KĀLIDĀSA'S THOUGHT 99 spell to obtain a male son; the saintly Çvetaketu is deemed an authority on the Kamasutra, and Kālidāsa expressly claims the divine precedent of Çiva and Umā as sanction for the most passionate married love. Statecraft again is essentially part of the material ends of life, and not only does he paint in Rāma an ideal ruler, but throughout the Raghuvança we are reminded of the duties of kings to the subjects. Let us grant that his vision was Brahmanical; he deliberately repeats the condemnation of the Rāmāyaṇa on the Çūdra who threatens the security of established order by venturing to expose himself, head down- wards, hanging from a tree to fire, in order by penance to acquire merit. This reminds us of Fa-hien's ¹ emphatic testimony of the degradation of the Caṇḍālas in the Gupta realm. 1 Youth and manhood are no time for deep philosophic views, and the Kālidāsa of the Rtusamhāra, Meghaduta, and Kumāra- sambhava remains within narrower limits. We feel, however, a growing sense of the greatness and glory of Çiva; the remote figure of the Meghadūta is definitely brought nearer to us in the Kumarasambhava. Even Brahman and Visņu are less than he, and the term Lord, Içvara, is his par excellence; moreover, despite his all-embracing majesty, he is intensely personal. Yet neither Brahman nor Vişņu is forgotten; to Brahman in the Kumarasambhava itself, to Viṣṇu in the Raghuvança two noble prayers are addressed in which in the true spirit of kathenotheism either appears as the greatest of gods, as more than the world, as beyond all comprehension. The inconsistency, however, is rather apparent than real; it is possible to ascertain with fair certainty the view Kalidasa took of the universe, and this affords a recon- ciliation of his diverse views. Both epics, but especially the Raghuvança, show that Kāli- dāsa accepted Sāṁkhya and Yoga views of the nature of the universe. The three constituents of nature, goodness, passion, and dullness, in their ethical aspect afford themes for simile; the Brahman sea as the source of the Sarayū is like the unmanifested (avyakta) whence springs intelligence. Yoga practices are recog- nized the aged king practises concentration (dharaṇā) as he sits on Kuça grass; the difficult posture known as Vīrāsana of ascetics is compared to trees standing motionless; Sītā by asceticism 1 Smith, EHI. p. 314; Foucher. L'Art Gréco-Bouddhique du Gandhāra, 11. 8. H 2
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