Plays[edit]

Kalidasa wrote three plays. Among them, Abhijanasakuntalam ("Of Shakuntala recogn
ised by a token") is generally regarded as a masterpiece. It was among the first
Sanskrit works to be translated into English, and has since been translated int
o many languages.[9]
Shakuntala stops to look back at Dushyanta, Raja Ravi Varma (1848-1906).
Malavikagnimitram ("Malavika and Agnimitra") tells the story of King Agnimitra,
who falls in love with the picture of an exiled servant girl named Malavika. Whe
n the queen discovers her husband's passion for this girl, she becomes infuriate
d and has Malavika imprisoned, but as fate would have it, Malavika is in fact a
true-born princess, thus legitimizing the affair.
Abhijanasakuntalam ("Of Shakuntala recognised by a token") tells the story of Kin
g Dushyanta who, while on a hunting trip, meets Shakuntala, the adopted daughter
of a sage, and marries her. A mishap befalls them when he is summoned back to c
ourt: Shakuntala, pregnant with their child, inadvertently offends a visiting sa
ge and incurs a curse, by which Dushyanta will forget her completely until he se
es the ring he has left with her. On her trip to Dushyanta's court in an advance
d state of pregnancy, she loses the ring, and has to come away unrecognized. The
ring is found by a fisherman who recognizes the royal seal and returns it to Du
shyanta, who regains his memory of Shakuntala and sets out to find her. After mo
re travails, they are finally reunited.
Vikramorvasiyam ("Pertaining to Vikrama and Urvashi") tells the story of mortal
King Pururavas and celestial nymph Urvashi who fall in love. As an immortal, she
has to return to the heavens, where an unfortunate accident causes her to be se
nt back to the earth as a mortal with the curse that she will die (and thus retu
rn to heaven) the moment her lover lays his eyes on the child which she will bea
r him. After a series of mishaps, including Urvashi's temporary transformation i
nto a vine, the curse is lifted, and the lovers are allowed to remain together o
n the earth.
Poems[edit]
Epics[edit]
Kalidasa is the author of two epic poems, Raghuva?sa ("Dynasty of Raghu") and Ku
marasambhava (Birth of 'Kumara' or Subrahmanya).
Raghuva?sa is an epic poem about the kings of the Raghu dynasty.
Kumarasambhava describes the birth and adolescence of the goddess Parvati, and h
er marriage to Lord Shiva.
Minor Poems[edit]
Kalidasa also authored two khandakavyas (minor poems):
?tusa?hara describes the six seasons by narrating the experiences of two lovers
in each of the seasons.[N 1]
Meghaduta or Meghasandesa is the story of a Yaksha trying to send a message to h
is lover through a cloud. Kalidasa set this poem to the 'mandakranta' meter know
n for its lyrical sweetness. It is one of Kalidasa's most popular poems and nume
rous commentaries on the work have been written.