Virāṭa-parva Adhyāya 22 — Draupadī’s Abduction Attempt and Bhīma’s Suppression of the Kīcakas
अद्य त्वां भगिनी पाप॑ कृष्यमाणं मया भुवि | द्रक्ष्यतेडद्रिप्रतिकाशं सिंहेनेव महागजम्
adya tvāṃ bhagini pāpa kṛśyamāṇaṃ mayā bhuvi | drakṣyate ’dripratikāśaṃ siṃheneva mahāgajam ||
‘Today, O sinful one, your sister will see me hurl you to the ground and drag you—though you are huge like a mountain—just as a lion drags a mighty elephant.’
वैशम्पायन उवाच
The verse highlights the ethical warning that arrogance in physical strength and wrongdoing invite public humiliation and forceful retribution; it frames power as accountable, not merely intimidating.
A speaker threatens an opponent, declaring that despite the opponent’s mountain-like size, he will throw him down and drag him across the ground like a lion dragging a great elephant, and that the opponent’s sister will witness it.