Meghaduta
Meghaduta (मेघदूत) is a lyric poem written by Kālidāsa, considered to be one of the greatest Sanskrit poets.
Variants
- Meghadūta (मेघदूत)
About the poem
A poem of 120 stanzas, it is one of Kālidāsa's most famous works. The work is divided into two parts, Purva-megha and Uttara-megha. It recounts how a Yaksha, a subject of King Kubera (the god of wealth), after being exiled for a year to Central India for neglecting his duties, convinces a passing cloud to take a message to his wife at Alaka on Mount Kailasa in the Himālaya mountains.[1] The Yaksha accomplishes this by describing the many beautiful sights the cloud will see on its northward course to the city of Alakā, where his wife awaits his return.
In 1813, the poem was first translated into English by Horace Hayman Wilson. Since then, it has been translated several times into various languages. As with the other major works of Sanskrit literature, the most famous traditional commentary on the poem is by Mallinatha.
External links
References
- ↑ Wilson (1813), page xxi.