The eternal Self, duty, right action and innner balance of mind
2.2
सांख्ययोगः
Sāṅkhya Yogaḥ
"धृतराष्ट्र उवाच । धर्मक्षेत्रे कुरुक्षेत्रे समवेता युयुत्सव ः । मामकाः पाण्डवाश्चैव किमकुर्वत सञ्जय ॥"
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca dharmakṣetre kurukṣetre samavetā yuyutsavaḥ māmakāḥ pāṇḍavāścaiva kimakurvata sañjaya
dhṛtarāṣṭraḥ uvāca — King Dhṛtarāṣṭra said; dharma-kṣetre — in the place of pilgrimage; kuru-kṣetre — in the place named Kurukṣetra; samavetāḥ — assembled; yuyutsavaḥ — desiring to fight; māmakāḥ — my party (sons); pāṇḍavāḥ — the sons of Pāṇḍu; ca — and; eva — certainly; kim — what; akurvata — did they do; sañjaya — O Sañjaya.
Dhritarashtra said: O Sanjay, after gathering on the holy field of Kurukshetra, and desiring to fight, what did my sons and the sons of Pandu do?
As the Kurukṣetra war is about to begin, the blind King Dh ṛtarāṣṭra asks Sañjaya what his sons, the Kauravas, and the sons of Pāṇḍu are doing after gathering at Kurukṣetra, the sacred field of dharma, ready to fight. Anxious about the outcome, he seeks to know what is happening between the two sides. Sage Veda Vyāsa had offered Dhṛtarāṣṭra divine vision to witness the battle, but he declined, unable to bear the sight of his own family fighting. Sañjaya was instead blessed with divine vision and was able to see and narrate the events to the king.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra's words reveal his attachment and partiality. He calls the Kauravas māmakāḥ, meaning “my sons”, while referring to the Pāṇḍavas separately. The use of dharma-kṣetra, meaning “field of dharma”, also gives Kurukṣetra a deeper significance. The battlefield is not merely a place where two armies meet; it becomes the setting where dharma and adharma are brought face to face.
The verse opens the Bhagavad Gītā with a question shaped by attachment, uncertainty and concern over the outcome of a great conflict. It sets the stage for Arjuna's own inner struggle, when he will have to choose between emotional attachment and his duty. From this human crisis arises Śrī Kṛṣṇa's timeless teaching on dharma, action and the path to inner clarity.