Shloka 12
Śiśupāla-vadha in the Rājasūya-sabhā (शिशुपालवधः — राजसूयसभायाम्)
दन्तान् संदशतस्तस्य कोपादू ददृशुराननम् | युगान्ते सर्वभूतानि कालस्येव जिघत्सत:
dantān saṃdaśatas tasya kopād ū dadṛśur ānanam | yugānte sarvabhūtāni kālasyeva jighatsataḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: As he ground his teeth in rage, his face appeared terrifying—like Time itself at the end of an age, ravenous to swallow all living beings.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse warns that anger (kopa) deforms judgment and character, making a person appear—and act—like a destructive force. In the Mahābhārata’s ethical frame, such loss of self-control is a direct threat to dharma and social order.
The narrator describes a man in intense fury, gnashing his teeth; observers see his face become frightening, compared to Kāla at the end of the age, eager to consume all beings—an image that heightens the sense of impending calamity.