I was too late on this one...with Valentine's Day approaching I asked around for comments about what is the greatest love story ever written. I've gotten on reply, from Jacob Bennett in English:
"What comes to mind is a Sanskrit epic, Kumārasambhava, by the poet Kālidāsa. I don't have my copy (translated by Heifetz as "The Origin of the Young God") ; it's "an epic poem which narrates the birth of Kartikeya, Parvati being sent by her father to serve the meditating Siva, Manmadha attempting to create love in Siva for Parvati, Siva destroying Manmadha in his fury, Parvati's penance for Siva, Siva agreeing to marry Parvati, Siva and Parvati living in marital bliss, etc."
It gets more complicated:
"Parvati, daughter of the Himalayas, though "given" by her father to be married to Siva, is actually the reincarnation of the three-eyed god's late lover, Sati. Siva, who withdrew into meditation after Sati's death, wants no part of the material world - meanwhile, Surapadman has unleashed fury and torment on the world. The gods conspire with Kamadeva, a deity of passion, to make Siva fall in love with Parvati, as they believe that only the son of Siva can overpower Surapadman. Siva, of course, is enraged by the intrusion and blasts Kamadeva with his third eye. Parvati, in penance for Siva's actions, and to prove her worth to Siva, performs severe tapasya, an ascetic meditative practice. Eventually, Siva falls in love, they have a son, Kumara, who is destined to destroy Surapadman. The imagery is lush and scenes of passion stand out in my mind a dozen years after my first read through."
Next year I'm going to ask Bennett to compare "eastern love" with "western love"....
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