Mālinī in the Himālayas. Indra deputed Menakā to break the maharṣi's tapas. She enticed him away from his tapas and got pregnant by him. But she forsook the child on the banks of Mālinī and returned to Devaloka.

2) Childhood. Birds gathered round the forsaken orphan-child. While Śakuntas i.e. birds were petting the child Kaṇva came that way, saw the child and took it with him to the āśrama. As śakuntas had petted it, the child was named Śakuntalā.

3) As queen. King Duṣyanta of the lunar dynasty married Śakuntalā and to the couple was born the famous Bharata. This is the original story about Śakuntalā's married life. All the Indian languages contain two different versions of Śakuntalā's life. One version is that related in Vyāsa's Bhārata and the second is that contained in Kālidāsa's Śākuntala. Many scho- lars opine that in the matter of the Śakuntalā episode Kālidāsa has gone a step further and for the better, and therefore both the versions of the story are to be care- fully studied by us.

(i) Vyāsa's Śakuntalā. Śakuntalā, now grown up as a maiden, was alone in the āśrama when King Duṣyanta, out in the forest on a hunting expedition, came there. In the absence of her foster-father Kaṇva, Śakuntalā welcomed the King. They fell in love with each other and the King married Śakuntalā according to the Gāndharva way of marriage and lived with her for a few days. Śakuntalā became pregnant. The King returned to his palace.

Kaṇva returned to the āśrama and he was pleased that what had been destined to take place had happened. In due course of time Śakuntalā delivered a boy, who was named Sarvadamana. When the child was grown up, Kaṇva sent his mother along with him to Duṣ- yanta's palace. The King did not recognise them, but a celestial voice convinced him that the child was his own son. The King heartily welcomed his wife and son and Śakuntalā lived in the palace as his honoured wife.

(ii) Kālidāsa's Śakuntalā. Kaṇva brought up Śakuntalā born to Viśvāmitra of Menakā in his āśrama and she had two companions called Anasūyā and Priyaṁvadā. All the three grew up and became maidens.

King Duṣyanta, who went out hunting in the forest followed a deer to Kaṇva's āśrama where he saw Śakuntalā watering the garden with her companions. Kaṇva was then away at Cakratīrtha. Duṣyanta, who fell in love with Śakuntalā, married her according to the Gāndharva rules and lived with her at the āśrama for a few days. Meanwhile Śakuntalā became preg- nant, and emissaries from the palace came and the King returned with them. He left the āśrama after promising Śakuntalā that he would soon return to her. He gave her his signet ring.

Sad over the separation from Duṣyanta and immersed in thought about him, Śakuntalā was sitting there in the āśrama when Durvāsas came there. She did not see the maharṣi nor welcome him respectfully. He got angry at this and cursed her that she be forgotten by him about whom she was so intensely thinking. Śakun- talā did not hear the curse either, but her companions who heard it begged pardon of the muni on behalf of Śakuntalā and prayed for absolution from the curse. Then he said that if Śakuntalā showed the King any sign about their relationship the King would remember her. Her companions did not tell Śakuntalā about the above incidents. Kaṇva gladly welcomed Śakuntalā's wedding with Duṣyanta.

Days and months passed by, yet Duṣyanta did not return and Kaṇva sent Śakuntalā, in whom signs of pregnancy had become prominent, to the palace of the King in the company of Gautamī and Śārṅgarava. Anasūyā reminded Śakuntalā to take particular care of the signet ring. On their way to the palace Śakuntalā and others bathed in the Somavāratīrtha, and nobody noticed Śakuntalā losing from her finger the ring in the tīrtha. They reached the King's palace. None noticed them. Duṣyanta did not remember having even seen her. The signet ring was missing. After leaving Śakuntalā at the palace her companions returned to the āśrama. Menakā, whose heart melted at the pathetic wailings of Śakuntalā led her to Kaśyapa's āśrama, left her there and returned to Devaloka.

The signet ring lost by Śakuntalā was swallowed by a fish, which was netted by a fisherman, who went about the streets to sell the ring extracted from inside the fish. Servants of the King took the fisherman captive. At the sight of the ring thoughts about the past dawn- ed on the King and he remembered all about Śakuntalā. His days became sad pondering over separation from Śakuntalā.

Śakuntalā delivered a boy at the āśrama of Kaśyapa. The child was named Sarvadamana and he grew up as a courageous boy.

On his return from the devāsura war, Duṣyanta entered Kaśyapa's āśrama where he saw Sarvadamana counting the teeth of a lion he had captured. Having heard details about him from the boy the King went inside the āśrama and saw Kaśyapa and Śakuntalā. He returned with Śakuntalā and the boy to the palace with Kaśyapa's blessings. It was this boy Sarva- damana, who afterwards became Bharata, the famous emperor of India.


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*5th word in left half of page 671 (+offset) in original book.

Vedic Index of Names and Subjects

पृष्ठभागोऽयं यन्त्रेण केनचित् काले काले मार्जयित्वा यथास्रोतः परिवर्तयिष्यते। तेन मा भूदत्र शोधनसम्भ्रमः। सज्जनैः मूलमेव शोध्यताम्।

Śakuntalā is the name of an Apsaras who bore Bharata, according to the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa, at Nāḍapit. Weber doubtfully reads the latter word as Nāḍapitī, an epithet of Śakuntalā.