The Servant

The Servant (Yaksha)

Meghadutam is one of the most celebrated poem by Kalidasa. Simple words have deep meanings and the sweet language enriched with proper sentiments makes it a world class poem. The hero of this poem is not any God or a prince but a demi-god, a servant of Kuber. This servant, commonly known as Yaksha who is the resident of divine Alka city gets separated from his wife because of his mistake.

The poem presents him as a deeply emotional figure, exiled from his celestial home and filled with profound love and longing for his wife. His torment is compounded by his forced separation, but despite the sorrow, he remains hopeful, resilient, and deeply devoted to her.

Kalidasa’s Portrayal:

While spending his sentence of living on Ramgiri mountain for a year, after eight months he sees a rain cloud. As the popular saying goes, even a family man becomes desperate after seeing the rain cloud then what to say about the Yaksha who is separated from his lovely wife for a year? The memories of Alka city his palatial house and his wife flood his mind and without thinking about the cloud’s non-livingness, he welcomes that cloud and requests him to give a message of wellbeing to his wife. He navigates the whole route to Alka his house, description of his wife, and gives the message for his wife.

This servant of Kuber has been punished and is very sad because of separation from his wife but still the artiste in him is alive. Although he is sad due to separation he does not look at the world in a sad light.

He suggests to the cloud that he should rest on the mountains, watch the beautiful designs made by Narmada River on Vindhya Mountain, dancing peacocks and mountains blooming with flowers. He also suggests taking a detour for experiencing the beauty of Ujjayini city and purity of Mahakal temple. The cloud bending on the river Charmnavati  for drinking water seems to the Yaksha like an emerald in a pearl string, somewhere he looks like black collerium. He describes Himalayas as sharpened elephant tooth and Kailas Mountain like the smile of lord Shiva. On one hand he wants the cloud to travel fast and give his message to his wife but at the same time he wishes that the cloud should drink in the view of beautiful natural surroundings. The Yaksha’s  generous and pleasant nature makes this poem impressive. He is very noble in his thoughts and conduct. He loves his wife very much and compares her to Seeta and indirectly himself with Lord Rama. He is very religious because he asks the cloud to stop at the holy places of Mahakal temple, Devgiri mountain. He can easily connect with people through a friendly manner. Even in the end he wishes for the cloud’s safe journey without being separated from his wife lightening. This shows his non-envious nature, who always thinks of the good of others.

Lonely:

The Yaksha's loneliness is central to his emotional state. Exiled from his divine world, he is now confined to the earthly realm. His exile is not only physical but also emotional, as it separates him from the very thing that gave him joy: his wife. This is introduced early in the poem:

"The cruel curse, O cloud, has torn me from my beloved and cast me into this forsaken land."

"In the northern direction stands the divine Himalaya, the king of mountains, stretching from the eastern to the western oceans, as if it were Earth's measuring rod"

these lines help set the vast, isolated landscape the Yaksha is now part of.

This separation makes the Yaksha's sorrow both external (geographical) and internal (emotional).

Lover and Yearning Heart:

The Yaksha’s love for his wife is the driving force of his actions. His love is deep, pure, and unyielding.  He recalls her beauty and their past moments together in evocative terms. For instance, the description of his wife’s eyes:

"Her eyes, like those of a doe, move towards their corners only to be hidden by strands / Of her long hair, brittle without the silkiness of collyrium."

"I have pictured my wife looking like this since the first day of our parting, Because I know full well that her heart is filled with enduring love for me."

 Sensitive and Artistic:

The Servant's (Yaksha’s) sensitivity is evident in his ability to perceive and describe the natural world around him. His love and artistic nature come through as he compares his wife's features with elements of nature:

"Her glowing face in the moon, your hair in the plume

 Of a peacock, and your playful brows in the gentle waves of a flowing river."....

"I can see your slender arms in the vines of priyangu, your eyes in the glance

Of a startled doe."

His poetic imagination is one of his most striking traits. His descriptions are not mere physical observations but also emotional and metaphorical.

Hopeful and Resilient:

The Yaksha remains hopeful despite the overwhelming pain of separatio. His hope for reunion with his wife is unwavering, and he expresses this through his plea to the cloud, asking it to deliver his message. Following lines reflect the servant's belief that the separation is temporary and that he will eventually be reunited with his beloved.

"Though I am exiled, and my pain is great, I trust that the time will come when we will be united again.

And until that time, I send my words with you, O cloud, as my messenger."

His resilience shines through his deep-rooted optimism, despite the external circumstances.

Symbol of Human Longing:

At a more universal level, the Yaksha represents the human experience of longing and emotional suffering in love. His pain transcends the specific context of the poem because his yearning is something everyone can relate to. In this sense, the Yaksha becomes a symbol of all who have ever been separated from their loved ones.

"Yearning to touch your face, and hoping to whisper in your ear

That which should have been said before, he is beyond your reach,

Unable to be seen, too far off to be heard, and so he speaks /

Through me, with a lyric message crafted with cherished words."

His deep emotional yearning is a heartbreaking reflection of the universal human condition: love, loss, and the hope of reunion.

Summing up:

The Servant in Meghadūtam is a deeply emotional, artistic, and resilient character. His suffering is not just personal but speaks to the universal human experience of separation and yearning. Through his character, Kalidasa taps into timeless themes of love and loss.