Shloka 28
Virāṭa-parva Adhyāya 21 — Kīcaka’s clandestine approach and Bhīma’s covert intervention (नर्तनागारे कीचकवध-प्रसङ्गः)
एवमुक्त: स दुष्टात्मा प्राहसत् स्वनवत् तदा | अथ मां तत्र कैकेयी प्रैषयत् प्रणयेन तु,मेरी यह बात सुनकर वह दुष्टात्मा ठहाका मारकर हँसने लगा। तदनन्तर केकयराजकुमारी सुदेष्णा, जैसा कीचकने पहले उसे सिखा रखा था, उसी योजनाके अनुसार अपने भाईका प्रिय करनेकी इच्छासे मुझे प्रेमपूर्वक कीचकके यहाँ भेजने लगी और बोली--“कल्याणि! तुम कीचकके महलसे मेरे लिये मदिरा ले आओ”
evam uktaḥ sa duṣṭātmā prāhasat svanavat tadā | atha māṃ tatra kaikeyī praiṣayat praṇayena tu ||
Thus addressed, that wicked-souled man burst into loud laughter. Then, in that very place, the Kaikeyī princess, Queen Sudeshnā, with feigned affection—seeking to please her brother, according to the scheme Kīcaka had earlier taught her—sent me to Kīcaka’s residence and said: “O auspicious lady, bring liquor for me from Kīcaka’s palace.”
भीमसेन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how adharma operates through arrogance and manipulation: a wicked person responds to moral restraint with mockery, while those in authority may be pressured into complicity. It warns that fear, desire, and favoritism can turn governance into an instrument of harm.
Bhīma recounts that after being spoken to, Kīcaka laughs loudly. Then Queen Sudeshnā, acting with outward affection but following Kīcaka’s prior instructions, sends Bhīma on an errand as part of Kīcaka’s plan—setting up the next movement of the episode involving coercion at the Virāṭa court.