Dushyant

Dushyant was the son of Nileel. He was king of Hastinapur and ancestor of the Kuru dynasty. He was the father of Bharata, emperor of the Indian subcontinent. His wife was Shakuntala.

Marriage
Dushyant meets Shakuntala while on an excursion from his kingdom. He sees Shakuntala in an ashram (hermitage) of sage Kanva and falls in love. He and Shakuntala have a marriage there. Having to leave after some time, Dushyant gives Shakuntala a royal ring as a sign of their love, promising her that he will come to her.

But when Dushyant becomes king, he becomes too absorbed for many years in affairs of state. Shakuntala waits and despairs. One day, sage Durvasa visits the hermitage, but Shakuntala, who is too absorbed in her love for Dushyant, forgets to serve him food. In a fit of anger, sage Durvasa curses her, saying that the person she is thinking about will forget her. A shocked Shakuntala begs for forgiveness and the sage, after calming down, assures her that the person will remember her again when she shows some proof of their acquaintance.

So, Shakuntala sets off to Hastinapur to remind Dushyant of their past love. An accident occurs by which a fish consumes the royal ring, leaving Shakuntala with no formidable proof. Dushyanta does not recollect Shakuntala, but his memory and love are rekindled when another sage recovers the ring and brings it to the court. Dushyanta weds Shakuntala, who becomes his queen and mother of his son, Bharata.