Shloka 20
कथितं त्वनयासत्यं गायत्रया कन्यया दिवि । विजेष्याम्यवशानू् सर्व ब्राद्मणांश्वर्मवासस:
kathitaṃ tv anayā satyaṃ gāyatrayā kanyayā divi | vijeṣyāmy avaśān sarvān brāhmaṇān carmavāsasaḥ |
Arjuna disse: “O que foi proclamado no céu por esta donzela chamada Gāyatrī—que os brāhmaṇas são superiores aos kṣatriyas—não é verdade. Esses brāhmaṇas que vestem peles são, em sua maioria, dependentes e constrangidos; eu os vencerei a todos. Nos três mundos não há deus nem homem que possa expulsar-me de minha soberania; portanto, sou superior ao 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.