The Loom of Time

Kalidasa is the greatest poet and playwright in classical Sanskrit literature and one of the greatest in world literature. Kalidasa is said to have lived and composed his work at the close of the first millennium BC though his dates have not been conclusively established. In all, seven of his works have survived: three plays, three long poems and an incomplete epic. Of these, this volume offers, in a brilliant new translation, his two most famous works the play Sakuntala, a beautiful blend of romance and fairy tale with elements of comedy; and Meghadutam (The Cloud Messenger), the many-layered poem of longing and separation. Also included is Rtusamharam (The Gathering of the Seasons), a much-neglected poem that celebrates the fulfillment of love and deserves to be known better. Taken together, these works provide a window to the remarkable world and work of a poet of whom it was said: Once, when poets were counted, Kalidasa occupied the little finger; the ring finger remains unnamed true to its name; for his second has not been found.

• Essays in Idleness and Hojoki (Penguin Classics)
• The Pillow Book (Penguin Classics)
• Kural
• The Rig Veda (Penguin Classics)
• Early Buddhist Discourses (Hackett Classics)
• Kumarasambhavam: The Origin of the Young God by Kalidasa (2015-06-01)
• The Sutra of Hui-neng, Grand Master of Zen: With Hui-neng's Commentary on the Diamond Sutra (Shambhala Dragon Editions)
• Krishna: the Beautiful Legend of God: (Srimad Bhagavata Purana Book X) (Penguin Classics) (Bk.10)
• Pancatantra: The Book of India's Folk Wisdom (Oxford World's Classics)
• Mandukya Upanishad With Gaudapada's Karika and Shankara's Commentary