Section XIV

"Vaisampayana said, 'Living in such disguise, those mighty warriors, the sons of Pritha, passed ten months in Matsya’s city. And, O monarch, although herself deserving to be waited upon by others, the daughter of Yajnasena, O Janamejaya, passed her days in extreme misery, waiting upon Sudeshna. And residing thus in Sudeshna’s apartments, the princess of Pancala pleased that lady as also the other females of the inner apartments. And it came to pass that as the year was about to expire, the redoubtable Kicaka, the Commander of Virata’s forces, chanced to behold the daughter of Drupada. And beholding that lady endued with the splendour of a daughter of the celestials, treading the earth like a goddess, Kicaka, afflicted with the shafts of Kama, desired to possess her.

And burning with desire’s flame, Virata’s general came to Sudeshna (his sister) and smilingly addressed her in these words,

'This beauteous lady had never before been seen by me in king Virata’s abode. This damsel maddens me with her beauty, even as a new wine maddens one with its fragrance. Tell me, who is this graceful and captivating lady possessed of the beauty of a goddess, and whose she is, and whence she has come. Surely, grinding my heart she has reduced me to subjection. It seems to me that (save her) there is no other medicine for my illness. O, this fair hand-maid of thine seems to me to be possessed of the beauty of a goddess. Surely, one like her is ill suited to serve you. Let her rule over me and whatever is mine. O, let her grace my spacious and beautiful palace, decked with various ornaments of gold, full of viands and drinks in profusion, with excellent plates, and containing every kind of plenty, besides elephants and horses and cars in myriads.

And having consulted with Sudeshna thus, Kicaka went to princess Draupadi, and like a jackal in the forest accosting a lioness, spoke unto Krishna these words in a winning voice,

'Who and whose art you, O beautiful one? And O you of beautiful face, whence hast you come to the city of Virata? Tell me all this, O fair lady. Your beauty and gracefulness are of the very first order and the comeliness of your features is unparalleled. With its loveliness your face shines ever like the resplendent moon. O you of fair eye-brows, your eyes are beautiful and large like lotus-petals. Your speech also, O you of beautiful limbs, resembles the notes of the cuckoo. O you of fair hips, never before in this world have I beheld a woman possessed of beauty like thine, O you of faultless features.

Art you Lakshmi herself having her abode in the midst of lotuses or, art you, O slender-waisted one, she who is called Bhuti^[1]. Or, which amongst these—Hri, Sri, Kirti and Kanti,—art you, O you of beautiful face? Or possessed of beauty like Rati’s, art you, she who sports in the embraces of the God of love? O you that possessest the fairest of eye-brows, you shinest beautifully even like the lovely light of the moon. Who is there in the whole world that will not succumb to the influence of desire beholding your face? Endued with unrivalled beauty and celestial grace of the most attractive kind, that face of thine is even like the full moon, its celestial effulgence resembling his radiant face, its smile resembling his soft-light, and its eye-lashes looking like the spokes on his disc? Both your bosoms, so beautiful and well-developed and endued with unrivalled gracefulness and deep and well-rounded and without any space between them, are certainly worthy of being decked with garlands of gold. Resembling in shape the beautiful buds of the lotus, these your breast, O you of fair eye-brows, are even as the whips of Kama that are urging me forward, O you of sweet smiles, O damsel of slender waist, beholding that waist of thine marked with four wrinkles and measuring but a span, and slightly stooping forward because of the weight of your breasts, and also looking on those graceful hips of thine broad as the banks of a river, the incurable fever of desire, O beauteous lady, afflicts me sore.

The flaming fire of desire, fierce as a forest conflagration, and fanned by the hope my heart cherishes of a union with you is consuming me intensely. O you of exceeding beauty quench you that flaming fire kindled by Manmatha. Union with you is a rain-charged cloud, and the surrender of your person is the shower that the cloud may drop. O you of face resembling the moon, the fierce and maddening shafts of Manmatha whetted and sharpened by the desire of a union with you, piercing this heart of mine in their impetuous course, have penetrated into its core. O black-eyed lady, those impetuous and cruel shafts are maddening me beyond endurance. It behoves you to relieve me from this plight by surrendering thyself to me and favouring me with your embraces. Decked in beautiful garlands and robes and adorned with every ornament, sport you, O sweet damsel, with me to your fill. O you of the gait of an elephant in rut, deserving as you are of happiness though deprived of it now, it behoves you not to dwell here in misery. Let unrivalled weal be thine. Drinking various kinds of charming and delicious and ambrosial wines, and sporting at your pleasure in the enjoyment of diverse objects of delight, do you, O blessed lady, attain auspicious prosperity. This beauty of thine and this prime of your youth, O sweet lady, are now without their use. For, O beauteous and chaste damsel, endued with such loveliness, you dost not shine, like a graceful garland lying unused and unworn. I will forsake all my old wives. Let them, O you of sweet smiles, become your slaves. And I also, O fair damsel, will stay by you as your slave, ever obedient to you, O you of the most handsome face.'

Hearing these words of his, Draupadi replied,

'In desiring me, a female servant of low extraction, employed in the despicable office of dressing hair, O Suta’s son, you desirest one that deserves not that honour. Then, again, I am the wife of others. Therefore, good betide you, this conduct of thine is not proper. Do you remember the precept of morality, viz., that persons should take delight only in their wedded wives. You should not, therefore, by any means bend your heart to adultery. Surely abstaining from improper acts is ever the study of those that are good. Overcome by ignorance sinful men under the influence of desire come by either extreme infamy or dreadful calamity.'

"Vaisampayana continued, 'Thus addressed by the Sairindhri, the wicked Kicaka losing control over his senses and overcome by lust, although aware of the numerous evils of fornication, evils condemned by everybody and sometimes leading to the destruction of life itself,—then spoke unto Draupadi,

'It behoves you not, O beauteous lady, O you of graceful features, thus to disregard me who am, O you of sweet smiles, under the power of Manmatha on your account. If now, O timid one, you disregards me who am under your influence and who speak to you so fair, you will, O black-eyed damsel, have to repent for it afterwards. O you of graceful eye-brows, the real lord of this entire kingdom, O slender-waisted lady, is myself. It is me depending upon whom the people of this realm live. In energy and prowess I am unrivalled on earth. There is no other man on earth who rivals me in beauty of person, in youth, in prosperity, and in the possession of excellent objects of enjoyment. Why it is, O auspicious lady, that having it in your power to enjoy here every object of desire and every luxury and comfort without its equal, you preferest servitude. Becoming the mistress of this kingdom which I shall confer on you, O you of fair face, accept me, and enjoy, O beauteous one, all excellent objects of desire.'

Addressed in these accursed words by Kicaka, that chaste daughter of Drupada answered him thus reprovingly,

'Do not, O son of a Suta, act so foolishly and do not throw away your life. Know that I am protected by my five husbands. You canst not have me. I have Gandharvas for my husbands. Enraged they will slay you. Therefore, do you not bring destruction on thyself. You intendest to tread along a path that is incapable of being trod by men. You, O wicked one, art even like a foolish child that standing on one shore of the ocean intends to cross over to the other. Even if you enterest into the interior of the earth, or soarest into the sky, or rushest to the other shore of the ocean, still you will have no escape from the hands of those sky-ranging offspring of gods, capable of grinding all foes. Why dost you today, O Kicaka, solicit me so persistently even as a sick person wishes for the night that will put a stop to his existence? Why dost you desire me, even like an infant lying on its mother’s lap wishing to catch the moon? For you that thus solicitest their beloved wife, there is no refuge either on earth or in sky. O Kicaka, hast you no sense which leads you to seek your good and by which your life may be saved?'"

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Bhuti, Hri, Sri, Kirti and Kanti are respectively the feminine embodiments of Prosperity, Modesty, Beauty, Fame and Loveliness.