''Shakuntala'' is an Indian television series that premiered on 2 February 2009 and aired until 6 July 2009. The show was based on characters in

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

where Shakuntala (

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

: शकुन्तला, Śakuntalā) is the wife of

Dushyanta Dushyanta ( sa, दुष्यन्त, translit=Duṣyanta) is a king of the Chandravamsha (Lunar) dynasty featured in Hindu literature. He is the husband of Shakuntala and the father of Bharata. He appears in the Mahabharata and in Kalid ...

and the mother of

Emperor Bharata Bharata ( sa, भरत, Bharata) is a legendary king featured in Hindu literature. He is a member of the Chandravamsha dynasty, and becomes the Chakravarti (universal monarch). He is regarded to be the ancestor of the Pandavas, the Kauravas, ...

. Her story is told in the ''

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

'' and dramatized by

Kalidasa Kālidāsa (''fl.'' 4th–5th century CE) was a Classical Sanskrit author who is often considered ancient India's greatest poet and playwright. His plays and poetry are primarily based on the Vedas, the Rāmāyaṇa, the Mahābhārata and ...

in his play ''

Abhijñānaśākuntala ''Abhijnanashakuntalam'' (Devanagari: अभिज्ञानशाकुन्तलम्, International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''Abhijñānaśākuntalam''), also known as ''Shakuntala'', ''The Recognition of Shakuntala'', ...

'' ''(The Sign of Shakuntala)''.

Plot

The story is a fairy tale about a baby who was found by the Sage Kanva who gives her refuge in his ashram and raises her like his own daughter. Shakuntala meets King

who is completely smitten. He approaches her, wins her heart, and gives her his Royal seal, his Ring. Circumstances separate Shakuntala from King Dushyant, and she pines for her love to return.

Cast

* Neha Mehta as

Shakuntala Shakuntala (Sanskrit: ''Śakuntalā'') is the wife of Dushyanta and the mother of Emperor Bharata. Her story is told in the '' Adi Parva'' of the ancient Indian epic ''Mahabharata'' and dramatized by many writers, the most famous adaption bein ...

Gautam Sharma Gautam Sharma is an Indian television and film actor. Sharma was raised in Bangalore. His father is a businessman. He completed his high school education from Frank Anthony Public School, Bangalore and graduated from St Joseph's College o ...

as Rajkumar Dushyant * Javed Khan as Maharaja Puru * Aaina Mehta as Young Shakuntala * Abhileen as Young Dushyant *Shreya Laheri as Young Karuna * Sunny Nijar as Karan *

Gagan Malik Gagan Malik is an Indian actor and Buddhist activist. He won the Best Actor Award in the World Buddhist Film Festival organised by the United Nations for his role as Lord Buddha in '' Sri Siddhartha Gauthama''. Malik is known for his leading ...

as Senapati Veer *

Madhura Naik Madhura Hemant Naik is an Indian model and actress who has appeared in television shows such as '' Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon'', ''Hum Ne Li Hai- Shapath'' and '' Tumhari Pakhi''. Career Naik began her career as a model which led her to the mu ...

Payel Sarkar Payel Sarkar (born 10 February 1984) is an Indian actress who has appeared in Bengali films and Hindi television. On 25 February 2021, she joined the Bharatiya Janata Party. Political career Sarkar joined Bharatiya Janata Party in 2021 and ...

as Rajkumari Gauri * Shabana Mulani as Rajkumari Kalki *

Vicky Batra Vicky Batra is an Indian television actor. He appeared in one episode of Sony TV's ''Adaalat'' and played the role of Sujamal in Zee TV's series ''Jodha Akbar''. Television 2016 , - Fearfiles , . Rahul Rahul is a popular male name in India ...

as Rajkumar Mritunjaya *Rohit Singh Rana as Rajkumar Arnav * Salina Prakash as Rundi * Nandani as Ragini (Gauri's Friend) * Simran Khanna as Priyamvada * Sonali K. as Anusuya *

Deepali Pansare Deepali Pansare is an Indian actress who primarily works in Hindi television and Hindi films. She made her acting debut in 2008 and is widely known for portraying Suhaagi in ''Neer Bhare Tere Naina Devi'', Payal Singh Raizada in ''Iss Pyaar Ko ...

As Gauri's Friend *

Digangana Suryavanshi Digangana Suryavanshi (born 15 October 1997) is an Indian actor, singer and author who is known from Hindi and Telugu films. Suryavanshi debuted her career in Hindi television and went on to appear in films. Her breakthrough role was 'Veera' i ...

as Young Rajkumari Gauri *

Vaishali Thakkar Vaishali ThakkarGandhari *Jalina Thakur as Jeti maa Bai *

as Rajkumri Gauri * Aaina Mehta as Young Shakuntala *

as Young Gauri

References

{{Shakuntala Star One (Indian TV channel) original programming Indian television series Indian television soap operas 2009 Indian television series debuts 2009 Indian television series endings Works based on Shakuntala (play)