Kumarasambhavam: The Origin of the Young God

Kalidasa, translated by

Hank Heifetz

240 pages, Rs. 399

Malavikagnimitram: The Dancer and the King

Kalidasa, translated by Srinivas Reddy

176 pages, Rs. 399,

Penguin Books India

Perhaps the most extraordinary of India’s classical poets, Kalidasa composed seven major works: three plays, two epic poems and two lyric poems. According to legend, he lived at the end of the fourth century, and was one of “nine jewels” in the court of the Gupta king Chandragupta II. Kumarasambhava,the greatest long poem in classical Sanskrit, celebrates the love of Siva and Parvati in sensuous detail. Malavikagnimitram, believed to be Kalidasa’s first work, is an engrossing court drama on the forbidden love between the historical king Agnimitra and the court dancer Malavika.