सम्भव पर्व — शकुन्तलाको कथा

Kanva said: Having been thus addressed, Indra commanded the wind to be present with Menaka when she would be present before the Rishi.

The timid and the beautiful girl then entered the hermitage and saw Vishvamitra, who had destroyed all his sins by penances and who was still engaged in austere penances.

Having saluted the Rishi, she then began to sport near him. At this very time Maruta robbed of her cloth, which was as white as the moon (light.)

And that beautiful girl in great bashfulness began to run after the cloth to catch it and she appeared to express her great annoyance at the conduct of Maruta (wind).

She did all this before that great Rishi Vishvamitra, as effulgent as the fire and he saw her in that state. He marked that she was of faultless features. In her nude state, the best of the Rishis saw that Menaka was exceedingly beautiful, with no marks of age on her person.

Seeing her great beauty and accomplishments, that best of Rishis was filled with desire and wished for her company.

He invited her to come to him and that faultless featured beauty too accepted his invitation. They then passed many days in each others' company. Sporting with each other, they passed many years and thought that it was but only a day. That Rishi begot Shakuntala on her. Menaka went to the banks of the river Malini which passed playfully through the beautiful valley of the Himalaya mountains and there she gave birth to a daughter. She then left the child there (on the banks of the river) and went away. Thus having been successful in her mission, she soon returned to Indra. Some vultures, seeing that the child lay in the deep forest abounding in lions and tigers, sat round it to protect it from harm, so that no carnivorous animals might take her life.

The vultures protected the life of Menaka's child. I had gone there to perform my ablutions. I saw the child lying. In the deep solitude of the forest, surrounded by the vultures. Bringing her here, I have made her my daughter. According to the scriptures, the maker of the body, the protector of life and the giver of food, these three, are in their order considered to be fathers.

Because she was found in the solitude of the forest, protected by the Shakuntas (birds), she has been named Shakuntala (protected by birds.)

O Brahmana, know that it is thus that Shakuntala has become my daughter. And faultless Shakuntala also regards me as her father.

Shakuntala said: Thus the great Rishi (Kanva), when asked, told (the Brahmana) the account of my birth. O king of men, you must know that I have thus become the daughter of Kanva. Not knowing who is my real father, I regard Kanva as my father. Thus have I told you, O king, all that I heard about my birth.