2. Meghadūta in Kuntaka’s treatment

The title Meghadūta itself reveals the theme of this poem. It is a gorgeous lyrical poem of Kālidāsa which had no similar predecessors. Many sandeśakāvyas were written in Sanskrit literature under the influence of Meghadūta. A certain yakṣa, hero of this poem, was cursed by his master due to deviation from his duty. The yakṣa was sent away for a year to a distant place. Thus he gets separated from his beloved. In this poem, the hero wishes to deliver message to his beloved through a cloud. He instructs the cloud about the way it should travel so as to reach his lover. Kālidāsa has suggested the path of the cloud from Rāmagiri to Alaka through yakṣa’s instruction to cloud. This poem is divided into two parts as pūrvamegha and uttaramegha. It contains 115 verses composed in mandākrānta metre.

Most probably Kālidāsa got threads from the Purāṇas and Epics for writing it. In Rāmāyaṇa, Rāma sent Hanuman to Sītā as a messenger by giving a signet ring as evidence. In Mahābhārata a swan acts as a messenger between Nala and Damayantī. Here in both cases the animated objects were acted as the messengers. Unlike, Kālidāsa creates an inanimate object like cloud as a messenger. The name Meghadūta itself can connect to the metaphorical figurativeness, one of the varieties of lexical figurativeness of Kuntaka because here Kālidāsa gave the function of a sentient one to the non sentient object like the cloud.

Among the works of Kālidāsa, Kuntaka selects least number of verses from Meghadūta. He cites five verses from it. Among them few beautiful verses of Meghadūta like bharturmitram…for explaining the sahṛdayahṛdayāhlāda of arthaḥ and gacchantīnām…as an instance of metaphorical figurativeness etc. are given below. Though Kuntaka does not cite verses from Meghadūta for explaining the principal figurativeness like contextual and compositional figurativeness, he is successful in unveiling the charm of the minute aspects of the verses of the poem. His choice of verses for substantiating other figurativeness like lexical, grammatical etc. is also really marvelous.

1. Instance given for arthaḥ

In the first unmeṣa, Kuntaka gives detailed definition for śabdaḥ and arthaḥ after completing a general discussion. He says:-

śabdo vivakṣitārthaikavācako’ nyeṣu satsvapi/
arthaḥ sahṛdayāhlādakāri svaspandasundaraḥ//^[1]

Though there are countless expressions for a particular word, the poet uses only one and the best word for exactly conveying what he intended. This word is known as ‘word’ or ‘śabdaḥ’ in literature. Likewise the poet chooses one function of an object to delight the readers, though it has numerous functions. It should either enrich the impressiveness or enrich the sentiment of a described subject. It is known as ‘arthaḥ’ or ‘sense’.

The first verse cited from Meghadūta is for showing the specialty of ‘arthaḥ’.

bharturmitram priyamavidhave viddhi māmambuvāham tatsandeśāddhṛdayanihitādāgatam tvatsamīpam/
yo vṛndāni tvarayati pathi śrāmyatām proṣitānām mandrasnigdhairdhvanibhirabalāveṇimokṣotsukāni//^[2]

“O you, who are not a widow, know me to be a cloud, your husband’s dear friend, come to you with his messages treasured up in my mind-a cloud that urges on their way, by deep and pleasant sounds, multitudes of wearied travelers eager to unloose the braids of their wives.”^[3]

Here Kālidāsa depicts this particular verse as cloud’s words to the wife of yakṣa. The cloud says that her husband is still alive and introduces himself as his best friend. The cloud approached her by bearing her husband’s message in its heart. The duty of the cloud is to urge the group of travellers with grand and gentle sounds in order to make them eager to loosen the hair of their beloveds. This is one of the most beautiful verses in Meghadūta. Kuntaka explicitly states the charm of this verse in his Vakroktijīvita in order to specify ‘arthaḥ’. In this verse the cloud addresses the wife of yakṣa as ‘avidhave’, which is really pleasing to her because it denotes that her husband is still alive. Kuntaka appreciates this word of address used by Kālidāsa. The cloud then introduces himself as (bharturmitram) ‘your husband’s friend’ and not a mere friend but (priya) ‘a close friend’, by saying so the cloud reveals his trustworthiness. Thus grabing her attention and consoling her, the cloud announced the main message that he was there with the message from her husband. The epithet ‘hṛdayanihitād’ which means keeping in my heart, denotes the cloud’s concern in keeping a message suited to a reliable friend.

Then Kuntaka says that there may be a doubt, as to why this duty of messenger was assigned to the cloud though there were lots of other talented persons. The answer is that the cloud alone was apt for this particular job because he is a carrier of water (ambuvāham) by nature, which undoubtedly denotes the cloud’s expertise in carrying something. Moreover the cloud fastens the fatigued herds of travellers separated from their beloveds with his harsh and sweet sounds. Here the plural in the word ‘herds’ denotes repetition of such favours by the cloud. The sound of the cloud resembles the enticing words of a brilliant envoy. The cloud has done such help to the travellers on (pathi) the way. Again the cloud is voluntarily helping even the unfamiliar persons too. Thus it is sure that he will never hesitate to help a dear friend. The epithet given to the herds are ‘abalāveṇimokṣotsukāni’ those who are eager to knot down the hair of their beloveds and which denotes the traveler’s extreme love towards their wives. The word ‘abalā’ denotes the women’s inability to endure the separation from their beloveds.

The whole verse thus intends to portray that the cloud himself had taken the pledge to help the grieving lovers who were parted by fate. This is really the fundamental soul of Meghadūta. Thus by giving such a keen explanation of this verse Kuntaka reveals the unparalleled beauty of the verse. Kuntaka brings out the connotations of each word used by Kālidāsa in this verse. It is better to say that no other example is as beautiful as the one depicting the ‘sahṛdayāhlāda’ of ‘arthaḥ’.

2. Example given for ābhijātya

Kuntaka selects the second verse from the pūrvamegha as an example for the quality named nobility (ābhijātya).

The definition given for ābhijātya by Kuntaka is given below:-

śrutipeśalatāśāli susparśamiva cetasā/
svabhāvamasṛṇacchāyamābhijātyam pracakṣate//^[4]

“That which is smooth on the ear, and capable as it were of intimate embrace by thought and which is a naturally sparkling shade of loveliness, is spoken of as having the excellence called classicality”^[5]

jyotirlekhāvalayi galitam yasya barham bhavānī putraprītyā kuvalayadalaprāpi karṇe karoti/
dhautāpāṅgam haraśaśirucā pāvakestam mayūram paścādadrigrahaṇagurubhirgarjitairnartayethāḥ//^[6]

Kuntaka cites the first two lines of this verse as an example of ābhijātya. It means that Goddess Pārvatī puts the fallen plume of the peacock of her son Skanda, having circles of sparkle, on her ear, which is actually adorned by the leaf of lotus, due to her affection towards her son. Through this, the poet very touchingly depicts the affection of a mother towards his son. These stanzas really give pleasure to the mind of connoisseurs and also act as nectar to their ears. Thus undoubtedly it becomes one of the suitable examples for ābhijātya.

3. Instance of metaphorical figurativeness

Kuntaka cites the third verse from Meghadūta as an example of metaphorical figurativeness.

The definition given by Kuntaka for it is given below:-

yatra dūrāntare’ nyasmātsāmānyamupacaryate/
leśenāpi bhavet kāñcidvaktumudriktavṛttitām//
yanmūlā sarasollekhā rūpakādiralaṅkṛtiḥ/
upacārapradhānāsau vakratā kāciducyate//^[7]

“Wherein even when the two are far apart from each other, a common attribute, however slight, is metaphorically superimposed in order to indicate that the resemblance is very close and which forms the basis for various pleasing and inventive figures of speech headed by the name ‘beauty of metaphorical expression’.”^[8]

The example chosen for it is as follows:-

gacchantīnām ramaṇavasatim yoṣitām tatra naktam ruddhāloke narapatipathe sūcibhedyaistamobhiḥ/
saudāminyā kanakanikaṣasnigdhayā darśayorvīm toyotsarggastanitamukharo māsmabhūrviklavāstāḥ//^[9]

These are the words of yakṣa towards the cloud. The verse means that the damsels are going to their lovers through the king’s highway on the dark night, which can pierce through the needle. Then the yakṣa advices the cloud to light the way of the damsels with lightning like a gold stripe on the touch stone, but not frighten them with heavy shower or thunder because they are very timid. This verse becomes one of the beautiful example of metaphorical figurativeness through the use of the term‘sūcibhedyaistamobhiḥ’ (the darkness that can pierce through the needle). It is sure that only a concrete thing can pierce through the needle but not an abstract one. But here the poet metaphorically depicted the abstract darkness as a concrete one with his poetic excellence to relish the connoisseur. There are numerous such examples in the works of great poets. Whatever it is, the beauty of this particular verse is appealing.

4. Example for grammatical figurativeness

Kuntaka selects yet another verse from Meghadūta as an example of one of the varieties of grammatical figurativeness.

The definition given for it by Kuntaka is given below:-

āgamādiparispandasundaraḥ śabdavakratām/
paraḥ kāmapi puṣṇāti bandhacchāyāvidhāyinīm//^[10]

“Beauty of augment and so forth contributes a new charm to style by making for a striking originality in respect of composition.”^[11]

The example given for it is as follows:-

jāne sakhyāstava mayi manaḥ sambhṛtasnehamasmāditthambhūtām prathamavirahe tāmaham tarkayāmi/
vācālam mām na khalu subhagammanyabhāvaḥ karoti pratyakṣam te nikhilamacirādbhrātaruktam mayā yat//^[12]

“I know your friend’s heart overflows with love for me. Hence, I fancy her plight to be so wretched. O brother, it is not my pride which makes me boast. Soon your own eyes will be able to verify what I said.”^[13]

These are the words of yakṣa towards the cloud. Through the preceding verses of this particular verse, yakṣa sensitively explains the sad plights of his beloved due to his absence. Then yakṣa justifies through this verse that he was not merely boasting and the cloud will clearly see it soon after reaching there. Here the term ‘subhagammanyabhāvaḥ’ signifies the speciality of grammatical figurativeness in this verse. According to the pāṇinīya sūtra of ‘ātmamāne khaśca’ (3.2.83) the affix ‘khaś’ comes after the verb ‘man’ means ‘to think’, here the sense of the affix being ‘thinking himself as such’. The word ‘ātmamāne’ means ‘thinking of one’s own self’ and ‘ātmānam subhagam manyate iti subhagammanyaḥ’, here the āgama ‘am’ (mum) is used in the word subhaga. In mumādi the ādi śabda denotes the āgama ‘ṇamul’ (am). Such grammatical peculiarities used in a single term create charm to the whole verse and beauty of each single verse contributes charm to the whole work. Kuntaka had done his job well by choosing an apt verse for this particular context. Moreover the composer of this verse also deserves appreciation for such a beautiful composition.

Another verse cited by Kuntaka is also seen as an example of one of the varieties of grammatical figurativeness.

‘yena śyāmam vapuratiratām kāntimāpatsyate te’^[14].

These are the words of yakṣa towards the cloud. Yakṣa says that the cloud can see the fragment of the bow of Indra with numerous mixed gems rising before him from an ant hill. This will provide a charm to the blackish body of the cloud like the charm of cowherd’s guised Lord Kṛṣṇa with peacock plume. In this verse the word ‘atitarām’ provides a unique charm to this verse. Though Kuntaka had selected only few verses from Meghadūta, he succeeds in bringing forth the essence, grammatical peculiarities etc. of the verses to delight the readers.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

K. Krishnamoorthy, Vakroktijīvita of Kuntaka, p.14.

[2]:

C.R. Devadar, Works of Kālidāsa, Vol-II, P.37.

[3]:

M.R.Kale, The Meghadūta of Kālidāsa, p.161.

[4]:

K. Krishnamoorthy,op.cit,p.50.

[5]:

ibid,p.336.

[6]:

ibid,p.16.

[7]:

ibid,p.93.

[8]:

ibid,p.381.

[9]:

ibid,p.14.

[10]:

ibid,p.102.

[11]:

ibid,p.389.

[12]:

ibid,p.102.

[13]:

ibid,p.35.

[14]:

M.R.Kale,op.cit,p.32. ratnacchāyāvyatikara iva prekṣyametatpurastād-valmīkāgrāt prabhavati dhanuḥkhaṇḍamākhaṇḍalasya/ yena śyāmam vapuratiratām kāntimāptasyate te barheṇeva sphuritarucinā gopaveṣasya viṣṇoḥ//.