''Kumārasaṃbhavam'' ( sa, कुमारसम्भवम् "The Birth of Kumāra") is an epic poem by

Kālidāsa Kālidāsa (''fl.'' 4th–5th century CE) was a Classical Sanskrit author who is often considered ancient India's greatest poet and playwright. His plays and poetry are primarily based on the Vedas, the Rāmāyaṇa, the Mahābhārata and t ...

. It is widely regarded as the finest work of Kālidāsa as well as the greatest

kāvya Kāvya (Devanagari: काव्य, IAST: ''kāvyá'') refers to the Sanskrit literary style used by Indian court poets flourishing between c.200 BCE and 1200 CE. This literary style, which includes both poetry and prose, is characterised by ab ...

poem in

Classical Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

. The style of description of spring set the standard for nature metaphors pervading many centuries of Indian literary tradition. ''Kumārasaṃbhavam'' basically talks about the birth of Kumara ( Kārtikeya), the son of

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

and

Parvati Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi i ...

. The period of composition is uncertain, although Kālidāsa is thought to have lived in the 5th century. Legend say that Kālidāsa could not complete his epic Kumārasambhava because he was cursed by the goddess Pārvatī, for obscene descriptions of her conjugal life with Śiva in the eighth canto. But later it has inspired the famed sculpture of Khajuraho temples. The English renderings of these Sanskrit plays tend to avoid erotic and explicit aspects due to moral tastes of modern audience. The play depicts Kālidāsa as a court poet of Chandragupta who faces a trial on the insistence of a priest and some other moralists of his time.

''Kumārasambhava'' literally means "The Birth of Kumāra". This epic of seventeen

canto The canto () is a principal form of division in medieval and modern long poetry. Etymology and equivalent terms The word ''canto'' is derived from the Italian word for "song" or "singing", which comes from the Latin ''cantus'', "song", from the ...

s entails

Sringara Sringara ( sa, शृङ्गार, ) is one of the nine rasas, usually translated as erotic love, romantic love, or as attraction or beauty. ''Rasa'' means "flavour", and the theory of rasa is the primary concept behind classical Indian arts inc ...

''rasa'', the rasa of love, romance, and eroticism, more than Vira rasa (the rasa of heroism).

Tārakāsura Tarakasura ( sa, तारकासुर:) also rendered as Tharakasuran (Tamil: தாரக்காசுரன்) and Tarakasura ( te, తారకసుర) is a powerful asura in Hindu mythology. He is the son of the asura Vajranga and ...

, a

rakshasa Rakshasas ( sa, राक्षस, IAST: : Pali: ''rakkhaso'') lit. 'preservers' are a race of usually malevolent demigods prominently featured in Hindu mythology. According to the Brahmanda Purana, the rakshasas were created by Brahma whe ...

(demon) was blessed that he could be killed by none other than Shiva's son, however, Shiva had won over

Kama ''Kama'' (Sanskrit ) means "desire, wish, longing" in Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, and Sikh literature.Monier Williamsकाम, kāmaMonier-Williams Sanskrit English Dictionary, pp 271, see 3rd column Kama often connotes sensual pleasure, sexual ...

, the god of love.

performed great

tapas A tapa () is an appetizer or snack in Spanish cuisine. Tapas can be combined to make a full meal, and can be cold (such as mixed olives and cheese) or hot (such as ''chopitos'', which are battered, fried baby squid, or patatas bravas). In some ...

(or spiritual penance) to win the love of Shiva. Consequently, Shiva and Parvati's son Kartikeya was born to restore the glory of

Indra Indra (; Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is the king of the devas (god-like deities) and Svarga (heaven) in Hindu mythology. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes/ref> I ...

, king of the Gods.

Adaptations

Kumara Sambhavam ''Kumara Sambhavam'' is a 1969 Indian Malayalam-language Hindu mythological film directed and produced by P. Subramaniam. Based on the epic poem of the poet Kalidasa of the same name, it stars Gemini Ganesan, Padmini, Srividya and Thikkurissy ...

'' is a 1969 Indian film adaptation of the poem by

P. Subramaniam P. Subramaniam (19 February 1910 – 4 October 1979) was an Indian film producer, film director, distributor, theatre owner, and mayor. He is the founder of Merryland Studio (established in 1951), the second film studio in Kerala. From mid-19 ...

References

Bibliography

External links

full text of the Kumārasambhava in Devanāgarī script
(first eight sargas)

at

GRETIL The Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages (GRETIL) is a comprehensive repository of e-texts in Sanskrit and other Indian languages. It contains several texts related to Indology Indology, also known as South Asian studies, is ...

The Birth of the War-God
selected translation by

Arthur W. Ryder Arthur William Ryder (March 8, 1877 – March 21, 1938) was a professor of Sanskrit at the University of California, Berkeley. He is best known for translating a number of Sanskrit works into English, including the Panchatantra and the Bhagav ...

single folio of a Kumārasambhava manuscript
in the

Cambridge University Library Cambridge University Library is the main research library of the University of Cambridge. It is the largest of the over 100 libraries within the university. The Library is a major scholarly resource for the members of the University of Cambri ...

Attempted English translation of text by RTH Griffith {{DEFAULTSORT:Kumarasambhava Works by Kalidasa Sanskrit poetry Hindu literature Epic poems in Sanskrit Poems adapted into films Ancient Indian poems

Contents

Adaptations

References

Bibliography

External links