Quotes from K?lid?sa

Yesterday is but a dream, Tomorrow is only a vision. But today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, and every tomorrow a vision of hope.

Ah, my wishes become hopes.

Autumn The autumn comes, a maiden fair In slenderness and grace, With nodding rice-stems in her hair And lilies in her face. In flowers of grasses she is clad; And as she moves along, Birds greet her with their cooing glad Like bracelets' tinkling song.

KING (to Sakuntala): O fair lady! The tear drop that once stood trembling on your lower lip -and I watched uncaring, lost in delusion- while it still clings to your gently-curving lashes, I shall now wipe away, my beloved, to free myself of remorse.

Misfortune finds the weak spot.

A thought is as vivid as an act, to a lover.

A bee may be born in a hole in a tree, but she likes the honey of the lotus.

Did the great Creator first draw her in a masterpiece, (9) And then touch life into his art? Or did he make her in his mind alone, Drawing on beauty's every part? No—considering her singular perfection And her maker's true omnipotence, I suppose her some quite unique creation In femininity's treasure house.

I recognise your body in liana; your expression in the eyes of a frightened gazelle; the beauty of your face in that of the moon, your tresses in the plumage of peacocks... alas! Timid friend- no one object compares to you.

A good man never lets grief get the upper hand. The mountains are calm even in a tempest.

The mind of age is like a lamp Whose oil is running thin; One moment it is shining bright, Then darkness closes in.

To be a king, is to be a disappointed man.

May lily-dotted lakes delight your eye; May shade-trees bid the heat of noonday cease; May soft winds blow the lotus-pollen nigh; May all your path be pleasantness and peace.

Grief must be shared to be endured

May kingship benefit the land, And wisdom grow in scholars' band; May Shiva see my faith on earth And make me free of all rebirth.

It is just such women, selfish, sweet, false, that entice fools.

akuntala, we have watered the trees that blossom in the summer-time. Now let's sprinkle those whose flowering-time is past. That will be a better deed, because we shall not be working for a reward.

I treated her with scorn and loathing ever; Now o'er her pictured charms my heart will burst: A traveller I, who scorned the mighty river, And seeks in the mirage to quench his thirst.

etat k?tv? priyam an|ucita| pr?rthan?|vartmano me, sau|h?rd?d v? vidhura iti v? mayy anukro?a|buddhy? i???n de??n vicara, jala|da, pr?v??? sa?bh?ta|?r?r; m? bh?d eva? k?a?am api ca te vidyut? viprayoga?!

Why fight with an enemy who flees way at the mere twang of our bow

Because your heart, by loving fancies blinded, Has scorned a guest in pious life grown old, Your lover shall forget you though reminded, Or think of you as of a story told.

My dear, this is no ordinary somebody. It is the great sage Durvasas, the irascible. See how he strides away!

No man on earth deserves to taste her beauty, Her blameless loveliness and worth, Unless he has fulfilled man's perfect duty— And is there such a one on earth?

All those born in this land before Bharata, All those born after, are called after his name.