SECTION XIV
(Kichaka-badha Parva)
"Vaisampayana said, 'Living in such disguise, those mighty warriors, the
sons of Pritha, passed ten months in Matsya's city. And, O monarch,
although herself deserving to be waited upon by others, the daughter of
Yajnasena, O Janamejaya, passed her days in extreme misery, waiting upon
Sudeshna. And residing thus in Sudeshna's apartments, the princess of
Panchala pleased that lady as also the other females of the inner
apartments. And it came to pass that as the year was about to expire, the
redoubtable Kichaka, the Commander of Virata's forces, chanced to behold
the daughter of Drupada. And beholding that lady endued with the
splendour of a daughter of the celestials, treading the earth like a
goddess, Kichaka, afflicted with the shafts of Kama, desired to possess
her. And burning with desire's flame, Virata's general came to Sudeshna
(his sister) and smilingly addressed her in these words, 'This beauteous
lady had never before been seen by me in king Virata's abode. This damsel
maddens me with her beauty, even as a new wine maddens one with its
fragrance. Tell me, who is this graceful and captivating lady possessed
of the beauty of a goddess, and whose she is, and whence she hath come.
Surely, grinding my heart she hath reduced me to subjection. It seems to
me that (save her) there is no other medicine for my illness. O, this
fair hand-maid of yours seemeth to me to be possessed of the beauty of a
goddess. Surely, one like her is ill suited to serve thee. Let her rule
over me and whatever is mine. O, let her grace my spacious and beautiful
palace, decked with various ornaments of gold, full of viands and drinks
in profusion, with excellent plates, and containing every kind of plenty,
besides elephants and horses and cars in myriads. And having consulted
with Sudeshna thus, Kichaka went to princess Draupadi, and like a jackal
in the forest accosting a lioness, spoke unto Krishna these words in a
winning voice, 'Who and whose are thou, O beautiful one? And O you of
beautiful face, whence hast you come to the city of Virata? Tell me all
this, O fair lady. Thy beauty and gracefulness are of the very first
order and the comeliness of your features is unparalleled. With its
loveliness your face shineth ever like the resplendent moon. O you of
fair eye-brows, your eyes are beautiful and large like lotus-petals. Thy
speech also, O you of beautiful limbs, resembles the notes of the
cuckoo. O you of fair hips, never before in this world have I beheld a
woman possessed of beauty like thine, O you of faultless features. Art
thou Lakshmi herself having her abode in the midst of lotuses or, art
thou, O slender-waisted one, she who is called Bhuti[13]. Or, which
amongst these--Hri, Sri, Kirti and Kanti,--art thou, O you of beautiful
face? Or possessed of beauty like Rati's, are thou, she who sporteth in
the embraces of the God of love? O you that possessest the fairest of
eye-brows, you shinest beautifully even like the lovely light of the
moon. Who is there in the whole world that will not succumb to the
influence of desire beholding your face? Endued with unrivalled beauty and
celestial grace of the most attractive kind, that face of yours is even
like the full moon, its celestial effulgence resembling his radiant face,
its smile resembling his soft-light, and its eye-lashes looking like the
spokes on his disc? Both your bosoms, so beautiful and well-developed and
endued with unrivalled gracefulness and deep and well-rounded and without
any space between them, are certainly worthy of being decked with
garlands of gold. Resembling in shape the beautiful buds of the lotus,
these your breast, O you of fair eye-brows, are even as the whips of Kama
that are urging me forward, O you of sweet smiles, O damsel of slender
waist, beholding that waist of yours marked with four wrinkles and
measuring but a span, and slightly stooping forward because of the weight
of your breasts, and also looking on those graceful hips of yours broad as
the banks of a river, the incurable fever of desire, O beauteous lady,
afflicteth me sore. The flaming fire of desire, fierce as a forest
conflagration, and fanned by the hope my heart cherisheth of a union with
thee is consuming me intensely. O you of exceeding beauty quench thou
that flaming fire kindled by Manmatha. Union with you is a rain-charged
cloud, and the surrender of your person is the shower that the cloud may
drop. O you of face resembling the moon, the fierce and maddening shafts
of Manmatha whetted and sharpened by the desire of a union with thee,
piercing this heart of mine in their impetuous course, have penetrated
into its core. O black-eyed lady, those impetuous and cruel shafts are
maddening me beyond endurance. It behoveth you to relieve me from this
plight by surrendering thyself to me and favouring me with your embraces.
Decked in beautiful garlands and robes and adorned with every ornament,
sport thou, O sweet damsel, with me to your fill. O you of the gait of an
elephant in rut, deserving as you are of happiness though deprived of it
now, it behoveth you not to dwell here in misery. Let unrivalled weal be
thine. Drinking various kinds of charming and delicious and ambrosial
wines, and sporting at your pleasure in the enjoyment of diverse objects
of delight, do thou, O blessed lady, attain auspicious prosperity. This
beauty of yours and this prime of your youth, O sweet lady, are now
without their use. For, O beauteous and chaste damsel, endued with such
loveliness, you dost not shine, like a graceful garland lying unused and
unworn. I will forsake all my old wives. Let them, O you of sweet
smiles, become your slaves. And I also, O fair damsel, will stay by thee
as your slave, ever obedient to thee, O you of the most handsome face.'
Hearing these words of his, Draupadi replied, 'In desiring me, a female
servant of low extraction, employed in the despicable office of dressing
hair, O Suta's son, you desirest one that deserves not that honour.
Then, again, I am the wife of others. Therefore, good betide thee, this
conduct of yours is not proper. Do you remember the precept of morality,
viz., that persons should take delight only in their wedded wives. Thou
shouldst not, therefore, by any means bend your heart to adultery. Surely
abstaining from improper acts is ever the study of those that are good.
Overcome by ignorance sinful men under the influence of desire come by
either extreme infamy or dreadful calamity.'
"Vaisampayana continued, 'Thus addressed by the Sairindhri, the wicked
Kichaka losing control over his senses and overcome by lust, although
aware of the numerous evils of fornication, evils condemned by everybody
and sometimes leading to the destruction of life itself,--then spoke unto
Draupadi, 'It behoveth you not, O beauteous lady, O you of graceful
features, thus to disregard me who am, O you of sweet smiles, under the
power of Manmatha on your account. If now, O timid one, you disregardest
me who am under your influence and who speak to you so fair, you wilt, O
black-eyed damsel, have to repent for it afterwards. O you of graceful
eye-brows, the real lord of this entire kingdom, O slender-waisted lady,
is myself. It is me depending upon whom the people of this realm live. In
energy and prowess I am unrivalled on earth. There is no other man on
earth who rivals me in beauty of person, in youth, in prosperity, and in
the possession of excellent objects of enjoyment. Why it is, O auspicious
lady, that having it in your power to enjoy here every object of desire
and every luxury and comfort without its equal, you preferest servitude.
Becoming the mistress of this kingdom which I shall confer on thee, O
thou of fair face, accept me, and enjoy, O beauteous one, all excellent
objects of desire.' Addressed in these accursed words by Kichaka, that
chaste daughter of Drupada answered him thus reprovingly, 'Do not, O son
of a Suta, act so foolishly and do not throw away your life. Know that I
am protected by my five husbands. Thou canst not have me. I have
Gandharvas for my husbands. Enraged they will slay thee. Therefore, do
thou not bring destruction on thyself. Thou intendest to tread along a
path that is incapable of being trod by men. Thou, O wicked one, are even
like a foolish child that standing on one shore of the ocean intends to
cross over to the other. Even if you enterest into the interior of the
earth, or soarest into the sky, or rushest to the other shore of the
ocean, still you wilt have no escape from the hands of those sky-ranging
offspring of gods, capable of grinding all foes. Why dost you today, O
Kichaka, solicit me so persistently even as a sick person wisheth for the
night that will put a stop to his existence? Why dost you desire me,
even like an infant lying on its mother's lap wishing to catch the moon?
For you that thus solicitest their beloved wife, there is no refuge
either on earth or in sky. O Kichaka, hast you no sense which leads thee
to seek your good and by which your life may be saved?'"
--------------------END OF PARVA 4 : UPA-PARVA 14 ---------------------
