Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 44 views

    Sr. Kalidas Poet

    Uploaded by

    Palak Pathak
    Scholars have speculated that the famous ancient Indian poet Kālidāsa lived in various parts of India, including near the Himalayas, in Ujjain, and in Kalinga, based on references in his works. A Kashmiri scholar argued that Kālidāsa was originally from Kashmir based on descriptions of flora, fauna, legends, and sites in his works. While traditionally thought to have been a court poet of the legendary king Vikramāditya around the 1st century BCE, most scholars now believe Kālidāsa lived in the 4th-5th century CE during the reign of Emperor Chandragupta II. However, some argue multiple poets used the

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Sr. Kalidas Poet

    Uploaded by

    Palak Pathak
    44 views2 pages
    Scholars have speculated that the famous ancient Indian poet Kālidāsa lived in various parts of India, including near the Himalayas, in Ujjain, and in Kalinga, based on references in his works. A Kashmiri scholar argued that Kālidāsa was originally from Kashmir based on descriptions of flora, fauna, legends, and sites in his works. While traditionally thought to have been a court poet of the legendary king Vikramāditya around the 1st century BCE, most scholars now believe Kālidāsa lived in the 4th-5th century CE during the reign of Emperor Chandragupta II. However, some argue multiple poets used the

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Scholars have speculated that the famous ancient Indian poet Kālidāsa lived in various parts of India, including near the Himalayas, in Ujjain, and in Kalinga, based on references in his works. A Kashmiri scholar argued that Kālidāsa was originally from Kashmir based on descriptions of flora, fauna, legends, and sites in his works. While traditionally thought to have been a court poet of the legendary king Vikramāditya around the 1st century BCE, most scholars now believe Kālidāsa lived in the 4th-5th century CE during the reign of Emperor Chandragupta II. However, some argue multiple poets used the

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    44 views2 pages

    Sr. Kalidas Poet

    Uploaded by

    Palak Pathak
    Scholars have speculated that the famous ancient Indian poet Kālidāsa lived in various parts of India, including near the Himalayas, in Ujjain, and in Kalinga, based on references in his works. A Kashmiri scholar argued that Kālidāsa was originally from Kashmir based on descriptions of flora, fauna, legends, and sites in his works. While traditionally thought to have been a court poet of the legendary king Vikramāditya around the 1st century BCE, most scholars now believe Kālidāsa lived in the 4th-5th century CE during the reign of Emperor Chandragupta II. However, some argue multiple poets used the

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    You are on page 1of 2

    Early life[edit]

    Scholars have speculated that Kālidāsa may have lived near the Himalayas, in the vicinity of Ujjain,
    and in Kalinga. This hypothesis is based on Kālidāsa's detailed description of the Himalayas in his
    Kumārasambhava, the display of his love for Ujjain in Meghadūta, and his highly eulogistic
    descriptions of Kalingan emperor Hemāngada in Raghuvaṃśa (sixth sarga).
    Lakshmi Dhar Kalla (1891–1953), a Sanskrit scholar and a Kashmiri Pandit, wrote a book titled The
    birth-place of Kalidasa (1926), which tries to trace the birthplace of Kālidāsa based on his writings.
    He concluded that Kālidāsa was born in Kashmir, but moved southwards, and sought the patronage
    [3][4][5]
    of local rulers to prosper. The evidence cited by him from Kālidāsa's writings includes:

    ● Description of flora and fauna that is found in Kashmir, but not Ujjain or Kalinga: the
    saffron plant, the deodar trees, musk deer etc.
    ● Description of geographical features common to Kashmir, such as tarns and glades
    ● Mention of some sites of minor importance that, according to Kalla, can be identified with
    places in Kashmir. These sites are not very famous outside Kashmir, and therefore,
    could not have been known to someone not in close touch with Kashmir.
    ● Reference to certain legends of Kashmiri origin, such as that of the Nikumbha
    (mentioned in the Kashmiri text Nīlamata Purāṇa); mention (in Shakuntala) of the legend
    about Kashmir being created from a lake. This legend, mentioned in Nīlamata Purāṇa,
    states that a tribal leader named Ananta drained a lake to kill a demon. Ananta named
    the site of the former lake (now land) as "Kashmir", after his father Kaśyapa.
    ● According to Kalla, Śakuntalā is an allegorical dramatization of Pratyabhijna philosophy
    (a branch of Kashmir Shaivism). Kalla further argues that this branch was not known
    outside of Kashmir at that time.
    Another old legend recounts that Kālidāsa visits Kumāradāsa, the king of Lanka and, because of
    [6]
    treachery, is murdered there.

    Period[edit]
    Several ancient and medieval books state that Kālidāsa was a court poet of a king named
    Vikramāditya. A legendary king named Vikramāditya is said to have ruled from Ujjain around the 1st
    century BCE. A section of scholars believe that this legendary Vikramāditya is not a historical figure
    at all. There are other kings who ruled from Ujjain and adopted the title Vikramāditya, the most
    [7]
    notable ones being Chandragupta II (r. 380 CE – 415 CE) and Yaśodharman (6th century CE).
    The most popular theory is that Kālidāsa flourished during the reign of Chandragupta II, and
    therefore lived around the 4th-5th century CE. Several Western scholars have supported this theory,
    [7]
    since the days of William Jones and A. B. Keith. Modern western Indologists and scholars like
    [8]
    Stanley Wolpert also support this theory. Many Indian scholars, such as Vasudev Vishnu Mirashi
    [9][10]
    and Ram Gupta, also place Kālidāsa in this period. According to this theory, his career might
    have extended to the reign of Kumāragupta I (r. 414 – 455 CE), and possibly, to that of Skandagupta
    [11][12]
    (r. 455 – 467 CE).
    The earliest paleographical evidence of Kālidāsa is found in a Sanskrit inscription dated c. 473 CE,
    found at Mandsaur's Sun temple, with some verses that appear to imitate Meghadūta Purva, 66; and
    [13]
    the ṛtusaṃhāra V, 2–3, although Kālidāsa is not named. His name, along with that of the poet
    [14]
    Bhāravi, is first mentioned the 634 CE Aihole inscription found in Karnataka.

    Theory of multiple Kālidāsas[edit]


    Some scholars, including M. Srinivasachariar and T. S. Narayana Sastri, believe that works
    attributed to "Kālidāsa" are not by a single person. According to Srinivasachariar, writers from 8th
    and 9th centuries hint at the existence of three noted literary figures who share the name Kālidāsa.
    These writers include Devendra (author of Kavi-Kalpa-Latā), Rājaśekhara and Abhinanda. Sastri
    [15]
    lists the works of these three Kalidasas as follows:

    1. Kālidāsa alias Mātṛgupta, author of Setu-Bandha and three plays


    (Abhijñānaśākuntalam, Mālavikāgnimitram and Vikramōrvaśīyam).
    2. Kālidāsa alias Medharudra, author of Kumārasambhava, Meghadūta and
    Raghuvaṃśa.
    3. Kālidāsa alias Kotijit: author of Ṛtusaṃhāra, Śyāmala-Daṇḍakam and Śṛngāratilaka
    among other works.
    Sastri goes on to mention six other literary figures known by the name "Kālidāsa": Parimala Kālidāsa
    alias Padmagupta (author of Navasāhasāṅka Carita), Kālidāsa alias Yamakakavi (author of
    Nalodaya), Nava Kālidāsa (author of Champu Bhāgavata), Akbariya Kalidasa (author of several
    samasyas or riddles), Kālidāsa VIII (author of Lambodara Prahasana), and Abhinava Kālidāsa alias
    [15]
    Mādhava (author of Saṅkṣepa-Śaṅkara-Vijayam).
    According to K. Krishnamoorthy, "Vikramāditya" and "Kālidāsa" were used as common nouns to
    [16]
    describe any patron king and any court poet respectively.

    You might also like

    pFad - Phonifier reborn

    Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

    Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


    Alternative Proxies:

    Alternative Proxy

    pFad Proxy

    pFad v3 Proxy

    pFad v4 Proxy