Literature of antiquity and the Middle Ages - Summary - 2019

Cloud Messenger
Kalidasa (IV-V centuries ?)

A certain yasha, a demigod from the retinue of the god of wealth and the lord of the northern mountains of Kubera, exiled to his master for some kind of guilt far south, at the end of the summer, when all who came out of the house, especially yearning for their loved ones, sees a lone cloud in a sultry sky. . He decides to convey with him a message of love and consolation to his wife, waiting for him in the capital Kubera - Alaka. Turning to the cloud with the request to become his messenger, she describes the way she can reach Alak, and in every picture she picks up of the landscape, mountains, rivers and cities of India, one way or another reflects love, longing and hopes for themselves. According to the exile, the cloud (in Sanskrit, this is the word of a masculine kind) in Dasharne country is to "drunk in a kiss" of the waters of the Vetrava River, "like a cloudy girl"; in the mountains of Windhoiah, "having heard his thunder, in fear they will cling to the chest of those who are exhausted by the desire of the spouses "of their wife; the cloud will nourish the fresh, vibrant moisture "worn out of the heat, as a woman in separation" by the river Nirindhju; in the city of Ujjajini, it will flash the lightning flashes the way for the girls, rushing in the dark night for a date with the beloved; In Malvé country, like a smile, in the flickering of white fish on the surface of the Gambiry River will reflect; enjoying the view of the Ganga, which, shaking the head of the god Shiva and hands on his hair, waves his hair, causes the wife of Shiva Parvati to suffer from jealousy.

At the end of the path, the cloud reaches the mountains of Kailas in the Himalayas and will see Alac, who "lies on the slope of this mountain, like a maiden in the arms of a lover." Alaska's beauties, according to their words, compete with the brightness of their faces with lightning, which shines a cloud, their decorations are like a rainbow covering the cloud, the singing of the inhabitants and the sound of their tambourines - on the thunder of thunder, and the towers and upper terraces of the city, like the cloud, air There, not far from the Palace of Kubera, the cloud will notice the house itself, but with all its beauty now, without the owner, it will appear as gloomy as the daytime lotuses fading at the sunset. Yaksha asks the cloud with a cautious flash of lightning to peep into the house and find his favorite, damned, right there, like a liana in a rainy autumn mourning like a lonely duck-chakrawak in separation with his spouse. If she sleeps let the cloud at least part of the night diminish its thunder: maybe she dreams of a sweet moment of a date with her husband. And only in the morning, having freshened her with a gentle breeze and vibrant drops of rain, the cloud should hand over her message as yashi.

In the very message, yasha tells his wife that he is alive, complains that his image is loved by him everywhere: "her state is in flexible lianas, her eyes are in the eyes of a fearful lani, the beauty of her face is in the moon, her hair adorned with flowers, in bright tails peacocks, eyebrows - in the waves of the river, "- but he does not find anywhere in the fullness of her likeness. Excitement of his longing and sorrow, remembering the happy days of their intimacy, when he encourages his wife in his confidence that they will soon follow, for the term of curse of the Kuber expires. Hoping that his message will serve for his consolation, he begs the cloud, passing it, to return quickly and bring with him a message about the wife with whom he never separates mentally, just as the cloud does not separate from his girlfriend, the lightning.