Meghaduta

(“Cloud-Messenger”) One of the great
poetic works by Kalidasa (5th c.?), generally considered to be the greatest classical Sanskrit poet. The Meghaduta is a
short poem consisting of one hundred
verses, written entirely in an extremely
long meter called mandakranta—seventeen syllables to each quarter verse.
The poem tells the story of a yaksha
(nature sprite) who has been temporarily
banished to the southern part of India.
Separated from his beloved wife, who is
at their home in the kingdom of Kubera
in the Himalayas, the yaksha sees a
monsoon rain cloud moving northward
in its annual journey. He implores it to
carry a message of love to his beloved.
The yaksha describes the regions
through which the cloud travels. This
description gives a vivid picture of
everyday life and the cultural centers of
Kalidasa’s time. In some sources the
poem is called Meghasandesha, “The
Message [carried by] a Cloud.”