Section XV

"Vaisampayana said, 'Rejected thus by the princess, Kicaka, afflicted with maddening lust and forgetting all sense of propriety, addressed Sudeshna saying,

'Do you, Kekaya’s daughter, so act that your Sairindhri may come into my arms. Do you, O Sudeshna, adopt the means by which the damsel of the gait of an elephant may accept me; I am dying of absorbing desire.'

"Vaisampayana continued, 'Hearing his profuse lamentations, that gentle lady, the intelligent queen of Virata, was touched with pity. And having taken counsel with her own self and reflected on Kicaka’s purpose and on the anxiety of Krishna, Sudeshna addressed the Suta’s son in these words,

'Do you, on the occasion of some festival, procure viands and wines for me. I shall then send my Sairindhri to you on the pretence of bringing wine. And when she will repair thither do you in solitude, free from interruption, humour her as you likest. Thus soothed, she may incline her mind to you.'

"Vaisampayana continued, 'Thus addressed, he went out of his sister’s apartments. And he soon procured wines well-filtered and worthy of a king. And employing skilled cooks, he prepared many and various kinds of choice viands and delicious drinks and many and various kinds of meat of different degrees of excellence. And when all this had been done, that gentle lady Sudeshna, as previously counselled by Kicaka, desired her Sairindhri to repair to Kicaka’s abode, saying,

'Get up, O Sairindhri and repair to Kicaka’s abode to bring wine, for, O beauteous lady, I am afflicted with thirst.'

Thereupon the Sairindhri replied,

'O princess, I shall not be able to repair to Kicaka’s apartments. You thyself knowest, O queen, how shameless he is. O you of faultless limbs, O beauteous lady, in your palace I shall not be able to lead a lustful life, becoming faithless to my husbands. You rememberest, O gentle lady, O beautiful one, the conditions I had set down before entering your house. O you of tresses ending in graceful curls, the foolish Kicaka afflicted by the god of desire, will, on seeing me, offer me insult. Therefore, I will not go to his quarters. You have, O princess, many maids under you. Do you, good betide you, send one of them. For, surely, Kicaka will insult me.'

Sudeshna said,

’sent by me, from my abode, surely he will not harm you.'

And having said this, she handed over a golden vessel furnished with a cover. And filled with apprehension, and weeping, Draupadi mentally prayed for the protection of the gods, and set out for Kicaka’s abode for fetching wine.

And she said,

'As I do not know another person save my husbands, by virtue of that Truth let Kicaka not be able to overpower me although I may approach his presence.'

"Vaisampayana continued, 'And that helpless damsel then adored Surya for a moment. And Surya, having considered all that she urged, commanded a Rakshasa to protect her invisibly. And from that time the Rakshasa began to attend upon that blameless lady under any circumstances. And beholding Krishna in his presence like a frightened doe, the Suta rose up from his seat, and felt the joy that is felt by a person wishing to cross to the other shore, when he obtains a boat.'"