KALIDAS

Kalidas is one of the literary genius of our country. His dramas , poems are unparalled and brings forth the scenes in front of the eyes as you go on reading. If you see his background he has no formal education. He was one of the Navratnas (9 gems or the most accomplished men of their times) at the court of Chandragupta Vikramaditya. His creations viz 'Meghdoot' and 'Ritu Samhara' (lyrics), Raghvamsa, Kumar sambhava (Epics;, Shakuntala , : 'Malavikagnimitra', 'Vikramorvasiyam' and 'Abhijnana Sakunthalam' (plays);, urvasi, , are few which can not easily forgotten. All of them worth reading if you find time to read please do. it is a critical devotion to its own literature. Kalidasa's knowledge of the human heart and his understanding of the complex play of human motivations are profound. A keen observer of nature in all its varied aspects has painters eyes, tounge of a poet. His works combines the beauty of nature and women. Mahakavi Kalidasa is known to be the greatest repository of our national heritage. The serenity of his artistic accomplishment has earned for him a high place in the galaxy of world poets. Kalidasa's imagination holds in perfect fusion the two elements of natural beauty and human feelings.

Kalidasa resided at the palace of Chandragupta in Pataliputra (modern day Patna). He was one of the gems of the court of Chandragupta. A devoted worshipper of the goddess Kali (his name means literally Kali's slave), Kalidasa is said to have called upon his goddess for help and was rewarded with a sudden and extraordinary gift of wit.
Kalidasa's Surcharges with wider human sympathy and universal appeal his character has remained truly Indian. A poem which I have come across is shared here with:


KALIDASA

AN ancient heathen poet, loving more
God's creatures, and His women, and His flowers
Than we who boast of consecrated powers;
Still lavishing his unexhausted store

Of love's deep, simple wisdom, healing o'er
The world's old sorrows, India's griefs and ours;
That healing love he found in palace towers,
On mountain, plain, and dark, sea-belted shore,

In songs of holy Raghu's kingly line
Or sweet Shakuntala in pious grove,
In hearts that met where starry jasmines twine

Or hearts that from long, lovelorn absence strove
Together. Still his words of wisdom shine:
All's well with man, when man and woman love.

It is said all the gems are not borne with silver spoon in mouth. And kalidas is no exception.If you go through his child hood you will notice that he was a "Tare zameen par"…..



KALIDASA
Writer, Poet, Dramatist

Kalidasa, one of the chief figures in classic Sanskrit literature was also a dramatist and poet. He was one of the Navratnas (9 gems or the most accomplished men of their times) at the court of Chandragupta Vikramaditya. Kalidasa's works include plays, Epics and lyrics. His play 'Abhinjnana Sakunthalam' (Recognition of Sakunthala) is the most well-known of all his works and it has been translated into various languages of the world. In all, 7 works of Kalidasa are available today. They are: 'Malavikagnimitra', 'Vikramorvasiyam' and 'Abhijnana Sakunthalam' (plays); 'Raghu Vansa' and 'Kumara Sambhavam' (Epics); 'Meghdoot' and 'Ritu Samhara' (lyrics).

As far as literacy merits are concerned, Meghdoot (cloud messenger) is the most excellent work.

The poems he wrote were usually of epic proportions and were written in classical Sanskrit. His creations were used for fine arts like music and dance. Regarded as an outstanding writer, Kalidasa resided at the palace of Chandragupta in Pataliputra (modern day Patna). He was one of the gems of the court of Chandragupta. According to legends, Kalidasa was blessed with good looks. This attracted a princess with whom he fell in love. Since Kalidas was not too good in intellect and wit, the princess rejected him. He then worshipped Goddess Kali and she blessed him with intellect and wit, thus making him one of the "nine gems" in the court of Chandragupta.

A devoted worshipper of the goddess Kali (his name means literally Kali's slave), Kalidasa is said to have called upon his goddess for help and was rewarded with a sudden and extraordinary gift of witKalidasa's imagination holds in perfect fusion the two elements of natural beauty and human feelings. He has continued to display his relevance through the centuries. Surcharges with wider human sympathy and universal appeal his character has remained truly Indian. Apoem which I have come across






Meghdootham



A beautiful piece of literary treasure, the Meghadutam Kalidasa is a short poem of a little over 100 verses. The stanzas are uniform in length of four sentences each. This convenient length makes it a favorite among scholars and translators. The Meghaduta poem is a beautiful work of literary art and the descriptions given in it are so vivid that one visualizes what the poet wants to convey. Given here is a short summary of the Meghadootam, one of the best sort poems by the great poet Kalidasa.

The Meghadutam, literally translated means the Cloud Messenger. It is divided into two parts, Purvamegha (Previous cloud) and Uttaramegha (Consequent cloud). According to the story, the treasurer of Gods, Kubera has a group of divine attendants working for him, called the Yakshas. One of these Yakshas was so smitten and obsessed with his wife that he ignored his duties. He was cursed and banished into the woods on earth. Thoroughly dejected, he kept thinking about his wife and missed her a lot. His wife also kept thinking about him all day and all night.

Then one day, monsoons arrived on earth. The Yaksha saw a rain cloud pass by and requested it to carry a message to his wife. The Yaksha then starts to describe the route the cloud should be taking. The description is so captivating and so vivid, that one can actually feel like he scenes are flashing in front of you. The Yaksha makes the route seem as attractive as possible so that the cloud takes his message to his wife. The emotions portrayed are so beautiful that it couldn't have been given a better treatment by any other poet. It recounts how a yakṣa, or attendant of Kubera (the God of Wealth) after being exiled for a year to central India for some unknown transgression, convinces a passing cloud to take a message to his wife on Mount Kailāsa in the Himālaya mountains. He assures the cloud that his bride is neither dead nor faithless; further, that there will be no lack of travelling companions

Hinting at the same time that the cloud will find his kindly labour rewarded by pleasures on the road,



The yakṣa accomplishes this by describing the many beautiful sights the cloud will see on its northward course to the city of Alakā, where his wife awaits his return. He then describes the long journey, beginning with the departure from Rama's peak, in the later stage the splendid heavenly city Alaka,where his wife resides



Complete text of Kalidasas message translated by Arthur W. Ryder Modified by Antihubris can be enjoyed by visiting the web site http://www.antihubr is.com/books/ india/cloudmes. php.

Conclusion

This concludes the synopsis on literary work of our great poet Kalidas.

I hope I might have infused to go through the great work of Kalidas, and enjoy the literary feast.

Ritusamhara


Ritusamhaara ( Description of the Seasons). work of Kaalidaasa, must surely be regarded as a youthful composition, as it is distinguished by rather exaggerated and overly exuberant depictions of nature, such as are not elsewhere typical of the poet. Ritu Samharam where ritu means seasons and samharam means to kill. but here it is the garland of seasons. If you say poorna and sampoorna the meaning there is of more emphatic grammatically. . Only literary persons with strong grammar back ground can throw some light on this caption of the topic. . Ritu samhaaram... or Ritu Samharam 0r Ritusamhara. .. as a misspelt Itrans... is The Medley of Seasons or The Garland of Seasons... around a god called year. But it is not annihilation of seasons as per the wording - samhara - and these six seasons are the makeup material for the presiding deity of Nature, namely Shiva-Parvati, the Five- this work contains only one item - praise of seasons, and yet it has its own prominence in poetry. Kalidas is famous for his upama - upama kaalidaasasya - simile, with its various shades like metaphor - condensed simile, pathetic fallacy, personal metaphor etc., and they are used variously in this work also. In Sanskrit upama is of two kinds; one puurNopama - full simile - when all the four parts, like upamaana - comparable object; upameya. one faced God Shiva, whose five faces symbolises with five subtle elements of creation.

India has always believed in the harmonious relation between man and forces of nature and the importance of each season has been beautifully brought into light by the great poet Kalidasa in Ritu samhaara, a poem written by him. It can be called the "Medley of Seasons" or "Garland of Seasons". The ritusamharais famous for its ita description of trpopical nature in india, interspreadwith expressions of emotions.

The Ritusamharam has been divided into six main chapters, each chapter describing vividly, the seasons of India. The six seasons that have been described by Kalidasa are Summer, Spring, Monsoons, Autumn, Frost and Winters. This poem is much shorter when compared with his other works.

Ritusamharam Kalidasa is delightful read .A short summary is given below.

Each of these seasons is described as a pair of lovers who experience changes in their relation like the changing seasons of India. The poem starts with the description of summer. The dry weather and the extreme heat conditions make the lands extremely parched. Everyone yearns for a few drops of rain to soak the soil. But even in this time of extreme heat, one gets joy through mangoes and the cool moonlit nights. Then come the much-awaited monsoons and the whole of India gets drenched and clean in the fresh monsoon rains. Everything looks spic and span and not a speck of dust is seen anywhere. The black clouds and the rumbling thunder add to the magic of the monsoons.

Then comes the season of autumn where people look forward to celebrating festivals and spread cheer and joy. Though the weather remains pleasant, the afternoons can be hot and it is almost like a second summer. However, the weather changes and one can feel the nip in the air. This is when the frost season arrives. The sudden nip in the air, the chilly winds in the morning and nights and the biting cold all signify the season of frost. Then comes the more severe form of frost in the form of winter season. The temperatures drop really low and people are seen wearing layers of clothes. However, he severity of winters is not as much as in Western countries. It only snows in the hilly regions and the south of India hardly experiences any winters.

After winters, the weather starts to warm a bit and then comes spring season. This season is popular for the harvest festivals that take place and one can see blooming flowers all around. Thus, the variety of seasons in India is used to signify the changes that take place in the minds of lovers and how they change. Every change has some good and some bad effects, but in totality it is a pleasant feeling.

The elegance of description cannot be expressed in few lines. You must read in Sanskrit language and enjoy it. But who are not knowing the sanskrit language ,they can still have its transliteration in English by visiting the site below:

http://www.geocitie s.com/desirajuhr ao/RS/sarga1/ rs_1_sans. htm


Kumarasambhava
Kumarasambhava or Kumaarasambhavam is an epic poem written by the Hindu poet Kalidas. Kumarasambhava means the birth of Kartikeya, Shiva's son. This epic of seventeen sargas (or chapters) entails Shringar Rasa, the rasa of love, romance, and eroticism, more than Vira rasa (the rasa of Heroism)

The story line goes this way:

Lord shiva is in deep pennance atop mount himalaya. Then Parvati, the daughter of the mountain, herself turns to asceticism to win the husband she longs for.

In the mean time demon taraka undergoes severe pennance and get a boon from lord brahma "Lord, if then I must die, let me die from a son of Shiva, and when he is seven days old as a child."

The question arouse as who will bell the cat of awaking lord shiva and get his wrat?

Madan alias kama (or the desire to make love) devta took the bid Kaama, god of love, to discharge an amatory arrow at Siva who is engrossed in meditation. Angered by this interruption of his austerities, he burns Kaama to ashes with a glance of his third eye. But love for Paarvatii has been aroused, and it culminates in their marriage.

The events that lead to the marriage of the god Shiva and Paarvatii, daughter of the Himaalaya. This union was desired by the gods for the production of a son, Kumaara, god of war, who would help them defeat the demon Taaraka.