RAS question
'Meghaduta' (The Cloud Messenger) by Kalidasa is a:
Correct answer: (A) Lyric poem (khandakavya).
Kalidasa's Meghaduta, or The Cloud Messenger, is a lyric poem, also classified as a khandakavya.
Explanation
Meghaduta is not being tested here as a plot title alone; the key is its literary form. The NCERT source places Kalidasa among major Sanskrit literary figures and lists Meghaduta specifically as lyric poetry, while distinguishing his epics and drama separately. The poem has about 120 stanzas in the Mandakranta metre, and its emotional centre is a yaksha exiled in Central India who asks a passing cloud to carry a message to his beloved wife in Alaka in the Himalayas. That compact, message-driven, highly lyrical structure is why the answer is lyric poem or khandakavya.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) Drama is wrong because the NCERT source separately identifies Abhijnanasakuntala as Kalidasa's drama, while Meghaduta is listed as lyric poetry.
- (C) Epic poem is wrong because the NCERT source labels Kumarasambhava and Raghuvamsa as epics, not Meghaduta.
- (D) Historical chronicle is wrong because Meghaduta is presented as a literary lyric poem, and its story is a yaksha's message through a cloud rather than a record of historical events.
Concept
This tests Sanskrit literature under ancient Indian cultural history, especially the ability to match authors, works and genres. RAS repeats such items because they are compact factual markers of India's classical literary tradition.