A fresh and very readable translation of the world's greatest Sanskrit
writer, Kalidasa ""Kalidasa(circa fourth century CE) is widely regarded
as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language. Not much is
known with certainty about his life and though many are aware of his
timeless Sakuntalam and Meghadutam, very few have actually read him,
even in translation. The aesthetics of poetry may have changed over 1500
years - we no longer compare women's faces to lotuses or their figures
to vines - but it is difficult not to be moved by the sheer beauty and
lyricism of Kalidasa's description of the exiled yak?a beseeching a
cloud to carry his message across the mountains to his lover, or his
evocative narration of the meeting of doomed lovers in the forest.""
""Mani Rao's supple, contemporary translation removes the distance
between Kalidasa and the modern reader, she helps 'read' the poetry for
us while remaining loyal to the text. "" ""Selections from all seven of
the great poet's works (which are considered by Sanskrit scholars to be
authentically his creations) are included in this volume- Meghad?tam,
Kumarasambhavam and ?tusa?h?ram, he heroic exploits narrated in
Raghuva?sam which gives us a remarkable picture of ancient India, as
well as the celebrated dramas Abhijnãna Sakuntalam, Vikramorvasiyam and
Malavikagnimitram. This is a translation that belongs to today, Kalidasa
renewed""
