Last updated: March 2026

Character Name

Shakuntala

Meaning — Derived from Sanskrit "shakunta" meaning "bird" — the name means "one who was cared for by birds". In legend, Shakuntala was abandoned by her mother and raised by birds in the forest hermitage of the sage Kanva. She is the heroine of Kalidasa's celebrated Sanskrit play.·Sanskrit origin·Female·sha-KUN-tah-lah

Shakuntala Kalidasa's Shakuntala is one of Sanskrit literature's most beloved heroines: raised in nature, innocent yet perceptive, capable of deep love and of sustaining enormous suffering with grace. Characters named Shakuntala tend to possess an untutored directness and a naturalness that sharply distinguishes them from those raised in more calculating social worlds.

Best genres for Shakuntala

MythologyHistorical FictionRomanceLiterary FictionDrama

Famous characters named Shakuntala

Shakuntala

Abhijnanashakuntalam (The Recognition of Shakuntala) Kalidasa

A forest-raised maiden of extraordinary beauty and virtue who falls in love with King Dushyanta; their story — separation, a curse of forgetfulness, and eventual recognition — is the masterwork of Sanskrit dramatic literature.


Variations & nicknames

ShakuntalaSakuntalaShakuntala

Pairs well with

Shakuntala DeviShakuntala SharmaShakuntala NairShakuntala RaoShakuntala Iyer

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Related names


More Sanskrit names

Anita

Derived from Sanskrit "anita" meaning "grace", "favor", or "one who has been led". It is also used as a diminutive form of the name Ana across South Asian languages, and is common across India, particularly in Hindi-speaking regions.

Aditya

Derived from Sanskrit, meaning "son of Aditi" — the primordial goddess of infinity. In Hindu cosmology, the Adityas are a group of solar deities, making the name synonymous with the sun itself and its life-giving radiance.

Rudra

From Sanskrit, meaning "the roarer" or "the howler" — one of the most ancient Vedic deities, a storm god associated with the destructive and healing power of the tempest. Rudra is also a name for Shiva in his fierce aspect.

Kali

From the Sanskrit Kāli, the feminine form of Kāla, meaning "black," "time," or "death." Kali is one of the most powerful deities in Hindu theology — the goddess of time, change, and destruction, but also of liberation and transformation. As a given name it is used in Indian and Hindu communities, and also in Finnish as a masculine form of Kalle (Karl).

Surya

Directly from Sanskrit meaning "the sun". Surya is the Hindu solar deity, one of the principal Adityas, worshipped as the source of light, life, and time itself. The name is used for both boys and girls across South Asia.

Ishaan

Derived from Sanskrit, meaning "the sun" or "the one who bestows riches". Ishaan is also an epithet of Shiva as lord of the northeast direction, the quarter associated with knowledge and spiritual attainment.


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