Birth of Shakuntala
India, Karla-Lonavla, near Pune
Not on view
In an episode from Valmiki’s Ramayana, shown here, the celestial Menaka comes to show her newborn baby to the Maharishi Vishwamitra, one of the most revered sages of ancient India, but he refuses to acknowledge his love child. He refuses even to look upon her. Later, Menaka would return to her abode in the heavens, leaving the new-born baby on the banks of the river near the sage Kanva’s ashram. Kanva finds the child and, seeing the Shakunta birds around her, names her Shakuntala and raises her himself.
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