Shloka 20
कथितं त्वनयासत्यं गायत्रया कन्यया दिवि । विजेष्याम्यवशानू् सर्व ब्राद्मणांश्वर्मवासस:
kathitaṃ tv anayā satyaṃ gāyatrayā kanyayā divi | vijeṣyāmy avaśān sarvān brāhmaṇān carmavāsasaḥ |
Arjuna berkata: “Apa yang diumumkan di surga oleh gadis bernama Gāyatrī—bahwa para brāhmaṇa lebih unggul daripada para kṣatriya—bukanlah benar. Para brāhmaṇa yang mengenakan kulit rusa itu, pada umumnya bergantung dan terpaksa; aku akan menaklukkan mereka semua. Di tiga dunia tak ada dewa maupun manusia yang dapat menggoyahkan aku dari kedaulatanku; karena itu aku lebih unggul daripada 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.