Mahabharata — Virata Parva, Shloka 26
Virāṭa-parva Adhyāya 22 — Draupadī’s Abduction Attempt and Bhīma’s Suppression of the Kīcakas
शून्यं स नर्तनागारमागमिष्यति कीचक: । एको निशि महाबाहो कीचकं त॑ निषूदय
śūnyaṁ sa nartanāgāram āgamiṣyati kīcakaḥ | eko niśi mahābāho kīcakaṁ taṁ niṣūdaya ||
കീചകൻ ശൂന്യമായ നർത്തനാഗാരത്തിലേക്ക് വരും. ഓ മഹാബാഹോ! നീ രാത്രിയിൽ ഒറ്റയ്ക്ക് ചെന്നു ആ കീചകനെ വധിക്കൂ.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames force as a targeted, strategic act used to stop ongoing wrongdoing: the aggressor is lured to an isolated place and punished without endangering others, reflecting a concern for protecting the vulnerable and minimizing collateral harm.
A plan is stated: Kīcaka will come to the dance-hall when it is empty; the addressed hero is instructed to go alone at night and kill Kīcaka there, setting up the decisive confrontation in the Kīcaka episode of the Virāṭa court.