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34. The Age of Kalidasa, 
By Pror, SaRaADARANJAN Ray, M.A, 
TRADITION. 
The Indian "3 ns in his childhood that Kalidasa, the great- 
est poet of India after Vyasa and Valmiki, was one of the “nine 
gems ” of the ear of a certain prince named Vikramaditya. 
Tradition also has it that the Samvat era, which is still current, 
a 
to-day. Hence 1,964 years ago, in the first century B.C., Kalidasa 
wrote his immortal works. 
Fereusson’s ATTACK. 
Against this we read: “It has long been an open secret how- 
t 
living in the first century B.C... . could have arisen, and this 
puzzle has at last been solved... by ... Mr. Fergusson ... I cannot 
help thinking that in the main his solution will turn out to be cor- 
rect, ”’ 10s writes Prof, Max Miller in his “ India: what can it 
teach us? ® The “solution ” is that King Harsha of Ujjayini, sur- 
named Vikramaditya, defeated the Mlechchhas at the great battle 
of Korur in 544 A.D., expelled them from India, cork in pee 
ration of the victory, founded the Vikrama era. dated this 
new era 600 years back, thus making it appear as if it commenced 
in 57 B.C. The Vikraun ma era ‘“ cannot, therefore, occur in 
historical document before ” 544 A.D. Alo ong with Vi praiieditys, 
— is brought down to the middle of the sixth century 
CoRROBORATION OF FERGUSSON. 
Recguneos theor commenting on the ih verse of the 
M m. ‘“‘ Whatever we may think of the pointed allusion 
eye Mallinatha discovers in Kalidésa’s own words to Nikula 
ignaga—and I confess that I believe he is right—there can be 
little doubt that Mallinatha must have known of both Nikula and 
Dignaga as contemporaries of Kalidasa, ere he could have 
confident in placing Kalidasa i os the middle of the sixth century.” 
Max Miiller, “India: what can 
(it) An indirect whmatese a is also seen in the fact that 
