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:[49]
pratipakṣeṇāpi patiṁ sevante bhartṛvatsalāḥ 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:[50]
preṣyabhāvena nāmeyaṁ 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 Mālavikā when the foresters attack them:[51]
imām parīpsur durjāte parābhibhavakātarām