The Sanskrit Drama in its Origin, Development, Theory & Practice c15.s2.34

c15.s2.34

'Indifference is impossible since my dear friend has fallen into this disaster for my sake; I have it: my own life do I set as ransom for his.' There is grim humour in the command of the infuriated Malayaketu:³ 'Those who desired my land, take and cast into a pit and cover with dust; those two who sought my army of elephants slay by an elephant,' and in the Caṇḍāla's remark⁴ when he bids his friend impale Candanadāsa: 'His family will go off quickly enough of their own accord.' The revelation of Jivasiddhi's treachery wrings from Rākṣasa the cry:⁵ 'My very heart has been made their own by my foes (*hṛdayam api me ripubhiḥ svīkṛtam*).' Proverbs are aptly used, as in the same context the Sanskrit equivalent for an accumulation of evils (*ayam aparo gaṇḍasyopari sphoṭaḥ*)