Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 20
कथितं त्वनयासत्यं गायत्रया कन्यया दिवि । विजेष्याम्यवशानू् सर्व ब्राद्मणांश्वर्मवासस:
kathitaṃ tv anayā satyaṃ gāyatrayā kanyayā divi | vijeṣyāmy avaśān sarvān brāhmaṇān carmavāsasaḥ |
Wika ni Arjuna: “Ang ipinahayag sa langit ng dalagang nagngangalang Gāyatrī—na ang mga brāhmaṇa ay nakahihigit sa mga kṣatriya—ay hindi totoo. Ang mga brāhmaṇang nagsusuot ng balat ng hayop ay kadalasa’y umaasa at napipilit; aking tatalunin silang lahat. Sa tatlong daigdig, walang diyos o tao na makapagpapatalsik sa akin sa aking paghahari; kaya ako’y nakahihigit sa 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.