Works of Kalidasa - Vol. II (Poetry): Edited with an Exhaustive Introduction, Critical and Explanatory Notes and English Translation

by Kālidāsa, C.R. Devadhar (Editor)

This volume contains five Kavyas of Kalidasa: Srngaratilaka, Rtusamhara, Meghaduta, Kumarasambhava and Raghuvamsa. Srngaratilaka and Rtusamhara display the poetic imagination of his early youth. The Meghaduta is the work of his advanced years. The Kumarasambhava and Raghuvamsa are the works of his mature age. His Kavyas are praised for the happy choice of his subjects, for his illustrations derived from nature and human life.

In this volume the text is followed by English translation. Each and every Kavya is prefixed with an english introduction or an editorial note. The general introduction has been incorporated in the Introduction to the text of Raghuvamsa to which notes are added to discuss the passages where the commentators differ in their interpretations.

1477 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Poetry of Indian dramatist and lyric poet Kalidasa (circa 375-circa 415) represents the height of the kavya style, which his epic poem Raghuvamsha and his lyric poem Meghaduta exemplify.

Poeple widely regard Kālidāsa (Devanāgarī: कालिदास "servant of Kali") as the greatest renowned writer in the classical Sanskrit language.

We know nothing with certainty about the life of Kālidāsa apart from works but speculate about the place where he lived or the dates of his birth and death. According to legend, his known beauty brought him to the attention of Vidyottama, princess, who married him.
Kālidāsa, however, legendarily lacked much education, and his ignorance and coarseness shamed the princess. A devoted worshipper of Kali (by other accounts of Saraswati), Kālidāsa is said to have called upon his goddess for help when he was going to commit suicide in a well after he was humiliated by his wife, and was rewarded with a sudden and extraordinary gift of wit. He is then said to have become the most brilliant of the "nine gems" at the court of the king Vikramaditya of Ujjain. Legend also has it that he was murdered by a courtesan in Sri Lanka during the reign of Kumaradasa.