{"id":1186,"date":"2017-06-03T10:40:37","date_gmt":"2017-06-03T10:40:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mintageworld.com\/blog\/?p=1186"},"modified":"2017-06-05T04:08:43","modified_gmt":"2017-06-05T04:08:43","slug":"kalidasa-ancient-indias-wizard-of-sanskrit-literature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mintageworld.com\/blog\/kalidasa-ancient-indias-wizard-of-sanskrit-literature\/","title":{"rendered":"Kalidasa \u2013 Ancient India\u2019s Wizard of Sanskrit Literature"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kalidasa was probably one of the greatest exponents of Indian literature or Sanskrit from ancient India, whose works have earned him respect from all over the world even today. He was an active Sanskrit poet and dramatist in the 5th<\/sup> Century who is credited for six known genuine works namely – dramas Abhijnanashakuntala (\u201cThe Recognition of Shakuntala\u201d), Vikramorvashi (\u201cUrvashi Won by Valour\u201d), and Malavikagnimitra (\u201cMalavika and Agnimitra\u201d); poems Raghuvamsha (\u201cDynasty of Raghu\u201d) and Kumarasambhava (\u201cBirth of the War God\u201d); and the lyric \u201cMeghaduta\u201d (\u201cCloud Messenger\u201d).<\/p>\n

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\"kalidasa\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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His name literally means \u201cservant of Kali\u201d and he had an orthodox yet intellectual Hindu outlook. He was a follower of Lord Shiva apart from other gods like Vishnu. Many believe that he was greatly influenced by the famous Sanskrit writer Ashvaghoshha<\/strong>. Apart from literature, he was also brilliant in contemporary sciences and arts, including politics and astronomy.\u00a0Some historians believe that he died on the island of Sri Lanka during Kumaradasa\u2019s rule in 517.\u00a0 Others believe that he was one of the \u201cnine gems\u201d at King Vikramaditya\u2019s Court in Ujjain. But Vikramaditya\u00a0or \u201cSun of Valour\u201d was a common notation given to many Kings of those times. It is true that he lived during the reign of Agnimitra, the second Shunga king (c. 170 BCE). The Aihole inscription of 634 CE praises Kalidasa. The Mandasor inscription of 473 also has some references about the great writer. Kalidasa makes Agnimitra his hero in his work `Malvikaagnimitra’ and Agnimitra was the son of Pushamitra Shunga who was in 2nd century BC , marking the upper bound of his existence. Vaanbhatta from early 7th century AD mentions Kalidasa in the preface of his kaadambaree, making it the lower bound. Some of the historians state that Kalidasa lived during the reign of Chandra Gupta II (c. 380\u2013c. 415). That\u2019s because his works reflect the cultural values and sophistications of that time period. He is regarded as the best exponents of Sanskrit literary composition. Click here<\/a> to learn about coins issued by Chandragupta II. Click here<\/a> to know more about a lyrist type of coin was issued by Samudragupta (father of Chandragupta II) as he was very fond of music.<\/p>\n

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\"Chandragupta<\/a>
From left to right: Shunga Dynasty Coin, Samudragupta Coin, Chandragupta II coin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The drama Abhijnanashakuntala<\/strong> elaborates a popular epic about how nymph Shakuntala was seduced by King Dushyanta. The girl and his child rejected him and they later met in heaven. The Child was Bharata, ancestor of Bharatavarsha or the \u201cSubcontinent of Bharata\u201d. Kalidasa remakes the story in his own style. The girl is sentimental and selfless. The King is the first servant of the dharma. He is a resolute hero who is suffering over lost love. In his version, Dushyanta did not separate the lovers. His action was caused due to a sage\u2019s curse instead. Kalidasa uses metaphor beautifully to portray nature in most of his works.<\/p>\n

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The second drama Vikramorvashi <\/strong>tells a tale from Vedas. It talks about the love of a mortal for a divine maiden. The sorrowful king walks around a forest describing flowers as his own love. Malavikagnimitra<\/strong>, on the other hand, is comical and playful while maintaining the class and standard of his writing style.<\/p>\n

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His known Kavya<\/strong> or poetries were of two types epic<\/strong> and lyric<\/strong>. Raghuvamsha<\/strong> and Kumarasambhava<\/strong> are his epic style poems. Raghuvamsha<\/strong> talks about Lord Rama\u2019s ancestors and descendants; Kumarasambhava<\/strong> talks about how Shiva was seduced by Parvati, how Kama, the God of desire was violently burnt into ashes, and the birth of Shiva\u2019s son, Kumara (Skanda). These poems are both metrically and grammatically complete. The lyric poem \u201cMeghaduta<\/strong>\u201d is a message from a lover to his lost beloved, describing various mountains, rivers, and forests of northern India majestically.\u00a0Ritusamhaara<\/strong> was another wonderful lyric poem that he wrote describing various seasons.<\/p>\n

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The most salient feature of his style of writing was that he used Brahmanic religious tradition and Sanskrit to talk about secular Hinduism. After the fall of the Gupta Empire, Kalidasa became a memory that nobody can forget even after so many centuries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kalidasa was probably one of the greatest exponents of Indian literature or Sanskrit from ancient India, whose works have earned him respect from all over the world even today. He was an active Sanskrit poet and dramatist in the 5th Century who is credited for six known genuine works namely – dramas Abhijnanashakuntala (\u201cThe Recognition … Continue reading Kalidasa \u2013 Ancient India\u2019s Wizard of Sanskrit Literature<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":1190,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38,17],"tags":[549,548,550,551],"yoast_head":"\nKalidasa \u2013 Ancient India\u2019s Wizard of Sanskrit Literature<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn about Kalidasa, the greatest exponents of Sanskrit from ancient India, whose works have earned him respect from all over the world even today.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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