Vikramorvasiyam is a famous play composed by Kalidasa in five Acts which
describes the love of Pururavas, the king of Pratishthana, and Urvasi, a
heavenly nymph (apsaras). In this play, Kalidasa seems to have concentrated more
on characterization than on plot-construction as he has done in the
Malavikagnimitra. But the most debated portion of the play is Act IV where the
hero, distracted by separation, gives vent to his feelings in short, sweet and
pathetic lyrics. It is not a long narrative or descriptive poem which can be
read with chosen intervals or breaks. With a true dramatic instinct Kalidasa
turns this long-drawn pathetic scene into a