at_ King Vikramaditya I., whose capital was Ujjayini, now
Oujein.
From the absence of historical literature in India, our knowledge of
the state of Hindustan between the incursion of Alexander and the
Muhammadan conquest is very slight. But it is ascertained with
tolerable accuracy that, after the invasion of the kingdoms of Bactria
and Afghanistan, the Tartars or Scythians (called by the Hindus
'[S']akas') overran the north-western provinces of India, and retained
possession of them. The great Vikramaditya or Vikramarka succeeded in
driving back the barbaric hordes beyond the Indus, and so consolidated
his empire that it extended over the whole of Northern Hindustan. His
name is even now cherished among the Hindus with pride and affection.
His victory over the Scythians is believed to have taken place about
B.C. 57. At any rate this is the starting-point of the Vikrama (also
called the Malava and in later times the Samvat) era, one of the
epochs from which the Hindus still continue to count. There is good
authority for affirming that the reign of this Vikramarka or
Vikramaditya was equal in brilliancy to that of any monarch in any
age. He was a liberal patron of science and literature, and gave
splendid encouragement to poets, philologists, astronomers, and
mathematicians. Nine illustrious men of genius are said to have
adorned his Court, and to have been supported by his bounty. They were
called the 'Nine Gems'; and a not unnatural tradition, which, however,
must be considered untrustworthy, included Kalidasa among the Nine.
To Kalidasa (as to another celebrated Indian Dramatist, Bhavabhuti,
who probably flourished in the eighth century) only three plays are
attributed; and of these the '[S']akoontala' (here translated) has
acquired the greatest celebrity [2].
Indeed, the popularity of this play with the natives of India exceeds
that of any other dramatic, and probably of any other poetical
composition [3]. But it is not in India alone that the '[S']akoontala' is
known and admired. Its excellence is now recognized in every
literary circle throughout the continent of Europe; and its beauties,
if not yet universally known and appreciated, are at least
acknowledged by many learned men in every country of the civilized
world. The four well-known lines of Goethe, so often quoted in
relation to the Indian drama, may here be repeated:
'Willst du die Bluethe des fruehen, die Fruechte des
spaeteren Jahres,
Wi
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