Mahabharata 4.22.60 — Virata Parva, Adhyaya 22, Shloka 60
Virāṭa-parva Adhyāya 22 — Draupadī’s Abduction Attempt and Bhīma’s Suppression of the Kīcakas
अभिपत्याथ बाहु्यां प्रत्यगृह्नादमर्षित: । मातज़ इव मातडुं प्रभिन्नकरटामुखम्
abhipatyātha bāhubhyāṃ pratyagṛhṇād amarṣitaḥ | mātaṅga iva mātaṅgaṃ prabhinnakaraṭāmukham ||
अभिपत्याथ बाहुभ्यां प्रत्यगृह्णादमर्षितः। मातङ्ग इव मातङ्गं प्रभिन्नकरटामुखम्॥
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how uncontrolled anger (amarṣa) and pride manifest as impulsive violence. By likening Kīcaka to a rut-maddened elephant, it implicitly contrasts brute force with the ethical need for restraint and foreshadows that adharma-driven aggression invites a dharmic correction.
Kīcaka, furious, rushes at Bhīmasena and grabs him with both arms. The narrator emphasizes the suddenness and ferocity of the assault through an elephant-simile, marking the escalation that leads toward Kīcaka’s downfall.
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