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 behoveth thee not, O beauteous lady, O thou of
graceful features, thus to disregard me who am, O thou of sweet smiles,
under the power of Manmatha on thy account. If now, O timid one, thou
disregardest me who am under thy influence and who speak to thee so
fair, thou wilt, O black-eyed damsel, have to repent for it afterwards.
O thou 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 thy power to
enjoy here every object of desire and every luxury and comfort without
its equal, thou preferest servitude. Becoming the mistress of this
kingdom which I shall confer on thee, O thou of fair face, accept me,
and enjoy, O beauteous one, all excellent objects of desire.' Addressed
in these accursed words by Kichaka, that chaste daughter of Drupada
answered him thus reprovingly, 'Do not, O son of a _Suta_, act so
foolishly and do not throw away thy life. Know that I am protected by my
five husbands. Thou canst not have me. I have Gandharvas for my
husbands. Enraged they will slay thee. Therefore, do thou not bring
destruction on thyself. Thou intendest to tread along a path that is
incapable of being trod by men. Thou, 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 thou enterest into the interior of the earth,
or soarest into the sky, or rushest to the other shore of the ocean,
still thou wilt have no escape from the hands of those sky-ranging
offspring of gods, capable of grinding all foes. Why dost thou today, O
Kichaka, solicit me so persistently even as a sick person wisheth for