Shloka 109
(शकुन्तले तव सुतश्नक्रवर्ती भविष्यति । एवमुक्तो महेन्द्रेण भविष्यति न चान्यथा ।। साक्षित्वे बहवो<प्युक्ता देवदूतादयो मता: । न ब्रुवन्ति यथा सत्यमुताहो5प्यनृतं किल ।। असाक्षिणी मन्दभाग्या गमिष्यामि यथा55गतम् ।) देवराज इन्द्रका वचन है--“शकुन्तले! तुम्हारा पुत्र चक्रवर्ती सम्राट् होगा।! यह कभी मिथ्या नहीं हो सकता। यद्यपि देवदूत आदि बहुत-से साक्षी बताये गये हैं, तथापि इस समय वे क्या सत्य है और क्या असत्य--इसके विषयमें कुछ नहीं कह रहे हैं। अतः साक्षीके अभावमें यह भाग्यहीन शकुन्तला जैसे आयी है, वैसे ही लौट जायगी। वैशम्पायन उवाच एतावदुक्त्वा राजानं प्रातिष्तत शकुन्तला । अथान्तरिक्षाद् दुष्यन्तं वागुवाचाशरीरिणी
(śakuntale tava sutaś cakravartī bhaviṣyati | evam ukto mahendreṇa bhaviṣyati na cānyathā || sākṣitve bahavo 'py uktā devadūtādayo matāḥ | na bruvanti yathā satyam utāho 'py anṛtaṃ kila || asākṣiṇī mandabhāgyā gamiṣyāmi yathāgatam ||) vaiśampāyana uvāca etāvad uktvā rājānaṃ prātiṣṭhata śakuntalā | athāntarikṣād duṣyantaṃ vāg uvācāśarīriṇī ||
Indra, lord of the gods, declared: “Śakuntalā, your son will become a universal sovereign. Spoken by Mahendra, this cannot be otherwise. Though many—such as divine messengers—are regarded as witnesses, at this moment they do not speak to distinguish truth from falsehood. Therefore, lacking witnesses, this unfortunate Śakuntalā will return just as she came.” Vaiśampāyana said: Having said this much to the king, Śakuntalā prepared to depart. Then, from the sky, a bodiless voice addressed Duṣyanta.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights dharma’s concern with truth and rightful recognition: even when social proof (witnesses) is absent or silent, a higher moral order may intervene to uphold justice and legitimate lineage, especially in matters of kingship and responsibility.
Indra proclaims that Śakuntalā’s son will be a cakravartin, yet notes that witnesses are not speaking; thus Śakuntalā, deemed ‘without witnesses,’ turns to leave. At that moment a divine, bodiless voice speaks from the sky to Duṣyanta, signaling imminent divine clarification.