Kalidasa's Bhakti greater than his Yukti

Kalidasa's Bhakti greater than his Yukti

Senior poets and scholars who were jealous of his attainments insulted Kalidasa [Sanskrit dramatist and poet, ca. 5th century A.D.] in the court of Bhojarâja. He was poor and that was enough reason for them to look down upon him. When the tank is full, the frogs sit around its bank and croak; when it is dry no frog leaps by its side. The seniors spread scandals about Kalidasa and attempted to cast him out of court.

Kalidasa knew of only one person who was free from jealousy and pride and that was Kali [mother goddess associated with death], the Mother. So, he went to the Kali temple and prayed before the Mother to assure him of high status among poets. After a long time spent in intense prayer, Kalidasa heard a voice emanating from the shrine, which extolled Dandi and Bhavabhuthi as great geniuses and scholars. There was not even a whisper about his [Kalidasa's] attainments! So, he got hurt and even enraged; he gave vent to his ire in harsh words and insisted that she should declare the truth, however unpleasant. Then, the voice announced, "thwamevaham, thwamevaham, thwamevaham, na samsayah" - "you are myself, you are myself, you are myself, without doubt". What greater status did Kalidasa need than this? That is the reply that every seeker will get, for that is his truth, his prize, and his consummation.

There are many stories, which describe Kalidasa as a very resourceful poet who defeated the stratagem of his opponents by clever tricks; but his bhakti [devotional service to Lord Krishna, love of God] was much greater than his yukti [faculty of reason, inference, deduction]. I am reminded of the yukti of a householder when he heard at midnight the noise of his house being broken into by thieves. He guessed that they were within earshot and so, he asked his wife loud enough to be heard by the thieves, "Why are you torturing me thus, asking me to bring back all your jewels that I have pledged with the Marwari? I know that all your gold has gone to him and you know that I have not even a rupee with me; let good times come; I shall certainly recover them and give you. You need not be told that the thieves left, to enter some other house that night; they left the house that had "no gold, not even a rupee."

Sai Ram