Instruct: Given a question, retrieve documents that can help answer the question.
Query: When did Kalidasa live?
The most popular theory is that Kalidasa flourished during the reign of Chandragupta II, and therefore lived around 4th-5th century CE. Several Western scholars have supported this theory, since the days of William Jones and A. B. Keith.[9] Many Indian scholars, such as Vasudev Vishnu Mirashi and Ram Gupta, also place Kalidasa in this period.[10][11] According to this theory, his career might have extended to the reign of Kumaragupta I (r. 414 – 455 CE), and possibly, to that of Skandagupta (r. 455 – 467 CE).[12][13]
Kalidasa (Prakash Rai) works in the state archaeological department and is a food lover, he is 45 years old and remains unmarried. His only companion is his cook, Krishna (Thambi Ramaiah). Naveen (Tejus) is Kalidasa's nephew who comes to stay with him while looking for a job. Kalidasa has a normal life until he gets a misdialed phone call from Gowri (Sneha), a dubbing artiste living with her friend Meghana (Samyukta Hornad). Gowri rings to order a Dosa from a restaurant, but gets Kalidasa instead. Their conversations do not go well at first, but a long-distance romance develops due to their common interest—cooking and food. Kalidasa is a born gourmet while Gowri is indulging in culinary activities in memory of her dead mother. Kalidasa starts to let Gowri into the secrets of baking with a multi-layered cake called "Joan's Rainbow".
There is no historical evidence indicating that the nine scholars were contemporary figures or proteges of the same king. Vararuchi is believed to have lived around the third or fourth century CE. Although Kalidasa's lifetime is debated, most historians place him around the fifth century; Varahamihira is known to have lived in the sixth century. Dhanavantari was the author of a medical glossary (a nighantu), but his lifetime is uncertain. Amarasimha cannot be dated with certainty either, but his lexicon uses works by Dhanavantari and Kalidasa; therefore, he cannot be dated to the first century BCE (Vikramaditya is said to have established an era in 57 BCE). Little is known about Shanku, Vetalabhatta, Kshapanaka and Ghatakarpara. Some Jain writers identify Siddhasena Divakara as Kshapanaka, but this is not accepted by historians.
(3) Forest of Kartikeya where women were banned: Again, the original story mentions that the two were sent apart due to a curse, but Kalidasa adds the imagination that when the two went to Mount Gandhamadana (गन्धमादन पर्वत) after their marriage, Pururava once stared at a young Gandharva girl named Udayavati, who was playing by the river. Enraged by jealousy or displeasure, Urvashi stormed out of that place - and went straight into a forest which was prohibited for women. Thus she turned into a vine. Pururava, moved to extreme sixth stage of being in love, tried to find her and this is an opportunity Kalidasa creates to add narration of Nature, and conversation of Pururava with various elements of Nature, flora and fauna. Description of Nature (प्रकृति वर्णन) is Kalidasa's forte and the metaphors he uses to describe his beloved are wonderful.
Vidyadhare is fooled by Kalidasa's brilliance and marries him. However, the truth comes out during the first night. Shattered, Vidyadhare locks Kalidasa in the palace temple and gets him to demand "vidyaabuddhi" (knowledge and wisdom) from the goddess Kali. In a mystical scene, Vidyadhare loses consciousness, while Kalidasa is blessed with vidyaabuddhi. Kalidasa is shown walking away from the palace-temple, implying his casting off his earlier ignorance and walking away from his previous life. Vidyadhare regains consciousness and goes in search of her husband.
Kalidasa, a humble shepherd is shown rearing his sheep. Convinced of his stupidity, the minister charms Kalidasa to accompany him to the palace, so that Kalidasa can marry the princess. Coached by the minister, Kalidasa excels in the tests conducted by Vidyadhare (Jaya Pradha). The minister is shrewd enough to teach a key sentence to Kalidasa. If he can't answer a question, Kalidasa must utter "heluvudakkU, kEluvudakku, idu samayavalla" ("This isn't the right time to question or answer.")
Kaviratna Kalidasa () is a 1983 Kannada-language historical drama film based on the life of Kalidasa, a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer of 4th Century A.D., whose name was extremely popular across Indian sub-continent. The film was written and directed by Renuka Sharma and produced by V. S. Govinda. The film starred Rajkumar, portraying the title role of Kalidasa, along with Jaya Pradha in the role of Vidyadhare and Srinivasa Murthy as Raja Bhoja. The movie is based on the legends of the poet Kālidāsa and "Bhoj Sambu Kavya".
Dimdima kavi, who could silence herds of lauretes with his dimdima, catches her fault, asking when she herself is a lady, how can she say "milady." He announces that other than Kalidasa no one can answer this puzzle. Bhoja rushes the guards to Kalaadhare's house, only to find the dead body of Kalidasa. Bhoja also learns the truth from Vidyadhare: Kalidasa was her husband. Bhoja pledges to Vidyadhare that he'll get her husband back to her and prays to the goddess Kali to donate his half life to Kalidasa. When Kalidasa awakes to life, Bhoja hides himself and tricks him to sing "charama geethe." Bhoja dies once his friend has completed the song.
Kalidasa alias Matrigupta, author of Setu-Bandha and three plays (Abhijñānaśākuntalam, Mālavikāgnimitram and Vikramōrvaśīyam). Kalidasa alias Medharudra, author of Kumārasambhava, Meghadūta and Raghuvaṃśa. Kalidasa alias Kotijit: author of Ṛtusaṃhāra, Shyamala-Dandakam and Srngaratilaka among other works.
The Sinhalese translation of his work,"Jānakī-haraṇa", gave credence to the belief that Kumāradāsa was King Kumāradhātusena (513-522 A.D.) of Sri Lanka but scholars do not make any such identification even though the poet at the end of his poem says that his father, Mānita, a commander of the rearguard of the Sinhalese King Kumāramaṇi, died in battle on the day he was born and that his maternal uncles, Megha and Agrabodhi, brought him up. Rajasekhara, who lived around 900 A.D., in his "Kāvyamīmāmsā" refers to the poet as born blind - मेधाविरुद्रकुमारदासादयः जात्यन्धाः. There is also a tradition that this poem was written by Kalidasa. Kumāradāsa came after Kalidasa and lived around 500 A.D., later than Bhāravi but before Māgha. While writing "Jānakī-haraṇa", he certainly had before him "Raghuvaṃśa" of Kalidasa.
The onus is now on Kalidasa to get his friend back to life; the only way is the divine intervention. He prays his heart out to the goddess Kali, who is touched by the love and affection Kalidasa and Bhoja bestow on each other. The goddess blesses both Kalidasa and Bhoja with long lives. The movie ends with Kalidasa reuniting with Vidyadhare.The music for the film was composed by M. Ranga Rao and lyrics were written by Chi. Udaya Shankar. Rajkumar who was impressed by Mehdi Hassan's ghazal "Nawazish Karam Shukriya" asked the music director to recreate the song which resulted in "Sadaa Kannale".
He has performed both as "Nayaka" (hero) and "Vidushaka" (court jester) in Kudiyattams such as "Swapnavasavadattam", "Naganandam", "Subhadradhananjayam", etc. When Māni Mādhava Chākyār choreographed and directed Kalidasa's "Mālavikāgnimitra" and "Vikramorvaśīya" for the first time in the history of Kudiyattam, it was Mani Damodara Chakyar to whom he gave the role of "Nayaka". Mani Damodara Chakyar staged "Malavikagnimitram" and "Vikramorvasheeyam" at Kalidasa Academy, Ujjain under the guidance of his guru.
There is no historical evidence to show that these nine scholars were contemporary figures or proteges of the same king. Vararuchi is believed to have lived around 3rd or 4th century CE. The period of Kalidasa is debated, but most historians place him around 5th century CE. Varahamihira is known to have lived in 6th century CE. Dhanavantari was the author of a medical glossary (Nighantu); his period is uncertain. Amarasimha cannot be dated with certainty either, but his lexicon utilizes the works of Dhanavantari and Kalidasa; therefore, he cannot be dated to 1st century BCE, when the legendary Vikramaditya is said to have established the Vikrama Samvat in 57 BCE. Not much is known about Shanku, Vetalabhatta, Kshapanaka and Ghatakarpara. Some Jain writers identify Siddhasena Divakara as Kshapanaka, but this claim is not accepted by historians.
Srinivasa Murthy debuted under the tutelage of director Siddalingaiah in the movie "Hemavati". The movie was based on an inter-caste love story between a high-caste girl with an lower-caste boy. His acting was lauded by the Kannada Industry and he was warmly welcomed into the industry. He did not immediately get more Hero offers, but was called in supporting characters to the heroes. But he accepted what he was offered and displayed extreme range and grace in his acting. He has acted in close to 300 Kannada movies. His roles in "Mane Mane Ramayana", "Guru Shisyaru", Kaviratna Kalidasa, etc. are remembered for his excellent acting. In Kaviratna Kalidasa he played the role of Raja Bhoja, along with Kannada actor Rajkumar playing the role of Kalidasa. The camaraderie the two actors shared was a grand success. Even Rajkumar praised his efforts in that role.
Kalidasa, now a renowned poet, is one of the astadiggajas (eight great poets including Daṇḍin) in the court of King Bhoja (Srinivasa Murthy), much to the ire of the elder poet Musuri Krishnamurthy. Bhoja pleads with his dear friend Kalidasa to write a "charama geethe" (burial song) for him. Kalidasa refuses, since Bhoja is sure to die once he hears the song. Vidyadhare assumes the name Kaladhare, rests at a prostitute Ratnakala's home and catches Kalidasa's attention. Vidyadhare is pleased to see her husband, but Kalidasa is unaware of his former life. Kalidasa composes his best work "Abhignaanashaakuntala" with romantic interests on Vidyadhare.
Kalidasa lanata is a species of hemipteran insect in the genus Kalidasa of the family Fulgoridae found in South India. They have a slender and flexible stalk-like outgrowth arising from above the tip of the snout.
Its origin can be traced back to a tragic story centred on King Kumara Dharmasena or Kumaradhatusena son of King Kasyapa of Sigiriya (512-522 AD) and his closet friend, Kalidasa, a famous dramatist and poet. According to the tale the king whilst in the amorous company of a courtesan, spied a bee entangled in the petals of a lotus flower, inspired he wrote two poetic lines. He then offered a reward to anybody who could complete the other two stanzas to his poem. The cunning courtesan seized the opportunity took the verse to Kalidasa, who completed the poem. The courtesan then murdered Kalidasa in order to keep the reward for herself, concealing the body. The king however instantly recognised his friend's handwriting bringing the whole murderous ruse to light. When Kalidasa's dead body was taken to the funeral pyre for cremation, the grieving king unable to control his grief over the death of his beloved friend, threw himself into the burning flames and immolated himself. Upon witnessed this tragedy, five official queens also leapt into the flames to their deaths.
Malwa was the centre of Sanskrit literature during and after the Gupta period. The region's most famous playwright, Kalidasa, is considered to be the greatest Indian writer ever. His first surviving play is "Malavikagnimitra" (Malavika and Agnimitra). Kalidasa's second play, his masterpiece, is the Abhijñānaśākuntalam, which tells the story of king Dushyanta, who falls in love with a girl of lowly birth, the lovely Shakuntala. The last of Kalidasa's surviving plays is "Vikramuurvashiiya" ("Urvashi conquered by valour"). Kalidasa also wrote the epic poems "Raghuvamsha" ("Dynasty of Raghu"), "Ritusamhāra" and "Kumarasambhava" ("Birth of the war god"), as well as the lyric "Meghaduuta" ("The cloud messenger").
Sastri goes on to mention six other literary figures known by the name "Kalidasa": Parimala Kalidasa alias Padmagupta (author of Navasahasanka Charita), Kalidasa alias Yamakakavi (author of Nalodaya), Nava Kalidasa (author of Champu Bhagavata), Akbariya Kalidasa (author of several samasya</i>s or riddles), Kalidasa VIII (author of Lambodara Prahasana), and Abhinava Kalidasa alias Madhava (author of Sankshepa-Sankara-Vijayam).[16]
Kalidasa and Gowri both get the jitters before their first face-to-face meeting, as each becomes conscious of their own physical appearances, and both decide to send younger and better looking substitutes instead, Naveen and Meghana. When they meet, neither Naveen nor Meghana realises that the other person is a substitute, since they introduce themselves as Kalidasa and Gowri respectively. Naveen thinks that Kalidasa is actually in love with Meghana while Meghana thinks that Gowri is in love with Naveen. They attempt to sabotage their older counterpart's relationship by telling Kalidasa and Gowri respectively that the person they met would be unsuitable for them due to huge age difference and personality type. Kalidasa and Gowri try to forget each other and end up feeling sad for a long duration of the movie. Finally, Kalidas gives in to his loneliness and calls up Gowri and they both decide to meet face to face. Both of them decide to meet each other honestly to get it over with. Naveen and Meghana, who by this time had started to develop feelings for each other, are confused worried upon hearing this as they are afraid their true identity will be revealed to the other person. Naveen finally admits to Meghana that he is not the real Kalidasa and Meghana too explains her side of the story. They both realise the confusion and call Kalidasa to apologise and narrate all the incidents unknown to them. Kalidasa and Gowri finally meet each other at the planned museum and their relationship begins.Prakash bought the remake rights of the film "Salt N' Pepper". It is a romantic story between two couples who accidentally get to know each other through their common love for food. Besides directing the film, Prakash Raj has also acted in and produced the film. Tabu was initially roped in to play the lead female role but was dropped out. Sneha signed the film later as a leading lady, playing Shwetha Menon's role from the original. In May 2013, Prakash acknowledged that he would be directing Sneha in his upcoming venture on an episode of "Neengalum Vellalam Oru Kodi" that featured her and her husband Prasanna. Saymukta Hornad, daughter of popular Kannada actor Sudha Belawadi was cast for a role in the film and said that she was taking Telugu and Tamil lessons as she would be part of all three versions too. A newcomer, Tejus, was selected by Prakash to play the role of Naveen, the love interest of Samyukta Hornad's character. All the songs in the film are choreographed by Bollywood's popular choreographer and Prakash's wife Pony Verma Prakash Rai, who also debuted as an associate director with this film.
Mahakavi Kalidasa () is 1955 Indian Kannada film directed by K. R. Seetharama Sastry, in his debut direction.The movie is based on the legends of the poet Kālidāsa. It stars Honnappa Bhagavatar as Kālidāsa, a Sanskrit poet who lived during the 4th and 5th Century CE. It tells the story about how he, aristocratic young man cursed by his guru with ignorance, goes on to become a great poet. B. Raghavendra Rao, Narasimharaju and B. Saroja Devi, in her first film, feature in supporting roles.
Uttara Kalamrita is a reference work on Vedic astrology or Jyotisa. It is also termed as sidereal astrology, written by Kalidasa. However, it is unknown whether the Kalidasa who wrote this work is the same Kalidasa who wrote Raghuvamsha and Abhijñānaśākuntalam. The manuscript is available in various libraries in India, including the Government Oriental Manuscript Library in Chennai.
Lakshmi Dhar Kalla (1891-1953), a Sanskrit scholar and a Kashmiri Pandit, wrote a book titled The birth-place of Kalidasa (1926), which tries to trace the birthplace of Kalidasa based on his writings. He concluded that Kalidasa was born in Kashmir, but moved southwards, and sought the patronage of local rulers to prosper. The evidence cited by him from Kalidasa's writings includes:[5][6][7]
Miller, Barbara Stoler, ed. Theater of Memory: The Plays of Kalidasa. NY: Columbia University Press, 1984. K. D. Sethna. Problems of Ancient India, p.79-120 (chapter: "The Time of Kalidasa"), 2000 New Delhi: Aditya Prakashan. ISBN81-7742-026-7 (about the dating of Kalidasa) V. Venkatachalam. Fresh light on Kalidasa's historical perspective, Kalidasa Special Number (X), The Vikram, 1967, pp.130–140.
The fore-runner of "Sandesha Kavya" is a small poem bearing the title - "Poem of the Broken-jug" which is a poem by Ghatakarpara on the message sent to the husband by a wife who was in grief on account of separation; it deals with the lamentation of the abandoned wife who does not address her lamentation to one person alone but to the monsoon clouds, her confidante, her distant husband and some trees but none of them entrusted with the task of carrying her message. The poem is of twenty-four stanzas in five different metres. Even though nothing is known about the poet except his name which stands mentioned at the very end of the poem but he is believed to be contemporary of Kalidasa and one of the Nine Gems in the court of Vikramāditya, though he does not reach the lofty, subtle, romantic height of Kalidasa. Abhinavagupta holds the view that this poem was actually written by Kalidasa, and has written a commentary on it, but the construction etc., of the poem indicates that Kalidasa did not write this poem.