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DONEPUDI VENKAYYA
Poet & Critic
 
11-2-22, Colony Road
Narasaraopet - 522 601
 
THE WORSHIP OF BEAUTY
 
This is a creative and critical commentary on the beautiful San-
skrit hymn to KALI, The Universal Mother, written by Kalidasa, the great-
est of the Sanskrit poets in a select metre Aswa - dhati, named after
the brisk pace of a horse at a gallop. The hymn is a scintillating work
bristling with a bewildering yet beautiful variety of word pictures, inter-
laced with the symbols of mythological characters and unknown, unfa-
miliar and startlingly new images that come one over the other like a
cascade. In this hymn we catch a glimpse of the beauty of the Universal
Mother, the attractive qualities of Her Head and Heart, the grace and
grandeur of Her movements, the charm of Her physical appearance - all
combined in a perfect harmony. We get spontaneously and completely
absorbed in and identified with that Universal Beauty, the beauty of Brah-
man, the divine beauty in its full manifestation.
 
In presenting and interpreting the contents of this marvellously
beautiful work of Kalidasa, Dr. Mellachervu Bhanu Prasada Rao, a
well-informed scholar of conspicuous ability, has produced a master-
piece in literary criticism, a brilliant work of critical understanding. With
his vast erudition and dazzling skill and with the sweep and depth of his
consummate scholarship coupled with a rare insight, Dr. Bhanu Prasada
Rao could successfully unearth the hidden meanings of many a mind-
boggling metaphors of Kalidasa and could thus kindle the flame of po-
etry in capsules. Mr. Bhanu's keen sense of research is evident through
out the book which is thought-provoking, being an original attempt at a
re-interpretation of the poem in a new light.
 
The commentary is exquisite and exhaustive. The style is irre-
sistible and vibrating. The text together with the commentary shakes,
jolts and moves the reader to the core of his heart and makes him sing
and incites him to dance with joy. It is a real treat for the reader who
wants to become aesthetically and socially aware as a poet.
 
Dr. Bhanű has already become popular with his fascinating the-
sis, Potana Bhagavatam - Sringaram and now this charming com-
mentary, "Devi Aswadhati," is quite another feather in his cap.
 
Donepudi Venkayya
 
Narasaraopet
3-1-1998