Kumarasambhavam: The Origin of the Young God
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Kalidasa, translated by
Hank Heifetz
240 pages, Rs. 399
Malavikagnimitram: The Dancer and the King
Kalidasa, translated by Srinivas Reddy
176 pages, Rs. 399,
Penguin Books India
Perhaps the most extraordinary of India’s classical poets, Kalidasa composed seven major works: three plays, two epic poems and two lyric poems. According to legend, he lived at the end of the fourth century, and was one of “nine jewels” in the court of the Gupta king Chandragupta II. Kumarasambhava,the greatest long poem in classical Sanskrit, celebrates the love of Siva and Parvati in sensuous detail. Malavikagnimitram, believed to be Kalidasa’s first work, is an engrossing court drama on the forbidden love between the historical king Agnimitra and the court dancer Malavika.
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