Shloka 18
अध्याय १५ — कीचकस्य अत्याचारः, द्रौपद्याः सभाशरणगमनम्
Kīcaka’s coercion and Draupadī’s appeal in the assembly
सैरन्ध्युवाच यथाहमन्यं भर्तृभ्यो नाभिजानामि कंचन । तेन सत्येन मां प्राप्तां मा कुर्यात् कीचको वशे,सैरन्ध्रीने कहा--भगवन्! यदि मैं अपने पतियोंके सिवा दूसरे किसी पुरुषको मनमें नहीं लाती, तो इस सत्यके प्रभावसे कीचक अपने घरमें आयी हुई मुझ अबलाको अपने वशमें न कर सके
Sairandhrī uvāca: yathāham anyaṃ bhartṛbhyo nābhijānāmi kañcana | tena satyena māṃ prāptāṃ mā kuryāt Kīcako vaśe ||
Sairandhrī said: “Just as I acknowledge no man other than my husbands, by the power of that truth may Kīcaka not bring me—who have come here—under his control.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights satya (truthfulness) as a moral and spiritual force: a truthful declaration (satyakriyā) is invoked as protection against adharma—here, coercion and sexual aggression—affirming fidelity and personal integrity as ethically potent.
Draupadī, disguised as Sairandhrī in King Virāṭa’s court, faces Kīcaka’s advances. She utters a truth-act: declaring she belongs to no man except her husbands, she prays that by this truth Kīcaka may not gain power over her.