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 telah diisytiharkan di langit oleh gadis bernama Gāyatrī—bahawa para brāhmaṇa lebih tinggi daripada para kṣatriya—itu tidak benar. Para brāhmaṇa yang berselimut kulit binatang itu, kebanyakannya hidup bergantung dan terikat; aku akan menundukkan mereka semua. Di tiga alam tiada dewa atau manusia yang mampu menghalau aku daripada kedaulatanku; maka aku lebih tinggi 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.