Sri Aurobindo

Early Cultural Writings

(1890 — 1910)

Part Two. On Literature
The Poetry of Kalidasa

Appendix

Vikramorvasie: The Characters [2]

Vishnu, the Almighty Spirit, incarnate in Naraian, the saint and hermit, was meditating in the voiceless solitude of mountains. Indra, always jealous of austerity and sacrifice, sent the Opsaras to allure him and enslave him to the charm of beauty and sensuousness. They came to Naraian in the wilderness and displayed before him all their beauty and every feminine art of conversation, but in vain. Naraian, with an indulgent smile smote his thigh and produced from it a woman of so shining a loveliness that the beauty of all the Opsaras together was as nothing to her beauty

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