Kalidasa’s Meghadhuta (With a Brief Annotation in English)

By Venkataraman M

The Meghadhuta also known as Meghasandesam is one of the beautiful works of Kalidasa. It is a poem in Sanskrit Language consisting of 117 verses. It is actually one of a few minor compositions of Kalidasa. Being one of the greatest poets of Sanskrit Literature, he has produced epics like the Raghuvamsa Mahakavya and Kumarasambhavam and dramas like Abigyana Sakuntalam.

 

The ideas contained in this poem is simple but romantic. Alaka is a mountain in the Himalayas. The god of wealth, Kubera is the king of this place. He has a group of divine attendants working for him. These attendants are known as Yakshas. One of these Yakshas was very much  smitten and obsessed with his wife. Hence, he ignored his duties. Kubera, therefore, cursed him and banished him into the woods on planet Earth. The Yaksha came to a mountainous place called Ramagiri named after Lord Rama near the present state of Chattisgarh in India and was residing in an ashram there.

 

The Yaksha spent several months on the mountain. Thoroughly dejected, the love-lorn Yaksha keeps thinking about his wife. His wife also keeps thinking about him all day and all night. It is the time of monsoon. The Yaksha sees a rain cloud passing by. He requests the cloud to carry a message to his wife. The Yaksha then starts to describe the route that the cloud should take to meet his lover. This forms the crux of the verses of this poem.

 

The works of Kalidasa are synonymous with the beauty of nature, lyrical poetry, dramatic stories, great heroes and sensuous heroines. The Meghadhuta focusses mainly on sensual love and the beauty of nature. Kalidasa's genius lies in making these two subjects flow into each other in this work. 

 

Read and enjoy the beauty of this poem.

• Language: English
• Publisher: M. VENKATARAMAN
• Release date: Mar 8, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215338742

Book preview

Kalidasa’s Meghadhuta

(With a Brief Annotation in English)

Kalidasa

A Brief Annotation in English

By

M. Venkataraman

Year of Publication-2022

Copyright - M. Venkataraman

Published by:

M.Venkataraman,

G-10, Ground Floor,

Innovative Timberleaf,

Somasundarapalaya,

H.S.R. Layout, Sector II,

Bangalore-560102.

E mail: [e-mail]

An audio book on this has also been published which will be available with leading audio booksellers.

Contents

Introduction

Purva Megha

1. Verses 1 to 12

2. Verses  13 to 26

3. Verses 27 to 37

4. Verses 38 to 47

5. Verses 48 to 56

6. Verses 57 to 63

Uttara Megha

7. Verses 64 to 75

8. Verses 76 to 85

9. Verses 86 to 96

10. Verses 97 to 117

Books written and published by the Author

Audio Books published and narrated by the

Author

Introduction

The Meghadhuta is a beautiful poem of Kalidasa, one of the greatest poets of Sanskrit Literature.

According to Hindu mythology, Kubera is the god of wealth. Alakapuri, briefly called as Alaka, is a kingdom stated to be somewhere in the Himalayas and Kubera is stated to be its ruler. The Yakshas are a kind of demi-gods who live there. They possess divine powers. The principal character of Meghadhuta is one such Yaksha. He was very much smitten and obsessed with his wife. Hence, he ignored his duties. Kubera, therefore, cursed him and banished him for an year from Alaka. Kubera had also withdrawn the Yaksha’s divine powers.

The banished Yaksha reached Ramagiri, a mountain in central India and was spending his time there. He was recently married and was thinking of his young wife whom he had left behind in Alaka. The Yaksha felt that Kubera had been rather cruel to separate them. One day, standing on top of the Ramagiri mountain, the Yaksha looked up at the sky. It was the month of Ashada. At that time, he saw a huge, dark cloud on the mountain peak.  It looked as though an elephant was kneeling down on a river bank.  On seeing this big cloud, the Yaksha felt a surge of hope.  He wondered as to why not send a message to his beloved wife through this north-bound cloud. So, he approached the cloud with an offering of flowers and asked, "O mighty cloud capable of carrying immense quantities of water, please take a message from me to my wife!  She lives