The king asked Shakuntala to his wife. He said, the clothes of bark and grass are not for you, who should be wearing dresses made of fine silk, jewels made from the finest of the gems.
Shakuntala shyly said, You have my consent O King. I will have to wait for the sage Kanva to come and give me over to you.
The king said, I understand your concern but think of me. I have made up my mind to have you, and I will not be able to wait till the sage returns. Vedas talk about different forms of Vedas and the Gandharva style of wedding is one of the forms. If you give your consent and are willing to marry me, I am sure your foster father will have no objection.
Shakuntala said I agree to marry on one condition, that child that shall be born to us, will be your heir and will take over the kingdom from you.
Burning with desire, the king agreed to the condition. They got married, made love and then the king said he would be leaving and once he reached his kingdom, he would send his courtiers to fetch her and take her back to his kingdom.
After the king left, Kanva came back. He had gone to collect fruits and he came back with a bundle of fruits. Taking the bundle off his shoulder and throwing it on the floor, he called for Shakuntala. Shy and scared, she did not dare come out.The sage, guessing something was wrong closed his eyes. He was able to understand what had happened. He called out to Shakuntala and said, what you have done is not proper. Shakuntala said she had married the king following the laws of Gandharva marriage.
Months passed, and in Kanva;s ashrama, Shakuntala gave birth to a healthy boy. The boy began growing in Kanva's ashrama. He learnt all the vedas and the art of warfare. He was fearless and could easily tackle wild animals like lions, tigers and elephants single handed.
One day Kanva came to Shakuntala and said it was time for the boy to meet his father and stay in Hastinapur, where his father was the king.
Shakuntala went to Hastinapur. The king was in his palace, sitting in the court. Prsenting her son, she said , O king I bring forth your son. Remember the promise that you made to me and accept this boy as your heir.
The king said you are someone from an ashrama, someone's daughter. I do not know you and I am not sure if I have ever met you before.
Angry Shakuntala said you have forgotten the promises that you made to me. This is not what a good king should be like. The Gods know I am speaking the truth. For a lie like, o King, you will have to live for years in hell. I have not thought of any man other than you, and you have no right to show me down. This son here, is a sign of our love. A wife is considered half of her husband, and a wife without a wife cannot perform any sacrifices or perform any pious deeds. From a wife, a king gets his heir and the kingdom their kings. You should be proud of your son and should embrace him, instead of rejecting him. You can reject me if you have to, but acknowledge your son. My mother rejected me, and today I am being rejected by you.
The king still refused to acknowledge her and kept insulting her.
Shakuntala said - Do not think of me as a helpless woman, I can go where where I want, and live the way I want. If this is the kind of character that you have, I refuse to be here another minute.
She was about to leave, when a voice from the heavens said Shakuntala is indeed your wife, the boy with her is your son. Her anger will destroy you. Give her the respect that she deserves. Name your son Bharata. The clan of Bharata will be named after him.
The king got up, and taking Shakuntala's hand, led her back to his palace.
In time, when the king was old, Bharata was made the king.
He was a great king, ruling his subjects wisely performing many sacrifices.
Shakuntala shyly said, You have my consent O King. I will have to wait for the sage Kanva to come and give me over to you.
The king said, I understand your concern but think of me. I have made up my mind to have you, and I will not be able to wait till the sage returns. Vedas talk about different forms of Vedas and the Gandharva style of wedding is one of the forms. If you give your consent and are willing to marry me, I am sure your foster father will have no objection.
Shakuntala said I agree to marry on one condition, that child that shall be born to us, will be your heir and will take over the kingdom from you.
Burning with desire, the king agreed to the condition. They got married, made love and then the king said he would be leaving and once he reached his kingdom, he would send his courtiers to fetch her and take her back to his kingdom.
After the king left, Kanva came back. He had gone to collect fruits and he came back with a bundle of fruits. Taking the bundle off his shoulder and throwing it on the floor, he called for Shakuntala. Shy and scared, she did not dare come out.The sage, guessing something was wrong closed his eyes. He was able to understand what had happened. He called out to Shakuntala and said, what you have done is not proper. Shakuntala said she had married the king following the laws of Gandharva marriage.
Months passed, and in Kanva;s ashrama, Shakuntala gave birth to a healthy boy. The boy began growing in Kanva's ashrama. He learnt all the vedas and the art of warfare. He was fearless and could easily tackle wild animals like lions, tigers and elephants single handed.
One day Kanva came to Shakuntala and said it was time for the boy to meet his father and stay in Hastinapur, where his father was the king.
Shakuntala went to Hastinapur. The king was in his palace, sitting in the court. Prsenting her son, she said , O king I bring forth your son. Remember the promise that you made to me and accept this boy as your heir.
The king said you are someone from an ashrama, someone's daughter. I do not know you and I am not sure if I have ever met you before.
Angry Shakuntala said you have forgotten the promises that you made to me. This is not what a good king should be like. The Gods know I am speaking the truth. For a lie like, o King, you will have to live for years in hell. I have not thought of any man other than you, and you have no right to show me down. This son here, is a sign of our love. A wife is considered half of her husband, and a wife without a wife cannot perform any sacrifices or perform any pious deeds. From a wife, a king gets his heir and the kingdom their kings. You should be proud of your son and should embrace him, instead of rejecting him. You can reject me if you have to, but acknowledge your son. My mother rejected me, and today I am being rejected by you.
The king still refused to acknowledge her and kept insulting her.
Shakuntala said - Do not think of me as a helpless woman, I can go where where I want, and live the way I want. If this is the kind of character that you have, I refuse to be here another minute.
She was about to leave, when a voice from the heavens said Shakuntala is indeed your wife, the boy with her is your son. Her anger will destroy you. Give her the respect that she deserves. Name your son Bharata. The clan of Bharata will be named after him.
The king got up, and taking Shakuntala's hand, led her back to his palace.
In time, when the king was old, Bharata was made the king.
He was a great king, ruling his subjects wisely performing many sacrifices.
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