Shloka 343
भीमसेनस्य वेगाभिपातः—विशोकसारथिसंवादश्च
Bhīma’s surge and dialogue with charioteer Viśoka
कुरुष्व समरे कर्म ब्रह्मुबन्धुरसि ध्रुवम् । महाबाहो! आज मैं तुम्हारे देखते-देखते युद्धमें कौरवोंको जीतूँगा। तुम समरमें पराक्रम प्रकट करो। निश्चय ही तुम एक स्वधर्मश्रष्ट ब्राह्मण हो
kuruṣva samare karma brahmubandhur asi dhruvam | mahābāho! ājāhaṃ tvayā dṛṣṭvā-dṛṣṭvā yuddhe kauravān jayiṣyāmi | tvaṃ samare parākramaṃ prakaṭaya | niścaya eva tvaṃ svadharma-bhraṣṭa brāhmaṇaḥ asi |
युधिष्ठिर बोले—समर में अपना कर्म करो; निश्चय ही तुम ब्रह्मबन्धु हो। हे महाबाहो! आज तुम्हारे देखते-देखते मैं युद्ध में कौरवों को जीतूँगा। रण में अपना पराक्रम दिखाओ; सचमुच तुम अपने स्वधर्म से भ्रष्ट ब्राह्मण हो।
(युधिष्टिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage stresses svadharma in a crisis: one must perform the duty appropriate to one’s station and situation (here, battlefield action). It also warns that mere birth-status without conduct is hollow—hence the sharp term brahmubandhu, implying ethical worth is proven by behavior, not lineage.
In the midst of the Karṇa Parva battle, Yudhiṣṭhira addresses a warrior with a stinging rebuke, challenging him to show courage and do his battlefield duty. Yudhiṣṭhira simultaneously declares his own resolve to defeat the Kauravas that very day, framing the moment as a test of valor and adherence to dharma.