Sanskrit Messenger poems evoke the pain of separated sweethearts through
the formula of an estranged lover pleading with a messenger to take a
message to his or her beloved. The plea includes a lyrical description
of the route the messenger will take and the message itself. The first
was the Cloud Messenger, composed by Sanskrit's finest poet, Kali-dasa,
in the fifth century CE. This inspired the next, the Wind Messenger,
composed in praise of King Lákshmana-sena of Gauda (Bengal) in the
twelfth century by Dhoyi, one of his court poets. Numerous more
followed, including the third in the CSL selection, the
sixteenth-century Swan Messenger, composed in Bengal by Rupa Go-svamin,
a devotee of Krishna.
Co-published by New York University Press and the JJC Foundation
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