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Chapter 1. Observing the Armies on the Battlefield of Kuruksetra TEXT 1 dhrtarastra uvaca
SYNONYMS  dhrtarastrah--King
Dhrtarastra; uvaca--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 assembling in the place of pilgrimage at Kuruksetra,
what did my sons and the sons of Pandu do, being desirous to fight?
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 my sons and
the sons of Pandu 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.
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