[184] Often spelled Suttee.
[185] A familiar Bengali rendering is “Gonesh”, which is often given as a pet name to an exemplary boy.
[186] In Vishnu Purana the Rishis are divided as follows: 1, Brahmarishis, sons of Brahma; 2, Devarishis, semi-divine saints; 3, Rajarishis, royal saints who had practised austerities. There are variants in other sacred books which refer to Maharishis, Paramarishis, &c.
[187] Or Nãrada.
[188] Rigveda, viii, 53. 9-11, and vii, 18.
[CHAPTER IX
Prelude to the Great Bharata War]
Dushyanta and Shakuntala—Romantic Wooing—Birth of Bharata—Shakuntala's Appeal—Her Claim vindicated—King Bharata's Reign—King Hastin and King Kuru—King Shantanu's Bride a Goddess—Seven Babes drowned—Story of Satyavati—Vyasa, Poet and Sage—Bhishma's Terrible Vow—Fisher Girl becomes Queen—Marriage by Capture—A Childless King—Origin of Dhritarashtra, Pandu, and Vidura.
Now the sire of the great King Bharata[189] was royal Dushyanta of the lunar race, the descendant of Atri, the Deva-rishi, and of Soma, the moon; his mother was beautiful Shakuntala, the hermit maiden, and daughter of a nymph from the celestial regions. And first be it told of the wooing of Shakuntala and the strange childhood of her mighty son.