She Would Not Bow

About the Book

She was abandoned the day she was born. Years later, the man she married looked her in the eye and said he had never seen her before.

In ancient India, a baby girl is found alone in a forest and raised by a gentle sage in his forest hermitage. There, among wandering deer and garden beds, Shakuntala learns something rare for a woman of her time: to ask why, and to make her own choices.

Then a young king, Dushyanta of Hastinapur, rides into her forest chasing a deer, and falls in love with her. Shakuntala loves him too, but not blindly. Before she agrees to marry him, she asks for one promise: that their son will one day inherit his throne. The king gives his word. They marry in secret beside a river, with only the earth and sky as witnesses. He places his royal ring on her finger and promises to send for her.

The summons never comes.

Years later, she walks into his royal court with their son, and the king says he does not know her. In a crowded hall, with every eye on her, Shakuntala has a choice: beg to be remembered, or stand by the truth.

She would not bow.

Drawn from the Mahabharata, this is a story of love, memory, and a woman's courage, told for readers who have never heard her name and for those who grew up with it.