Shloka 2
अध्याय १५ — कीचकस्य अत्याचारः, द्रौपद्याः सभाशरणगमनम्
Kīcaka’s coercion and Draupadī’s appeal in the assembly
यथा कैकेयि सैरन्ध्री समेयात् तद् विधीयताम् | येनोपायेन सैरन्ध्री भजेन्मां गजगामिनी । त॑ं सुदेष्णे परीप्सस्व प्राणान् मोहात् प्रहासिषम्,“केकयराजनन्दिनि! जिस उपायसे भी वह गजगामिनी सैरन्ध्री मेरे पास आवे और मुझे अंगीकार कर ले, वह करो। सुदेष्णे! तुम स्वयं ही ऊहापोह करके युक्तिसे वह उचित उपाय ढूँढ़ निकालो, जिससे मुझे (मोहके वश हो) प्राणोंका त्याग न करना पड़े”
yathā kaikeyi sairandhrī sameyāt tad vidhīyatām | yenopāyena sairandhrī bhajen māṃ gajagāminī | taṃ sudeṣṇe parīpsasva prāṇān mohāt prahāsiṣam |
Vaiśampāyana said: “O Kaikeyī! Let it be arranged so that the maid Sairandhrī may come to me. By whatever means that elephant-gaited woman might accept me, do that. O Sudeṣṇā, you yourself must deliberate and find a fitting stratagem, so that I—bewildered by desire—do not end up throwing away my life.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how moha (infatuation/delusion) can drive a person toward unethical manipulation and even self-destruction. It implicitly warns that desire, when unchecked, seeks ‘means’ rather than righteousness, and can pressure others into complicity.
A powerful man, inflamed with desire for Sairandhrī, urges the queen Sudeṣṇā (and addresses Kaikeyī) to devise a plan to bring the maid to him so she will accept him. He dramatizes his obsession by claiming he may die if his desire is not satisfied, thereby coercing action through emotional threat.