A short poem of 111 stanzas, it is one of poet Kalidasa's most famous works. It recounts how a yaksa, a subject of King Kubera [the god of wealth], after being exiled for a year to Central India for neglecting his duties, convinces a passing cloud to take a message to his wife Alaka on Mount Kailash in the Himalaya mountains. The yaksa accomplices this by describing the many beautiful sights the cloud will see on its northern course to the city of Alaka, where his wife awaits his return.