Shloka 20

Devanagari script

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

Transliteration

ghṛṇī brāhmaṇarūpo ’si kathaṁ kṣatre ’bhyajāyathāḥ | asyāṁ hi yonau jāyante prāyaśaḥ krūrabuddhayaḥ ||

Translation

ഭീമസേനൻ പറഞ്ഞു—നീ കരുണാശീലനാണ്; ബ്രാഹ്മണരൂപം തന്നെയാണ് നിനക്കുള്ളത്. എന്നാൽ ക്ഷത്രിയരിൽ നിന്റെ ജനനം എങ്ങനെ? കാരണം ഈ വംശയോണിയിൽ സാധാരണയായി ക്രൂരബുദ്ധിയുള്ളവരാണ് ജനിക്കുന്നത്.

Word by Word

घृणीcompassionate, kind

ब्राह्मणरूपःone having the form/appearance of a Brahmin

असिyou are

कथम्how?

क्षत्रेin the Kshatriya (caste/lineage)

अभ्यजायथाःwere you born (came to be born)

अस्याम्in this

हिindeed, for

योनौin the womb/stock, in the lineage

जायन्तेare born

प्रायशःgenerally, for the most part

क्रूरबुद्धयःmen of cruel disposition

Speaker

भीमसेन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīmasena

brāhmaṇa

kṣatriya

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

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.

What is happening in the narrative?

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.