Shloka 29

Virāṭa-parva Adhyāya 21 — Kīcaka’s clandestine approach and Bhīma’s covert intervention (नर्तनागारे कीचकवध-प्रसङ्गः)

Devanagari script

तेनैव देशिता पूर्व भ्रातृप्रियचिकीर्षया । सुरामानय कल्याणि कीचकस्य निवेशनात्‌,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”

Transliteration

tenaiva deśitā pūrvaṁ bhrātṛpriyacikīrṣayā | surām ānaya kalyāṇi kīcakasya niveśanāt ||

Translation

Menurut rancangan yang sama yang telah diajarkan kepadanya dahulu, dan kerana ingin menyenangkan saudaranya, dia memerintah: “Wahai wanita yang membawa berkat, bawakan arak dari kediaman Kīcaka.”

Word by Word

तेनby him/with that

एवindeed/just

देशिताinstructed/taught (she was instructed)

पूर्वम्formerly/before

भ्रातृ-प्रिय-चिकीर्षयाwith the desire to do what is pleasing to (her) brother

सुराम्liquor/wine

आनयbring

कल्याणिO fair one/O auspicious lady

कीचकस्यof Kīcaka

निवेशनात्from the residence/house

Speaker

भीमसेन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīmasena

Kīcaka

Sudeshṇā (implied by context)

surā (liquor)

Kīcaka’s residence (niveśana)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how personal loyalty and social pressure can be used to enable adharma: Sudeshṇā’s wish to please her brother leads her to participate in a scheme that facilitates Kīcaka’s misconduct, illustrating the ethical danger of complicity.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīma narrates that Sudeshṇā, following Kīcaka’s earlier instructions, sends the woman addressed as ‘kalyāṇi’ to Kīcaka’s residence to fetch liquor—an action that functions as a pretext to draw her into Kīcaka’s reach.