''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 ...

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

. 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 (; Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one o ...

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

(demon) was blessed that he could be killed by none other than Shiva's son, however, Shiva had won over Kama, the god of love.

performed great tapas (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'' 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
single folio of a Kumārasambhava manuscript
in the Cambridge University Library

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