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- Keechak-Vadha
- =============
- (Extract from 'The Mahabharata' of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa BOOK 4 "Virata-parva"
- Translated into English Prose from the Original Sanskrit Text
- by Kisari Mohan Ganguli [1883-1896]
- ========================
- "Thereat king Yudhishthira, apprehensive
- of discovery, squeezed his thumbs and commanded Bhima to forbear. And
- Bhima who then looked like an infuriate elephant eyeing a large tree, was
- thus forbidden by his elder brother. And the latter said, 'Lookest thou,
- O cook, for trees for fuel. If thou art in need of faggots, then go out
- and fell trees.' And the weeping Draupadi of fair hips, approaching the
- entrance of the court, and seeing her melancholy lords, desirous yet of
- keeping up the disguise duty-bound by their pledge, with eyes burning in
- fire, spoke these words unto the king of the Matsyas...."
- (long discussion with king Virata and Yudhisthir, who is sitting there in disguise)
- "Then the courtiers, having learnt every thing, applauded
- Krishna, and they all exclaimed, 'Well done!' 'Well done!' and censured
- Kichaka. And the courtiers said, 'That person who owneth this large-eyed
- lady having every limb of hers endued with beauty for his wife,
- possesseth what is of exceeding value and hath no occasion to indulge in
- any grief. Surely, such a damsel of transcendent beauty and limbs
- perfectly faultless is rare among men. Indeed, it seems to us that she is
- a goddess.'
- "Vaisampayana continued, 'And while the courtiers, having beheld Krishna
- (under such circumstances), were applauding her thus, Yudhishthira's
- forehead, from ire, became covered with sweat. And that bull of the Kuru
- race then addressed that princess, his beloved spouse, saying, 'Stay not
- here, O Sairindhri; but retire to the apartments of Sudeshna. The wives
- of heroes bear affliction for the sake of their husbands, and undergoing
- toil in ministering unto their lords, they at last attain to region where
- their husbands may go. Thy Gandharva husbands, effulgent as the sun, do
- not, I imagine, consider this as an occasion for manifesting their wrath,
- inasmuch as they do not rush to thy aid. O Sairindhri, thou art ignorant
- of the timeliness of things, and it is for this that thou weepest as an
- actress, besides interrupting the play of dice in Matsya's court. Retire,
- O Sairindhri; the Gandharvas will do what is agreeable to thee. And they
- will surely display thy woe and take the life of him that hath wronged
- thee.' Hearing these words the Sairindhri replied, 'They of whom I am the
- wedded wife are, I ween, extremely kind. And as the eldest of them all is
- addicted to dice, they are liable to be oppressed by all.'"
- ===========================
- (Draupadi appeals to Bhima)
- "the daughter of Drupada entered her husband's quarters, saying, 'How canst
- thou sleep while that wretched commander of Virata's forces, who is my
- foe, yet liveth, having perpetrated today that (foul act)?'
- "Vaisampayana continued, 'Then the chamber where Bhima slept, breathing
- hard like a lion, being filled with the beauty of Drupada's daughter and
- of the high-souled Bhima, blazed forth in splendour. And Krishna of sweet
- smiles, finding Bhimasena in the cooking apartments, approached him with
- the eagerness of a three-year old cow brought up in the woods,
- approaching a powerful bull, in her first season, or of a she-crane
- living by the water-side approaching her mate in the pairing season. And
- the Princess of Panchala then embraced the second son of Pandu, even as a
- creeper embraces a huge and mighty Sala on the banks of the Gomati. And
- embracing him with her arms, Krishna of faultless features awaked him as
- a lioness awaketh a sleeping lion in a trackless forest. And embracing
- Bhimasena even as a she-elephant embraceth her mighty mate, the faultless
- Panchali addressed him in voice sweet as the sound of a stringed
- instrument emitting Gandhara note. And she said, 'Arise, arise! Why dost
- thou, O Bhimasena, lie down as one dead? Surely, he that is not dead,
- never suffereth a wicked wretch that hath disgraced his wife, to live.'
- And awakened by the princess, Bhima of mighty arms, then rose up, and sat
- upon his couch overlaid with a rich bed. And he of the Kuru race then
- addressed the princess--his beloved wife, saying, 'For what purpose hast
- thou come hither in such a hurry? Thy colour is gone and thou lookest
- lean and pale. Tell me everything in detail. I must know the truth.
- Whether it be pleasurable or painful, agreeable, or disagreeable, tell me
- all. Having heard everything, I shall apply the remedy. I alone, O
- Krishna, am entitled to thy confidence in all things, for it is I who
- deliver thee from perils again and again! Tell me quickly what is thy
- wish, and what is the purpose that is in thy view, and return thou to thy
- bed before others awake.'"
- "Draupadi said, 'What grief hath she not who hath Yudhishthira for her
- husband? Knowing all my griefs, why dost thou ask me? The Pratikamin
- dragged me to the court in the midst of an assembly of courtiers, calling
- me a slave. That grief, O Bharata, consumeth me. What other princess,
- save Draupadi, would live having suffered such intense misery? Who else,
- save myself, could bear such second insult as the wicked Saindhava
- offered me while residing in the forest? Who else of my position, save
- myself, could live, having been kicked by Kichaka in the very sight of
- the wicked king of the Matsyas? Of what value is life, O Bharata, when
- thou, O son of Kunti, dost not think me miserable, although I am
- afflicted with such woes? That vile and wicked wretch, O Bharata, known
- by the name of Kichaka, who is the brother-in-law of king Virata and the
- commander of his forces, every day, O tiger among men, addresses me who
- am residing in the palace as a Sairindhri, saying, 'Do thou become my
- wife.'--Thus solicited, O slayer of foes, by that wretch deserving to be
- slain, my heart is bursting like a fruit ripened in season. Censure thou
- that elder brother of thine addicted to execrable dice, through whose act
- alone I have been afflicted with such woe. Who else, save him that is a
- desperate gambler, would play, giving up kingdom and everything including
- even myself, in order to lead a life in the woods? If he had gambled
- morning and evening for many years together, staking nishkas by thousand
- and other kinds of substantial wealth, still his silver, and gold, and
- robes, and vehicles, and teams, and goats, and sheep, and multitudes of
- steeds and mares and mules would not have sustained any diminution. But
- now deprived of prosperity by the rivalry of dice, he sits dumb like a
- fool, reflecting on his own misdeeds. Alas, he who, while sojourning, was
- followed by ten thousand elephants adorned with golden garlands now
- supports himself by casting dice. That Yudhishthira who at Indraprastha
- was adored by kings of incomparable prowess by hundreds of thousands,
- that mighty monarch in whose kitchen a hundred thousand maid-servants,
- plate in hand, used every day to feed numerous guests day and night, that
- best of liberal men, who gave (every day) a thousand nishkas, alas, even
- he overwhelmed with woe in consequence of gambling which is the root of
- all evil, now supporteth himself by casting dice. Bards and encomiasts by
- thousands decked with ear-rings set with brilliant gems, and gifted with
- melodious voice, used to pay him homage morning and evening. Alas, that
- Yudhishthira, who was daily waited upon by a thousand sages of ascetic
- merit, versed in the Vedas and having every desire gratified, as his
- courtiers,--that Yudhishthira who maintained eighty-eight thousands of
- domestic Snatakas with thirty maid-servants assigned unto each, as also
- ten thousand yatis not accepting anything in gift and with vital seed
- drawn up,--alas, even that mighty king now liveth in such guise. That
- Yudhishthira who is without malice, who is full of kindness, and who
- giveth every creature his due, who hath all these excellent attributes,
- alas--even he now liveth in such guise. Possessed of firmness and
- unbaffled prowess, with heart disposed to give every creature his due,
- king Yudhishthira, moved by compassion, constantly maintained in his
- kingdom the blind, the old, the helpless, the parentless and all others
- in his dominions in such distress. Alas, that Yudhishthira becoming a
- dependant and a servant of Matsya, a caster of dice in his court, now
- calls himself Kanka. He unto whom while residing at Indraprastha, all the
- rulers of earth used to pay timely tribute,--alas, even he now begs for
- subsistence at another's hands. He to whom the kings of the earth were in
- subjection,--alas, even that king having lost his liberty, liveth in
- subjection to others. Having dazzled the entire earth like the sun by his
- energy, that Yudhishthira, alas, is now a courtier of king Virata. O
- Pandu's son, that Pandava who was respectfully waited upon in court by
- kings and sages, behold him now waiting upon another. Alas, beholding
- Yudhishthira a courtier sitting beside another and breathing adulatory
- speeches to the other, who can help being afflicted with grief? And
- beholding the highly wise and virtuous Yudhishthira, undeserving as he is
- of serving others, actually serving another for sustenance, who can help
- being afflicted with grief? And, O hero, that Bharata who was worshipped
- in court by the entire earth, do thou now behold him worshipping another.
- Why then, O Bharata, dost thou not regard me as one afflicted with
- diverse miseries, like one forlorn and immersed in a sea of sorrow?'"
- ....
- "Vaisampayana continued, 'Then that slayer of hostile heroes, Vrikodara,
- covering his face with those delicate hands of his wife marked with
- corns, began to weep. And that mighty son of Kunti, holding the hands of
- Draupadi in his, shed copious tears. And afflicted with great woe, he
- spoke these words.'"
- "Bhima said, 'Fie on the might of my arms and fie on the Gandiva of
- Falguni, inasmuch as thy hands, red before, now become covered with
- corns. I would have caused a carnage in Virata's court but for the fact
- that Kunti's son eyed me (by way of forbidding it), or like a mighty
- elephant. I would, without ado, have crushed the head of Kichaka
- intoxicated with the pride of sovereignty. When, O Krishna, I beheld thee
- kicked by Kichaka, I conceived at that instant a wholesale slaughter of
- the Matsyas. Yudhishthira, however, forbade me by a glance, and, O
- beauteous lady, understanding his intention I have kept quiet."
- ....
- (Bhima then proceeds to kill Kichaka, exposing the presence of the Pandava's in Matsya Kingdom)
- =============
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