( The 'ch' in this name is pronounced like 'ch' in 'much' .)
The word "keechakas" refers to Keechaka and his 105 brothers . Sometimes it refers only to the 105 brothers as well . He was also known as Simhabala .
Keechaka was born in the caste of soothas. Soothas were born to Braahman women and Kshathriya men . Such castes resulting out of marriages between women of higher castes and men of lower castes ( converse marriages ) were called Prathiloma castes. Among prathiloma castes, only soothas were treated as dvijas. Their status was below Kshathriyas' ( 2 nd order caste ) and above Vyshyas' ( 3 rd order caste ) . Usually soothas undertake the profession of making and driving of chariots for the kings . However, it was not uncommon those days among ruling kings to have marriage alliances with sootha community. But, soothas were not confered the title ' king' . However, once there was a seperate kingdom of soothas itself which was obtained by a prominent sootha by serving the kings .
Kekaya was a sootha chief . He married two Maalava princesses . Keechaka was the eldest son of the first queen . He had 105 younger brothers . The second queen gave birth to a girl named Chithra or Sudeshna , who later became the consort of king Viraata of Mathsya kingdom ( Viraata's first wife died and Shankha was her son ) .
Since his sister Sudeshna's marriage with king Viraata , Keechaka lived in Mathsya kingdom alongwith his brothers ( called upakeechakas=junior keechakas) as guard to his brother's-in-law kingdom. He was mighty, strong and pompous. A man of sensual tendancy and unruly, he didn't care even the king who, privately, was afraid of him . Even Viraata's brothers too obliged Keechaka . Encouraged by the king's lenience, he turned a cruel rowdy , troubling people and grabbing whatever appealed to him, be it a property or be it a woman.
The story says that Keechaka was the incarnation of the demon called Baana . Keechaka was on a military campaign when the Paandavas and their consort Droupadi joined the palace of Viraata. He returned in the 12 th month of the year. His eyes fell upon Maalini, the guised queen Droupadi. Despite her courageous resistance and queen Sudeshna's maximum efforts to ward him off the immoral and perilous attempt, he persisted and forced Droupadi for consorting with him. He coerced his sister to send Maalini on an errand to his palace and tried to molest her there . Droupadi managed a narrow escape and fled to the king's court for protection. Keechaka ran after her into the court , dragged her on the floor and kicked with his foot. Both Bheema and yudhishthira were present there. Bheema was beside himself with furious rage and he almost uprooted a big tree to kill Keechaka with. But the wise and tollerant Yudhishthira held Bheema back and sent Droupadi away . She left in despair, pouring out allusions to the incompetence of her husbands.
Late that night, Droupadi met Bheema secretely, in his rooms . Together, they devised a trap to kill Keechaka without their being disclosed. Accordingly, Droupadi feigned her acceptance to Keechaka's proposal and enticed him to await her that night in a dark and lonely dancing hall . There, in stead of Droupadi, Bheema was waiting for him in a woman's attire. The temerarious Keechaka kept his appointment . Bheema musingly disclosed himself and pounced upon his wife's molestor. A terrible fight followed. Keechaka put up a brave resistence but finally Bheema tortured him to death and disfigured him unrecognizably. Droupadi was happy. She proclaimed that her Gandharva husbands punished Keechaka for his misbehaviour with her.
When Keechaka's brothers learnt about their elder brother's getting killed because of Maalini, they tried to burn her on the pyre of their dead brother, forcing an approval from the king Viraata.. Again, Bheema, guised as a Gandharva, killed all the brothers of Keechaka.
The episode of Keechaka represents present day's anti-social elements backed by the ruling section of the society and also suggests the ultimate fate of such evil forces in the hands of the rightfully indignant citizens, should a fitting chance come for them.