While the other works of Kali·dasa are populated by supernatural beings and larger-than-life people, “Málavika and Agni·mitra” derives its plot from history and features thoroughly mortal ch…
How Úrvashi was Won (Vikramorvaśīya) is one of the three surviving plays by Kali·dasa (fifth century CE), universally acknowledged as the supreme poet in classical Sanskrit; like the other two …
The play Shakúntala was one of the first examples of Indian literature to be seen in Europe, first translated into English, and then into German. It attracted considerable attention (from Goethe, …
Kali·dasa’s fifth-century CE “Cloud Messenger” is a beautiful and pure expression of an exiled lover’s love. That first messenger poem is imitated in the twelfth century in the “Wind Mes…
This greatest of court epics describes events leading up to but not including the birth of Kumára (also known as Skanda or Karttikéya), the war god destined to defeat the demon Táraka. The god…