1. Kumarasambhava of Kalidasa Sarga 1 : Kumara-Sambhava of Kalidasa is one among the
famed Pancha-Mahakavyas. It contains 17 sargas dealing with the birth and adolescence of
Parvati, her marriage to Shiva and subsequent birth of their son Kumara (Kartikeya). In
these pre-recorded videos, Smt. P R Gayathri explains the shlokas of the first sarga of this
poem in Tamil, with insights from the commentary of Narayana Pandita.
2. Malavikagnimitram - Full text : Malavikagnimitra is a drama in five acts, composed
by Mahakavi Kalidasa. It is based on the intriguing love story of Agnimitra and Malavika.
Scholars opine that this must be one of the earliest compositions of the great poet. In this
course, the drama is explained in detail in Tamil.
3. Poorvamegha (Section 1 of Meghaduta) : Meghaduta (also known as Meghasandesha) of
Kalidasa is one of the most popular kavyas in Sanskrit Literature. With an extremely simple
storyline – a cursed yaksha sending a message to his wife in a far-off place through a
cloud-messenger, the poem offers full scope to the wondrous descriptive powers of the great
poet. In these audio lectures, Smt. Visalakshi Sankaran has explained the verses of
Poorvamegha (The first portion with 66 verses in which the yaksha describes to the cloud the
path from Ramagiri to Alaka).
4. Uttaramegha (Section 2 of Meghaduta) : Meghaduta (also known as Meghasandesha) of
Kalidasa is one of the most popular kavyas in Sanskrit Literature. With an extremely simple
storyline – a cursed yaksha sending a message to his wife in a far-off place through a
cloud-messenger, the poem offers full scope to the wondrous descriptive powers of the great
poet. In these audio lectures, Smt. Visalakshi Sankaran has explained the verses of
Uttaramegha (The second portion with 55 verses in which the yaksha describes the city of
Alaka, his wife, and the message to be delivered).
5. Abhijnanashakuntalam - Full Text : Abhijnanashakuntalam of Kalidasa is a
world-renowned play (nataka). The famous saying, “काव्येषु नाटकं रम्यम्, तत्र रम्या
शकुन्तला” (“Among all types of literature, Drama is beautiful; Among dramas, Shakuntala is
enchanting”) captures the excellence of this drama. In these lectures, Smt. Visalakshi
Sankaran takes us through this crown-jewel of Kalidasa with inimitable passion, beautifully
bringing out the exceptional linguistic and dramatic features of the play in Tamil.
6. Raghuvamsha Sarga 12 : Raghuvamsha, authored by Kalidasa, is one of the five great
poems of Samskrita Literature – the पञ्च-महाकाव्यs. It is one of the masterpieces of
Kalidasa, describing the glorious lineage of the Raghu-s, starting from Dileepa till
Agnivarna. The 12th sarga of this poem deals with the story of the Ramayana; from Rama's
exile to the death of Ravana. It consists of 104 shlokas in the Anushtup chandas. The course
contains audio-explaination of the verses in Tamil.