Mb058. The Secret Days Of Pandavas Poem by Rajaram Ramachandran

MAHABHARATA

The Pandavas went to Viratanagara,
The capital city of Matsya,
In disguise they joined
In their roles as planned.

Everything went on well,
Unseen by anyone until,
Kichaka met, one day,
Draupadi on his way.

He was the chief of army.
He made the king a dummy.
His actions were always stormy.
The subjects felt gloomy.

He fell for her beauty,
He failed in his duty.
He was so mad after her.
He made advances to her.

Many times Draupadi rejected,
He got very much dejected.
The queen being his sister,
He sought help from her.

A plan, one day, they both laid,
The queen to send her maid,
To fetch wine from him,
To be with him that time.

Draupadi went with reluctance,
He was forcing her acceptance,
But she ran away from his place,
He ran behind her in chase.

She fell down before the king,
But he, in fear, said nothing.
Kichaka to them was a terror
As he was a man of horror.

In tears Bhima she approached,
The eldest husband she reproached,
For such tortures she had to face,
For his role in the game of dice.

Her tears Bhima wiped out,
A plan they made in secret,
To the dance hall invite him,
Where Bhima would kill him.

Thus he was lured to come.
Dressed well he also came.
He saw a beautiful lady,
Sitting in the hall shady.

Shocked he was there to find,
A sturdy man, he was behind.
Strong were both to bend
But he was killed at the end.

Back to kitchen Bhima sneaked,
Next day, the queen shrieked,
A heap of flesh there to see,
Underneath an uprooted tree.

"My invisible Gandharvas
Made him a shapeless mass
For having molested me.
From his torture, I'm now free."

This Draupadi told the king,
Which was really surprising
To hear, it was unbelievable,
Also was found reasonable.

For fear of further calamity,
She was told to leave the city.
A month's time, she needed,
To her plea, the queen heeded.

It was a moment of suspense,
That tested Pandava's patience,
For the month was the last one,
Under cover there to remain.