Malavikagnimitram (Malavika and Agnimitra) by Kalidasa

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Malavikagnimitram is the first play of Kalidasa composed in five Acts. It is the story of King Agnimitraâ€™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 authorâ€™s ingenuity, skill and ability for scheming that enable Agnimitra to meet Malavika and finally win her as his wife and queen. In spite of his political direction in matters of State, Agnimitra appears as a passive hero, thoroughly dependent on Vidushaka his minister for the success of his love affair. Kalidasaâ€™s skill in creating dramatic situations is beyond doubt. Despite several defects, the play bears the unmistakable stamp of Kalidasaâ€™s workmanship.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Kalidasa

Kalidasa is one of the greatest classical Sanskrit poets and dramatists of ancient India, but very little is known about his life and time. The writings of Kalidasa reveal that he was a pious Brahmana of Ujjain, and had acquired a knowledge of the various branches of Brahmanical learning. His versatile genius, his acquaintance with court etiquette, his shrewdness, his modesty, not without a due sense of self-respect, and his poetic talent are very well reflected in all his works, which are: Malavikagnimitra, Vikramorvasiya, Abhijnana-Sakuntala (dramas) and poems like Raghuvamsa, Kumarasambhava and Meghaduta. Both in drama and poetry, Kalidasa stands not only unsurpassed but even unrivalled.