Scene 11 - Page 2

let you go--I have some use for you in this
affair.

[Enter a SOLDIER]

SOLDIER. Your Highness, Virat, Panchal, and Vidarbha too have
come. They have encamped on the other side of the river.[Exit.]

KANCHI. In the beginning we must all fight together. Let the
battle with Kanya Kubja first be over, then we shall find some
way out of the difficulty.

SUVARNA. Please do not drag me into your plans--I shall be happy
if you leave me alone--I am a poor, mean creature--nothing can--

KANCHI. Look here, king of hypocrites, ways and means are never
of a very exalted order--roads and stairs and so forth are always
to be trodden under our feet. The advantage of utilising men
like you in our plans is that we have to make use of no mask or
illusion. But if I were to consult my prime minister, it would
be absurd for me to call theft by any name less dignified than
public benefit. I will go now, and move the princes about like
pawns on the chessboard; the game cannot evidently go on if all
the chessmen propose moving like kings!