Question

“The Cloud Messenger” by Kalidasa. In the beginning of the poem, what does the cloud seen by the lover resemble?

Answer 1

"A cloud that charged the peak in mimic fray,
As an elephant attacks a bank of earth in play."

Sounds like an elephant.

Answer 2

You think? . . . but the elephant is part of the simile, this "charging of the peak in mimic fray" is done in the manner of an elephant attacking a bank of earth in play. Does that mean that the cloud itself reminds him of an elephant? That's not how I read it. We need more of the poem to get the feel of the context, I think.

Answer 3

Here are first few stanzas of another translation. I don't think the cloud itself is being interpreted as an elephant.