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 |
Wika ni Yudhiṣṭhira: “Gawin mo ang tungkulin mo sa labanan; tunay na ikaw ay ‘kamag-anak lamang ng mga Brahmana’—Brahmana sa pangalan lang. O makapangyarihang bisig, ngayong araw, sa harap ng iyong mga mata, tatalunin ko ang mga Kaurava sa digmaan. Ipakita mo ang iyong tapang sa larangan. Tunay ngang ikaw ay isang Brahmanang nalihis sa sariling dharma.”
(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.