Mahabharata Ch.44 : Echoes of Honor: Draupadi’s Ordeal and Bhima’s Vengeance

Narrated by Kumar Varun.

The Pandavas, disguised to remain undetected, serve in King Virata's court: Yudhishthira as a companion, Bhima as a cook, Arjuna as a dance teacher, Nakula as a horse keeper, Sahadeva as a cowherd, and Draupadi as a maid. Draupadi endures harassment from Kichaka, the powerful commander-in-chief. Despite her warnings, Kichaka's advances persist, leading Draupadi to seek Bhima's help. Bhima, disguised as Draupadi, confronts Kichaka in a darkened hall and kills him in a fierce battle. Draupadi then reveals Kichaka's death to the court, attributing it to her mythical Gandharva husbands.

Sources, Bibliography, and Suggested further reading : 1.⁠ ⁠Vyasa, Ved. The Mahabharata. Translated by C. Rajagopalachari, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1970. 2.⁠ ⁠Narayan, R. K. The Mahabharata: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic. University of Chicago Press, 1978. 3.⁠ ⁠Van Buitenen, J. A. B. The Mahabharata, Volume 4: Book 4: The Book of Virata. University of Chicago Press, 1978. 4.⁠ ⁠Ganguly, Kisari Mohan. The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Translated into English Prose. Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd., 2010. 5.⁠ ⁠Menon, Ramesh. The Mahabharata: A Modern Rendering, Vol 1 & 2. iUniverse, 2006. 6.⁠ ⁠Hiltebeitel, Alf. The Ritual of Battle: Krishna in the Mahabharata. SUNY Press, 1990. 7.⁠ ⁠Brockington, John. The Sanskrit Epics. BRILL, 1998.