The play's earliest dramatic conflict to in the first act stems from Dushyanta's inability to “recognize” Sakuntala's divine nobility just as she can’t recognize the disguised king as himself. This shared misperception underlies the early tension in their obstacle-laden arc towards the couple's destiny to love and marry.

Otherwise completely smitten by Sakuntala’s beauty, Dushyanta’s only reservation preventing him from proposing on the spot is the fact that he mistakenly believes the nymph to be a mere peasant girl. The circumstances of the inevitable lovers initial hurdle on their romantic path also make a strong point about the centrality of the caste system in the Hindu worldview. Though they eventually find their way together, and Sakuntala gives birth to a mighty hero and dynastic line, the mutual love and desire felt from their first encounter must be subsumed to the expectations of social tradition, leading Dushyanta to suppress his true feelings.

This idea of recognition is also behind the storyline of the signet ring given to Sakuntala as both a token of betrothal and a means to gain admittance to the palace for her reunion with the king. By this time in the play it is suggested that the couple has consummated their love, conceiving Bharata, and so the gift of the ring also foreshadows the raised dramatic stakes of acts 4 and 5, when the aggrieved sage’s cursing of Sakuntala leads to Dushynata’s refusal of his future consort.

The curse dictated that the love-struck nymph’s intended would not remember her unless some object reminded him. Having lost the ring on the way to the palace, as the reader might have seen foreshadowed, the unknowingly pregnant Sakuntala is dismissed by the king and sent away to fend for himself. It is only through some comic turning of events that the ring is recovered and Dushyanta’s memory restored, allowing for the lovers’ destiny to be fulfilled.

In Kālidāsa's play Shakuntala, memory, recollection, and recognition all play key roles.

Let's talk about memory first. What causes the six-year separation of Shakuntala and the king? It's the sage Durvasas. When he comes to visit the hermitage, Shakuntala doesn't bother to greet him since, according to her friend, "Her heart is far away."

This leads Durvasas to attach a curse to Shakuntala that will make the king forget her. Here, we see how love and absorption can make us forget other, less important obligations. If Shakuntala had only bothered to say hi to him, Durvasas wouldn't have unleashed his curse. Yet Shakuntala was too busy thinking about the king to remember to greet Durvasas.

The curse might tell us about the vulnerability of memory. Memory is fragile Lots of things can threaten and undermine it, including a slighted sage.

It feels like we could swap out "memory" for "recognition." After all, when you forget something you also fail to recognize it. We might say Shakuntala failed to recognize Durvasas. The lack of recognition spurred him to make sure the king would fail to recognize her.

We might wonder how themes of gender relate to recognition. If Durvasas was a woman, would the female Durvasas be as wrathful? In society, is there something about a male figure that makes it more important to recognize him (and more harmful when you don't)?

Concerning recollection, what does it mean that Shakuntala and the king unite over their baby? How does the baby tie together the past and the recollections? What does this say about the importance of procreation?

Of course, we might also wonder what Kālidāsa could be trying to tell us by tying memory and recollection to "the king's ring," which one of the policemen calls, "A magnificent great gem."

Putting the two together—the gem and the child—we might conclude that love is not enough if a husband and wife want to continue to recognize one another. Other factors are required, including children and fancy jewelry.

You might want to think about how Kālidāsa could be presenting marriage as a means to procreation and commodities. You might want to think about how that portrayal links to present representations of marriage, which often emphasize producing babies and buying plenty of things.

Memory and temporary loss, and the related ideas of recognition and recollection, are all combined in developing the play’s central themes. The true love between Dushyanta and Shakuntala must ultimately be affirmed, as it was destined, and the successful resolution can occur only after they overcome numerous obstacles. Not only their romantic love is important, however; even more crucial is the love they share for their son, Bharata, because he is destined to carry on the royal line.

Both Dushyanta and Shakuntala do not know each other’s real identities when they initially meet. He pretends to be one of his agents, and later learns who she is. Only after they reveal their true selves can their love be fulfilled.

Memory is represented by the ring that Dushyanta gives her, and its importance is emphasized by the curse that causes him to forget her. When she loses the ring, the connection is broken and it seems for a while that they may be separated forever. Following some lucky, or perhaps fated, incidents, the ring also serves to stimulate memory and bring them back together.

Another object that facilitates recognition is the amulet that Bharata wears. When Dushyanta ascends into the skies after his beloved, the amulet enables him to recognize his son. In turn, this recognition brings together parents and child, and then allows them to return to earth, their rightful dominion.