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Kālidāsa and Similes (Part 2)
Kumārasambhavam
The epic opens with a magnificent hyperbole describing the great Himalayan mountains:
स्थितः पृथिव्या इव मानदण्डः ||
The Himalayas is like a great measuring scale used to measure the earth.
The narrative then moves to describing his daughter Pārvatī. We can look at a few descriptions of Pārvatī.
The Heroic Battle of the Nijagal Fort
An account of the historic battle for the conquest of the Nijagal Fort involving Peshwa Madhava Rao I, Hyder Ali, and Madakari Nayaka.
A Critique on Some Views of M. Hiriyanna
A paper titled “The Perspective of Practical Vedānta in the Works of M. Hiriyanna” was presented by Arjun Bharadwaj at the international conference “New Frontiers in Sanskrit and Indic Knowledge” (NFSI) on 12th June 2017 organized by the Chinmaya Vishwavidyapeeth. The current article contains excerpts from the paper.
Kālidāsa and Similes (Part 1)
Kālidāsa is known as the master of similes. The Sanskrit tradition has proclaimed it as ‘Upamā Kālidāsasya.’ The variety, depth and appropriateness of his similes remains unsurpassed to this day. A study of his similes is itself an education in many branches of knowledge. Instead of confining ourselves strictly to the similes, we can look at the superset called sādṛṣyamūlālaṅkāra. Dṛṣṭānta (Analogy) and atiśayokti (hyperbole) also fall into the same category. The following selection from his works will be a veritable treat to rasikas.
Mahābhārata – Pauloma and Āstīka-upaparvas
Adhyāyas 4-12. Pauloma-parva
The adhyāyas from 4 to 12 form the Pauloma-parva. Just like the anukramaṇikā (prologue), this section starts with a prose passage.
रोमहर्षणपुत्र उग्रश्रवाः सूतः पौराणिको नैमिषारण्ये शौनकस्य कुलपतेर्द्वादशवार्षिके सत्रे |
(Sūta-paurāṇika Ugraśrava, the son of Romaharṣaṇa during the twelve year long satra conducted by Śaunaka in the Naimiṣāraṇya,....)
Rasa and Imagination in Classical Indian Poetry
III
We shall now turn to the role of idiomatic language in poetry. As we all know, idiom is the life of any language. It is the hallmark of a great poet to employ idioms in his verses. At the same time, this is also a challenge, as idioms are generally easier to fit into a prose passage. Here are a few examples from languages other than Sanskrit:
Emotions and Imagination in Classical Indian Poetry
The focus of this article, as evident from the title, is on the role played by meter, idiom, diction and figures of speech—features that enrich the total aesthetic appeal of a poem—in classical Indian poetry. Art is created when emotions are sublimated and imagination is brought into action. Emotions moulded by imagination (pratibhā)—with or without the assistance of erudition (vyutpatti) and practice (abhyāsa)—result in a work of art, while mere emotions end up in their worldly destination of pain and pleasure.
Practical Vedānta in the Works of M. Hiriyanna
A paper titled “The Perspective of Practical Vedānta in the Works of M. Hiriyanna” was presented by Arjun Bharadwaj at the international conference “New Frontiers in Sanskrit and Indic Knowledge” (NFSI) on 12th June 2017 organized by the Chinmaya Vishwavidyapeeth. The current article contains excerpts from the paper.
Kālidāsa and India
Perhaps there is no other poet in Sanskrit or any other Indian language who has described the mythology, knowledge, geography, flora and fauna of our country in such vivid and intimate detail as Kālidāsa has. This is the primary reason why he should be our national poet. For him, no place was just a mass of land; no river just a mass of water; no city just a mass of people; and no Indian value just a thought. This can be seen from many illustrations in his works.