Shloka 59
Virāṭa-parva Adhyāya 22 — Draupadī’s Abduction Attempt and Bhīma’s Suppression of the Kīcakas
तयोहासीत् सुतुमुल:ः सम्प्रहार: सुदारुण: । नखदन्तायुधवतोर्व्याच्रयोरिव दृप्तयो:
tayor hāsīt sutumulaḥ samprahāraḥ sudāruṇaḥ | nakhadantāyudhavator vyāghrayor iva dṛptayoḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Between those two there arose a fiercely tumultuous and exceedingly dreadful clash. With nails and teeth as their only weapons, they fought like two intoxicated tigers locked in combat—an image that lays bare the raw, unrestrained violence that erupts when pride and force overtake restraint.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, when pride and aggression dominate, conflict can devolve into primal brutality—symbolized by fighting with nails and teeth like maddened tigers—implying the ethical need for restraint and disciplined force even amid confrontation.
A fierce hand-to-hand struggle breaks out between two opponents. The narrator compares their savage exchange—using nails and teeth as weapons—to two enraged, intoxicated tigers fighting each other.