Kālidāsa

Kali dasa

Dhoyi

Rupa Gosvamin

Rūpagōsvāmī

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, as well as the message itself. In the fifth century C.E., Sanskrit's finest poet, Kali dasa, composed "The Cloud Messenger." The beautiful and pure expression of an exiled lover's longing is among the best known and most treasured of all Sanskrit poems. In the twelfth century, Dhoyi imitated Kali dasa's masterpiece in "The Wind Messenger." Dhoyi's sentiments of love are blended with praise of the poet's royal patron King Lakshmana sena of Gauda (Bengal). Numerous more followed, including the third in the CSL selection, the sixteenth-century "Swan Messenger," composed also in Bengal by Rupa Go svamin, a devotee of Krishna. Here romantic and religious love combine in a poem that shines with the intensity of love for the god Krishna.

Ha_sad_ta

The play Shakuntala was one of the first examples of Indian literature to be read in translation in Europe. Shakuntala's story is a leitmotiv that recurs in many works of Indian literature and culminates in the master Kali-dasa's drama for the stage. The virtuous heroine is forgotten by her betrothed, the king Dushyanta, only to be refound thanks to a distinguishing signet ring discovered by a fisherman in the belly of one of his catch. The final act distills the essence of human forgiveness, in Shakuntala's gracious release of her husband from his guilt.

Kali dasa

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