Two epic poems are also attributed to Kalidasa. The longer of these is entitled _Raghuvamsa_, the subject of which is the same as that of the _Ramayana_, viz. the history of Rama, but beginning with a long account of his ancestors, the ancient rulers of Ayodhya (ed. by A. F. Stenzler, London, 1832; and with Eng. trans. and notes by Gopal Raghunath Nandargikar, Poona, 1897; verse trans. by P. de Lacy Johnstone, 1902). The other epic is the _Kumarasambhava_, the theme of which is the birth of Kumara, otherwise called Karttikeya or Skanda, god of war (ed. by Stenzler, London, 1838; K. M. Banerjea, 3rd ed. Calcutta, 1872; Parvanikara and Parab, Bombay, 1893; and M. R. Kale and S. R. Dharadhara, ibid. 1907; Eng. trans. by R. T. Griffith, 1879). Though containing many fine passages, it is tame as a whole. His lyrical poems are the _Meghaduta_ and the _Ritusamhara_. The _Meghaduta_, or the Cloud-Messenger, describes the complaint of an exiled lover, and the message he sends to his wife by a cloud. It is full of deep feeling, and abounds with fine descriptions of the beauties of nature. It was edited with free English translation by H. H. Wilson (Calcutta, 1813), and by J. Gildemeister (Bonn, 1841); a German adaptation by M. Muller appeared at Konigsberg (1847), and one by C. Schutz at Bielefeld (1859). It was edited by F. Johnson, with vocabulary and Wilson's metrical translation (London, 1867); later editions by K. P. Parab (Bombay, 1891) and K. B. Pathak (Poona, 1894). The _Ritusamhara_, or Collection of the Seasons, is a short poem, of less importance, on the six seasons of the year. There is an edition by P. von Bohlen, with prose Latin and metrical German translation (Leipzig, 1840); Eng. trans. by C. S. Sitaram Ayyar (Bombay, 1897). Another poem, entitled the _Nalodaya_, or Rise of Nala, edited by F. Benary (Berlin, 1830), W. Yates (Calcutta, 1844) and Vidyasagara (Calcutta, 1873), is a treatment of the story of Nala and Damayanti, but describes especially the restoration of Nala to prosperity and power. It has been ascribed to the celebrated Kalidasa, but was probably written by another poet of the same name. It is full of most absurd verbal conceits and metrical extravagances. So many poems, partly of a very different stamp, are attributed to Kalidasa that it is scarcely possible to avoid the necessity of assuming the existence of more authors than one of that name. It is by no means improbable that there were three poets thus named; indeed modern native astronomers are so convinced of the existence of a triad of authors of this name that they apply the term Kalidasa to designate the number three. On Kalidasa generally, see A. A. Macdonell's _History of Sanskrit Literature_ (1900), and on his date G. Huth, _Die Zeit des K._ (Berlin, 1890). (A. A. M.)