This is a translation of three of Kālidāsa’s works. Kālidāsa is regarded as the greatest poet and playwright in Sanskrit literature. Three of his works translated here are Ṛtusaṃhāram, Meghadūtam and Abhijñānaśākuntalam. None of his works have come to us in their original form. Rather what we have are a number of recensions commentaries of his works. This happens commonly in Sanskrit literature. The translator here apparently used the Bengal recensions.
Sanskrit is a highly inflected language and has a free word order, so a translation into English is very difficult. So the translator here frequently uses inversions to be faithful to the style and not just the meaning.

Ṛtusaṃhāram is a work of lyric poetry that describes the experiences of lovers to the change in seasons. Here he juxtaposes the beauty in nature with the beauty of a woman. This gives the poem a strong blend of sensuality and eroticism.

Like this verse set in the rains,

Women adorn their beautiful breasts with nets of pearls,
And drape pale delicate silks round their shapely curving hips;
the fine line of down above the navel rises up
to meet the cool tingling touch of fresh raindrops;
how charming are the folds that furrow their waists!

Followed by autumn,

Prettily girdled by glittering minnows darting about,
Garlanded by rows of white birds on the margins,
With broad curving flanks of sandy banks,
Rivers glide softly like young women rapt in love.

And Frost,

Seeming sensible of the sensuous beauty
of women’s breasts, sad to see them pressed so hard,
the frosty season cries out at dawn, letting fall
dew drops that cling to the tips of blades of grass.

Meghadūtam is also a lyric poem that deals with the theme of separation of lovers and longing. This takes the form of a yaksha banished from his home, asking a cloud to take a message to his wife on mount Alaka. This poem is rich in imagery. This is probably the most famous of his works that spawned a whole new genre of messenger poems.

In the Śyāma-vines I see your body,
Your glance in the gazelle’s startled eye,
The cool radiance of your face in the moon,
Your tresses in the peacock’s luxuriant train,
Your eyebrow’s graceful curve in the stream’s small waves;
But alas! O cruel one, I see not
Your whole likeness anywhere in any one thing.

Abhijñānaśākuntalam is a play written in seven acts and also deals with the theme of separation and longing and ultimate union. This is based on the story of Dushyanta and Sakuntala and has elements of fantastic blended in.

A considerable amount of space here has been dedicated to the historiography of Kālidāsa. Dating Kālidāsa is very difficult as the writer hardly spoke about himself in his works and Indians probably never had the same view of history as in the west. The translator here prefers to place him in 1st century BCE in the court of Vikramaditya of Ujjain. But the most commonly accepted date is around 4th and 5th centuries CE during the reign of Chandragupta II who also adopted the title Vikramaditya and had his capital as Ujjain.
The translator also provided a very long and comprehensive introduction and an appendix explaining the various myths, to help a western reader better understand the metaphors and connotations.

A great translation. I enjoyed reading it. ( )