Shloka 38
युद्धयस्व समरे पार्थ येन विस्पर्थसे सह | द्रक्ष्यामि त्वां विनिर्मुक्तमस्माद् युद्धात् सुदुर्मते,दुर्मते! तू जिसके साथ सदा स्पर्धा रखता है, उस अर्जुनके साथ समरभूमिमें युद्ध कर। मैं देखूँगा कि तू इस संग्रामसे किस प्रकार बच पाता है?
yudhyasva samare pārtha yena visparthase saha | drakṣyāmi tvāṁ vinirmuktam asmād yuddhāt sudurmate durmate ||
Bhīṣma said: “Fight on the battlefield, O Pārtha, with that Arjuna with whom you have always maintained rivalry. I shall see how you, of perverse understanding, can possibly escape from this war.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the kṣatriya ethic of facing one’s appointed conflict without evasion: rivalry and honor culminate in direct confrontation, and moral weakness (durmati) is censured when it seeks escape from a justly undertaken battle.
Bhīṣma challenges the addressed warrior (called Pārtha) to fight Arjuna—his long-standing rival—declaring that he will witness whether the opponent can avoid or slip free from the impending war, while rebuking him as misguided (durmati).