[2] According to primogeniture, Dushyanta succeeds his father as the king of Hastinapura, because he is the eldest among his siblings Sura, Bhima, Pravashu, and Vasu.

Upon reaching the ashram, the king saw Shakuntala watering the plants, accompanied by her friends, named Anasuya and Priyamvada.

Durvasa, with a reputation for having a fiery temper, took her ignorance of him as a sign of disrespect, and cursed her to be forgotten by the man she was contemplating at that very moment.

After a period of time, when Dushyanta was returning home after visiting Indra, he came across Shakuntala, recognised her, and took her and his son to his palace.

The company broke up due to hearing that an elephant was running amok, and Shakuntala grew enamoured of the visitor.

He confessed his feelings to his companion and jester Vidushaka, urging him to think of a pretext to stay in the ashrama without arousing suspicion.

In her solitude, Shakuntala was absorbed in thoughts of her husband, due to which she failed to offer the appropriate hospitality to the short-tempered sage, Durvasa.

Duravasa agreed to offer a concession of the curse, stating that the man would remember her upon the presentation of a token of recognition.

When Shakuntala started to show signs of pregnancy, Kanva decided to send her to her lawful husband, explaining to her the duties of a wife and a daughter-in-law.

Upon reaching the king's palace, Dushyanta failed to recognise Shakuntala, and merely expressed his incredulity when the accompanying sages urged him to accept her as his queen.

After a while, the ring that Shakuntala had dropped in a pool of water was discovered by a fisherman inside a fish, which was produced before Dushyanta following accusations of theft.

Matali, Indra's charioteer, arrived to Dushyanta's court, seeking his assistance in the war of the devas against the asuras.

Matali escorted the king back to earth upon his vimana, and the two alighted upon the ashrama of Sage Kashyapa (Maricha in other accounts) to pay their respects.