THE GREAT WRITER KALIDAS AND HIS BIRTH PLACE

The oldest available evidence about the great Indian writer Kalidas was found in the Sun Temple in 473 CE. The widely accepted theory is that Kalidas was flourished during the reign of Chandragupta II. The Vikramaditya Empire was located from the foot hills of the Himalayas in the north to the Narmadha river in the south and Indus river in the west to the Bengal region in the east. As per available evidence Kalidas was one of the Navaratnas of the Vikramaditya Empire. The Nine Jewels were, Amarasimha, Dhanwantari, Kalidas, Sanku, Kahapanaka, Harisena, Vararuchi, Varahamihira and  Vethalabatt. While the Gupta dynasty lasted from 319 - 467 CE, the life period of Kalidas can be attributed to these years. 

The three Sanskrit plays written by Kalidas are: Vikramorvasiyam, Malavikagnimitram and Abhijnanashakuntalam. Meghaduta is a poem of 111 stanzas in two parts Uttara and Purva Megha. Kumarasambhavom and Raghuvamsh are the other two renowned creations.

His writing, Kumarasambhava is in such depth about the Himalayas force one to believe that he is so conversant with the mountain range. That knowledge about the flora and fauna make us to assimilate that Kalidas was born and brought up in that region. The writing style of the book Meghadootam denotes that the poet was born and bought up in Ujjain. According to another assumption Kalidas was born in Kavilta village in Rudraprayag of Uttarakhand. Another estimation focus that the great poet was born in Kashmir based on the writing about the land and mythology. Another theory shows that his birth place is in Karnataka.  There is an inscription from 7th century CE that mentioned his name suggesting that he may have borne in Karnataka or lived in the region. However no one has indicated the birth place of the great writer in unchallengeable words.

A Sinhalese tradition shows that Kalidas was died in Sri Lanka during the reign of Premdasa in 517 CE.

K V George