Shloka 32
भीमसेनस्य वेगाभिपातः—विशोकसारथिसंवादश्च
Bhīma’s surge and dialogue with charioteer Viśoka
अब्रवीद् द्रोणपुत्राय रोषामर्षसमन्वित: । तदनन्तर रोष और अमर्षमें भरे हुए द्रोणशिष्य महारथी युधिष्ठिरने द्रोणपुत्र अश्वत्थामासे कहा ।। (युधिष्टिर उवाच जानामि त्वां युधि श्रेष्ठ वीर्यवन्तं महाबलम् | कृतास्त्रं कृतिनं चैव तथा लघुपराक्रमम् ।। युधिष्ठिर बोले--द्रोणकुमार! मैं जानता हूँ कि तुम युद्धमें पराक्रमी, महाबली, अस्त्रवेत्ता, विद्वान् और शीघ्रतापूर्वक पुरुषार्थ प्रकट करनेवाले श्रेष्ठ वीर हो। बलमेतद् भवान् सर्व पार्षते यदि दर्शयेत् । ततस्त्वां बलवन्तं च कृतविद्यं च विद्यहे ।। परंतु यदि तुम अपना यह सारा बल द्रुपदपुत्रपर दिखा सको तो हम समझेंगे कि तुम बलवान् तथा अस्त्र-विद्याके विद्वान् हो। न हि वै पार्षतं दृष्टवा समरे शत्रुसूदनम् । भवेत् तव बलं किंचिद् ब्रवीमि त्वा न तु द्विजम् ।।) शत्रुसूदन धृष्टद्युम्मको समरभूमिमें देखकर तुम्हारा बल कुछ भी काम न करेगा। (तुम्हारे कर्मको देखते हुए) मैं तुम्हें ब्राह्मण नहीं कहूँगा। नैव नाम तव प्रीतिर्नैंव नाम कृतज्ञता
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | jānāmi tvāṃ yudhi śreṣṭha vīryavantaṃ mahābalam | kṛtāstraṃ kṛtinaṃ caiva tathā laghu-parākramam || balam etad bhavān sarvaṃ pārṣate yadi darśayet | tatas tvāṃ balavantaṃ ca kṛtavidyaṃ ca vidmahe || na hi vai pārṣataṃ dṛṣṭvā samare śatru-sūdanam | bhavet tava balaṃ kiṃcid bravīmi tvā na tu dvijam ||
Yudhiṣṭhira, filled with wrath and wounded pride, said to Droṇa’s son: “I know you, O son of Droṇa, as foremost in battle—valiant, very strong, trained in weapons, accomplished, and swift to display your prowess. Yet if you can show all that strength against the son of Pṛṣata (Dhṛṣṭadyumna), then we shall truly recognize you as powerful and as one who has mastered his martial knowledge. For when you behold Pārṣata on the battlefield—the slayer of foes—your strength will count for nothing. Judging by your deeds, I will not call you a brāhmaṇa.”
(युधिष्टिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Status and identity (such as being called a ‘brahmin’) are evaluated through conduct; Yudhiṣṭhira uses moral censure to argue that deeds can negate claimed virtue, especially amid the ethical collapse of war.
In the Karṇa Parva battle context, Yudhiṣṭhira addresses Aśvatthāman with sharp, provocative speech: he acknowledges his training and strength but challenges him to prove it against Dhṛṣṭadyumna, while simultaneously condemning him as unworthy of the brahmin ideal based on his actions.