Kalidasa

Kalidasa is one of the best-most recognized poets in all of India.

Kalidasa lost his parents at a very young age and was raised by a cowherd. He was a very handsome young man but was illiterate and had no common sense. Kalidasa literally meant the servant of goddess Kali. He was either found with the sheep or in the temple, worshipping the goddess. 

Princess Vidyottama of the Gupta empire was a very learned princess who was arrogant about her understanding of the Vedas. When Vidyottama was old enough to get married, her father, the King decided to let her choose her suitor. Without a thought, she simply said that anyone who could beat her in the Vedas would become her husband. One of the court scholars, who was equally as leaned as her accepted this as she was very beautiful. The princess was now in a real fix as she did not want to marry the scholar but had no other option if he was successful in beating her, and hence decided to trick him.

 The competition between the scholar and her was held the very next day. The scholar entered the court and was shocked when he heard what Vidyottama said. The princess loudly said that if the scholar was successful in guessing her hand movements he would be allowed to marry her. The princess first raised her palm and since the scholar had no idea about what this meant he accepted his defeat. While walking back home he saw Kalidasa and wanted to trick the princess. He dressed Kalidasa in beautiful robes and made him look just like a scholar and took him to the palace.

 The princess again raised her palm. Kalidasa assumed that she wanted to slap him and he made a fist and showed it to the princess indicating that if she slapped him, he would box her. Now what the princess had really meant was that the human body comprised of all 5 elements and when Kalidasa showed his fist she thought that he meant that all of these elements came together, forming a human body. She was very impressed with his answer. They got married the very next day. It did not take Vidyottama long to realize that Kalidasa was illiterate and yelled at him asking him to go and learn Sanskrit. The helpless Kalidasa went to the Kali temple and performed a penance to please the goddess Kali. After a long time, the goddess appeared in front of him and asked him what he wanted. Kalidasa fell to mother Kali's feet and said please give me the knowledge of Sanskrit. The goddess nodded and blessed him.

Soon after this, Kalidasa went back to his wife and called her his Guru as she guided him to not be a cowherd but a Sanskrit scholar. She denied him and said that she was his wife and not his guru. Kalidasa however refused to accept her as his wife. Angered by this behavior, Vidyottama cursed him by saying that he would meet his end at the hands of a woman.

Kalidasa became depressed and started wandering from place to place making songs and poems about nature along the way. He soon ended up in King Bhojas kingdom where he composed songs and wrote famous plays like Shakunata - Agnimitra. All of King Bhojas poets composed songs in praise of him but Kalidasa refused to do so. This led to conflicts between both the King and Kalidasa. Once upset by the king's attitude Kalidasa left his kingdom and when to king Kumaradasa's kingdom where he lived in the house of a dancer. 

One day King Kumaradasa asked his fellow subjects to compose a song that would please him. Nobody was able to do so but Kalidasa did. Since there was a reward announced the dancer immediately took a knife and stabbed Kalidasa and visited the king with the poem he wrote. The King immediately knew that this was Kalidasa's work and ran to the dancer's house where he found Kalidasa dead. Vidyottama's curse had come true. That was the end of the great poet but we still continue to regard him with great respect.