Shloka 20
कथितं त्वनयासत्यं गायत्रया कन्यया दिवि । विजेष्याम्यवशानू् सर्व ब्राद्मणांश्वर्मवासस:
kathitaṃ tv anayā satyaṃ gāyatrayā kanyayā divi | vijeṣyāmy avaśān sarvān brāhmaṇān carmavāsasaḥ |
Arjuna sprach: „Was jene Jungfrau namens Gāyatrī im Himmel verkündet hat—dass die Brāhmaṇas den Kṣatriyas überlegen seien—ist nicht wahr. Jene Brāhmaṇas, die Tierhäute tragen, sind zumeist abhängig und bedrängt; ich werde sie alle bezwingen. In den drei Welten gibt es weder Gott noch Mensch, der mich meiner Herrschaft berauben könnte; darum bin ich dem Brāhmaṇa überlegen.“
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse dramatizes the ethical danger of pride: asserting superiority based on power and conquest undermines dharma. It sets up a critique of measuring worth by force rather than by self-restraint, learning, and righteous conduct.
Arjuna responds defiantly to a heavenly proclamation attributed to a maiden named Gāyatrī that brāhmaṇas are superior to kṣatriyas. He rejects it as false, claims he can defeat the skin-clad ascetic brāhmaṇas, and boasts that no being in the three worlds can deprive him of sovereignty.