Bhagavad Gita Chapter 1 Verse 1
भगवद् गीता अध्याय 1 श्लोक 1
धृतराष्ट्र उवाच
धर्मक्षेत्रे कुरुक्षेत्रे समवेता युयुत्सवः।
मामकाः पाण्डवाश्चैव किमकुर्वत सञ्जय।।1.1।।
हिंदी अनुवाद - स्वामी तेजोमयानंद
।।1.1।।धृतराष्ट्र ने कहा हे संजय धर्मभूमि कुरुक्षेत्र में एकत्र हुए युद्ध के इच्छुक (युयुत्सव) मेरे और पाण्डु के पुत्रों ने क्या किया
Brahma Vaishnava Sampradaya - Commentary
Madhvacarya has no commentary so we present Baladeva Vidyabhusanas. To properly illustrate the consistency in the conversation between Lord Krishna and Arjuna on the battlefield, Krishna Dvaipayana Vyasa has quoted the first 27 verses in chapter one beginning dharma-ksetra kuru- ksetra refering to Kuruksetra as the land of righteousness. Now when King Dhritarastra learned that Lord Krishna had accepted the position of chariot driver for Arjuna, he immediately was suspicious and became doubtful of his son, Duryodhanas chances for victory. At that time he asked his minister Sanjaya a redundant question as what did his sons and the son of his brother do in the first verse of chapter one. It should be understood in the correct context that the revelatory instructions given by Lord Krishna to Arjuna in the 700 verses of Srimad Bhagavad-Gita that is revealed within Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasas monumental, historical epic, Mahabharata; as to what was being told by Sanjaya to Dhritarastra is actually a conversation described to Arjunas great, grandson, Emperor Janamejaya by Vaisampayana Muni and it is he who is expressing the words dhritarastra uvaca meaning Dhritarastra said. Srimad Bhagavad-Gita begins with Dhritarastra asking Sanjaya: What did my sons and the sons of Pandu, assembled at the righteous land of Kuruksetra desirious of battle do? Now the question which arises, is what was the necessity of Dhritarastra asking Sanjaya what did they do; when he himself in the same verse says: they are assembled desirous of battle. The reason he is asking is because Kuruksetra is the land of righteousness. Dhritarastra was thinking: Kuruksetra is famous as the land of sacrifice for the demigods and also the abode of brahma-jnana, knowledge of the Ultimate Truth for all living entities. He was worried that under the potent influence of Kuruksetras righteous land, his sons would have decided to return half of the kingdom back unto the sons of Pandu now being free from all jealously? Or is it that the sons of Pandu fearing that the destruction of a dynasty is an unrighteous act in a holy place like Kuruksetra and have decided that its best to retire to the forest and live as renunciates for the rest of their lives? By addressing Sanjaya, Dhritarastra means that by the mercy of Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa, Sanjaya has become free from attachment and aversion and thus he will certainly speak the truth. By using the word mamakah and pandavah in referring to his sons and the sons of Pandu indicates disparity and shows that Dhritarastra did not accept the sons of his deceased brother Pandu as he did his own sons and this reveals his enmity towards them. Ksetra also means field of cultivation. Just as in a rice field there are unwanted grasses looking exactly like the rice paddy which must be uprooted. Similarly the use of the word dharma-ksetra is indicative that the unrighteous sons of Dhritarastra will also be uprooted.