Appointment with Kalidasa

Author(s): G K Bhatt
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

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LITERARY WORKS
Thanks to the immense admirtaion, esteem and popularity that Kālidāsa appears to have earned from almost the prime of his literary career, it has happened in the history of Sanskrit literature that a number of works of all kinds came to be gathered round his name. Obviously, lesser writers must have palmed off their lesser works on Kālidāsa's name in order to bask in the reflected glory of the great poet.. Perhaps, Kālidāsa may have been a hallowed name; and many writers may have assumed it, the adoption being facilitated by the easy etymological derivation of the name. Aufrecht has noted, as we have seen, at least six writers who bear. the name Kālidāsa. And lack of historical sense, indifference to the necessity of maintaining accurate historical records, among the ancient Indians, as also the difficulties of coinmunication and contact, all must have resulted in perpetuating the confusion about authorship, sometimes confounding it worse. One of serious tasks facing Sanskrit scholarship in the early days was to sift the genuine from the spurious ascription of literary works. And though such sifting may still continue in the case of some works or authors, there seems to be a general agreement now about the literary works of Kalidāsa.
Kalidāsa is the author of the following works : (i) Two lyrical poems : Rtusamhāra, Meghadüta : (ii) Two epics : Kumarasambhava, Raghuvamsa; (iii) Three plays : Malavikāgnimitra, Vikramorvasiya, Abhijñāna-śäkuntala.
1. Rtusamhára Řtusamhāra is a small lyrical poem of 144 stanzas in 6 cantos, mostly in Vamśastha metre (cantos I, II, V, VI), the variation being Vasantatilakā (canto III) and Upendravajrā (canto IV). The poem gives a graphic and poetic description of the six seasons of India. Through the description Kalidāsa presents a vivid and eloquent picture of Nature. But in stead of filling in details picked from accurate observation, as Vālmiki often does, Kālidāsa pays more attention to describing the effect of nature on the emotional life of man, particularly on the emotion of love. The descriptive poem is, therefore, neither a list of the seasons nor a record of nature's wealth in different seasons. The sympathetic association between nature and human emotion is the basis of the poetic description in the lyric. The familiar objects and