Kalidasa
Showing all 12 books
As punishment for failing in his duty, an unnamed yaksha is cursed by the god Kubera to endure a hard year in exile. Thus separated from his beloved wife, he longs to send her word of his undying love and the pain he suffers over their parting. Unable to do so himself, the lovelorn yaksha implores a passing cloud to act as his messenger. And so entrusted with this impassioned message, the cloud must travel a vast distance to the city of Alaka in the Himalayas, ...
Kalidasa s most famous play refashions an episode from the Mahabharata, magnificently dramatizing the love story of Shakuntala, a girl of semi-divine origin, and Dushyanta, a noble human king. After their brief and passionate but secret union at her father s forest ashram, Dushyanta must return to his capital. He gives Shakuntala his signet ring, promising to make her his queen when she joins him later. But, placed unawares under a curse, he forgets her and she ...
Abhijnana-Sakuntalam, a drama composed in seven Acts by Kalidasa, is one of the best not only in Sanskrit literature, but in the literature of the world. The story was already in Mahabharata in the form of a dull narrative; but, Kalidasa turned the same into an elegant work of art with a lot of innovations. Love in union and love in separation are both depicted in this drama with a greater degree of perfection. The dramatic power and poetic beauty of this unique ...
Malavikagnimitram is the first play of Kalidasa composed in five Acts. It is the story of King Agnimitra’s love for Malavika, an unknown beautiful girl living in the royal harem. She was proficient in music and dance. This play is a court comedy of royal love, in which harem jealousies and court intrigues mingle to raise romantic situations of love, amusing scenes of confrontation and a merry, light-hearted air which are thoroughly enjoyable. It is truly the ...