BHAGAVAD-GITA 1:1

[Guest guest]

BHAGAVAD-GITA 1:1

 

dhrtarastra uvaca

dharma-ksetre kuru-ksetre

samaveta yuyutsavah

mamakah pandavas caiva

kim akurvata sanjaya

 

WORD FOR WORD

 

dhrtarastrah uvaca--King Dhrtarastra said; dharma-ksetre--in the place

of pilgrimage; kuru-ksetre--in the place named Kuruksetra;

samavetah--assembled; yuyutsavah--desiring to fight; mamakah--my party

(sons); pandavah--the sons of Pandu; ca--and; eva--certainly; kim--what;

akurvata--did they do; sanjaya--O Sanjaya.

 

TRANSLATION

 

Dhrtarastra said: O Sanjaya, after my sons and the sons of Pandu

assembled in the place of pilgrimage at Kuruksetra, desiring to fight,

what did they do?

 

PURPORT

 

Bhagavad-gita is the widely read theistic science summarized in the

Gita-mahatmya (Glorification of the Gita). There it says that one

should read Bhagavad-gita very scrutinizingly with the help of a

person who is a devotee of Sri Krsna and try to understand it without

personally motivated interpretations. The example of clear

understanding is there in the Bhagavad-gita itself, in the way the

teaching is understood by Arjuna, who heard the Gita directly from the

Lord. If someone is fortunate enough to understand Bhagavad-gita in

that line of disciplic succession, without motivated interpretation,

then he surpasses all studies of Vedic wisdom, and all scriptures of

the world. One will find in the Bhagavad-gita all that is contained in

other scriptures, but the reader will also find things which are not

to be found elsewhere. That is the specific standard of the Gita. It

is the perfect theistic science because it is directly spoken by the

Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krsna.

 

The topics discussed by Dhrtarastra and Sanjaya, as described in the

Mahabharata, form the basic principle for this great philosophy. It is

understood that this philosophy evolved on the Battlefield of

Kuruksetra, which is a sacred place of pilgrimage from the immemorial

time of the Vedic age. It was spoken by the Lord when He was present

personally on this planet for the guidance of mankind.

 

The word dharma-ksetra (a place where religious rituals are performed)

is significant because, on the Battlefield of Kuruksetra, the Supreme

Personality of Godhead was present on the side of Arjuna. Dhrtarastra,

the father of the Kurus, was highly doubtful about the possibility of

his sons' ultimate victory. In his doubt, he inquired from his

secretary Sanjaya, "What did they do?" He was confident that both his

sons and the sons of his younger brother Pandu were assembled in that

Field of Kuruksetra for a determined engagement of the war. Still, his

inquiry is significant. He did not want a compromise between the

cousins and brothers, and he wanted to be sure of the fate of his sons

on the battlefield. Because the battle was arranged to be fought at

Kuruksetra, which is mentioned elsewhere in the Vedas as a place of

worship--even for the denizens of heaven--Dhrtarastra became very

fearful about the influence of the holy place on the outcome of the

battle. He knew very well that this would influence Arjuna and the

sons of Pandu favorably, because by nature they were all

virtuous. Sanjaya was a student of Vyasa, and therefore, by the mercy

of Vyasa, Sanjaya was able to envision the Battlefield of Kuruksetra

even while he was in the room of Dhrtarastra. And so, Dhrtarastra

asked him about the situation on the battlefield.

 

Both the Pandavas and the sons of Dhrtarastra belong to the same

family, but Dhrtarastra's mind is disclosed herein. He deliberately

claimed only his sons as Kurus, and he separated the sons of Pandu

from the family heritage. One can thus understand the specific

position of Dhrtarastra in his relationship with his nephews, the sons

of Pandu. As in the paddy field the unnecessary plants are taken out,

so it is expected from the very beginning of these topics that in the

religious field of Kuruksetra, where the father of religion, Sri

Krsna, was present, the unwanted plants like Dhrtarastra's son

Duryodhana and others would be wiped out and the thoroughly religious

persons, headed by Yudhisthira, would be established by the Lord. This

is the significance of the words dharma-ksetre and kuru-ksetre, apart

from their historical and Vedic importance.

 

Copyright 1983 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International. Used with

permission.