most sweet and most bitter at once is assuredly found in thee, O God of Love.' Agnimitra is ready enough with a pun, when Mālavikā, on being bidden to show fearlessly her love towards him, slyly reminds him that she has seen him as terrified as herself of the queen: [1]
dākṣiṇyaṁ nāma bimboṣṭhi baimbikānāṁ kulavratam
tan me dīrghākṣi ye prāṇās te tvadāçānibandhanāḥ.
'Politeness, O Bimba-lipped one, is the family tradition of the descendants of Bimbaka; nevertheless, what life I have depends entirely on the hope of thy favour.' The excellent Kauçikī consoles and comforts Dhāriṇī with her approval of her acts:[2]
pratipakṣeṇāpi patiṁ sevante bhaṛtrvatsalāḥ sādhvyaḥ
anyasaritām api jalaṁ samudragāḥ prāpayanty udadhim.
'Even to the extent of admitting a rival, noble ladies, who love their spouses, honour their husbands; the great rivers bear to the ocean the waters of many a tributary stream.' There is an amusing directness and homeliness in the king's utterance on learning of the true quality of Mālavikā:[3]
preṣyabhāvena nameyaṁ devīçabdakṣamā satī
snānīyavastrakriyayā patrorṇaṁ vopayujyate.
This lady, fit to bear the title of queen, has been treated as a
maid-servant, even as one might use a garment of woven silk for
a bathing cloth.' But Kālidāsa shows himself equal to the
expression of more manly sentiments as well; the nun thus tells
of her brother's fall in the effort to save Malavikā when the
foresters attack them:[4]
imām parīpsur durjāte parābhibhavakātarām
bhartṛpriyaḥ priyair bhartur ānṛṇyam asubhir gataḥ.
'Eager in this misfortune to protect her, terrified by the enemy's onslaught, he paid with his dear life his debt of affection to the lord whom he loved.' The king's reply is manly: bhagavati tanutyajām īdṛçī lokayātrā: na çocyaṁ tatrabhavān saphalīkṛtabhartṛpiṇḍaḥ. 'O lady, such is the fate of brave men; thou must not mourn for him who showed himself thus worthy of his master's salt.'
