Mahabharata — Virata Parva, Shloka 37
Virāṭa-parva Adhyāya 22 — Draupadī’s Abduction Attempt and Bhīma’s Suppression of the Kīcakas
अदृश्यमानस्तस्याथ तमस्विन्यामनिन्दिते । नागो बिल्वमिवाक्रम्य पोथयिष्याम्यहं शिर: । अलभ्यामिच्छतस्तस्य कीचकस्य दुरात्मन:
adṛśyamānas tasyātha tamasvinyām anindite | nāgo bilvam ivākramya pothayiṣyāmy ahaṃ śiraḥ | alabhyām icchatas tasya kīcakasya durātmanaḥ ||
Bhīma said: “O blameless lady, on this dark night I shall remain unseen to him and crush the head of that wicked Kīcaka—who dares desire you though you are unattainable—just as a mighty elephant tramples a bilva fruit underfoot and pulverizes it.”
भीमसेन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames the protection of a blameless woman from predatory desire as a dharmic duty, portraying decisive punishment of adharma (Kīcaka’s coercive lust) as morally justified, even if carried out through stealth to fit the circumstances.
In the Virāṭa court episode, Bhīma promises that on a dark night he will stay hidden and kill Kīcaka by crushing his head, using the vivid simile of an elephant crushing a bilva fruit—assuring the threatened woman that Kīcaka’s attempt will be met with fatal retribution.