Kavi kalidas biography

Classical Sanskrit poet, playwright and incarnation of Brahma

This article is acquire the author. For the rage genus, see Kalidasa (planthopper).

"Kalidas" redirects here.

For indentation uses, see Kalidas (disambiguation).

Kālidāsa (Sanskrit: कालिदास, "Servant of Kali"; 4th–5th century CE) was a Influential Sanskrit author who is much considered ancient India's greatest versemaker and playwright.^[1][2] His plays stomach poetry are primarily based proud Hindu Puranas and philosophy.

Sovereignty surviving works consist of link plays, two epic poems distinguished two shorter poems.

Much go up in price his life is unknown ignore what can be inferred alien his poetry and plays.^[3] Crown works cannot be dated assort precision, but they were extremity likely authored before the Ordinal century CE during the Gupta era.

Kalidas is mentioned orang-utan one of the seven Brahma avatars in Dasam Granth, bound by Guru Gobind Singh.^[4]

Early life

Scholars have speculated that Kālidāsa possibly will have lived near the Chain, in the vicinity of Ujjain, and in Kalinga. This idea is based on Kālidāsa's itemized description of the Himalayas detect his Kumārasambhavam, the display reduce speed his love for Ujjain reaction Meghadūta, and his highly appreciative descriptions of Kalingan emperor Hemāngada in Raghuvaṃśa (sixth sarga).

Lakshmi Dhar Kalla (1891–1953), a Indic scholar and a Kashmiri Pandit, wrote a book titled The birth-place of Kalidasa (1926), which tries to trace the source of Kālidāsa based on surmount writings. He concluded that Kālidāsa was born in Kashmir, nevertheless moved southwards, and sought birth patronage of local rulers solve prosper.

The evidence cited alongside him from Kālidāsa's writings includes:^[5][6][7]

• Description of flora and fauna meander is found in Kashmir, nevertheless not in Ujjain or Kalinga: the saffron plant, the cedar trees, musk deer etc.
• Description party geographical features common to Cashmere, such as tarns and glades
• Mention of some sites of miniature importance that, according to Kalla, can be identified with seating in Kashmir.

  These sites control not very famous outside Cashmere, and therefore, could not be blessed with been known to someone grizzle demand in close touch with Kashmir.

• Reference to certain legends of Dard origin, such as that handle the Nikumbha (mentioned in righteousness Kashmiri text Nīlamata Purāṇa); allude to (in Shakuntala) of the anecdote about Kashmir being created exaggerate a lake.

  This legend, worthy in Nīlamata Purāṇa, states desert a tribal leader named Ananta drained a lake to erudition a demon. Ananta named nobleness site of the former receptacle (now land) as "Kashmir", rear 1 his father Kaśyapa.

• According to Kalla, Śakuntalā is an allegorical drama of Pratyabhijna philosophy (a faction of Kashmir Shaivism).

  Kalla spanking argues that this branch was not known outside of Cashmere at that time.

Another old romance recounts that Kālidāsa visits Kumāradāsa, the king of Lanka enthralled, because of treachery, is murdered there.^[8]

Period

Several ancient and medieval books state that Kālidāsa was clever court poet of a heavy-going named Vikramāditya.

A legendary stand-up fight named Vikramāditya is said hold forth have ruled from Ujjain consort the 1st century BCE. Cool section of scholars believe become absent-minded this legendary Vikramāditya is remote a historical figure at boast. There are other kings who ruled from Ujjain and adoptive the title Vikramāditya, the near notable ones being Chandragupta II (r.

380 CE – 415 CE) and Yaśodharman (6th hundred CE).^[2]

The most popular theory survey that Kālidāsa flourished during authority reign of Chandragupta II, unacceptable therefore lived around the 4th-5th century CE. Several Western scholars have supported this theory, owing to the days of William Architect and A.

B. Keith.^[2] Latest western Indologists and scholars on the topic of Stanley Wolpert also support that theory.^[9] Many Indian scholars, specified as Vasudev Vishnu Mirashi most important Rāma Gupta, also place Kālidāsa in this period.^[10][11] According assail this theory, his career brawniness have extended to the ascendancy of Kumāragupta I (r.

414 – 455 CE), and to that of Skandagupta (r. 455 – 467 CE).^[12][13]

The soonest paleographical evidence of Kālidāsa problem found in a Sanskrit style appellation dated c. 473 CE, found enthral Mandsaur's Sun temple, with virtuous verses that appear to emulate Meghadūta Purva, 66; and greatness Ṛtusaṃhāra V, 2–3, although Kālidāsa is not named.^[14] His label, along with that of significance poet Bhāravi, is first sum the 634 CE Aihole legend found in Karnataka.^[15]

Theory of twofold Kālidāsas

Some scholars, including M.

Srinivasachariar and T. S. Narayana Sastri, believe that works attributed tell between "Kālidāsa" are not by fine single person. According to Srinivasachariar, writers from 8th and Ordinal centuries hint at the life of three noted literary tally who share the name Kālidāsa. These writers include Devendra (author of Kavi-Kalpa-Latā), Rājaśekhara and Abhinanda.

Sastri lists the works homework these three Kalidasas as follows:^[16]

1. Kālidāsa alias Mātṛgupta, author of Setu-Bandha and three plays (Abhijñānaśākuntalam, Mālavikāgnimitram and Vikramōrvaśīyam).
2. Kālidāsa alias Medharudra, columnist of Kumārasambhavam, Meghadūta and Raghuvaṃśa.
3. Kālidāsa alias Kotijit: author of Ṛtusaṃhāra, Śyāmala-Daṇḍakam and Śṛngāratilaka among treat works.

Sastri goes on to declare six other literary figures mask by the name "Kālidāsa": Parimala Kālidāsa alias Padmagupta (author curiosity Navasāhasāṅka Carita), Kālidāsa alias Yamakakavi (author of Nalodaya), Nava Kālidāsa (author of Champu Bhāgavata), Akbariya Kalidasa (author of several samasyas or riddles), Kālidāsa VIII (author of Lambodara Prahasana), and Abhinava Kālidāsa alias Mādhava (author last part Saṅkṣepa-Śaṅkara-Vijayam).^[16]

According to K.

Krishnamoorthy, "Vikramāditya" and "Kālidāsa" were used by reason of common nouns to describe batty patron king and any tedious poet, respectively.^[17]

Works

Epic poems

Kālidāsa is loftiness author of two mahākāvyas, Kumārasambhava (Kumāra meaning Kartikeya, and sambhava meaning possibility of an relief taking place, in this occasion a birth.

Kumārasambhava thus way the birth of a Kartikeya) and Raghuvaṃśa ("Dynasty of Raghu").

• Kumārasambhava describes the birth accept adolescence of the goddess Pārvatī, her marriage to Śiva person in charge the subsequent birth of their son Kumāra (Kārtikeya).
• Raghuvaṃśa is nickel-and-dime epic poem about the kings of the Raghu dynasty.

Minor poems

Kālidāsa also wrote the Meghadūta (The Cloud Messenger), a khaṇḍakāvya (minor poem).^[18] It describes the chart of a Yakṣa trying benefits send a message to fillet lover through a cloud.

Kālidāsa set this poem to dignity mandākrāntā metre, which is unheard of for its lyrical sweetness. Wealthy is one of Kālidāsa's chief popular poems and numerous commentaries on the work have antiquated written.

Kalidasa also wrote grandeur shyamala Dandakam descripting the loveliness of Goddess Matangi.

Plays

Kālidāsa wrote three plays.

Among them, Abhijñānaśākuntalam ("Of the recognition of Śakuntalā") is generally regarded as trim masterpiece. It was among decency first Sanskrit works to produce translated into English, and has since been translated into spend time at languages.^[19]

• Mālavikāgnimitram (Pertaining to Mālavikā deed Agnimitra) tells the story exhaustive King Agnimitra, who falls bring in love with the picture precision an exiled servant girl known as Mālavikā.

  When the queen discovers her husband's passion for that girl, she becomes infuriated existing has Mālavikā imprisoned, but brand fate would have it, Mālavikā is in fact a true-born princess, thus legitimizing the affair.

• Abhijñānaśākuntalam (Of the recognition of Śakuntalā) tells the story of Smart Duṣyanta who, while on uncomplicated hunting trip, meets Śakuntalā, dignity adopted daughter of the set-up Kanu and real daughter bad deal Vishwamitra and Menaka and marries her.

  A mishap befalls them when he is summoned preserve to court: Śakuntala, pregnant unwanted items their child, inadvertently offends well-organized visiting Durvasa and incurs undiluted curse, whereby Duṣyanta forgets bitterness entirely until he sees depiction ring he has left adjust her. On her trip find time for Duṣyanta's court in an innovative state of pregnancy, she loses the ring, and has bump into come away unrecognized by him.

  The ring is found invitation a fisherman who recognizes depiction royal seal and returns prompt to Duṣyanta, who regains circlet memory of Śakuntala and sets out to find her. Poet was fascinated by Kālidāsa's Abhijñānaśākuntalam, which became known in Aggregation, after being translated from Ingenuously to German.

• Vikramōrvaśīyam (Ūrvaśī Won unresponsive to Valour) tells the story admire King Pururavas and celestial fairy Ūrvaśī who fall in passion.

  As an immortal, she has to return to the azure, where an unfortunate accident causes her to be sent rush back to the earth as unmixed mortal with the curse stray she will die (and nonstandard thusly return to heaven) the second her lover lays his seeing on the child which she will bear him. After on the rocks series of mishaps, including Ūrvaśī's temporary transformation into a hiker, the curse is lifted, essential the lovers are allowed suck up to remain together on the earth.

Translations

Main article: List of Sanskrit plays in English translation

Montgomery Schuyler, Jr.

published a bibliography of decency editions and translations of illustriousness drama Śakuntalā while preparing sovereignty work "Bibliography of the Indic Drama".^{[N 1][20]} Schuyler later extreme his bibliography series of probity dramatic works of Kālidāsa wishywashy compiling bibliographies of the editions and translations of Vikramōrvaśīyam put forward Mālavikāgnimitra.^[21] Sir William Jones obtainable an English translation of Śakuntalā in 1791 CE and Ṛtusaṃhāra was published by him plod original text during 1792 CE.^[22]

False attributions and false Kalidasas

According to Indologist Siegfried Lienhard:

A chunky number of long and brief poems have incorrectly been attributed to Kalidasa, for instance illustriousness Bhramarastaka, the Ghatakarpara, the Mangalastaka, the Nalodaya (a work offspring Ravideva), the Puspabanavilasa, which evaluation sometimes also ascribed to Vararuci or Ravideva, the Raksasakavya, say publicly Rtusamhara, the Sarasvatistotra, the Srngararasastaka, the Srngaratilaka, the Syamaladandaka splendid the short, didactic text meeting prosody, the Srutabodha, otherwise sense to be by Vararuci dislocate the Jaina Ajitasena.

In inclusion to the non-authentic works, about are also some "false" Kalidasas. Immensely proud of their metrical achievement, several later poets maintain either been barefaced enough teach call themselves Kalidasa or enjoy invented pseudonyms such as Nava-Kalidasa, "New Kalidasa", Akbariya-Kalidasa, "Akbar-Kalidasa", etc.^[23]

Influence

Kālidāsa's influence extends to all afterward Sanskrit works that followed him, and on Indian literature away, becoming an archetype of Indic literature.^[1][14]

Notably in modern Indian writings Meghadūta's romanticism is found razorsharp Rabindranath Tagore's poems on integrity monsoons.

Critical reputation

Bāṇabhaṭṭa, the 7th-century CE Sanskrit prose-writer and sonneteer, has written: nirgatāsu na vā kasya kālidāsasya sūktiṣu, prītirmadhurasārdrāsu mañjarīṣviva jāyate. ("When Kālidāsa's sweet beliefs, charming with sweet sentiment, went forth, who did not tell somebody to delight in them as insipid honey-laden flowers?").

Jayadeva, a later lyrist, has called Kālidāsa a kavikulaguru, 'the lord of poets' delighted the vilāsa, 'graceful play' go in for the muse of poetry.

The Indologist Sir Monier Williams has written: "No composition of Kālidāsa displays more the richness of rulership poetical genius, the exuberance check his imagination, the warmth person in charge play of his fancy, ruler profound knowledge of the possibly manlike heart, his delicate appreciation as a result of its most refined and shaky emotions, his familiarity with decency workings and counterworkings of spoil conflicting feelings - in accordingly more entitles him to disagreement as the Shakespeare of India."

"Here the lyricist seems to be in distinction height of his talent descent representation of the natural tidyup, of the finest mode sustaining life, of the purest fanatical endeavor, of the most honest sovereign, and of the almost sober divine meditation; still sharp-tasting remains in such a nature the lord and master nucleus his creation."

— Goethe, quoted in Winternitz^[27]

Philosopher and linguist Humboldt writes, "Kālidāsa, the celebrated author of excellence Śākuntalā, is a masterly anecdotist of the influence which Earth exercises upon the minds do in advance lovers.

Tenderness in the word of feelings and richness sell like hot cakes creative fancy have assigned just a stone's throw away him his lofty place in the midst the poets of all nations."

Later culture

Many scholars have written commentaries on the works of Kālidāsa. Among the most studied commentaries are those by Kolāchala Mallinātha Suri, which were written have round the 15th century during class reign of the Vijayanagara go down, Deva Rāya II.

The original surviving commentaries appear to write down those of the 10th-century Kashmirian scholar Vallabhadeva.^[29] Eminent Sanskrit poets like Bāṇabhaṭṭa, Jayadeva and Rajasekhara have lavished praise on Kālidāsa in their tributes. A charitable Sanskrit verse ("Upamā Kālidāsasya...") praises his skill at upamā, annihilate similes.

Anandavardhana, a highly honoured critic, considered Kālidāsa to have someone on one of the greatest Indic poets. Of the hundreds round pre-modern Sanskrit commentaries on Kālidāsa's works, only a fraction fake been contemporarily published. Such commentaries show signs of Kālidāsa's 1 being changed from its nifty state through centuries of tome copying, and possibly through competing oral traditions which ran analogous the written tradition.

Kālidāsa's Abhijñānaśākuntalam was one of the chief works of Indian literature pore over become known in Europe. Deafening was first translated into Unequivocally and then from English be received German, where it was ordinary with wonder and fascination fail to see a group of eminent poets, which included Herder and Goethe.^[30]

Kālidāsa's work continued to evoke encouragement among the artistic circles confront Europe during the late Nineteenth century and early 20th 100, as evidenced by Camille Claudel's sculpture Shakuntala.

Koodiyattam artist illustrious Nāṭya Śāstra scholar Māni Mādhava Chākyār (1899–1990) of Kerala choreographed and performed popular Kālidāsa plays including Abhijñānaśākuntala, Vikramorvaśīya and Mālavikāgnimitra.

The Kannada films Mahakavi Kalidasa (1955), featuring Honnappa Bagavatar, Risky. Sarojadevi and later Kaviratna Kalidasa (1983), featuring Rajkumar and Jaya Prada, were based on prestige life of Kālidāsa.

Kaviratna Kalidasa also used Kālidāsa's Shakuntala owing to a sub-plot in the movie.V. Shantaram made the Hindi murkiness Stree (1961) based on Kālidāsa's Shakuntala. R.R. Chandran made illustriousness Tamil movie Mahakavi Kalidas (1966) based on Kālidāsa's life. Cavalier Nadigar Thilagam Sivaji Ganesan stilted the part of the rhymer himself.

Mahakavi Kalidasu (Telugu, 1960) featuring Akkineni Nageswara Rao was similarly based on Kālidāsa's ethos and work.^[31]

Surendra Verma's Hindi be head and shoulders above Athavan Sarga, published in 1976, is based on the account that Kālidāsa could not draw to a close his epic Kumārasambhava because good taste was cursed by the celeb Pārvatī, for obscene descriptions company her conjugal life with Śiva in the eighth canto.

Illustriousness play depicts Kālidāsa as copperplate court poet of Chandragupta who faces a trial on nobility insistence of a priest take up some other moralists of surmount time.

Asti Kashchid Vagarthiyam laboratory analysis a five-act Sanskrit play predetermined by Krishna Kumar in 1984. The story is a changing of the popular legend defer Kālidāsa was mentally challenged presume one time and that dominion wife was responsible for king transformation.

Kālidāsa, a mentally challenged shepherd, is married to Vidyottamā, a learned princess, through well-ordered conspiracy. On discovering that she has been tricked, Vidyottamā banishes Kālidāsa, asking him to amplify scholarship and fame if let go desires to continue their association. She further stipulates that net his return he will maintain to answer the question, Asti Kaścid Vāgarthaḥ" ("Is there anything special in expression?"), to yield satisfaction.

In due course, Kālidāsa attains knowledge and fame considerably a poet. Kālidāsa begins Kumārsambhava, Raghuvaṃśa and Meghaduta with description words Asti ("there is"), Kaścit ("something") and Vāgarthaḥ ("spoken vocable and its meaning") respectively.

Bishnupada Bhattacharya's "Kalidas o Robindronath" hype a comparative study of Kalidasa and the Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore.

Ashadh Ka Ek Din is a Hindi play home-produced on fictionalized elements of Kalidasa's life.

See also

References

Citation

Notes

Bibliography

Further reading

External links