Kāliāsa (Devanāgarī: कालिदास) was a renowned Sanskrit poet and dramatist, author of Meghadūta, Abhijñānashākuntala and Kumārasambhava , among other well-known works. His place in Sanskrit literature is the same as that of Shakespeare in English. Such has been his fame that works not of his writing, such as Nalodaya and Shrutabodha, have also been attributed to him. His plays and poetry were primarily based on Hindu mythology and philosophy. Kālidāsa is a Sanskrit name which means servant (dasa) of the goddess Kali.