Instruct: Given a question, retrieve documents that can help answer the question.
Query: What is the most famous work by Kalidasa?
Kālidāsa wrote three plays. Among them, Abhijñānaśākuntalam ("Of Shakuntala recognised 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 into many languages.[18]
Kannada epic poetry mainly consists of Jain religious literature and Lingayat literature. Asaga wrote "Vardhaman Charitra", an epic which runs in 18 cantos, in 853 CE, the first Sanskrit biography of the 24th and last tirthankara of Jainism, Mahavira, though his Kannada language version of Kalidasa's epic poem, "Kumārasambhava", "Karnataka Kumarasambhava Kavya" is lost. The most famous poet from this period is Pampa (902-975 CE), one of the most famous writers in the Kannada language. His "Vikramarjuna Vijaya" (also called the "Pampabharatha") is hailed as a classic even to this day. With this and his other important work Ādi purāṇa he set a trend of poetic excellence for the Kannada poets of the future. The former work is an adaptation of the celebrated Mahabharata, and is the first such adaptation in Kannada. Noted for the strong human bent and the dignified style in his writing, Pampa has been one of the most influential writers in Kannada. He is identified as "Adikavi" "first poet". It is only in Kannada that we have a Ramayana and a Mahabharata based on the Jain tradition in addition to those based on Brahmanical tradition.
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.
In Hinduism Shakuntala (Sanskrit: "Śakuntalā") is the wife of Dushyanta and the mother of Emperor Bharata. Her story is told in the "Mahabharata" and dramatized by many writers, the most famous adaption being Kalidasa's play "Abhijñānaśākuntala" "(The Sign of Shakuntala)".
Other poetical works include: "Ghaṭa-karpara-kulaka-vivṛti", a commentary on "Ghaṭakarpara" of Kalidasa; "Kāvyakauṭukavivaraṇa", a "Commentary to the Wonder of Poetry" (a work of Bhaṭṭa Tauta), now lost; and "Dhvanyālokalocana", "Illustration of Dhvanyāloka", which is a famous work of Anandavardhana.
Nanne Choda famous work is Kumara Sambavam in Telugu. This work is believed to be composed in 10th century before Nannaya's Mahabaratha. Others place Nannechoda between the period of Nannaya and Tikkana. Kumara Sambavam is not the translation of Kalidasa's work of the same name. But Nannechodudu has drawn inspiration from Kalidasa's work as well as other stories of the Saivaite literature. 
He has dedicated his work to Jangama Mallikarjuna, who was his guru.
Kalidasa has had great influence on several Sanskrit works, on all Indian literature.[28] He also had a great impact on Rabindranath Tagore. The Meghadutam's romanticism is found in Tagore's poems on the monsoons. Sanskrit plays by Kalidasa influenced late eighteenth and early nineteenth-century European literature.[29] According to Dale Carnegie, Father of Modern Medicine Sir William Osler always kept on his desk a poem written by Kalidasa.[30]
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.
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.
Some scholars, including M. Srinivasachariar and T. S. Narayana Sastri, believe that all the works attributed to "Kalidasa" are not by a single person. According to Srinivasachariar, writers from 8th and 9th centuries hint at the existence of three noted literary figures that share the name Kalidasa. These writers include Devendra (author of Kavi-Kalpa-Lata), Rajashekhara and Abhinanda. Sastri lists the works of these three Kalidasas as follows:[16]
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.")
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.
In 2012, Kalidasa Kalakendram ventured into film production through the Malayalam movie "Hide n' Seek", directed by Anil. Divyadarshan, the grandson of O. Madhavan, played the lead role in the movie. The movie production house of Kalidasa Kalakendram was named as "Kalidasa International Movies".
According to Dasharatha Sharma, the dramatists Kalidasa and Bhavabhuti utilized the "Arthashastra" of Kautilya while composing their famous works. Kalidasa is indebted to Kautilya's "Arthashastra" for material in the "Raghuvamsa". Similarly, Bhavabhuti utilizes words and ideas from the "Arthashastra" in the "Malatimadhava" and the "Mahaviracharita". There is indeed a striking resemblance between the methods advocated by "Ravana's" minister, "Malayavana" and the policies suggested by Kautilya in the "Arthashastra".
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.
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").
The Kannada films Mahakavi Kalidasa (1955), featuring Honnappa Bagavatar, B. Sarojadevi and later Kaviratna Kalidasa (1983), featuring Rajkumar and Jayaprada,[26] were based on the life of Kālidāsa. Kaviratna Kalidasa also used Kālidāsa's Shakuntala as a sub-plot in the movie.V. Shantaram made the Hindi movie Stree (1961) based on Kālidāsa's Shakuntala. R.R. Chandran made the Tamil movie Mahakavi Kalidas (1966) based on Kālidāsa's life. Chevalier Nadigar Thilagam Sivaji Ganesan played the part of the poet himself. Mahakavi Kalidasu (Telugu, 1960) featuring Akkineni Nageswara Rao[27] was similarly based on Kālidāsa's life and work.
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".
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.
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]
Neelakantan Unni has written a number of books in Malayalam. He published several remarkable collections of legends related to temples, rituals and ancient traditions. He translated Kalidasa's Sanskrit texts of "Abhijñānaśākuntalam" and "Meghadūta" into Malayalam. One of his most famous works is "Pancha Maha Nikhandu". Besides these, he has also written 3 "attakkathas", the lyrics used for Kathakali.
He has also written commentaries in Hindi on works of Sanskrit poetics, as well as works of his own on poetics, such as Kavyalankarakarika (1976), Natyanusasanam (1974), and Sahityasarirakam. He has also published a "Complete works of Kalidasa" (1976), and produced critical editions of "Ritusamhara" and "Raghuvamsha" by Kalidasa, published by the Sahitya Akademi in 1993.
Amy, Betty, Cecile and Danielle want to become famous celebrities with a lot of money, loving husband and amazing children. They already have many friends and everybody in the town knows each one of them. They all work hard to be best in their field of expertise and soon they are known to the whole country. They know of each other and try to work harder to become more famous than each other. This is when escalation archetype comes into play. They become the most famous celebrities in the country and each one of them realizes that to draw more attention than others they need to be unique and very special. As Amy starts to work even harder than before Betty notices that Amy's fame is growing more than hers and starts to work harder than Amy. This is noted by Cecile and she does what must be done - starts working more than anyone else. But there is also Danielle whose ambitions are not even slightly smaller, she wants to be the most famous celebrity and so she starts working even harder than anyone else. As Amy notices her effort is not sufficient, she does what is obvious - starts to work more than she was.
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.
The "Hansa-Sandesha" owes a great deal to its two poetic predecessors, Kalidasa's "Meghaduta" and Valmiki's "Ramayana". Vedanta Desika's use of the "Meghaduta" is extensive and transparently deliberate; his poem is a response to one of India's most famous poems by its most celebrated poet. Vedanta Desika's debt to Valmiki is perhaps more pervasive but less obvious, and possibly less deliberate too. Where the poet consciously plays with Kalidasa's verse, he treats the "Ramayana" more as a much-cherished story. Nevertheless, he is clearly as familiar with the details of Valmiki's poem as with Kalidasa's, and he echoes very specific images and details from the epic.