Shloka 60
Virāṭa-parva Adhyāya 22 — Draupadī’s Abduction Attempt and Bhīma’s Suppression of the Kīcakas
अभिपत्याथ बाहु्यां प्रत्यगृह्नादमर्षित: । मातज़ इव मातडुं प्रभिन्नकरटामुखम्,जैसे क्रोधमें भरा हुआ एक हाथी गण्डस्थलसे मद टपकाते हुए दूसरे हाथीको सूँड़से पकड़ ले, उसी प्रकार रोषयुक्त कीचकने सहसा झपटकर दोनों हाथोंसे भीमसेनको पकड़ लिया
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.