मेघदूतम्

Meghadūta

The Cloud Messenger · Lyric poem · 111 verses · Mandākrāntā metre

A minor demigod, banished for a year from his lord's service, sees the first cloud of Āṣāḍha settle on the hill where he lives. Half-mad with separation, he speaks to it as to a friend, and the poem becomes a slow flight over rivers, mountains and cities of India, each one described with such tenderness that the journey itself becomes the love letter.

Verses prepared for reading

1. Meghadūta 1.1 · Mandākrāntāकश्चित्कान्ताविरहगुरुणा स्वाधिकारात्प्रमत्तःThere was once a yakṣa who neglected his duty, and his lord cursed him: for one year his powers would be gone, and he would live apart from his wife. …Read this verse
2. Meghadūta 1.2 · Mandākrāntāतस्मिन्नद्रौ कतिचिदबलाविप्रयुक्तः स कामीMonths went by on that hill. He grew so thin with longing that the gold band slid from his wrist. Then, on the first day of the rainy month, he saw a …Read this verse
3. Meghadūta 1.3 · Mandākrāntāतस्य स्थित्वा कथमपि पुरः कौतुकाधानहेतो-He stood before the cloud, barely holding himself together, tears unshed, and thought for a long time. Even a contented man feels his heart shift when…Read this verse
4. Meghadūta 1.5 · Mandākrāntāधूमज्योतिःसलिलमरुतां सन्निपातः क्व मेघःA cloud is only smoke, fire, water and wind thrown together; a message needs a living messenger with senses. The yakṣa, in his longing, never stopped …Read this verse