Why did Goethe say that Kalidasa was the greatest poet of all time ? There are reasons.

Arthur Ryder says when writing on Kalidasa that "rarely has a man walked our earth who observed the phenomena of living Nature as accurately as he, though his accuracy was of course that of the poet, not that of the scientist." 

Ryder was right. For Kalidasa knew the landscape, the brooks, the flowers and trees.

He was one of the Nine Gems who tenanted the Court of King Vikramaditya. With Dhanwantari to champion the cause of Ayurveda, Varaha Astrology, Magha Poetry, Kalidasa represented Overmind Poetry !

Dhanwantari Kshapana pamarasingha pangur
Vethala bhatta ghata karpara kalidas
Khyatho varaha mihiro nripatye sabhayam
Ratnani vair vararuchi nava vikramsya !

Talking about Kalidasa's work, Goethe commented: "Here the poet seems to be in the height of his talent in representation of the natural order, of the finest mode of life "


Unlike Aurobindo, Dante or Goethe, Kalidasa was a material poet, along with Tagore. We find Overmind Poetry in Aurobindo, Dante and Goethe. On the other hand, Tagore and Kalidasa were not so supra-mundane. There is a verse in Kalidasa, which says the Rishies were cheated of the pleasures of the city, while they pined for Heaven !