The Raghuvamsa of Kalidasa

THE RAGHUVAMSA OF KALIDASA*

DR. V. RAGHAVAN
Professor of Sanskrit (Retired), Madras University

When one thinks today of Kalidasa, one usually thinks of the Meghaduta, Kumarasambhava and Sakuntala. The Raghuvamsaoccurs to one but rarely. It was not so in the ancient times when Alamkarikas quoted often from all parts of the Raghuvamsa. Kalidasa was called by a later poet the Raghukara, after this poem, and not after any other poem or play of the poet. There is a saying in Tamil that there is none who has not read “Sa rajyam” nor has not eaten at a Sattraor charity-house. This means that in the curriculum of studies in Sanskrit, the Raghuvamsacame first and it is its fourth canto (beginning with Sa rajyam guruna dattam) with which they started. There is much to be said for the fourth canto of the poem with its description of young Raghu and his march for victory, the different parts of India, and the adjacent regions outside, their rivers and mountains, their flora and fauna and their people and their characteristic appearances, and activities. A similar account of the whole country, its kings, peoples and their features is given in the Svayamvaraof Indumati (VI). Here is not only the only poem which shows on the part of a poet, the widest and intimate knowledge of the whole country but also gives the young minds the image of a whole India and a bit of Greater India.

The Raghuvamsais the longest work of the poet, in nineteen cantos and over 1500 verses. It served as a model not only for all Mahakavyasproduced up to the recent times, but also of all Rama-kavyas. After Kalidasa, Kumaradasa, a poet of Ceylon, wrote a Rama-kavya called Janaki-harana; and Rajajekhara, the critic, remarked, using double entendre, that when the Raghuvamsastood there, only Kumaradasa and Ravana could have dared to do the Janaki-harana! The RV served also as one of the sources of the famous Tamil Ramayana of Kambar. Numerous commentaries were written on it, including some by Jain writers. The RV is also the earliest reputed evidence for the Bala and Uttara Kandas being authentic parts of Valmiki’s epic, which Western scholars doubt.

The RV. is a complete work of the poet in that all his ideas in his other works are to be met with here. The whole conception of the Indian pattern of life, with its four Asramasand four Purusharthas, and several ideas which are basic to Indian thought and culture, receivea planned treatment here.

After Valmiki’s Ramayana, the RV. is the first Mahakavyato deal with the story of the epic, devoting six cantos to it (X-XV). It is well-known that among Sanskrit poets, he is foremost in treading the path blazed by the Adikavi. He mentions Valmiki as the Purvasuri who had shown him the way (1.4). In the XIV canto where Valmiki becomes a character in the story, he calls him the poet who responded to the cry of the afflicted–of Sita as well as the female bird–(Ruditanusari Kavih) (verse 70) and refers in a pithy manner to the birth of the Sloka (poetic verse) from the Soka or the sympathy of the poet roused at the sight of the bird shot down by a hunter, and speaks of him again as the poet of compassion (Kavih Karunikah, XV. 71). In XV. 32, 33, he refers again to the sage as the Poet and hiscreation as the first of poems showing the way to the Poets (Kavi-Prathama-paddhatim). The same canto describes Rama’s Asvamedhasacrifice at which his two sons, Lava and Kusa, pupilsof Valmiki, singthe Ramayana of the Guru and Kalidasa says here of the epic: ‘The story is that of Rama; the work, of Valmiki; the two boys, endowed with the voice of the Kinnaras?” what was not there to captivate the hearts of the listeners?” (64) “Tears flowed from the eyes of that assemblywhich was wholly absorbed in listening to the recital.” (66)

It is just possible that the very title Raghuvamsa was taken by Kalidasa from Valmiki (I. 3. 9, Raghuvamsaya charitam chakara bhagavan rishih.)

Why Raghu of all the kings of the Solar dynasty? With Ikshvaku and Kakutstha, Raghu is the king by whose name the descendents of the line are often mentioned. To Valmiki, next to Rama, ‘Raghava ‘ (scion of Raghu) is the most favourite name of his hero.

Valmiki begins his epic in a search for Gunas, qualitiesof head and heart, for a man who is a ‘Gunavan’; and an enumeration listof Gunasfollows, all of which Rama possessed. Kalidasa begins his Mahakavya also with the Gunasand says: “I shallspeak of the race of the Raghus, their Gunashaving come to my ears and prompted me to write this poem (Tadgunaih karnamagatya, etc,” (I. 9).  An enumeration of these Gunas precede the above verse, sixteen qualities in four verses (I.5-8). A few of these are general such as purity from birth onwards, endeavour till the end is achieved, valour and sovereignty, observance of religious acts, punishing one according to the offence done, vigilance, and speaking sparingly the interest of truth. There are also here some attributes which are important as they are illustrated in the lives of the kings described in the poem. ‘They were householders for the sake of progeny’ (Prajayai grihamedhinam) is illustrated by the life of the first king described here, Dilipa, who undertook an austerity for the birth of Raghu. ‘Devoted to learning in boyhood’ (Saisave abhyastavidyanam) and ‘victory only for fame’ (Yasase vijigishunam), both refer to Raghu in cantos three and four. ‘Satisfying a supplicant in accordance with his desire’ (Yathakamarchitarthinam) and ‘Gathering of riches only to give them away’ (Tyagaya sambhritarthanam), both refer to Raghu giving away everything to Kautsa (canto V). ‘Enjoying pleasures in youth (Yauvane vishayaishinam) applies to the story of Aja and Indumati (canto VIII). ‘Taking to the life of ascetics in old age’ (Vardhake munivrittinam) is exemplified in the description of Raghu retiring after placing Aja on the throne and his austerities. Also of Sudarsana similarly in XIX. 1-2. ‘Giving up the mortal coil through yoga’ (Yogena ante tanutyajam) is seen again in the yogic life of Raghu (canto VIII).

While each of these Gunasis seen as a leading motif in particular kings, these Gunasbeing the common endowments of all Rojarshis, they are again and again emphasised in the accounts of the different kings. For example, the quality of gathering wealth only to give it away is reiterated in the descriptions of both Dilipa and Raghu: I. 18: ‘Dilipa received revenue or tribute from the subjects only to give them the same thousand-fold.’ ‘Raghu gathered wealth in his victories, but only to give them away’ (Adanam hi visargaya, IV. 86). In fact, as the poet says when describing Aja as king ‘all their Gunaswere for the good of others’ (gunavatta api paraprayojana, VIII. 31). The victorious campaigns of Raghu were only to establish his overlordship but not to deprive the subordinate kings of their kingdom or royal position; this is also emphasised in the course of Raghu’s campaigns, IV. 43: ‘Raghu whose campaigns were Dharmavijaya, took hold of Mahendranatha and released him; Raghu took only his tribute but not his territory.’

We may analyse the RV from the point of view of the four Purusharthasand see the plan of poet in that respect. Dilipa represents Dharma; Raghu Artha; Aja Kamaand of course Rama, Moksha. Dilipa’s rule swerved not even a little from the path set forth by Manu (I.17). In the case of the wise Dilipa, who punished those that deserved punishment solely to maintain order and led the wedded life for the sake of progeny, even Artha and Kamawere subservient to Dharma (Apyarthakamau tasyastam dharma eva manishinah, I.25). But the chief idea highlighted by Kalidasa in the life of Dilipa is the longing for a son to continue his line and discharge his obligations to his ancestors. For this, he seeks the advice of his Guru Vasishtha in the latter’s Asramaand performs the austerity, Vrata, prescribed by the sage, of attending upon the divine a cow Nandini, daughter of Kamadhenu. The Vrata of closely following a cow and its movements, and attending to its comforts is one prescribed as an expiation for a sin in the Manusmriti but Kalidasa takes it and adapts it for his purpose in his own way, as I have shown in an article on ‘Kalidasa and the Smritis’. As ordained by his Guru, Dilipa is responsible for the safety of Nandini, and when, to test him, the divine cow raises an illusory lion threatening to devour her, Dilipa offers his own body to the lion to save the cow, despite the many tempting words that the lion utters to dissuade the great king from sacrificing himself for a mere cow.

The outcome of this blessing of divine Nandini is the birth of Raghu, the next king described by Kalidasa in three cantos 3, 4 and 5. In canto IV, as already mentioned, Raghu’s Digvijaya, conquest of the whole country and becoming a Chakravartin, is an exposition of the second Purushartha, Artha. Canto IV on Raghu should be read with canto XVII on Atithi, Rama’s grandson and his exemplary qualities as an ideal ruler. Both these contexts are full of ideas, of polity and the terminology of the Artha Sastra and Kautalya, which I have shown in an article entitled ‘Kalidasa and Kautalya.’ Raghu’s conquests, as already pointed out, are Dharmavijaya; at the end of his victories, Raghu performed a sacrifice called Visva-jit(conquest of the world), the fees (Dakshina) for which was the giving away of all his possessions, leaving him only some mud-vessels for use. (IV. 86; V. 1, 2, 16; VI. 76) So was Atithi’s whose Artha was also governed by Dharma; and the conquests were only to enable him to perform the Asvamedha sacrifice (XVII. 76).

The third Purushartha, Kama, love and pursuit of pleasure is illustrated by the third King Aja, his marrying Indumati–which is described elaborately from the Svayamvara onwards–their idyllic enjoyment and her sudden death while they were together in the garden and Aja, unable to console himself in the sorrow, giving up his life at the confluence of the Ganga and the Sarayu (From the latter part of canto V to end of VIII). The death of Indumati and Aja following her are not made into a tragedy (Karuna) by the poet who says that, giving up his body at the holy waters, Aja gained the world of the gods, joined his beloved Indumati, now more resplendent in her divine form to which she had returned, and again enjoyed her company in the more glorious heavenly garden of Nandana. That is, the separation is not final, but a prelude, so to say, to a more glorious and lasting union, and is thus Karuna-Vipralambha. The great aesthete Abhinavagupta, in his commentary on the Natya Sastra, draws particular attention to the artistry of Kalidasa as seen in the conclusion that the poet gives episode. Bhoja too refers to this same verse and the idea it brings out, in his work of poetics.

Kalidasa, accepted as pre-eminent in the delineation of Love (Sringara), offers another context in canto XIII of the RV. which has drawn one more high tribute from Abhinavagupta. Love has the two phases of Union (Sambhoga) and separation (Vipralambha). Poets portray the two separately. But when, after the victory over Ravana, Rama comes along with Sita on the aerial chariot Pushpakaand as they fly over the spots of the Dandaka and Panchavati, the scenes of their separation and suffering, Kalidasa presents a precious picture of Sambhogatinged with Vipralambha. The situation has a further significance in that Sita herself hears from Rama’s own mouth how much he too suffered for her sake. It also helps Kalidasa to touch upon persons, places and incidents in their journey through the forests, which he had to skip in his actual treatment of the story in canto XII. As the poet himself observes a little later when Rama and Sita are in Ayodhya and reminisce over the happenings in the Dandaka, those sufferings turned into happiness (XIV, 25, Praptani duhkhanyapi dandakeshu sanchintymanani sukhanyabhuvan). Waxing eloquent on Kalidasa’s artistry in canto XIII in blending the two phases of Union and Separation, the two always interwined and enriching each other, Abbinavagupta pays a tribute to the rare delectation here of the two phases together and speaks of the poet as one ‘blessed by God with a sanctified poetic genius (Bhagavadanugraha-pavitravacha). (Commentary on Natya Sastra, Ch. VI.)

The love that Kalidasa has portrayed in the story of Aja and Indumati represents the highest ideal of that Rasa. As a contrast to this, the other Kama, lust, which knows no bounds and leads to ruin, is shown by the poet in the last canto of the poem with the counter-example (Vyatireka-drishtanta) of Agnivarna. In the many and varied sexual gratifications that Agnivarna sought, Kalidasa describes several technicalities, kinds of poses, embraces and unions, using directly or in an implied way the ideas and expressions of Vatsyayana in his Kama-Sutras. (See especially XIX. 16, 25, 31, 32 and Mallinatha’s gloss thereon). Kalidasa’s skill alone can describe these enjoyments in forty-four verses, without repeating an idea. The descriptions also show Kalidasa’s proficiency in music and dance.

We have seen Kalidasa and his treatment of Dharma, Artha and Kamaand his comprehensive knowledge of the Sastrason these three Purusharthas. We shall now take up the final and supreme Purusharthaof Mokshaand see how the poet portrays it, illustrating his enunciation at the opening of his poem of the ideal of retirement as a recluse and attaining salvation through Yoga (Vardhake munivrittinam and yogenante tanutyajam). The main description of this aspect is that of Raghu placing young Aja on the throne and retiring to a Viharaor Asrama, a monastery, on the outskirts of the city, in canto VIII (especially verses 14-26). The whole milieu of the Yoga and Moksha Sastras is here.

We need not enter into the technical controversy here among the commentators whether Raghu took to the third Asramaof the Vanaprasthaor, the last one, Sannyasa. But Kalidasa’s own words are clear; he calls it the last, antyam asramam (14); mentions Raghu as a Yatistriving for final salvation, Apavarga(16), the state from which there is no return (anapayi-pada (17); engaged in concentration (Dharana, 18) and meditation (Pranidhana) with control of breath (19), burning all Karma in the fire of knowledge, (Jnana, 20) (reminding us of Gita, IV. 36 ); transcending the three Gunasand Prakritiand arriving at the stage at which a clod of earth and a piece of gold mean the same (21); with steadfast mind, Raghu stopped not in his Yoga till he realised the Supreme Self (Paramatma-darsana, 22); he reached the Supreme Being, the everlasting that is beyond all darkness (Tamasah param apad avyayam purusham, 24).

In the brie sketches of a number ofthe later kings of the race in canto XVIII, each in a few strokes, the poet does not fail to mention that many of them retired to the forests, performed austerities and obtained salvation. Indeed as Kalidasa says at the conclusion of Dilipa’s life, this is the Kula-vrata of the Ikshvaku kings in their old age (III. 70).

The entire story of Rama which is the core of poem represents Moksha. The prayer by the Gods to Vishnu, His incarnation as Rama, the name Rama being the saviour, the first among things auspicious to the universe (Jagat-prathama-mangalam, X. 67) are patent proofs. Kalidasa reminds us often of Rama as an Avataraof the Lord, (gam gatam purushottamam IX. 72), Hari, in the name of Rama (Ramabhidhano Harirityuvacha, XIII. I). The earlier account of Raghu’s pursuit of spiritual realisation should be read along with the gods’ prayer to Lord Vishnu in canto X, to realise how the essence of the Yoga Sutras, the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita has been distilled here by Kalidasa, often using the same original expressions of these sacred texts. If Vedanta is to be presented in a nutshell, we have it here in this hymn (X. 16-32).

The Indian ideology of the Purusharthasis that there should be a balanced and harmonious pursuit of them with a sense of proportion and of comparative importance. The first three, referred to as Trivarga–Dharma, Artha and Kama–areto be followed without one affecting the other. When describing Atithi (XVII. 57), Kalidasa says, ‘He did not infringe on Dharma, in his pursuit of Artha and Kama; nor neglect the latter two on behalf of the first; between Arthaand Kama, he saw to it that the one was not allowed to flourish at the expense of each other.’ While this is the general guideline, the idea of Dharma as the overall superior value is a higher ideal which the poet places before us when describing Dilipa that in his case, even Arthaand Kamawere governed by Dharma (I. 25). Raja-niti being based on Indriya-jaya, control of senses, victorious campaigns being Dharma-vijaya, acquisition being only for Tyaga, life as a householder being for the continuation of the line, these are the values which chastened life’s mundane instincts and made them the means, Sadhana for the last and highest purushartha, Moksha. This Hindu conception of values is effectively brought out by the poet in the RV.

That Kalidasa was an Astikaand imbedded in his poems and plays the basic ideas of the Sastras, of our tradition and culture, could be illustrated with numerous examples. The RV. alone contains several passages of such significance, given directly or through similes. Much has already been said about his mastery of the different Sastras. Manu, the first king, was like the OM of the Vedas (I. 11). The Gita idea of the Yajna-chakra (III. 10-11) of the world of men and gods co-operating and mutually maintaining the universe, is brought out in RV. I. 26, 62, etc. Similarly the marriage of temporal power with spiritual power, mentioned in the Vedas is emphasised by Kalidasa through Dilipa and Vasishtha and also by the express statement in describing Aja and Vasishtha (VIII. 4), the combination of Kshatraand Brahman as an irresistible force like the fire accompanied by the wind. The king is a Raja-Rishi and by his self-control, observance of Dharma and exerting himself always for the welfare of the people, the Raja-rishi is not less great than the Brahrna-rishi. In I.58 Muni Vasishtha is said to speak to the Muni doing his Tapas on the throne, namely King Dilipa, (Rajyasrarnarnunirn munih). The Raja-rishi is also a superman, a Mahapurusha. Of the Mahapurusha-lakshanas, a few are touched by Kalidasa. In the presence of a Mahapurusha, as in that of a great Rishi established in Ahimsa, mutually inimical beings gave up their enmities (II.14); so also in the case of King Sushena (VI. 46), “Sattvaih naisargiko pyutsasrje virodhah” and when Rama was going through the forest and stayed under a tree, its shade remained stationary over his head, despite the passage of time (XII. 21). That the birth of such a person is for the weal of the world is shown by the pleasant aspects which Nature puts on at the time the sky becoming clear, the wind blowing soft and pleasant,etc. (III. 14). The conception of Smritias deriving its authority from Sruti is brought out in the simile that queen Sudakshina followed in the footsteps of King Dilipa, even as the Smritifollowing the Sruti (II.2).

The Samskarasor sacramental acts which we are called upon to undergo from conception and birth onwards (Jatakarma, etc.) are, as their very name signifies, for purification and refinement of the person. This idea is reinforced by Kalidasa when he compares young Raghu, after the Samskaras, as shining forth like a raw gem from the mine after the process of polishing (III. 18).

We may mention also Kalidasa’s conception of the wife in the memorable verse of Aja describing Indumati (VIII-67): “mistress of the house, a counsellor, a friend in private, and a dear student in learning the fine arts, what has not Fate taken away from me by taking her away?”

The “Son” isan all-important factor in the traditional scheme of life. The Vedas declare that it is with his progeny that man becomes full. The longing for a son is an underlying and running motif in all the major works of Kalidasa. It would even appear that in his own life, the poet’s keenest longing was for a son. The most touching description of the child–the one in the lastAct of the Sakuntalaapart–is what the poet has given of child Raghu in canto III of the RV. Of the fifteen Verses here (13-27), two could not be left one. “Dilipa took child Raghu on his lap and by his physical touch, the child seemed to inject doses of happiness into the skin of the father and with his eyes closed at their ends, the king, at last, had the taste of the bliss of the Son’s touch.” (26) “The addition of a third partner did not diminish the mutual love of the parents, it only increased the mutual rapport of the two.” (24)

Two things which stand out prominently in Kalidasa’s works are the Asramas and the sublime life led there and the concept of Raja-rishi, Although when we think of Kalidasa”s picture of Asrama life, our thoughts at once go to the Sakuntala, the RV. already offer, full pictures of the elevating Asramas of the sages and others serving there and doing their simple but high and dedicated life. There is first the description of Vasishtha’s Asrama in cantos one and two. Then some of the other Asramas and sages of Dandaka are briefly touched in canto XIII. But it is in canto XIV that we have the best of this kind, the description of Valmiki’s Asrama where Sita, pregnant and abandoned by Rama, is received by the compassionate poet. It is after Sita here that Kalidasa later draws the picture of Sakuntala. In fact, by its pathos, canto XIV is the roost moving  portion of the whole Poem. As one reads it, one pauses, sighs and wipes one’s eye before resuming his reading.

The sublime life of the Asrama, the simple life and the exalted mind of those living there, as well as the ideal of the king as the Royal Sage, Rajarshi, were both highlighted by Kalidasa so that, by capturing the spirit and atmosphere of the former and the exalted character of the latter (Dhiroddhata) Kalidasa could bring to the learned and the ruling classes alike in the time and society in which he lived and wrote, the lesson of functioning at such an elevated plane. Once at least the poet expressly states this through the criticism he makes when Aja came to the throne (VIII.2): “The throne that sons of kings want to appropriate even by perpetuating sinful acts, Aja accepted because it came to him on the behest of his father, not out of lust for enjoyment.” He defines the king as one who pleases his subjects (Raja prakriti-ranjanat IV. 12). We see the picture of a Welfare State when we read of Dilipa’s rule: “By imparting teaching and discipline to people, by protecting them and maintaining them, Dilipa was their real father, the physical parents being only responsible for their birth (I. 24). When Dasaratha ruled, disease did not set its foot in the country (IX. 4). Aja drew himself to the subjects so closely and personally that everyone among them thought that he alone was the king’s favourite (VIII. 8). By his very pleasing looks and smiling words, Atithi appeared to the people as confidence taken human form (XVII. 31). Mere diplomacy is the modus operandi of a fear-complex; mere exhibition of striking power is the way of brutes, the law of the jungle. Atithi therefore took the golden mean to attain his success (XVII. 47). Under Dilipa, theft remained merely a word in the dictionary (I.27); and “when women in the midst of their love-sports fell asleep on the highway during the night, even the wind did not touch their garments; who would dare to stretch his hand to steal their jewellery?” (VI. 75) The highest ideal given by Kalidasa is in King Kartaviryaarjuna, who was a Yogin; the moment someone among the people entertained in his mind the idea of doing a wrong thing, that very moment the Yogic King appeared in the mind of that person, bow in hand, and arrested the evil intention within the mind itself; such was the discipline which his personality automatically effected (VII. 39). These are ideas relevant even in the present age of elected representatives, leaders and ministers and everywhere the need is felt for ombudsmen and Lokapalas.

The simile has always been considered Kalidasa’s forte; “Upama Kalidasasya” is the saying. Full justice could be done to this aspect of his poetry only by taking into account all his works, but the RV. alone offers a considerable number of the simile. Reference was made at the outset to the poet being called the Raghukara. Another name, a sobriquet if we may call it so, that he got is “Dipasikha-Kalidasa.” This is based on the RV. and a striking simile he used there at the description of Indumati’s svayamvara. As the suitor-kings were sitting in a row and Indumati passed them one after the other, the one before whom she halted for a while brightened up, but the moment she moved on to the next, the glow on the face of the one passed fell; it was like a torch of light taken along the royal highway in the night (Sanchalini dipasikhevaratrau VI. 67); each mansion shone when the light passed before it and the next moment fell into darkness. Kalidasa draws his similes also from the abstract concepts of Sastraslike Vyakarana Mimamsa (XII. 58, XV. 7 and 8); but these I am dealing elsewhere, in a separate exposition of Kalidasa’s similes and their suggestiveness.

There are also his Arthantaranyasasand general observations of wisdom. A saying of his which has become a proverb is “bhinnarucir as lokah” (VI. 30), meaning in brief “tastes differ.” In the inconsolable grief of Aja, the Guru Vasishtha sends him precious words of wisdom: “To die is the nature of embodied beings; it is living that is the exception; if a creature endures with breath even for a moment, it is so much gain” (VIII. 87). “It is only the deluded one who considers the loss of a dear one as a dart stuck in his heart; one of firm mind considers the same as the clearance of an impediment, opening thereby the door to the everlasting welfare.” (88)

The RV.has several chunks of beautiful poetic description. There are the descriptions of the Seasons (Ritus), Spring in IX where Dasaratha goes hunting and Summer in XVI, described in the account of Kusa. I have dealt with these at length in my “Ritu in Sanskrit Literature”. The Suprabhata-verses sung by the minstrels to wake up prince Aja in V form a set of beautiful verses, which include varied cameos of the dawn (65-74). There are then the pictures of the women of the city in various stages of their dressing and make-up, rushing to see the royal couple in procession, Aja and Indumati (VII. 5-12)–a favourite of Kalidasa found also in his Kumarasambhava. The joint description in canto VIII of young Aja exerting in his task of making himself an exemplary ruler and of his old father Raghu, exerting himself in his Yogic discipline for the realisation of the Supreme, of one in each of the two lines of a verse, bearing a common verb applying to both (Dipaka alamkara) is the product of high artistry. In the latter part of the same canto is another sample of the poet’s favourite piece, the lament of Aja over the dead body of his wife, which has its replica in Rati’s lament on the death of her husband, Kama, in the Kumarasambhava. Another chunk of this class is Rama’s description from the Vimana above of the sea below in the beginning of canto XIII. It is in this same canto that we have also the poet’s celebrated description of the mingling of the white and dark waters of the Ganga and Yamuna at the sacred confluence of Prayag (54-57).

Of other poetic qualities here are the tilt, sway and music of his many Upajati lines, the pithy Anushtubhs, marvels of condensed expression, sparkling like cut diamonds, and a characteristic kind of a sound assonance by adjacent repetition of two, two syllables. To cite but one example:

Tasmai sabhyas sabharyaya goptre gupta-tamendriyah
Arhanam arhate chakruh munaye nayacakshushe (I. 55)

Indeed Kalidasa displays, only in the RV. and only once, the more alliteration of Yamakain the description of Dasaratha (IX).

Kalidasa is steeped in the tradition, myths and texts of Hinduism. The way in which ideas and expressions from Valmiki are riven by him into his verses like grains of gold has been shown by me elsewhere. But while the general impression of his drawing upon the Ramayana, Mahabharata orthe Puranasis there, he uses them in his own way of original creation. In the account of the kings of the Solar race, he does not follow the succession given by Valmiki; he makes a choice of his own in picking up a few of them and the episodes with which he drapes them are all his own; Dilipa and Nandini, Raghu, Indra and Kautsa, Aja and Indumati, Kusa and Kumudvati are all his own creations. Indeed, after his time, many Puranic texts took over whole sections, verses and expressions from his works, as I have shown in several papers on Kalidasa and the Puranas.

We cannot end the RV. without coming to its very first, opening verse (I. 1), one of the most widely known verses in Sanskrit literature, in which the poet pays his obeisance to the primordial parents of the universe, Parvati and Paramesvara, two in one, Ardhanarisvara, whom he compares to the inseparable Word and its Meaning and thereby seeks for himself the blessing of poesy. Word is, according to Agama, Tantra and the philosophy of Speech, Para Vak, the Deviof whom Kalidasa was an Upasaka. His Kumarasambhavais based on this symbolism; lest we miss it, he says, “Try to unite Shiva the Artha with Parvati, the Word (VI. 79), that Word, that poesy which sanctifies one and at once forms one’s adornment (I. 28).

Taya sa pootas cha vibhushitas cha

* Based on a lecture given in honour of the late Sri K. Balasubrahmanya Aiyar who was one of the earliest patrons of the Triveni.