Meghaduta
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Meghadūta (literally "cloud messenger") is a lyric poem written by Kālidāsa, considered to be one of the greatest Sanskrit poets.
A short poem of only 111 stanzas, it is one of Kālidāsa's most famous works. It recounts how a yakṣa, or attendant of Kubera (the God of Wealth) after being exiled for a year to central India for some unknown transgression, convinces a passing cloud to take a message to his wife on Mount Kailāsa in the Himālaya mountains. The yakṣa accomplishes this by describing the many beautiful sights the cloud will see on its northward course to the city of Alakā, where his wife awaits his return.
In 1813, the poem was first translated into English by Horace Hayman Wilson. An excerpt is quoted in Canadian director Deepa Mehta's film, Water.
The poem was also the inspiration for Gustav Holst's 'The Cloud Messenger Op. 30' (1909-10).
