Shloka 20
कथितं त्वनयासत्यं गायत्रया कन्यया दिवि । विजेष्याम्यवशानू् सर्व ब्राद्मणांश्वर्मवासस:
kathitaṃ tv anayā satyaṃ gāyatrayā kanyayā divi | vijeṣyāmy avaśān sarvān brāhmaṇān carmavāsasaḥ |
Arjuna dit : «Ce qui a été proclamé au ciel par cette jeune fille nommée Gāyatrī—à savoir que les brāhmaṇas sont supérieurs aux kṣatriyas—n’est pas vrai. Ces brāhmaṇas qui portent des peaux sont, pour la plupart, dépendants et contraints ; je les vaincrai tous. Dans les trois mondes, il n’est ni dieu ni homme qui puisse me chasser de ma souveraineté ; ainsi suis-je supérieur au brāhmaṇa.»
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.