Introduction
One of the greatest poets and dramatists in Sanskrit. His chronicle of the kings of the
Raghu clan ('Raghuvamsha'), the great play 'Shakuntala' and other works depict,
through many great characters, the highest ideals of life as seen by the ancientpeople of
Bharat.Author - K.T.Pandurangi
Kalidas
There are hundreds of languages in the world. However, great and classical literature
which people in all countries need to read is found only in a few languages. One such
great language is Sanskrit. It is one of the oldest languages. It is the mother of several
Indianlanguages such as Hindi, Bengali and Marathi in the North. Kannada, Telugu and other
languages in the South have also been nourished by it.
It needs the genius of poets who create literary epics and great thinkers for a language
to achieve world-renown. Sanskrit is eminently lucky in this respect. Sages' celebration
of the wonders of nature, the sky, the stars, mountains and rivers, the sun, the moon, the
clouds, fire ('Agni') and their devout offering of prayers to the Universal Power are all
found in the Vedic classics which/are in Sanskrit. Puranas and historical epics like the
Ramayana and the Mahabharata vividly describe the battle between the good and the evil.
They also portray the virtues like devotion to truth, a sense of sacrifice, heroism,
cultured living, etc. In Sanskrit there are also beautiful stories of birds and animals
like Panchatantra; stories extolling good and basic qualities of wisdom and intelligence.
Sanskrit can also justly boast of a rich treasure house of plays, poems and many
scientific and philosophical treatises.
A poet who has made a distinct and glorious contribution to this sumptuous Sanskrit
literature is Kalidasa. He has pictured in his works the beauty in life and pondered upon
how we can give pleasure to others by generous and graceful behavior.His portrayals are
vivid and heart- warming; his wordpower is unique. In a few words he is capable of
bringing out the entire meaning intended. His writings touchingly show up a noble,
meaningful mode of life for the people to pursue. His works are an intellectual treat to
thinkers and common readers alike. |
