Mahabharata — Virata Parva, Shloka 77

Virāṭa-parva Adhyāya 22 — Draupadī’s Abduction Attempt and Bhīma’s Suppression of the Kīcakas

Devanagari script

फिर द्रौपदीका क्रोध शान्त करनेके लिये उन्होंने दोनों हाथोंसे उसका गला पकड़कर बड़े वेगसे दबाया ।।

Transliteration

atha taṁ bhagnasarvāṅgaṁ vyāviddhanayanāmbaram | ākramya ca kaṭīdeśe jānunā kīcakādhamam | apīḍayat bāhubhyāṁ paśum āramam ārayat ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana dit : Lorsque le corps de Kīcaka fut brisé, ses yeux roulant et ses vêtements déchirés dans la lutte, Bhīma se jeta sur ce Kīcaka infâme, le cloua par la taille avec son genou et, de ses deux bras, lui broya la gorge. Ainsi l’abattit-il comme une bête, afin de mettre un terme à l’humiliation de Draupadī et de préserver le vœu secret de protection des Pāṇḍava.

Word by Word

• {'atha': 'then, thereafter', 'tam': 'him (accusative singular)', 'bhagna': 'broken, shattered', 'sarvāṅga': 'all limbs

• the whole body', 'vyāviddha': 'turned aside, distorted, rolled about (of eyes)', 'nayana': 'eye', 'ambara': 'garment, clothing', 'ākramya': 'having stepped upon/overpowered

• having attacked', 'kaṭīdeśe': 'in the region of the waist/hips', 'jānunā': 'with the knee', 'kīcaka': 'Kīcaka (commander of Virāṭa’s forces

• aggressor toward Draupadī)', 'adhama': 'lowest, vile, contemptible', 'apīḍayat': 'he pressed, crushed, throttled', 'bāhubhyām': 'with (both) arms', 'paśu': 'animal, beast', 'ārayat': 'he struck down/finished off

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Kīcaka
• Draupadī
• Bhīma

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The passage highlights the dharmic duty to protect the oppressed and to stop ongoing adharma (Kīcaka’s predation). It also raises an ethical tension: force is portrayed as justified when used to end grave wrongdoing and safeguard honor, yet it remains a severe remedy tied to responsibility and context.

What is happening in the narrative?

After Kīcaka assaults and threatens Draupadī during the Pandavas’ incognito stay in Virāṭa’s court, Bhīma confronts him and kills him in close combat—pinning him with a knee and crushing his throat—thereby ending Kīcaka’s tyranny and protecting Draupadī.