Dushyanta is a king in classical Indian literature and mythology. He was the husband of Shakuntala and the father of the Emperor Bharatha. He appears in the Mahabarata and in Kalidasa's play The Recognition of Sakuntala (c. 300 CE). His name is also transliterated as Dusyanta or Dushyant, and means "Destroyer of Evil" in Sanskrit.
A valiant king of the Lunar, race, and descended from Puru. He was husband of Sakuntala, by whom he had a son, Bharata. The loves of Dushyanta and Sakuntala, her separation from him, and her restoration through the discovery of his token-ring in the belly of a fish, form the plot of Kalidasa's celebrated play Sakuntala.