Shakuntala

Indian mythology · heroine · love, memory, recognition

Daughter of a sage and a celestial nymph, secretly married to King Dushyanta, who, under Durvasa's curse, forgot her entirely until a lost ring restored his memory. Mother of Bharata, after whom India is named.

Stories

Shakuntala's Ring

Under Durvasa's curse, the king forgets his forest bride entirely, and the ring that would restore his memory slips into a river. Years later a fisherman finds it in a carp's belly; memory returns like a wound, and Shakuntala's son Bharata gives his name to a subcontinent.