[INDOLOGY] Query about Kālidāsa

[victor davella]

Dear Ananya,

I have no idea, to be honest, and I did not see anything during a quick
skim of the introduction, nor does it remind me of anything from the
Śākuntala itself, but it does ring a bell with Goethe's Faust, Teil I:

In Lebensfluthen, im Thatensturm
Wall’ ich auf und ab,
Webe hin und her!
Geburt und Grab,

505
Ein ewiges Meer,

Ein wechselnd Weben,
Ein glühend Leben,

*So schaff’ ich am sausenden Webstuhl der Zeit,Und wirke der Gottheit
lebendiges Kleid.*


Webstuhl der Zeit is often translated as "the loom of time".

All the Best,
Victor

On Sat, 12 Sept 2026, 16:01 Ananya Vajpeyi via INDOLOGY, <
indology at list.indology.info> wrote:

> Dear List,
>
> Someone asked me where this phrase "loom of time" comes from --
>
> Kalidasa, Abhijnanasakuntalam, trans. Chandra Rajan, in Kalidasa: The Loom
> of Time, (Penguin Classics, 1989, reprint 2000)
>
> Although I could think of a discussion about warp and weft / fabric /
> weaving etc. when Gārgī and Yājñavalkya are talking in the Bṛhadāraṇyaka, I
> wasn't sure if Kālidāsa himself uses this metaphor anywhere.
>
> Does anyone know?
>
> All best,
>
> Ananya.
> --
>
> *Ananya Vajpeyi *
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