"Shakuntala replied, 'O king (Dushanta), you see the fault of others, even though they be as small as a mustard seed. But seeing, you do not noticest your own faults even though they be as large as the Bilwa fruit (botanical name for Bilwa is Aegle marmelos). Menaka is one of Apsaras. Indeed, Menaka is reckoned as the first of Apsaras. My birth, therefore, O Dushanta, is far higher than yours. O king (Dushanta), you walk upon the Earth but I roam in the skies! Look, the difference between ourselves is as that between (the mountain) Meru and a mustard seed! See my power, O king! I can go to the abodes of (Lord) Indra, Kubera, Yama, and Varuna! The saying is true which I shall refer to before you, O sinless one! I refer to it for example's sake and not from evil motives. Therefore, it is your duty to pardon me after you have heard it.
"An ugly person considers himself handsomer than others until he sees his own face in the mirror. But when he sees his own ugly face in the mirror, it is then that he perceives the difference between himself and others. He that is really handsome never insult anybody. He that always talks evil becomes a reviler (Moorkha in Sanskrit). As the pig always look for dirt and filth even when in the middle of a flower-garden, so the wicked always choose the evil out of both evil and good that others speak. Those, however, that are wise, on hearing the speeches of others that are intermixed with both good and evil, accept only what is good, like geese that always extract the milk only, though it be mixed with water. As the honest are always pained at speaking ill of others, so do the wicked always rejoice in doing the same thing. As the honest always feel pleasure in showing regard for the old, so do the wicked always take delight in attacking the good. The honest are happy in not seeking for faults. The wicked are happy in seeking for them. The wicked always speak ill of the honest. But the latter never injure the former, even if injured by them.
"What can be more ridiculous in the world than that those that are themselves wicked should represent the really honest as wicked? When even atheists are annoyed with those that have fallen off from Satya and Dharma and who are really like angry snakes of deadly poison, what shall I say of myself who am nurtured in faith? He that having fathered a son who is his own image, regards him not (as his son), never attains to the worlds he desires, and certainly the Devas destroy his good fortune and possessions. The Pitris have said that the son continues the race and the line and is, therefore, the best of all acts of Dharma. Therefore, none should abandon a son.
"Manu has said that there are five kinds of sons - those begotten by one's self upon his own wife, those obtained (as gift) from others, those purchased for a fee, those nurtured with affection and those fathered upon other women than upon wedded wives. Sons support the Dharma and achievements of men, enhance their joys, and rescue deceased ancestors from hell. Therefore, O tiger among kings, it is your duty not to abandon a son who is such. Therefore, O lord of Earth, cherish your own self, Satya and Dharma by cherishing your son. O lion among monarchs, it is your duty not to support this deceitfulness.
"The dedication of a (water) tank is more meritorious than that of a hundred wells. A yagna again is more meritorious than the dedication of a tank. A son is more meritorious than a yagna. Truth is more meritorious than a hundred sons. A hundred Ashwamedha (yagnas) had once been weighed against Truth, and Truth was found heavier than a hundred Ashwamedha (yagnas). O king, Truth, I suppose, may be equal to the study of, the entire Vedas and cleansing in all holy places. There is no Dharma equal to Truth: there is nothing superior to Truth. O king, Truth is God Himself; Truth is the highest vow. Therefore, violate not your pledge, O monarch! Let Truth and you be even united. If you place no credit in my words, I shall of my own accord go hence. Indeed, your companionship should be avoided. But you, O Dushanta, that when you are gone, this son of mine shall rule the whole Earth surrounded by the four seas and adorned with the king of the mountains."
"Vaishampaayana continued, 'Shakuntala having spoken to the monarch (Dushanta) in this wise, left his presence. But as soon as she had left, a voice from the skies (Asariri in Sanskrit), emerging from no visible shape, thus spoke to Dushmanta as he was sitting surrounded by his occasional and household priests, his Gurus, and ministers. The voice said, 'The mother is but the envelope of flesh; the son sprung from the father is the father himself. Therefore, O Dushanta, cherish your son, and do not insult Shakuntala. O best of men, the son, who is but a form of one's own (reproductive) seed, rescues (ancestors) from the region of Yama. You are the parent of this boy. Shakuntala has spoken the truth. The husband, dividing his body in two, is born of his wife in the form of son. Therefore, O Dushanta, cherish, O monarch, your son born of Shakuntala. To live by forsaking one's living son is a great misfortune. Therefore, O you of Puru's race, cherish your high-souled son born of Shakuntala--And because this child is to be cherished by you at our word, therefore shall this your son be known by the name of Bharata (the cherished).' Hearing these words uttered by the dwellers in heaven, the monarch of Puru's race (Dushanta) became overjoyed and spoke as follows to his priests and ministers, 'You hear these words uttered by the divine messenger? I myself know this one to be my son. If I had taken him as my son on the strength of Shakuntala's words alone, my people would have been suspicious and my son also would not have been regarded as pure.'
"Vaishampaayana continued, 'O you of Bharata's race (Janamejaya), the monarch (Dushanta) then seeing the purity of his son (Bharata) established by the divine messenger, became exceedingly glad. He took to him that son with joy. The king with a joyous heart then performed all those rites upon his son that a father should perform. The king smelt his child's head and hugged him with affection. The Brahmanas began to utter blessings upon him and the poets began to applaud him. The monarch then experienced the great delight that one feels at the touch of one's son. Dushanta also received dull wife of his with affection.
"He told her these words, pacifying her affectionately, 'O goddess, my union with you took place privately Therefore, I was thinking of how best to establish your purity. My people might think that we were only lustfully united and not as husband and wife, and therefore, this son that I would have installed as my heir apparent would only have been regarded as one of impure birth. O dearest, O large-eyed one, every hard word you have uttered in your anger, I have forgiven you. You are my dearest!' O Bharata (Janamejaya), the Rajarishi Dushanta, having spoken thus to his dear wife, received her with offerings of perfume, food, and drink. King Dushanta, then, gave the name of Bharata upon his child, and formally installed him as the heir apparent. The famous and bright wheels of Bharata's chariot, invincible and like to the wheels of the chariots owned by Devas, travelled every region, filling the whole Earth with their rattle sound. The son of Dushanta (Bharata) reduced to subjection all kings of the Earth. He ruled as per Dharma and earned great fame. That monarch (Bharata) of great capability was known by the titles of Chakravarti and Saarvabhauma. He performed many yagnas like Shakra (Lord Indra), the lord of the Maruts. (Rishi) Kanwa was the chief priest at those yagnas, in which the offerings to Brahmanas were great. The blessed monarch (Bharata) performed both the Gomedha (yagnas) and the Ashwamedha (yagnas). Bharata gave to (Rishi) Kanwa a thousand gold coins as the sacerdotal fee (Dakshina in Sanskrit). It is that Bharata from whom have emerged so many mighty achievements. It is from him that the great race called after him in his race are called after him. In the Bharata race, there have been born many godlike monarchs gifted with great energy, and like to (Lord) Brahma Himself. Their number cannot be counted. But, O you of Bharata's race (Janamejaya), I shall name the principal ones that were blessed with great good fortune, like to Devas, and devoted to truth and honesty.'"
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