Shloka 236
Virāṭa-parva Adhyāya 13 — Kīcaka’s Proposition and Draupadī’s Dharmic Refusal
मत्ताविव महाकायौ वारणौ षष्टिहायनौ । वे दोनों बड़े उत्साहमें भरे थे। दोनों ही प्रचण्ड पराक्रमी थे, ऐसा लगता था मानो साठ वर्षके दो मतवाले एवं विशालकाय गजराज एक-दूसरेसे भिड़नेको उद्यत हों
mattāv iva mahākāyau vāraṇau ṣaṣṭihāyanau |
Vaiśampāyana said: The two of them, huge-bodied and seemingly intoxicated with might, looked like a pair of sixty-year-old lordly elephants poised to clash. Both were brimming with ardor and fierce valor, as if ready to meet each other head-on in a decisive contest.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how unchecked martial ardor can resemble the blind force of musth-elephants—immense power driven by excitement. Ethically, it invites reflection that strength and courage, though admirable, should be governed by discernment (viveka) and right purpose (dharma), not mere intoxication with prowess.
The narrator depicts two formidable opponents facing each other. Their bodies, energy, and readiness to engage are compared to two fully mature elephant-lords about to collide, intensifying the scene and signaling an imminent, high-stakes confrontation.