As Kālidāsa and AbhijñānaŚākuntalam Nātaka aresynonymous in Sanskrit literature, so in Nepāliliterature are the names Laxmi Prasāda Devkotā andShākuntalaMahākāvya.

The genesis of the play AbhijñānaŚākuntalam is a story told byVālmiki in the Rāmāyana. In the Rāmāyana, the narrative is in theinitial stage with some allusion about the meetingof Viśvāmitra and Menakā (Bk I: 63.4– 13 and 64.1–14). As the narrative reveals, Viśvāmitra wascompletely engrossed in meditation in pushkara kshetra sinceyears, and one day Menakā came there to take a bath.Seeing her peerless beauty, Viśvāmitra was overcomewith lust. He welcomed her and entreated her toaccompany him to his hermitage. They lived togetherin the grove for 10 years. Later, the sage realizedthat his austerity was impeded by the gods whowanted to debase him. He felt angry and shameful andbade her farewell. After the departure of Menakā,the sage was absorbed further in rigorous austerity.Lord Indra felt apprehensive about his austeremeditation and sent Rambhā in order to obstructViśvāmitra's meditation.

The Rāmāyana mentionsthat Viśvāmitra was meditating and Menakā appearedthere simply to have a bath. She was not sent byIndra, nor had she the intention to deludeViśvāmitra. The sage alleges gods in this act. Here,what is significant is that Menakā did not begetŚakuntalā though she lived with Viśvāmitra for yearstogether. Rambhā was also unable to delude the sage,since Viśvāmitra certainly knew this time that itwas a trick of Indra. He was angered by herseductive gestures, so he cursed her to becomestone. The fact is that, in the Rāmāyana, there is no informationregarding Śakuntalā. That is why neither Kālidāsanor Devkotā acknowledge Vālmiki but owe the story toVyāsa. Duṣyanta belongs to the Puru dynasty, towhich the Kauravas and Pandavas also belong.Duṣyanta is the king of Hastināpura, the centrallocale of the Mahābhārata's action. The story ofDuṣyanta and Śakuntalā is found in Padma Purāna also, butscholars say that it is the offshoot of what Vyāsaand Kālidāsa wrote.