Week 7 Story: What Goes Around Comes Around

Bhima jerked out of sleep to rapid, erratic pounding on his door. He turned in his bed, hoping that the pounding would cease. After another thirty seconds, it didn't, so he grumbled and arose to answer the door. He shuffled to the door and upon opening it, he was met with Draupadi’s tear-streaked face as she struggled to disguise her obvious panic. Bhima sensed his wife’s distress and immediately became alert. “What happened?” he asked, worried and concerned. He suddenly saw an angry red welt on her face and he was stunned. “Draupadi… ” he started, but that caused Draupadi’s face to crumble as she let go of her last shred of strength. She then threw herself into his arms, her body racking with sobs.

After holding and comforting Draupadi for an hour, Draupadi finally regained her composure. She took a deep breath and leaned more into Bhima’s embrace. Her face was still red and streaked with tears, but the panic and distress were finally gone. “What happened, Draupadi?” he asked again gently. He rubbed her back soothingly, endeavoring to give her the security and the strength to tell him her story.

Draupadi cleared her throat and shifted her eyes from Bhima’s gaze. “Prince Kichaka almost raped me,” she said in a soft voice. She was trying to keep her voice steady in front of him, but her voice gave a small quiver.

“Wait, what?” Bhima whispered, stunned. His hand tightened around her shoulder, feeling his anger slowly rise within him.

Draupadi repeated her statement, but louder now. More sure. Bhima could tell that she was finally processing what unfortunate thing had happened to her. “He almost raped me. Queen Sudeshna asked me to bring food and wine to him, and it didn’t feel right. I saw him staring at me earlier throughout the day and it was… predatory. He was literally undressing me with his eyes. And then I was walking to him like a sheep to the slaughter because I didn’t want to start any sort of trouble and blow our disguise.” Draupadi had been playing with her hands during her confession, but she was growing tenser by the minute.

“Once he opened the door, he seized me by the waist aggressively and then tried to grope my breast. I was stunned and frightened, but something came over me and I threw his food in his face. After that, I didn’t turn back and I started running as fast as I could… But he caught up to me and struck me in the face. I tried to tell the king, but he just laughed at me and dismissed me. He didn’t believe me." By now, Draupadi had created small crescents on the inside of her hands with her nails and her grip finally loosened.

“I was humiliated, degraded, and stripped of my dignity,” she spit out. “And he still didn’t believe me even with this on my face.” She pointed angrily at the red welt on her face. “Is this my fault? Did I allow him to do this to me? Why did I go?” Her voice grew more hysterical and Bhima could hear her voice choking up with rising sobs again.

“I am so ashamed,” she whispered. “How could I let this happen to me?” Her gaze averted down from Bhima again.

“No, this is not your fault,” Bhima said fiercely. “Hey,” he said more gently, tipping Draupadi’s face up to meet his eyes. “This is not your fault. Kichaka is a vile man who used his authority to try to take advantage of you. This is his fault. He disrespected your rights and your dignity.”

Bhima’s eyes flashed with rage now. “And it’s only right that he pays for what he did to you”.

The next night, Bhima set forth in his plan of revenge. He hid in the dark shadows of the dance hall and waited for Prince Kichaka, while everyone else in the palace was deep in slumber. The prince stumbled in the room drunkenly and saw Bhima's silhouette in the dark. Mistaking him for another poor and unsuspecting maid that he could prey on, Kichaka sidled up to Bhima and Bhima heard his lecherous voice in his ear.

“Hello, sweetheart. You’re the most radiant thing I’ve ever seen. Want to meet me in my room for a little fun?”

Bhima could smell the alcohol on Kichaka’s breath and he bit down the bile that had gathered in his throat. Kichaka’s hand lifted to grip his waist in a poor attempt of seduction, but Bhima’s hand whipped up to grab his arm in an iron grasp.

Bhima turned around and threw Kichaka across the room. He towered over Kichaka’s figure curled on the ground, looking like a dark and vengeful angel. “Is it strange being on the other side of the situation? Being the prey instead of the predator? How does it feel to experience the terror you’ve made other helpless women go through?” he snarled.

Kichaka stared up at Bhima with wide, frightened eyes. “No… please. I didn’t do anything, I swear.." he pleaded.

“You won’t hurt an innocent woman ever again.” Bhima said menacingly to Kichaka before taking his throat in his bare hands and squeezing. Kichaka thrashed under his strong grasp, but Bhima refused to relent. Eventually, Kichaka stopped trashing and Bhima felt the last drop of life leave Kichaka’s body. Bhima stood over Kichaka’s lifeless body, his mission accomplished.

“Is it done?” he heard a voice say from the corridor.

Without turning, Bhima replied, “Yes."

The figure walked over beside him and held his hand. “Thank you.”

Bhima and Draupadi stood side by side in the darkness, holding tightly onto each other’s hands and gazing upon the dead prince’s body. “Guess we should finally tell the palace about Prince Kichaka’s unfortunate and mysterious demise then,” she murmured quietly.

Author's Note: I rewrote the story about Bhima and Kichaka. I was surprised to see this story in the Mahabharata because it was so dark compared to the previous stories. I was also surprised to see how Bhima stood by his wife and supported her, since his reaction was different from Rama's in the Ramayana. He supports Drapaudi and he doesn't make her feel ashamed for another man's actions. He believes her and then he protects her. I chose the title "What Goes Around, Comes Around" since this story deals with vengeance and punishment. 

Source: The Indian Heroes by C.A. Kincaid (1921) 

Draupadi Confiding in Bhima 

Source: Wikimedia Commons