Kalidasa is the major poet and dramatist of classical Sanskrit literature - a many-sided talent of extraordinary scope and exquisite language. His great poem, Meghadutam (The Cloud Messenger), tells of a divine being, punished for failing in his sacred duties with a years' separation from his beloved. A work of subtle emotional nuances, it is a haunting depiction of longing and separation. The play Sakuntala describes the troubled love between a Lady of Nature and King Duhsanta. This beautiful blend of romance and comedy, transports its audience into an enchanted world in which mortals mingle with gods. And Kalidasa's poem Rtusamharam (The Gathering of the Seasons) is an exuberant observation of the sheer variety of the natural world, as it teems with the energies of the great god Siva.

Bhavabhuti has been unanimously acclaimed as an eminent Sanskrit poet, second only to Kalidasa. The present work deals with the various problems concerning this great poet of Vidarbha such as the identification of his birthplace, his identity with Umbeka, the location of the god Kalapriyanatha at whose fairs all his plays were first staged, the chronological relation of his Uttra-Rama-charita to the Kundamala of Dhiranga, the influence of his works on later Sanskrit dramatists and so forth. Besides, the present work gives a detailed account of the plots of all his plays with numerous citations from them together with their English rendering, which will enable ordinary readers to appreciate his poetic genius and dramatic talent. it also states in detail the poet`s views on various religious, political and social matters. The present work is thus designed to meet the needs of both the ordinary and the critical readers of Bhavabhuti`s works.

This volume contains five Kavyas of Kalidasa: Srngaratilaka, Rtusamhara, Meghaduta, Kumarasambhava and Raghuvamsa. Srngaratilaka and Rtusamhara display the poetic imagination of his early youth. The Meghaduta is the work of his advanced years. The Kumarasambhava and Raghuvamsa are the works of his mature age. His Kavyas are praised for the happy choice of his subjects, for his illustrations derived from nature and human life. In this volume the text is followed by English translation. Each and every Kavya is prefixed with an English Introduction or an Editorial Note. The general introduction has been incorporated in the Introduction to the text of RAghuvamsa to which notes are added to discuss the passages where the commentators differ in their interpretations.