It begins in a place where sacred grounds and battlefields overlap.

In the Gita, the first person to speak is neither Krishna nor Arjuna. It begins with the blind king Dhritarashtra asking Sanjay, who has been given the power to see the battlefield, about what is happening.

Kurukshetra, where both armies gathered, is not just a battlefield; it's called a sacred land. A war is about to begin in this pure place. This tense juxtaposition is placed at the beginning of the first verse.

The king's question is not simply a matter of checking the current situation. He wonders if the influence of the holy site has changed the hearts of his sons, whether the Pandava side, which values justice, has withdrawn from the battle, or whether the fighting has already progressed. There is a mixture of anxiety and anticipation.

Furthermore, the king distinguishes between "my sons" and "the sons of Parandu." In the first question, the boundary of attachment between "my side" and "their side" is already evident.

Japanese Translation from the Geeta Press Edition - Chapter 1, Section 1: "The Question of Dritharashtra"

Chapter 1, Section 1

dhritarashtra said: On the holy land of Kurukshetra, the hosts have gathered, eager to fight. What are my sons and the Pandavas doing, O Sanjay? || 1 ||

Vocabulary

dhṛtarāṣṭraḥ Dhrtarashtra. The blind king of Hastinapura.

uvāca Said.

dharmakṣetre kurukṣetre In the holy land of Kurukshetra.

samavetāḥ Gathered.

yuyutsavaḥ Is about to fight.

māmakāḥ My sons.

pāṇḍavāḥ Sons of Pandu.

ca And then.

eva Exactly, truly.

kim What.

akurvata Did you do it?

sañjaya O, Sanjaya.

Translation

Dritharashtra said.

O Sanjaya, In the holy land of Kurukshetra, What have my sons and the sons of Pandu done, who have gathered together to fight?

Annotative Translation

The 83rd chapter of the Vana Parva in the Mahabharata, and the 53rd chapter of the Shalya Parva, contain detailed explanations about Kurukshetra being a sacred place.

There, Kurukshetra is described as a land surrounded by the Saraswati River to the north and the Drishadvati River to the south.

The length and width of that region were said to be five yojana each.

This is, approximately equivalent to a side of forty miles.

In terms of current geographical location, this place is located south of Amber in Haryana state, and north of Delhi.

Currently, there is a small town called Kurukshetra in that location.

This region is also known by another name, Samantha Panchaka.

The Shatapatha Brahmana and other scriptures mention this place as a location where celestial beings such as Agni, Indra, and Brahma performed penance.

King Kru also performed ascetic practices in this very place.

Those who die here, after death, are said to go to a higher world.

These, and reasons similar to these, cause Kurukshetra to be called Dharma-kshetra, or Punya-kshetra, that is, "sacred region."

"My sons," by this phrase, Dritarashtra is referring to his one hundred sons, and all the warriors who stand beside him.

Also, the phrase "sons of Pandu" refers to the five Pandava brothers, including Yudhisthira, and all the warriors who fought on their side.

The question in this verse indicates that Dhrishtarashtra wanted to know the details of the fierce and terrible battle that had been raging for ten days.

In other words, how did the assembled warriors begin their battle?

In the formation, who faced whom?

Who, when, by what means, and by whom was he/she killed?

You want to know about those things.

Dritarashtra had already heard news that the great Bhishma had fallen in battle.

Therefore, this question does not mean that he is completely unaware of the matter concerning battles, and therefore he asked.

Rather, he wanted to know whether the sanctity of the sacred land of Kurukshetra had changed the hearts of his sons.

In other words, was it because of the influence of that sacred place that they made peace with the Pandavas and recognized their rightful claim to the kingdom?

Or, Perhaps King Yudhisthira himself, influenced by the sanctity of that land, withdrew from the battle.

Or, perhaps, until that point, both armies had remained in formation at their respective positions, and a battle had not yet broken out.

Also, if there was a battle, what would have been the result?

He was trying to find out about those things.