MEGHADUTA: THE CLOUD MESSENGER POETRY
The poem tells the story of a Yakṣa, a
servant of Kubera, the god of wealth. Because of his neglect of duty,
the Yakṣa is
separated from his wife and sent into exile to Rāmagiri in central India.
At the beginning of the rainy season, he sees a magnificent cloud and requests
it to carry his message of love to his wife, who lives in Alakā in the
Himalayan region.
The poem is traditionally divided into two
sections: Pūrvamegha and Uttaramegha. The first part describes
the cloud's journey from Rāmagiri towards the north. Kālidāsa presents
beautiful descriptions of mountains, rivers, forests, cities, temples, and the
people encountered on the way. The second part describes Alakā, the Yakṣa's
beloved wife, and the emotional message of love, hope, and reunion.
The
opening verse beautifully introduces the central theme:
कश्चित्कान्ताविरहगुरुणा स्वाधिकारात्प्रमत्तः ।
kaścit kāntā-viraha-guruṇā svādhikārāt pramattaḥ
“A certain Yakṣa,
overcome by the sorrow of separation from his beloved…”
The success of Meghadūta inspired the later
Sanskrit genre known as Sandeśakāvya or messenger poetry,
including Vedānta Deśika's Haṃsasandeśa.
Reference: Kālidāsa, Meghadūta,
Pūrvamegha, Verse 1.
A
masterpiece by Kalidasa, the Meghaduta is a lyrical poem (Kavya)
about a yaksha (a nature spirit) who is exiled to central India.
Desperate to send a message of love to his wife in the Himalayas, he convinces
a passing monsoon cloud to act as his messenger. The poem is famous for
its breathtaking, aerial-view descriptions of the Indian landscape.
(This blogpost is written by me - a team member of Piyush Plotters' which
is a part of Blogchatter's Half marathon)
No comments:
Post a Comment