He seems, however, to have pleased both the Jains and Vaishnavas by favouring their tenets in his works. It is evident, that he was a staunch devotee of Shiva and Parvati, though by no means a sectarian. He appears to have been an admirer of field sports and outings, and describes their beneficial effects with a spirit of a true sportsman. He was a great observer and delineator of Nature. His exact description of the Himalayas, Alaka and other places proves the above statement and clearly shows that he had travelled far and wide. He is the only poet, who describes a living saffron flower which grows nowhere but in Kashmir. Kalidasa in his writings shows a thorough acquaintance with the court lifē. These circumstances coupled with the fact that there is no allussion in his works to the Goddess of Wealth having over frowned upon him, have led some critics to remark that he was in affluent circumstances and had not the misfortune ever to taste the bitter fruits of poverty. But from the devout prayer, at the end of Vikramorvashiyam for the union of the goddesses of wealth and learning it is sufficiently evident that he must have been subjected to the pangs of poverty and neglect. Though he was pleasure-seeking yet he cannot be said to be voluptuous. The critical study of his works, however, clearly tells us that he was very well acquainted with the Vedas, Upanishads, the Puranas, and several systems of Indian philosophy, geography astronomy and other fine arts.
As "he was the least of an egoist that it was possible to be", it has become doubtful, expressly to ascertain of which compositions he had been the author. But the following are the works which are generally attributed to him: ऋतुसंहार,कुमारसंभव, रघुवंश, मेघदूत, शाकुन्तल,विक्रमोर्वशीय, मालविकाग्निमित्र, श्रुतबोध, शृङ्गारतिलक, शृङ्गाररसाष्टक, सेतुकाव्य कर्पूरमञ्जरी, पुष्पबाणविलास, श्यामलादण्डक, प्रश्नोत्तरमाला and ज्योतिर्विदाभरण।-
It is, however, a disputed question, which oi these are really his and which are of the subsequent poets namesake to him. At any rate we do not hesitate in accepting the first nine and the thirteenth to be his. Although, the perceptible difference between रघुवंश and other kavyas in respect of their style and the poetical merits supplies a sufficient ground for doubt, still it can be removed, if a sufficient margin is allowed for the age of the poet and the corresponding development of his genius.
The style of Kalidas is pure and chaste. "It has not
