Shakuntala

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Shakuntala
Shakuntala's story has inspired numerous artworks, with the most famous being Shakuntala looking for Dushyanta by Raja Ravi Varma, c. 1898.
Information
Family	Vishvamitra (father) Menaka (mother) Kanva (adoptive father)
Spouse	Dushyanta
Children	Bharata

Shakuntala (Sanskrit: शकुन्तला, romanized: Śakuntalā) is a celebrated heroine in Indian literature, best known for her portrayal in the ancient Sanskrit play Abhijnanashakuntalam (The Recognition of Shakuntala), written by the classical poet Kalidasa in the 4th or 5th century CE. Her story, however, originates in the Hindu epic, the Mahabharata (c. 400 BCE - 400 CE), where she appears in the Adi Parva ("The Book of Beginnings"). In both narratives, Shakuntala was the daughter of the renowned sage Vishwamitra and the celestial nymph Menaka. Abandoned at birth, she was raised by the sage Kanva in a forest hermitage. Years later, she fell in love with King Dushyanta and married him. After a series of misfortunes, she became the mother of Bharata, a celebrated emperor of India^[1]