ORIENTAL SERIES.

274
SAKHA- -SAKUNTALA*
and Pamni Part of Ms work is said to have been lately dis-
covered by Dr. Biihler.
' MKHA. Branch, sect/ The tfakhas of the Yedas are the
different recensions of the same text as taught and handed
down traditionally by different schools and teachers, show-
ing some slight variations, the effect of long-continued oral
tradition. See Yeda.
SAKINlS. Female demons attendant on Durglu
SAKRA. A name of Indra.
SAKRKNl Wife of India. See Indraft!
SAKRA-PRASTHA. Same as Indra-prastha.
SAKTA. A worshipper of the "aktis.
&AKTL The wife or the female energy of a deity, but
especially
of $iva. See Devi and Tantra.
SAKTL> SAKTRL A priest- and eldest son of VasisMuu
King Kalmasha-pada struck him with a whip, and he cursed
the king to become possessed by a man-eating Rakshasa. He
himself became the first victim of the monster he had evoked.
A$AKTJ]SrL Brother of Queen Gandhari, and so uncle of the
Kaurava princes. He was a skilful gambler and a cheat, so he
was selected to be the opponent of Yudhi-shtfhira in the match
in which that prince was induced to stake and lose his all He
also was known by the patronymic Saubala, from Su-bala, his
father.
jSAKUNTALA. A nymph who was the daughter of Yiswa-
mitra by the nymph Menaka. She was born and left in a
forest, where she was nourished by birds until found by the
sage Kanwa. She was brought up by this sage
in his her
mitage as his daughter, and is often called his daughter.
The loves, marriage, separation, and re-union of $akuntala and
King Dushyanta are the subject of the celebrated drama $akun-
tala. She was mother of Bharata, the head of a long race of
kings, who has given his name to India (Bharata-varsha), and
the wars of whose descendants are sung in the MahS-blxarata.
The story of the loves of Dushyanta and #akuntala is, that
while she was living in the hermitage of Kanwa she was
seen in the forest by King Dushyanta, who fell in love with
her. He induced her to contract with him a Gandharva marriage,
that is, a simple declaration of mutual acceptance. On
leaving her to return to his city, he gave her a ring as a pledge