A History of Sanskrit Literature c21.s3.7

c21.s3.7

Characteristic of Daṇḍin is his power of characterization which is not content with making alive the more important figures on his stage, but invests with life and reality the minor personages. The ascetic Marīci, the merchant Vasupālita, and their seducer Kāmamañjarī, the old Brahmin who meets Pramati at the cock-fight and seconds him *con amore* in the trick to win his bride, improving on his instructions, the police commandant Kāntaka, who is deluded into believing that the king’s daughter is in love with him and treasures the nurse’s soiled garment as a pledge of affection, and the nurse herself, Çṛgālikā, who seconds Apahāravarman’s efforts to win the princess, are all depicted with liveliness, force, and insight. Nor is Daṇḍin limited in range; in chapter viii we have a deeper note in the characterization of the young king Anantavarman, his loyal minister Vasurakṣita, whom he casts aside because his advice is too wise for his taste, and the shallow but witty courtier Vihārabhadra whose advice leads to the utter ruin of realm and king.