Raghuvamsha

(“Raghu’s Lineage”) One of the great
poetic works by Kalidasa, who is generally considered to be the finest classical
Sanskrit poet. The Raghuvamsha is a
quasi-historical epic in nineteen cantos,
devoted to the kings of the Solar Line,
and particularly to its most eminent
member, the god-king Rama. The story
of Rama in Kalidasa’s poem is fairly close
to that of the epic Ramayana, although
Kalidasa describes Rama as an avatar or
divine incarnation in a way that Valmiki
does not. Kalidasa’s poem also uses the
kings of the Solar Line as examples of
devotion to the four aims of life
(purushartha): wealth (artha), pleasure
(kama), religious duty (dharma), and
release (moksha). In Kalidasa’s portrayal,
the kings at the end of the line are
completely immoral and devoted
solely to pleasure. Such abject neglect
of their duty to rule righteously brings
on the destruction of the line and
provides a exemplary lesson for hearers
of the poem.