Bhagvad Gita Chapter 1
dhåtaräñöra uväca
dharma-kñetre kuru-
kñetre
samavetä yuyutsavaù
mämakäù päëòaväç
caiva
kim akurvata saïjaya
SYNONYMS
dhåtaräñöraù uväca—
King Dhåtaräñöra said;
Bhagvad Gita Chapter 1
dharma-kñetre—in the
place of pilgrimage;
kuru-kñetre—in the
place named
Kurukñetra;
samavetäù—
assembled;
yuyutsavaù—desiring
to fight; mämakäù—
my party (sons);
Bhagvad Gita Chapter 1
päëòaväù—the sons of
Päëòu; ca—and; eva—
certainly; kim—what;
akurvata—did they do;
saïjaya—O Saïjaya.
TRANSLATION
Dhåtaräñöra said: O
Saïjaya, after my sons
and the sons of Päëòu
assembled in the place
Bhagvad Gita Chapter 1
of pilgrimage at
Kurukñetra, desiring to
fight, what did they
do?
Gita Bhushan
The sage in the first
chapter of the Gétä has
revealed events related
to the conversation
which took place
Bhagvad Gita Chapter 1
between Arjuna and
Kåñëa at the beginning
of the war. The
intention of this
narration is to praise
the conversation
between Kåñëa and
Arjuna. The
description continues
Bhagvad Gita Chapter 1
for twenty-seven
verses.
Knowing that Kåñëa
was accompanying
Arjuna as his driver,
Dhåtaräñöra, doubting
the victory of his own
sons, questioned
Saïjaya. Actually
Bhagvad Gita Chapter 1
Vaiçampäyana is
relating everything to
Janamejaya.
“What did my sons and
the Päëòavas do,
gathered together at
Kurukñetra, desiring to
fight?”
Bhagvad Gita Chapter 1
“You have already said
that they gathered to
fight, so they will
certainly fight. What is
your intention in
asking again what they
did?”
“This is happening at
Kurukñetra, a place of
dharma. The çruti says:
Bhagvad Gita Chapter 1
yad anu kurukñetraà
devänäà deva-yajanaà
sarveñäà bhütänäà
brahma-sadanam:
Kurukñetra is a place
for sacrifice to the
devatäs by those who
are like the devas; it is
the abode of Brahman
for all living beings
Bhagvad Gita Chapter 1
(Jabala Upaniñad 1).
From this we
understand that it has
become famous as a
place for increasing
dharma. Under its
influence, will my sons
give up their animosity
and give the kingdom
to the Päëòavas? Or
Bhagvad Gita Chapter 1
will perhaps the
Päëòavas, who are
always following
dharma, consider at
this place of dharma
that it is best to go to
the forest out of fear of
committing adharma
in the form of
destruction of the
Bhagvad Gita Chapter 1
family traditions by
fighting? O Saïjaya
(destroyer), by the
mercy of Vyäsa you
have destroyed all
attraction and
repulsion within
yourself. Therefore,
you should speak the
truth to me.”
Bhagvad Gita Chapter 1
By not mentioning that
the Päëòavas were also
his relatives and
mentioning only his
sons as his own
(mämakä), he revealed
his hatred for the
Päëòavas.
“In a field of grains, the
weeds which look
Bhagvad Gita Chapter 1
similar to the grain,
but are obstacles to
their growth, are
eventually pulled out.
Similarly, at the field
of dharma, your sons,
who are but imitations
of dharma and
opposers of dharma,
will also be
Bhagvad Gita Chapter 1
destroyed.” This is the
unintentional, hidden
meaning of the word
dharma-kñetra,(uttered
by Dhåtaräñöra
himself), by the grace
of Sarasvaté (skillful in
use of words, giving
them a double
meaning).
Bhagvad Gita Chapter 1
PURPORT
Bhagavad-gétä is the
widely read theistic
science summarized in
the Gétä-mähätmya
(Glorification of the
Gétä). There it says
that one should read
Bhagavad-gétä very
scrutinizingly with the
Bhagvad Gita Chapter 1
help of a person who is
a devotee of Çré Kåñëa
and try to understand
it without personally
motivated
interpretations. The
example of clear
understanding is there
in the Bhagavad-gétä
itself, in the way the
Bhagvad Gita Chapter 1
teaching is understood
by Arjuna, who heard
the Gétä directly from
the Lord. If someone is
fortunate enough to
understand Bhagavad-
gétä in that line of
disciplic succession,
without motivated
interpretation, then he
Bhagvad Gita Chapter 1
surpasses all studies of
Vedic wisdom, and all
scriptures of the
world. One will find in
the Bhagavad-gétä all
that is contained in
other scriptures, but
the reader will also
find things which are
not to be found
Bhagvad Gita Chapter 1
elsewhere. That is the
specific standard of the
Gétä. It is the perfect
theistic science
because it is directly
spoken by the
Supreme Personality of
Godhead, Lord Çré
Kåñëa.
Bhagvad Gita Chapter 1
The topics discussed
by Dhåtaräñöra and
Saïjaya, as described
in the Mahäbhärata,
form the basic
principle for this great
philosophy. It is
understood that this
philosophy evolved on
the Battlefield of
Bhagvad Gita Chapter 1
Kurukñetra, 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.
Bhagvad Gita Chapter 1
The word dharma-
kñetra (a place where
religious rituals are
performed) is
significant because, on
the Battlefield of
Kurukñetra, the
Supreme Personality of
Godhead was present
on the side of Arjuna.
Bhagvad Gita Chapter 1
Dhåtaräñöra, the father
of the Kurus, was
highly doubtful about
the possibility of his
sons' ultimate victory.
In his doubt, he
inquired from his
secretary Saïjaya,
"What did they do?"
He was confident that
Bhagvad Gita Chapter 1
both his sons and the
sons of his younger
brother Päëòu were
assembled in that Field
of Kurukñetra for a
determined
engagement of the war.
Still, his inquiry is
significant. He did not
want a compromise
Bhagvad Gita Chapter 1
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
Kurukñetra, which is
mentioned elsewhere
in the Vedas as a place
Bhagvad Gita Chapter 1
of worship—even for
the denizens of
heaven—Dhåtaräñöra
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
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Päëòu favorably,
because by nature they
were all virtuous.
Saïjaya was a student
of Vyäsa, and
therefore, by the mercy
of Vyäsa, Saïjaya was
able to envision the
Battlefield of
Kurukñetra even while
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he was in the room of
Dhåtaräñöra. And so,
Dhåtaräñöra asked him
about the situation on
the battlefield.
Both the Päëòavas and
the sons of Dhåtaräñöra
belong to the same
family, but
Dhåtaräñöra's mind is
Bhagvad Gita Chapter 1
disclosed herein. He
deliberately claimed
only his sons as Kurus,
and he separated the
sons of Päëòu from the
family heritage. One
can thus understand
the specific position of
Dhåtaräñöra in his
relationship with his
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nephews, the sons of
Päëòu. 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
Kurukñetra, where the
father of religion, Çré
Bhagvad Gita Chapter 1
Kåñëa, was present, the
unwanted plants like
Dhåtaräñöra's son
Duryodhana and
others would be wiped
out and the thoroughly
religious persons,
headed by Yudhiñöhira,
would be established
by the Lord. This is the
Bhagvad Gita Chapter 1
significance of the
words dharma-kñetre
and kuru-kñetre, apart
from their historical
and Vedic importance.
