Shloka 243
कर्णपरर्वणि त्रयोचत्वारिंशदध्यायः (Karṇa-parva Adhyāya 43) — Kṛṣṇa’s Battlefield Assessment and the Reversal Around Bhīma
वाहीकेष्वविनीतेषु प्रोच्यमानं निबोध तत् | शल्य! उस श्रेष्ठ ब्राह्मणने ये सब बातें बताकर उद्ण्ड बाहीकोंके विषयमें पुनः जो कुछ कहा था, वह भी बताता हूँ, सुनो--
Vāhīkeṣv avinīteṣu procyamānaṃ nibodha tat | Śalya! sa śreṣṭha-brāhmaṇena ye sarvāḥ kathāḥ kathitvā uddaṇḍa-vāhīkān prati punaḥ yad uktaṃ tad api te bravīmi, śṛṇu ||
“অবিনীত বাহীকদের সম্বন্ধে যা বলা হচ্ছে, তা মনোযোগ দিয়ে শোনো। হে শল্য! সেই শ্রেষ্ঠ ব্রাহ্মণ যা বলেছিলেন, এবং পরে তাদের বিষয়ে যা আরও বলেছিলেন—তাও আমি তোমাকে বলছি; শোনো।”
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the ethical weight of discourse: communities are judged by discipline (vinaya) and conduct, and speech can be used to frame moral evaluation—here as a prelude to censure meant to provoke or instruct.
Karna addresses Śalya and signals that he will continue recounting what a distinguished brāhmaṇa said about the Vāhīkas, specifically emphasizing their lack of discipline; it functions as a transition into further remarks about them.