Shloka 13
द्रौपद्याः भीमसेन-प्रबोधनम्
Draupadī Awakens Bhīmasena
(सभायां पश्यतो राज्ञो विराटस्य महात्मन: । ब्राह्मणानां च वृद्धानां क्षत्रियाणां च पश्यताम् ।। तस्या: पादाभितप्ताया मुखाद् रुधिरमास्रवत् | तां दृष्टवा तत्र ते सभ्या हाहा भूता: समन्ततः ।। न युक्त सूतपुत्रेति कीचकेति च मानवा: । किमियं वध्यते बाला कृपणा चाप्यबान्धवा ।।) सभामें महामना राजा विराटके तथा वृद्ध ब्राह्मणों और क्षत्रियोंके देखते-देखते कीचकके पादप्रहारसे पीड़ित हुई द्रौपदीके मुँहसे रक्त बहने लगा। उसे उस अवस्थामें देखकर समस्त सभासद् सब ओरसे हाहाकार कर उठे और सब लोग कहने लगे--'“सूतपुत्र कीचक! तुम्हारा यह कार्य उचित नहीं है। यह बेचारी अबला अपने बन्धु-बान्धवोंसे रहित है। इसे क्यों पीड़ा दे रहे हो?' तां चासीनौ ददृशतुर्भीमसेनयुधिष्ठिरौ । अमृष्यमाणौ कृष्णाया: कीचकेन पराभवम्,उस समय भीमसेन और युधिष्ठिर भी राजसभामें बैठे हुए थे। उन्होंने कीचकके द्वारा द्रौपदीका यह अपमान अपनी आँखों देखा; जिसे वे सहन न कर सके
sabhāyāṃ paśyato rājño virāṭasya mahātmanaḥ | brāhmaṇānāṃ ca vṛddhānāṃ kṣatriyāṇāṃ ca paśyatām || tasyāḥ pādābhitaptāyā mukhād rudhiramāsravat | tāṃ dṛṣṭvā tatra te sabhyā hāhā-bhūtāḥ samantataḥ || na yukta sūtaputreti kīcaketi ca mānavāḥ | kim iyaṃ vadhyate bālā kṛpaṇā cāpyabāndhavā || tāṃ cāsīnau dadṛśatur bhīmasena-yudhiṣṭhirau | amṛṣyamāṇau kṛṣṇāyāḥ kīcakena parābhavam ||
While the great-souled King Virāṭa looked on in the assembly—along with aged brāhmaṇas and watching kṣatriyas—Draupadī, tormented by Kīcaka’s kicks, began to bleed from her mouth. Seeing her in that condition, the courtiers all around broke into cries of distress. People exclaimed, “O Kīcaka, son of a sūta, this is not right! Why are you harming this helpless young woman, pitiable and without protectors?” At that very time Bhīmasena and Yudhiṣṭhira too were seated in the royal hall; they witnessed Kīcaka’s humiliation of Kṛṣṇā (Draupadī) and could not endure it.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights adharma in public life: when power is used to harm the vulnerable, even a royal court becomes morally complicit if it merely watches. The courtiers’ protest voices a dharmic norm—violence and humiliation of a helpless woman are improper—while Bhīma and Yudhiṣṭhira’s inability to endure the insult underscores the duty to resist injustice, not only to lament it.
In Virāṭa’s assembly, Kīcaka assaults Draupadī (Kṛṣṇā), kicking her so that blood flows from her mouth. The assembled elders and warriors witness it; the courtiers cry out that Kīcaka’s act is wrong and question why he torments a defenseless woman without protectors. Bhīma and Yudhiṣṭhira, present in the hall, see the humiliation and are inwardly enraged.