Poetic Culture of Kalidasa
Kalidasa, justly recognized as Kavikulaguru (Master of the Poet fraternity), is a great luminary in the field of Sanskrit literature. He is an outstanding poet of our country and also one among the few all time great writers of the world. In him we see a true successor of the two great sage poets Valmiki and Vyasa. He possesses the aesthetic sense and technical skill of poetry of both these poets of universal vision. Kalidasa’s vision unfailingly brings out the finest and the loftiest aspects of our culture. The impression is as sublime as that of Vyasa while his expression is as tender as that of Valmiki. His is the most authentic and equally attractive representation of Indian values eternally relevant for the well being of the mankind. In him one can unmistakably notice the rare and the long cherished combination of beauty and sublimity, warmth and wonder, love and loftiness, mirth and mysticism. Sensual and spiritual features find an undisputable blissful conclusion in his writings. Kalidasa is never loud and is ever profound. In him the Sanskrit language has seen the best blend of sound and sense, form and content, idiom and emotion and expression and experience.
Our heritage has handed over seven works of this universal poet, which include two lyrics (Rtusamharam and Meghadootam),and three plays (Malavikagnimitram, Vikramurvaseeyam andAbhijnanashakuntalam). An in-depth study of his work shows that these seven available works of Kalidasa are the products of his quest for the realization, in Indian concept, of dharma, moksha etc.
Thus we have his escalating vision making experiments on the theme of Kama (desire), which in its widest stretch encompasses the whole mankind, leading towards the need for Dharma (Rightousness) to manage Artha (means) for, this alone tries to meet the demands of Kama. Ultimately it is the concept of Moksha (liberation) which an “Akamahata” mind can only realize, is the outcome of this spiritual quest. Here again the true spirit of Moksha is not an exclusive one for, it is within and beyond the purview of the trivargas viz. Dharma, Artha and Kama.
Kalidasa has become overwhelmingly successful in bringing out his own original model through his rewarding artistic and meditative experiments in his Rtusamharam, Malavikagnimitra, Vikramurvaseeyam, Meghadootam, Kumarsambhavan and Abhijanas Shakuntalam respectively.
His practical application of the poetic revelations brought through the said six works is seen in his magnum opus – Raghuvamsham – truely a national epic of international nay, universal standards. Raghuvamsham is the distilled essence of universal human values in general and Indian culture in particular.
Kalidasa is the only poet to describe in detail, the flora and fauna of this land, the fascinating geographical vividness of this country and the rich regional peculiarities of our nation. It is quite interesting to note that the poet describing our country at three levels – viz. Bhumarga (in Raghuvamsham IV Canto), Meghamarga (in Meghadootam) and Vimanamarga (in Raghuvamsham XIII Canto) suggesting the three spiritual planes of the Vedic wisdom viz. the Bhuh-Bhuvah-Suvah. Such revealing visions are many folded in Kalidasa.
It is redundant to say that he is a master in Sanskrit, the medium of his writings. Sanskrit, in fact, saw its great moments of perfection and profundity in his works. His erudition in the fields of grammar, prosody, poetics and others skills are naturally undisputable from the viewpoint of aesthetics. Simultaneously, his mastery over the subjects such as astronomy, astrology, philosophy, Vedic learning, agriculture, botany, polity, economy, morality, ethics, music, dance, theatre, paintings, sculpture, psychology etc., are also evident from his writings. Thus in him one can discover the whole heritage of India and the golden age of the Guptas.
To sum up, Kalidasa, even today, remains as an unattainable standard in the art of poesy coupled with the spirit of values.