Shloka 90
Virāṭa-parva Adhyāya 22 — Draupadī’s Abduction Attempt and Bhīma’s Suppression of the Kīcakas
कीचको<यं हत: शेते गन्धर्वै: पतिभि्मम । परस्त्रीकामसम्मत्तस्तत्रागच्छत पश्यत,“आओ, देखो, “परायी स्त्रीके प्रति कामोन्मत्त रहनेवाला यह कीचक मेरे पति गन्धर्वोद्वारा मारा जाकर वहाँ नृत्यशालामें पड़ा है”
kīcako ’yaṁ hataḥ śete gandharvaiḥ patibhiḥ | parastrīkāma-sammattas tatrāgacchata paśyata |
Vaiśampāyana said: “Here lies Kīcaka, slain by the Gandharvas—her husbands. Driven mad by desire for another man’s wife, he has fallen there in the hall of dance. Come, look!” The statement underscores the ethical censure of violating another’s marital protection and frames the killing as the consequence of predatory lust and adharma.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse condemns para-strī-kāma—lusting after another man’s wife—as a form of adharma that leads to disgrace and ruin. It reinforces the ethical norm of respecting marital boundaries and the protective duty owed to a woman under guardianship.
A public announcement is made that Kīcaka has been killed and is lying in the dance-hall, with the death attributed to ‘Gandharvas’ described as the woman’s husbands. This functions as a cover story explaining his sudden death and warning others against similar misconduct.