Shloka 48
Virāṭa-parva Adhyāya 21 — Kīcaka’s clandestine approach and Bhīma’s covert intervention (नर्तनागारे कीचकवध-प्रसङ्गः)
विषमालोड्य पास्यामि मा कीचकवशं गमम् | श्रेयो हि मरणं महां भीमसेन तवाग्रत:,भारत! जो मेरे लिये बहुत-से अनर्थोंका कारण बना हुआ है, उसके जीते-जी यदि कल सूर्योदय हो जायगा, तो मैं विष घोलकर पी लूँगी; किंतु कीचकके अधीन नहीं होऊँगी। भीमसेन! कीचकके वशमें पड़नेकी अपेक्षा तुम्हारे सामने प्राण त्याग देना मेरे लिये कल्याणकारी होगा
viṣam āloḍya pāsyāmi mā kīcakavaśaṃ gamam | śreyo hi maraṇaṃ mahyaṃ bhīmasena tavāgrataḥ ||
She declares that if another sunrise comes while Kīcaka still lives and her plight continues, she would rather mix and drink poison than submit to him. Addressing Bhīmasena, she insists that dying before his very eyes would be better for her than falling under Kīcaka’s control—framing her resolve as a matter of honor, self-protection, and moral refusal of coercion.
भीमसेन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights an ethical refusal to accept coercion and dishonor: preserving dignity and moral agency is presented as preferable even to death, underscoring the duty to resist adharma and protect personal integrity.
In the Virāṭa court episode, the threatened woman (Draupadī in disguise) expresses to Bhīma her desperation and firm resolve: she will not submit to Kīcaka’s domination, even if it means drinking poison, thereby urging decisive protection and justice.