Sage Kanva Blesses the Union and Foretells a Mighty Son
Shakuntala, ashamed, cannot face her father Kanva when he returns. But the sage already knows everything through his divine sight. He not only blesses the union as lawful but foretells the birth of a son who will rule the world.
A little after the king had left, the sage Kanva returned to his hermitage.
Shakuntala was too ashamed to go and meet him. She had given herself to a man in her father's absence, without his sanction, based on a secret pact. She stayed where she was.
Kanva did not need to be told. The great ascetic possessed divine sight — the power to see events at a distance, to know what had transpired without being present. Having seen everything with that sight, the illustrious one was pleased. He spoke first.
"O fortunate one! What you have done secretly today, this act of union with a man without my sanction, is not against dharma." His voice carried neither anger nor disappointment. He explained the law as Duhshanta had, but from a place of certainty. "A secret gandharva marriage between a desiring man and a desiring woman, without mantras, is said to be the best for Kshatriyas."
Then he named the man she had chosen. "O Shakuntala! Duhshanta, the one you have accepted as a husband, is the best among men, great-souled and devoted to dharma." And he looked into the future she had secured with her condition. "You will give birth to a son who will be known in this world as great-souled and immensely mighty. He will extend his sway over this entire earth that is bounded by the oceans. When that great-souled king of kings marches out against his enemies, he will always be irresistible."
Relieved, Shakuntala came to the tired sage. She washed his feet. She took down his heavy load of gathered fruits and properly laid them out. Only then did she formally speak. "I have chosen King Duhshanta, best among men, as my husband. Please give me and his advisers your blessings."
Kanva replied, "O beautiful one! I am prepared to bless him for your sake. O fortunate one! Ask for a boon that you wish."
Thinking not of herself but of the man she had bound herself to, and the lineage she was now part of, Shakuntala asked for a boon to bring welfare to Duhshanta: that kings of the Puru lineage should always be virtuous and would never be dislodged from their kingdoms.
The sage granted it.