The Loom of Time: A Selection of His Plays and Poems (Penguin Classics) [Mass Market Paperback]

Kalidasa (Author), Chandra Rajan (Translator, Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1995 | Series: Penguin Classics

This volume contains the work of one of the greatest poets and playwrights in classical Sanskrit literature. It includes the play "Sakuntala" and the long poem "Meghadutam" ("The Cloud Messenger") together with "Rtusamharam" ("The Gathering of the Seasons"), another poem.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)

About the Author

Kalidasa is believed to have lived at the close of the first millennium B.C.
Chandra Rajan studied English and Sanskrit at St. Stephen's College, Delhi, and has taught English at Delhi University and the University of Western Ontario.
--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 344 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics (January 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140445382
• ISBN-13: 978-0140445381
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,366,168 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Translation, Intro Materials, Poems and Play, September 28, 2002

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Volkswagen Blues "cead1" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Loom of Time: A Selection of His Plays and Poems (Penguin Classics) (Mass Market Paperback)

The book's cover declares Kalidasa "the greatest poet and playwright in classical Sanskrit literature and one of the greatest in world literature." These are lofty claims, but you will definitely agree by the time you reach the book's end. Substantial introductory material, historical clarity and Chandra Rajan's attentive translation make this collection of Kalidasa's poetry and one of his plays a great read.

The greatest strength of this book is its thoroughness. Roughly one half of the pages comprise the introduction, the glossary of Sanskrit terms, and the meticulous footnotes to the texts translated. Rajan is careful in her historiography of Kalidasa, who is a problematic figure in that it is impossible to date him with any great degree of accuracy (Rajan points out that scholars have placed him anywhere from 100 BC to 500 AD; she herself comes down on the earlier side, making the playwright/poet a rough contemporary of, say, Plautus and Terence).

This care is also evident in the lengthy Sanskrit glossary to terms left untranslated in the texts themselves. At first, this tendency is frustrating; when you're cruising through a play or poem, you don't want to be skipping to the book's end to see what's being said. But it also helps to preserve the integrity of the original. Rajan points out polyvalences in the Sanskrit that would have been simply whitewashed in typical English translation. And, miraculously, by the end of the poem/play, you've internalized the Sanskrit meanings and don't NEED the glossary anymore.

As for the poems and plays themselves, they're a revelation. The translation feels a bit antique--like reading Milton, say, or even Shakespeare--but this is perfectly suited to Kalidasa's position in literature. The epic sweep of "The Cloud Messenger" is matched only by the sophistication of the famous play, "The Recognition of Sakuntala," which places Kalidasa alongside Shakespeare, in my mind. While Plautus and Terence were scripting the comic format that, borrowed from Menander, would evolve into the worst of today's sit-coms, Kalidasa was writing comedy with such dark corners that it provokes as much thought as laughter. If the seeming cheesiness of some of the lovey-dovey parts annoys today's reader, it must be admitted that it helps to accentuate the frustration of the darker parts. The ending is happy, yes, as the King eventually realizes his mistake, comes out of his oblivion and takes his intended, Sakuntala, back; but before we reach that point, there are three or four acts replete with suffering and rejection, of an intensity that Western comedy would not countenance for over a thousand years.

This collection of Kalidasa makes for satisfying reading, whether you're into slogging through the weighty introductory materials for the full picture, or just interested in experiencing some of the best of Indian--or world, for that matter--poetry and drama.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Vivid, beautiful, and complex ... loses a bit in translation, unfortunately, April 30, 2010

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Charles E. Stevens - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Loom of Time: A Selection of His Plays and Poems (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

I greatly enjoyed these works. The vivid immediacy of the description of the seasons intertwined with the experiences of lovers in Rtusamhara, the profound sorrow of separation and the ephemeral cloud-imagery in Meghaduta, the joy of discovery, the pain of loss, and the elation of reunion in Abhijnanashakuntala ... all these works left a lasting emotional and aesthetic impact. For me, one of the joys of Indian literature (and this work is no different) is the way in which there are no lines of demarcation between humanity, nature, and divinity; each sphere seamlessly co-exists with the others.

In my experience, poetry suffers more than prose in translation, and unfortunately I believe this to be the case here. Despite the best efforts of the translator (whose thorough introduction and copious notes and appendices were much appreciated), I got the sense that a few layers of meaning and beauty are unfortunately "lost in translation" due to the separation in time, language, and culture from the average modern reader. Overall, however, I found Kalidasa to be quite interesting and engaging even in translation. I would also encourage the general reader to put aside any comparisons to Shakespeare (it seems impossible to encounter Kalidasa without running across the phrase "Shakespeare of Sanskrit literature"). Not because Kalidasa lacks in quality, but because the comparison does not do justice to the unique talents of each very different writer. Judge Kalidasa on his own merits, and you will be sure not to be disappointed by these sublimely beautiful works.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good poems deserve better print, November 29, 2009

By 

Manuel Pessanha (Cascais, Portugal) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Loom of Time: A Selection of His Plays and Poems (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

I cannot give an opinion about the quality of the translation but it allowed me anyway to feel the sensibility of the poet. The poor quality of the print (paper included) is really a shame.