Sri Aurobindo

Early Cultural Writings

(1890 — 1910)

Part Two. On Literature
The Poetry of Kalidasa

Vikramorvasie. The Characters

Vikramorvasie. The Characters [6]

But in the Opsaras¹ the beauty and allurements of the sensuous universe are diffused, scattered, broken up into a million facets just as they first present themselves to human observation. The Hindu imagination needed some one figure into which all this should be compressed, a figure essential and superlative, compressed and running over with beauty. This was at first sought in Tilottama, the wonderful maiden to whose loveableness every gracious thing in the world gave a portion of its own subtlest charm; but this was too much of a fancy, not sufficiently profound and searching for the Hindu mind. It attempted to find a more perfect expression of its idea and created for the purpose a characteristic and therefore favourite legend.

Earlier edition of this work: Archives and Research: A biannual journal.- Volume 5, No2 (1981, December)

¹ A&R, 1981 No 2: Apsara

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