Shloka 12
Kīcaka-vadha-pratisaṃjñā: Rumor in Matsya and the Kaurava Scouts’ Report (कीचकवध-प्रतिसंज्ञा)
त्रासितेव मृगी बाला शार्टूलेन मनस्विनी । गात्राणि वाससी चैव प्रक्षाल्य सलिलेन सा
trāsitevā mṛgī bālā śārṭūlena manasvinī | gātrāṇi vāsasī caiva prakṣālya salilena sā |
Vaiśampāyana sprach: O König, wie ein junges Reh, das ein Tiger in Schrecken versetzt hat, wusch die entschlossene Maid—vom Schrecken befreit—mit Wasser ihre Glieder und ihre Gewänder und machte sich zur Stadt auf.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical duty to restore safety and dignity to someone who has been threatened or violated; once fear is removed, purification and composure follow, and the vulnerable person can re-enter society with agency.
After being released from danger (as the surrounding prose context indicates), the young woman washes her body and garments with water and then proceeds toward the city, still shaken—likened to a doe frightened by a tiger.