Translation
Meghaduta (The Cloud-Messenger)मेघदूतम्
By Kālidāsa. Translated by Arthur W. Ryder, 1912. Public domain.
Kalidasa's lyric poem in 115 stanzas — a banished yaksha begs a passing cloud to carry a message of love to his distant wife in the Himalayan city of Alaka. Two cantos: the Purvamegha (Former Cloud) traces the cloud's northward journey across the Indian subcontinent; the Uttaramegha (Latter Cloud) describes Alaka and the message. The model for the dūta-kāvya (messenger-poem) genre.