168 
1877.] Gr. S. Leonard— Polygamy of Kalidasa's Heroes. 
The fact is that Kalidasa was no greater advocate for monogamy than 
he was for polygamy, nor did he attach any greater importance to the one 
than to the other, as is evident from the passages cited above, as also from 
the absence of a single expression in his works, giving preference to the 
one or other state. The benediction “ Mayest thou gain the undivided 
love of thy husband,” the blessing pronounced over Uma by the ma¬ 
trons, was only used in conformity with the general mode of well wish¬ 
ing to young brides, though the consummation of the blessing is one which 
rarely falls to the lot of any woman of this country. 
The poet’s description of the greater attachment of a prince to a 
particular consort, as in the cases of Sudaxina and Indumati, serves only 
to show the particular honor and regard due and paid to the pat-rani or 
pradliana mahishi, whose offspring alone was entitled to succeed to his 
crown and throne. 
Kalidasa’s long-winded elegies of woe at the separation of lovers, as 
in the cases of the heart-rending lamentations of Aja, Kama, Kati, and 
Nala, are only descriptive of the excessive love and fondness that a lover 
might naturally have for the particular object of his esteem and affection 
in preference to all others. This can be proved by the following quotation 
from theq)oet himself. 
“ Nam apum examen, etsi innumeri flores verno tempore florant, jwse- 
cipua Mangiferse adheret.” 
So also the professed devotedness of the wanton Krishna to Kadha, 
whom he addresses in the following enraptured strain, does not in any way 
prove the singleness of his love. 
“ Thou art my life, thou art my ornament, thou art a pearl, in the 
ocean of my mortal birth ; oh ! be favourable now, and my heart shall eter¬ 
nally be grateful.” 
The frantic lamentations of Pururavas and Dashmanta are but graphic 
pictures of distracted lovers, and bear no resemblance to the calm and 
constant love of a monogamist placed in the same circumstances. 
The characters of Kama in the Kaghu, and Nala in the Nalodaya of 
the poet, are undeniably pure instances of monogamy, but such exceptions 
to polygamy are extremely rare. 
