Chapter 1, Verse 1
धृतराष्ट्र उवाच | धर्मक्षेत्रे कुरुक्षेत्रे समवेता युयुत्सवः | मामकाः पाण्डवाश्चैव किमकुर्वत सञ्जय ॥१॥
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | dharma-kṣetre kuru-kṣetre samavetā yuyutsavaḥ | māmakāḥ pāṇḍavāś caiva kim akurvata sañjaya ||1||
Meaning
Dhritarashtra said: O Sanjaya, after assembling in the place of pilgrimage at Kurukshetra, what did my sons and the sons of Pandu do, being desirous to fight?
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
The Bhagavad Gita begins with a question from a blind king — Dhritarashtra — who cannot see the battlefield himself and must rely on Sanjaya's divine vision. This detail is itself symbolic: the blindness of Dhritarashtra represents a kind of spiritual blindness, a attachment to one's 'own people' (mamakah — 'my sons') over dharma.
Kurukshetra is described as a dharma-kshetra — a field of dharma. This immediately signals that what happens here is not merely a physical battle but a moral and spiritual event. The battlefield is the arena where dharma will be tested, contested, and ultimately upheld.
The opening question establishes the entire dramatic frame: two armies, related by blood, are about to destroy each other. What happens next will determine the fate of a civilization — and, symbolically, of every human being who faces a moment where duty and attachment collide.
💡 Key Takeaway
Every great life challenge begins on a 'dharma-kshetra' — a field where what is right must be discerned and chosen amid confusion and conflicting loyalties.
Related Verses
सञ्जय उवाच दृष्ट्वा तु पाण्डवानीकं व्यूढं दुर्योधनस्तदा। आचार्यमुपसङ्गम्य राजा वचनमब्रवीत्।।
sañjaya uvāca dṛṣṭvā tu pāṇḍavānīkaṁ vyūḍhaṁ duryodhanas tadā ācāryam upasaṅgamya rājā vacanam abravīt
Sanjaya said: Having seen the army of the Pandavas arrayed in battle formation, King Duryodhana then approached his teacher Drona and spoke these words.
पश्यैतां पाण्डुपुत्राणामाचार्य महतीं चमूम्। व्यूढां द्रुपदपुत्रेण तव शिष्येण धीमता।।
paśyaitāṁ pāṇḍu-putrāṇām ācārya mahatīṁ camūm vyūḍhāṁ drupada-putreṇa tava śiṣyeṇa dhīmatā
O teacher, behold this mighty army of the sons of Pandu, so skilfully arrayed by the son of Drupada — your own talented student.
अत्र शूरा महेष्वासा भीमार्जुनसमा युधि। युयुधानो विराटश्च द्रुपदश्च महारथः।।
atra śūrā maheṣvāsā bhīmārjuna-samā yudhi yuyudhāno virāṭaś ca drupadaś ca mahārathaḥ
Here in this army are great heroes, mighty archers equal to Bhima and Arjuna in battle — Yuyudhana, Virata, and the great chariot-warrior Drupada.