Shringaraprakasha 9.p1.20

9.p1.20

When a futile effort is abandoned, that is to be known as 'futile exertion' (mṛṣodyama).
As in the Mahāvīracarita:
"Whoever among you here lays claim to ascetic power or weapon,
let him, unable to bear an overweening foe, bring him down with pride!
Having rid the earth of Rāma, along with the descendant of Daśaratha whose banner is the plough,
Paraśurāma, insatiable, will quell even his lineage."
Where a word is employed with a double meaning through intonation (kāku) or paronomasia (śleṣa),
in order to outwit a principal personage, that is proclaimed as 'equivocation' (chalokti).
As in the Ratnāvalī, in the second act:
Vidūṣaka: "My lady, I swear truly by my sacred thread if I have ever seen such a one before!"
Vāsavadattā: "Ah, simple girl, this is Vasantaka! Do you not know his crooked sayings? Today, from looking at this picture, a headache has come upon me. So I shall go."
And as in the Mālatīmādhava:
"The great king has authority over his own maiden daughters."
That through which the meaning stated in a sentence takes on a different sense,
by means of a distinct vocal tone, is called 'intonation' (kāku) by the wise.
And as in the Veṇīsaṃhāra:
Bhīma (referring to Sahadeva): "Those brothers of yours are to be conciliated!"
And as in the very same work:
"Having struck at our lives and our amassed wealth
by the house of lac, poison, poisoned food, and the assembly entrance,
and having pulled the garments and hair of the Pāṇḍava bride,
can the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra remain at ease while I live?"
A sarcastic remark uttered by one who considers himself virtuous
when seeing someone do something wrong is called 'upbraiding' (unmātha).
As in the Ratnāvalī, in the third act:
Kāñcanamālā: "Well done, Vasantaka, well done! You have surpassed even Minister Yaugandharāyaṇa in this deliberation over peace and war!"