Shloka 20
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Reproof and Vow-Logic: On Dice-Deception, Exile Terms, and the Governance of Anger
Adhyāya 35
घृणी ब्राह्मणरूपो$सि कथं क्षत्रे5भ्यजाय था: । अस्यां हि योनौ जायन्ते प्रायश: क्रूरबुद्धयः,आप दयालु ब्राह्मणरूप हैं। पता नहीं, क्षत्रियकुलमें कैसे आपका जन्म हो गया; क्योंकि क्षत्रिय योनिमें तो प्राय: क्रूर बुद्धिके ही पुरुष उत्पन्न होते हैं
ghṛṇī brāhmaṇarūpo ’si kathaṁ kṣatre ’bhyajāyathāḥ | asyāṁ hi yonau jāyante prāyaśaḥ krūrabuddhayaḥ ||
Bhīmasena disse: “Tu és compassivo e trazes a própria aparência de um brāhmaṇa. Como, então, nasceste entre os kṣatriyas? Pois nesta linhagem, em geral, os homens nascem com intento duro e cruel.”
भीमसेन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts inner disposition with social birth: compassion and restraint are associated with brāhmaṇa-like qualities, while Bhīma remarks that kṣatriya lineage is commonly linked (in his stereotype) with harshness. It invites reflection on whether virtue is determined by birth or by character.
Bhīmasena addresses a person he perceives as unusually gentle and compassionate, questioning how such a brāhmaṇa-like temperament could have arisen in a kṣatriya birth, since he expects kṣatriyas to be generally fierce.