Shloka 21
पुनरज्ञातचर्यायां कीचकेन पदा वधम् । द्रौपद्या राजपुत्र्याश्न कथं विस्मृतवानसि,“फिर अज्ञातवासके समय कीचकने जो आपके सामने ही राजकुमारी द्रौपदीको लात मारी थी, उस घटनाको आपने सहसा कैसे भुला दिया?
punar ajñātacaryāyāṃ kīcakena padā vadham | draupadyā rājaputryāś ca kathaṃ vismṛtavān asi ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “Again, during the period of living incognito, how could you so suddenly forget the outrage—when Kīcaka struck the princess Draupadī with his foot before your very eyes?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores moral accountability: grave public outrages—especially against a protected woman and a royal lady—must not be minimized or forgotten. Remembering such adharma is part of sustaining dharma, because it grounds rightful indignation, protection, and just response.
Vaiśampāyana recalls a specific incident from the Pāṇḍavas’ incognito exile: Kīcaka assaulted Draupadī by kicking her. He challenges the listener’s apparent forgetfulness, emphasizing the seriousness of the insult and the ethical weight of witnessing such wrongdoing.