Dharma-Kshetre Kuru-Kshetre
Samaveta yuyutsavah
Mamakah Pandavas Caiva
Kim Akurvata Sanjaya
Samaveta yuyutsavah
Mamakah Pandavas Caiva
Kim Akurvata Sanjaya
Translation: Dhritarastra says: O Sanjaya... what did my sons, desires
of battle, and the sons of battle, and the sons of Pandu do after
assembling at the holy land of righteousness i.e., Khurukshetrra
The first chapter of Srimad Bhagvad Gita begins with the words of King Dhritarastra in which he asks Sanjaya, who had been bestowed with clairvoyance by Vyasdeva, to narrate the scene of the scene of the ensuring battle between the Pandavas and the Kauravas. The question posted by Dhritarasatra is suggestive of the victory that he wishes for his sons yet it also reveals the worry that troubles Dhritarasatra's mind owing to the potential threat posed by Arjuna's acquition of divine weapons (that he had acquired by appeasing Lord Shiva). The prowess of these weapons were already proven when Arjuna had employed them to defeat the Gandharvas to release Duryodhna, even through the latter had become his and his brothers' antagonist in course of time, and also when Arjuna, by virtue of these weapons, defeated the Kauravas single handedly when they had attacked the city of Virat- a place where the Pandavas were residing incognito during the thirteenth year of their exile. All these thoughts distressed Dhritarastra's mind and with a heavy heart he entreated Sanjaya to relate the events of the battle field to him.
As Sri Kashmiri Bhattaji Maharaj suggests probably Dhritarasta was poundering on whether his sons, having witnessed the presence of the dauntless Arjuna and the mightly Bhima in the enemy ranks, have been intimidated into reconsidering their decision to fight and mulled the prospects of peaceful settlement with the Pandavas or stood steadfast in their resolve.
The events documented in the Mahabharata are drawn from a conversation that took place between the holy sage Vaisampayana and Arjuna's great-grandson Janamejaya and begins with Dhritarastra's address to Sanjaya which transports us to the sanctified land of Kurukshetra where the mighty battle between the Pandavas and the Kauravas is to commence. Kurukshetra is acclaimed as the place of origin of dharma or righteousness. The Vedic scriptures proclaim the significance of Kurukshetra as a befitting place for performing sacrifice. From time immemorial Rishis have chosen Kurukshetra as an apt location for the performance of scared sacrifices. It is claimed by the scriptures that the death of those who depart this world as Kurukshetra should not be moaned as their souls find repose in Heaven thereafter.
The phrase dharma- kshetra kuru- kshetra used by Dhritarastra is loaded with deeper meaning. Dhritarastra was well aware of how King Kuru, the great ancestor of the Pandavas had transformed Kurukshetra to a blessed realm of spirituality and righteousness. King Kuru had made a golden plow from his chariot, borrowed Lord Shiva's bull and Yamraja's buffalo to till the land of Kurukshetra so that it may yield the eight religious virtues viz. truth; yoga; kindness; purity; charity; forgiveness; austerity and celibacy. Moved by the arduous penance of King Kuru, Lord Indra promised him that anyone who died fighting or performing penance at Kurukshetra would be admitted heavan. Therefore, Kurukshetra is both a battlefield as also a land of piety. It also the sanctified land where Parashurama had performed atonement for his action of vindictiveness against the Khsatriyas. According to Sri Kashmiri Bhattaji Maharaj, Dhritarashtra was perhaps wondering as to whether Kurukshetra, being the place where righteousness prevails, would favour the fourtuness of the Pandavas and prove inimical to the Kauravas as their intention was unrighteous.
Sri Baladadeva Bidyabhusana, a prominent Gaudiya Vaishnava Acharya in his commentary on the Shloka reinforces the fact that the same reflects Dhritarastra's perturbed state of mind. The fact that Lord Krishna Himself had chosen to be the charioteer of Arjuna and that the cause of the Pandavas was virtuous filled Dhritarastra's mind with doubt regarding the victory of his sons- the Kauravas. In the Shloka, Dhritarastra addresses his sons as mamakah while those of Pandu as Pandavas, which seemingly indicates his closer affinity towards his own children and his desire for their success. However, well aware that only righteousness shall prevail in the holy land of Kurukshetra he doubts the success of his progeny. Further, Sri Baladeva Bidyabhusana refers to the word Kshetra as fiels of cultivation. Just as the weeds growing in a paddy field must be uprooted, similarly in Dharma- kshetra kuru- kshetra all acts of unrighteousness must be eliminated in order that righteousness may triumph. The shloka therefore predicates the fall of the unrighteous embodied by the Kauravas and the victory of truth and righteousness represented by the Pandavas.
The first Shloka of the Bhagbad Gita introduces us to the eighteen day saga in the course of which Adharma (unrighteousness) was quelled and the victory of Dharma (righteousness) was secured. In recent times, there has been an attempt to understand the war between the Pandavas and the Kauravas at the Kurukshetra not just literally but also symbolically with respect to its pertinence to the spiritual advancement of man. In this regard Arjuna has been perceived as the Atman, Lord Krishna as Brahman, the potent force that guides the human spirit and Arjuna's chariot as representing the body. Swami Vivekananda while commenting on the significance of the Kurukshetra war remarked, ''When we sum up its esoteric significance, it means the war which is constantly going on within man between the tenencies of good and evil''. Mohandas Karmachand Gandhi, in his commentary on the Gita, interpreted the battle of Kurukshetra in terms of its practical implications on the lives of humans. He says ''...the battlefield is the soul an Arjuna, man’s higher impulses struggling against evil''. Thus the battle of Kurukshetra bequeaths a moral for the posterity that the tussle between the good and the evil is never ending … but victory is secured only by those who are righteous and virtuous.
The first chapter of Srimad Bhagvad Gita begins with the words of King Dhritarastra in which he asks Sanjaya, who had been bestowed with clairvoyance by Vyasdeva, to narrate the scene of the scene of the ensuring battle between the Pandavas and the Kauravas. The question posted by Dhritarasatra is suggestive of the victory that he wishes for his sons yet it also reveals the worry that troubles Dhritarasatra's mind owing to the potential threat posed by Arjuna's acquition of divine weapons (that he had acquired by appeasing Lord Shiva). The prowess of these weapons were already proven when Arjuna had employed them to defeat the Gandharvas to release Duryodhna, even through the latter had become his and his brothers' antagonist in course of time, and also when Arjuna, by virtue of these weapons, defeated the Kauravas single handedly when they had attacked the city of Virat- a place where the Pandavas were residing incognito during the thirteenth year of their exile. All these thoughts distressed Dhritarastra's mind and with a heavy heart he entreated Sanjaya to relate the events of the battle field to him.
As Sri Kashmiri Bhattaji Maharaj suggests probably Dhritarasta was poundering on whether his sons, having witnessed the presence of the dauntless Arjuna and the mightly Bhima in the enemy ranks, have been intimidated into reconsidering their decision to fight and mulled the prospects of peaceful settlement with the Pandavas or stood steadfast in their resolve.
The events documented in the Mahabharata are drawn from a conversation that took place between the holy sage Vaisampayana and Arjuna's great-grandson Janamejaya and begins with Dhritarastra's address to Sanjaya which transports us to the sanctified land of Kurukshetra where the mighty battle between the Pandavas and the Kauravas is to commence. Kurukshetra is acclaimed as the place of origin of dharma or righteousness. The Vedic scriptures proclaim the significance of Kurukshetra as a befitting place for performing sacrifice. From time immemorial Rishis have chosen Kurukshetra as an apt location for the performance of scared sacrifices. It is claimed by the scriptures that the death of those who depart this world as Kurukshetra should not be moaned as their souls find repose in Heaven thereafter.
The phrase dharma- kshetra kuru- kshetra used by Dhritarastra is loaded with deeper meaning. Dhritarastra was well aware of how King Kuru, the great ancestor of the Pandavas had transformed Kurukshetra to a blessed realm of spirituality and righteousness. King Kuru had made a golden plow from his chariot, borrowed Lord Shiva's bull and Yamraja's buffalo to till the land of Kurukshetra so that it may yield the eight religious virtues viz. truth; yoga; kindness; purity; charity; forgiveness; austerity and celibacy. Moved by the arduous penance of King Kuru, Lord Indra promised him that anyone who died fighting or performing penance at Kurukshetra would be admitted heavan. Therefore, Kurukshetra is both a battlefield as also a land of piety. It also the sanctified land where Parashurama had performed atonement for his action of vindictiveness against the Khsatriyas. According to Sri Kashmiri Bhattaji Maharaj, Dhritarashtra was perhaps wondering as to whether Kurukshetra, being the place where righteousness prevails, would favour the fourtuness of the Pandavas and prove inimical to the Kauravas as their intention was unrighteous.
Sri Baladadeva Bidyabhusana, a prominent Gaudiya Vaishnava Acharya in his commentary on the Shloka reinforces the fact that the same reflects Dhritarastra's perturbed state of mind. The fact that Lord Krishna Himself had chosen to be the charioteer of Arjuna and that the cause of the Pandavas was virtuous filled Dhritarastra's mind with doubt regarding the victory of his sons- the Kauravas. In the Shloka, Dhritarastra addresses his sons as mamakah while those of Pandu as Pandavas, which seemingly indicates his closer affinity towards his own children and his desire for their success. However, well aware that only righteousness shall prevail in the holy land of Kurukshetra he doubts the success of his progeny. Further, Sri Baladeva Bidyabhusana refers to the word Kshetra as fiels of cultivation. Just as the weeds growing in a paddy field must be uprooted, similarly in Dharma- kshetra kuru- kshetra all acts of unrighteousness must be eliminated in order that righteousness may triumph. The shloka therefore predicates the fall of the unrighteous embodied by the Kauravas and the victory of truth and righteousness represented by the Pandavas.
The first Shloka of the Bhagbad Gita introduces us to the eighteen day saga in the course of which Adharma (unrighteousness) was quelled and the victory of Dharma (righteousness) was secured. In recent times, there has been an attempt to understand the war between the Pandavas and the Kauravas at the Kurukshetra not just literally but also symbolically with respect to its pertinence to the spiritual advancement of man. In this regard Arjuna has been perceived as the Atman, Lord Krishna as Brahman, the potent force that guides the human spirit and Arjuna's chariot as representing the body. Swami Vivekananda while commenting on the significance of the Kurukshetra war remarked, ''When we sum up its esoteric significance, it means the war which is constantly going on within man between the tenencies of good and evil''. Mohandas Karmachand Gandhi, in his commentary on the Gita, interpreted the battle of Kurukshetra in terms of its practical implications on the lives of humans. He says ''...the battlefield is the soul an Arjuna, man’s higher impulses struggling against evil''. Thus the battle of Kurukshetra bequeaths a moral for the posterity that the tussle between the good and the evil is never ending … but victory is secured only by those who are righteous and virtuous.
Sri Dedatta Banerjee
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