धृतराषà¥à¤Ÿà¥à¤° उवाच
धरà¥à¤®à¤•à¥à¤·à¥‡à¤¤à¥à¤°à¥‡ कà¥à¤°à¥à¤•à¥à¤·à¥‡à¤¤à¥à¤°à¥‡ समवेता यà¥à¤¯à¥à¤¤à¥à¤¸à¤µà¤ƒ ।
मामकाः पाणà¥à¤¡à¤µà¤¾à¤¶à¥à¤šà¥ˆà¤µ किमकà¥à¤°à¥à¤µà¤¤ सञà¥à¤œà¤¯ ॥१॥

dhá¹›tarÄṣṭra uvÄca
dharma-ká¹£etre kuru-ká¹£etre
samavetÄ yuyutsavaḥ
mÄmakÄḥ pÄṇá¸avÄÅ› caiva
kim akurvata sañjaya

80 times this text was mentioned in purports to other texts: LBG(15) , LCC(5) , LSB(15) , TLKS(45)

 dhá¹›tarÄṣṭraḥ uvÄca - King Dhá¹›tarÄṣṭra said; dharma-ká¹£etre - in the place of pilgrimage; kuru-ká¹£etre - in the place named Kuruká¹£etra; samavetÄḥ - assembled; yuyutsavaḥ - desiring to fight; mÄmakÄḥ - my party (sons); pÄṇá¸avÄḥ - the sons of PÄṇá¸u; ca - and; eva - certainly; kim - what; akurvata - did they do; sañjaya - O Sañjaya.


Text

Dhá¹›tarÄṣṭra said: O Sañjaya, after my sons and the sons of PÄṇá¸u assembled in the place of pilgrimage at Kuruká¹£etra, desiring to ï¬ght, what did they do?

Purport

Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ is the widely read theistic science summarized in the GÄ«tÄ-mÄhÄtmya (Gloriï¬cation of the GÄ«tÄ). There it says that one should read Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ very scrutinizingly with the help of a person who is a devotee of ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa and try to understand it without personally motivated interpretations. The example of clear understanding is there in the Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ itself, in the way the teaching is understood by Arjuna, who heard the GÄ«tÄ directly from the Lord. If someone is fortunate enough to understand the Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ 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 ï¬nd in the Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ all that is contained in other scriptures, but the reader will also ï¬nd things which are not to be found elsewhere. That is the speciï¬c standard of the GÄ«tÄ. It is the perfect theistic science because it is directly spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa.

The topics discussed by Dhá¹›tarÄṣṭra and Sañjaya, as described in the MahÄbhÄrata, form the basic principle for this great philosophy. It is understood that this philosophy evolved on the Battleï¬eld of Kuruká¹£etra, 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-ká¹£etra (a place where religious rituals are performed) is signiï¬cant because, on the Battleï¬eld of Kuruká¹£etra, the Supreme Personality of Godhead was present on the side of Arjuna. Dhá¹›tarÄṣṭra, the father of the Kurus, was highly doubtful about the possibility of his sons’ ultimate victory. In his doubt, he inquired from his secretary Sañjaya, “What did they do?†He was conï¬dent that both his sons and the sons of his younger brother PÄṇá¸u were assembled in that Field of Kuruká¹£etra for a determined engagement of the war. Still, his inquiry is signiï¬cant. 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 battleï¬eld. Because the battle was arranged to be fought at Kuruká¹£etra, which is mentioned elsewhere in the Vedas as a place of worship – even for the denizens of heaven – Dhá¹›tarÄṣṭra 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 PÄṇá¸u favorably, because by nature they were all virtuous. Sañjaya was a student of VyÄsa, and therefore, by the mercy of VyÄsa, Sañjaya was able to envision the Battleï¬eld of Kuruká¹£etra even while he was in the room of Dhá¹›tarÄṣṭra. And so, Dhá¹›tarÄṣṭra asked him about the situation on the battleï¬eld.

Both the PÄṇá¸avas and the sons of Dhá¹›tarÄṣṭra belong to the same family, but Dhá¹›tarÄṣṭra’s mind is disclosed herein. He deliberately claimed only his sons as Kurus, and he separated the sons of PÄṇá¸u from the family heritage. One can thus understand the speciï¬c position of Dhá¹›tarÄṣṭra in his relationship with his nephews, the sons of PÄṇá¸u. As in the paddy ï¬eld the unnecessary plants are taken out, so it is expected from the very beginning of these topics that in the religious ï¬eld of Kuruká¹£etra, where the father of religion, ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa, was present, the unwanted plants like Dhá¹›tarÄṣṭra’s son Duryodhana and others would be wiped out and the thoroughly religious persons, headed by Yudhiṣṭhira, would be established by the Lord. This is the signiï¬cance of the words dharma-ká¹£etre and kuru-ká¹£etre, apart from their historical and Vedic importance.