Kalidasa Academy

Kalidasa Academy.part 2

His (kalidas) best-known work is Sakuntala. This play is considered one of the best not only in Sanskrit literature but in the literature of the world. Kalidasa based the play on the story of Sakuntala as found in the Mahabharata, but he has breathed quite a new and vital spirit into it by introducing several slight but effective changes in the original and also by adding new characters and incidents of high dramatic power. Before Sakuntala, Kalidasa had already composed two plays, the Malavikagnimitra and Vikramorvasiya.

Kalidasa’s genius shone with equal brilliance both in drama and in Kavya or poetry. His two Mahakavyas, Raghuvamsa and Kumarambhava and the lyrical poem Meghaduta are universally regarded as gems of Sanskrit poetry. Both in drama and poetry Kalidasa stands not only unsurpassed but even unrivalled”. For more details read volume 3.