Kalidasa: An Unparalleled Literary Genius
Kalidasa Samaroh
The 66th
All India Kalidasa Samaroh 2024 is being hosted at Ujjain by Kalidasa Sanskrit Academy,
and the Department of Culture, Madhya Pradesh from 12-18 November during which
reputed Sanskrit and Kalidasa scholars will discuss the great author’s seminal
contribution to Sanskrit literature, especially drama and poetry.
Bharata’s Natyashastra,
the oldest surviving treatise on the theory of drama and dramatics, treats
poetry, music, and dance as one art. Appropriately, cultural events under
Kalidasa Samaroh include dance, song, and theatre performances by renowned
artists and groups.
Ujjayini is one
of the great cities of ancient India, with many other names including Vishala
(the wide and gracious city), Pushkarandini (the city of flowers), and
Mahakala-puri (the city of Mahakala Shiva). ‘…Sanskrit drama probably originated
at Ujjayini…’[i]
The yaksha
in Meghadutam tells the rain-cloud, ‘Indeed, you would have lived in
vain…’ if you missed a chance to visit ‘Ujjayini glowing in splendour like a
brilliant piece of Paradise..’
Kalidasa
Kalidasa is believed to have composed his works as early as 2nd century BCE or latest by 4th century CE. The earliest known authentic reference to Kalidasa is in an inscription dated 556 Saka (634 AD) in which he and Bharavi are spoken of as being renowned poets. One of the navaratnas# in Vikramaditya’s Court, Kalidasa is reckoned the greatest Sanskrit author of all times.
“Once
when poets were counted, Kalidasa occupied the little finger; the ring finger
remains unnamed true to its name*; for his second has not been found.” (Anonymous)[ii]
*The ring
finger is called Anamika in Sanskrit.
The Sanskrit shloka is given below.##
The
following seven works – three plays, three poems, and one epic- are
undisputably attributed to him:
Plays:
Malavikagnimitram, Vikramorvasiyam, and Abhijnanasakuntalam
(Image Credit: From cover page by Biplab Kundu for The Complete Works of Kalidasa, Vol II, Trans by Chandra Rajan)
Poems:
Ritusamharam, Kumarasambhavam, and Meghadutam
Epic:
Raghuvamsam
Nehru, in ‘The
Discovery of India,’ wrote the following on Shakuntala,
“Translation
also appeared (made from Sir William Jones's translation) in German, French,
Danish, and Italian. Goethe was powerfully impressed and he paid a magnificent
tribute to Shakuntala. The idea of giving a prologue to Faust is said to have
originated from Kālidāsa's prologue, which was in accordance with the usual
tradition of the Sanskrit drama.”
Goethe, indeed, praised Shakuntala[iii],
the enchanting heroine of Abhijnanashakuntalam (The Recognition of Shakuntala) with these
words:
"Wouldst
thou the young year's blossoms and the fruits of its decline,
And all by which the soul is charmed, enraptured, feasted, fed,
Wouldst thou the earth and heaven itself in one sole name combine?
I name thee, O Shakuntala! and all at once is said."
Rabindranath
Tagore begins his essay on Sakuntala with Goethe’s above-mentioned quatrain,
and says, “In Goethe’s words, Sakuntala blends together the young year’s
blossoms and the fruits of maturity; it combines heaven and earth in one.”
Professor
Madhusudan Pati highlights the complex personality of Shakuntala:
“A number
of opposites such as grace and strength, innocence and maturity, modesty and
pride, softness and severity, blend in her character and render her into one of
the most captivating creations in world drama.”[iv]
Professor
Pati calls Kalidasa ‘one of the greatest sculptors of love,’ and quotes Robert
Antoine’s praise for Kalidasa,
“He is
supreme in depicting love. No one has ever conveyed with so great and delicate
an art the first thrills of nascent love, the all-absorbing fascination of
growing love, the exquisite torment of pining love and the unsurpassable bliss
of fulfilled love.”[v]
Kalidasa and Shakespeare
William
Jones published a translation of ‘Śakuntalā’ in 1789 which introduced Kalidasa
to the English-speaking world. Admiring the author’s dramatic genius, William
Jones called Kalidasa the Sanskrit Shakespeare. The sobriquet, still popular,
is mentioned by William Dalrymple in his latest book ‘The Golden Road.’ Even
though well-intentioned, the comparison is simplistic, and even patronising, for
the following reasons:
· Kalidasa is among the greatest
Sanskrit authors; a peerless playwright, and a great poet who wrote epic and
lyrical poetry. Shakespeare is the greatest English playwright, but his 154 sonnets,
many of which are delectable, do not place him at par even with great English
poets like Chaucer or Milton, and not at all with Kalidasa.
· Kalidasa represents the Classical
period and Golden Age of Sanskrit – ‘The Language of Gods in the World of Men’[vi]
– that made the cultural and civilisational idiom of a vast Indosphere[vii]
or Sanskrit Sphere that stretched from Afghanistan to Bali, and was the lingua
franca of culture for 1500 years – 250 BCE to 1250 AD.
· Kalidasa wrote at a time when the English
language was still in the womb - to emerge much later with Beowulf, Chaucer,
and Shakespeare.
Kalidasa is
NOT Shakespeare of India, maybe Shakespeare is Kalidasa of England!
Comparison
is a futile game, and has no outcome except to thrill chauvinists with a
temporary high. Once the game begins, there is no end to the one-upmanship. Homer
is Veda Vyasa of Greece; Maupassant - Prem
Chand of France; Machiavelli - Chanakya of Italy; Bismarck - Sardar Patel of
Germany; Eiffel Towers - Qutab Minar of Paris; Buckingham Palace- Lal Kila of
London painted a depressing grey to match the sultry mood of the Old Blighty; Scotland-
Coorg of UK; Switzerland - Kashmir of Europe; Greenwich- Ujjayini of England; Big
Mac- Pavbhaji of Amrika; KFC- Tandoori Chicken’s poor American cousin; and Pizza-
Moti Roti of Naples!
Comparing
eminent authors, especially of different languages and times, is pointless and
even banal since each one’s greatness and contribution is best evaluated with
reference to his milieu, culture, and language. A reader may enjoy and
appreciate the works of the great authors of various languages without feeling
compelled to compare two or more authors with a view to eulogise her favourite
author.
Read Kalidasa!
Dr N.K. Sahu
spotted a bunch of us chatting in the corridor, and acknowledging our namaskar counselled
us in the style of an itinerant wise man to study Kalidasa before Shakespeare,
and Gangadhar Meher (the renowned poet of Odisha who was born in Barpali, the
home town of Dr Sahu) before Wordsworth and Keats. Also study Ramayana and
Mahabharata before picking up The Iliad and The Odyssey, he fired his last
salvo.
Once he was
beyond earshot, I and my friends, all students of PG (English), burst into
laughter since we presumed the ancient History professor was teasing us.
Now, recalling his words, I realise that he was quite serious, and there was
much merit in what he recommended.
Resources & References
· The Complete Works of Kalidasa
(Volume One-1997 & Volume Two-2002), Translated by Professor Chandra Rajan,
Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi.
· ‘Sakuntala: Its Inner Meaning,’ an essay by Rabindranath Tagore.
- The Discovery of India by Jawahar Lal Nehru.
· Sanskrit Drama: A Critical Reappraisal
by Professor Madhusudan Pati, Authors Press (2021)
· The Student’s Sanskrit-English
Dictionary by V.S. Apte
· A Sanskrit-English Dictionary by M.
Monier-Williams
· Bharat Ek Khoj- Kalidasa-Part
I-Episode 18- Prasar Bharati Archives: https://youtu.be/oYyylsa16uc?si=ByKZLNbo1dC0_JkG
· Bharat Ek Khoj- Kalidasa-Part II-Episode
19 is also on You Tube.
· My earlier blogs on Kalidasa
o
Marg
for Meghadutam: A Route-Map for Cloud Messenger - https://pkdash-author.blogspot.com/2024/07/map-for-cloud-messenger.html
o
On
Ritusamhara: O Spring, O Sweet Assailant! - https://pkdash-author.blogspot.com/2023/03/o-spring-o-sweet-assailant.html
धन्वंतरिक्षपणकामरसिंहशंकु
वेतालभट्टघटकर्परकालिदासाः ।
ख्यातो
वराहमिहिरो नृपतेः सभायां
रत्नानि वै वररुचिर्नव विक्रमस्य ॥
## पुरा कवीनां गणनाप्रसङ्गे कनिष्ठिकाधिष्ठितकालिदासा।
अद्यापि तत्तुल्यकवेरभावादनामिका सार्थवती बभूव ॥
Hindi translation:
पुराने ज़माने
में, जब कवियों की गणना की जा रही थी, तब कालिदास को कनिष्ठिका पर विराजमान किया गया। उनसे तुलना
हो सके, इतने प्रतिभाशाली कवि का आज तक अभाव होने के
कारण कनिष्ठिका के बाजू की का ‘अनामिका’ यह नाम
अर्थपूर्ण हो गया।
[i] The Complete Works of Kalidasa (Volume Two), Translated by Chandra Rajan, Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi (2016)
[ii] Ibid.
Chandra Rajan has translated Kalidasa’s works into English, and the books have been published by Sahitya Akademi in two volumes, and by Penguin Classics series, too.
[iii] Shakuntala was the daughter of Vishwamitra rishi and Menaka, an Apsara (celestial nymph), and was so named by her foster-father Kanva rishi since she had been nurtured by Shakuntas (birds) after being abandoned by her biological parents. Bharata, son of Shakuntala and Dushyanta became a great emperor after whom Bharata Varsha is named. He was also the ancestor of Purus and Kauravas of the Mahabharata.
[iv] Abhijnana Shakuntalam: Rasa Synthesis, an essay from Sanskrit Drama: A Critical Reappraisal by Madhusudan Pati, Authors Press, 2021. Prof. M. Pati taught this blogger at Sambalpur University.
[v] Ibid.
[vi] ‘The Language of the Gods in the World of Men: Sanskrit, Culture, and Power in Premodern India’ by Sheldon Pollock, 2006.
[vii] In his book ‘The Golden Road: How Ancient India
Transformed the World’ William Dalrymple argues that the ancient world was as
much shaped by India as by China, and
the Indosphere covered a vast territory.
