हंससंदेशः /23
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<p lang="sa">21
</p>
<p lang="sa">have they succeeded in their aims? The idea of a poem
embodying the message of a forlorn lover to his beloved
through a trusted messenger seems to have suggested itself
to Kalidasa by the touching message of Sri Rama to his
beloved Sita in the Asokavanika conveyed by the faithful
Hanuman, as recorded in the sweet words of that
immortal prince among poets, Valmiki himself. But there
is a difference between a suggestion worked out into an
exquisite poem, and a poem faithfully followed and
worked out into a reflection of itself. The plan of the
poem, the choice of the metre, the chiselling out of the
first details, and their fitting into an original and
poem, the choice of the metre, the chiselling out of the
first details, and their fitting into an original and
harmonious whole, æsthetically excellent-these are the
indisputable claims of Kalidasa; while such claims cannot,
in the very nature of things, be put up by even the greatest
of his imitators. We are certain that, if the authors of
other Sandesa-Kavyas were pressed to detail their title to
recognition, they would not put forth such fantastic
ciaims. Theirs is but a subordinate field; but some of
them may, in rare cases, claim our attention to a larger
them may, in rare cases, claim our attention to a larger
extent than even Kalidasa, in the matter of the details
of workmanship. With this clearing of the ground, let
us enter into a study of Venkatanatha''s poem.
</p>
<p lang="sa">1102
</p>
<p lang="sa">It may be of interest to note here that, between the
Meghasandesa and the Hamsasandesa, almost the whole
of India is surveyed from Mount Kailas on the north to
Ceylon in the south. Only a small tract between Ramagiri
and Mount Malyavan is not covered. In a sense, therefore,
Venkatanatha''s poem may be said to be complementary
to Kalidasa''s.
</p>
</page>
<p lang="sa">21
<p lang="sa">have they succeeded in their aims? The idea of a poem
embodying the message of a forlorn lover to his beloved
through a trusted messenger seems to have suggested itself
to Kalidasa by the touching message of Sri Rama to his
beloved Sita in the Asokavanika conveyed by the faithful
Hanuman, as recorded in the sweet words of that
immortal prince among poets, Valmiki himself. But there
is a difference between a suggestion worked out into an
exquisite poem, and a poem faithfully followed and
worked out into a reflection of itself. The plan of the
poem, the choice of the metre, the chiselling out of the
first details, and their fitting into an original and
poem, the choice of the metre, the chiselling out of the
first details, and their fitting into an original and
harmonious whole, æsthetically excellent-these are the
indisputable claims of Kalidasa; while such claims cannot,
in the very nature of things, be put up by even the greatest
of his imitators. We are certain that, if the authors of
other Sandesa-Kavyas were pressed to detail their title to
recognition, they would not put forth such fantastic
ciaims. Theirs is but a subordinate field; but some of
them may, in rare cases, claim our attention to a larger
them may, in rare cases, claim our attention to a larger
extent than even Kalidasa, in the matter of the details
of workmanship. With this clearing of the ground, let
us enter into a study of Venkatanatha
<p lang="sa">1102
<p lang="sa">It may be of interest to note here that, between the
Meghasandesa and the Hamsasandesa, almost the whole
of India is surveyed from Mount Kailas on the north to
Ceylon in the south. Only a small tract between Ramagiri
and Mount Malyavan is not covered. In a sense, therefore,
Venkatanatha
to Kalidasa
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