THE BHAGAVAT GITA
ARJUNA VISHADA YOGA
Chapter One-sloka or verse one
Dhrtarashtra said
Gathered together at Kurukshetra, the field of religious activities, what, O Sanjaya, did my war-inclined sons and those of Pandu do?
COMMENTS
Here the blind king, Dhrtarashtra asks his minister, Sanjaya, about the happenings at Kurutchetra, the field of , as he says, religious activities. Though the battle takes place at the war field, namely, Kurutchetra, the blind king himself portrays the battle field, as the field of religious activities. And it is very significant, especially coming from his own tongue. Because, the battle is not an ordinary one is known to his own self. Pandavas are not avaricious like his sons. They first asked for the return of their kingdom, which Dhuriyodana promptly refuses. Then the Pandavas asked for five villages, and when that too was denied, the war was to ensue. Thus, the blind king knows full well that it is a religious war, a war between the righteous Pandavas and the wrongful sons of his own. So only the blind king calls the field of war as the field of religious activities.
And, on a different allegorical plane, we have both the good and bad, the good pandavas and the bad kauravas, within our own selves. And the war between the right and wrong is a continuous one, and much religious in character.
ARJUNA VISHADA YOGA
Chapter One-sloka or verse one
Dhrtarashtra said
Gathered together at Kurukshetra, the field of religious activities, what, O Sanjaya, did my war-inclined sons and those of Pandu do?
COMMENTS
Here the blind king, Dhrtarashtra asks his minister, Sanjaya, about the happenings at Kurutchetra, the field of , as he says, religious activities. Though the battle takes place at the war field, namely, Kurutchetra, the blind king himself portrays the battle field, as the field of religious activities. And it is very significant, especially coming from his own tongue. Because, the battle is not an ordinary one is known to his own self. Pandavas are not avaricious like his sons. They first asked for the return of their kingdom, which Dhuriyodana promptly refuses. Then the Pandavas asked for five villages, and when that too was denied, the war was to ensue. Thus, the blind king knows full well that it is a religious war, a war between the righteous Pandavas and the wrongful sons of his own. So only the blind king calls the field of war as the field of religious activities.
And, on a different allegorical plane, we have both the good and bad, the good pandavas and the bad kauravas, within our own selves. And the war between the right and wrong is a continuous one, and much religious in character.
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