Verse play · c. 5th century

Shakuntala

Shakuntala and the Ring of Recognition

by Kalidasa

Translated by Arthur W. Ryder (1912)

King Dushyanta, hunting in the forest, comes to the hermitage of the sage Kanva and falls in love with his foster-daughter Shakuntala; they marry by mutual consent, and he leaves her a signet ring. Cursed by the irascible Durvasas, the king forgets her, and rejects her when she comes to court, until a fisherman finds the lost ring and his memory returns. Years later, in the heavenly hermitage of Kashyapa, he is reunited with Shakuntala and their son Bharata.

Contents · 8 parts

• Prologue49 lines
• Act I: The Huntabout 430 lines
• Act II: The Secretabout 300 lines
• Act III: The Love-Makingabout 470 lines
• Act IV: Shakuntala's Departureabout 400 lines
• Act V: Shakuntala's Rejectionabout 390 lines
• Act VI: Separation from Shakuntalaabout 600 lines
• Act VIIabout 460 lines

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