5. B.Gita- I,1- Dhrtarastra' s state of mind

Dhrtarastra said:
Sanjaya! Desiring to fight, what did my people and the Pandavas do, assembled at Kurukshetra, the abode of dharma? Bhagavad Gita I, 1

The opening scene of the Gita takes place in the palace in Hastinapura, the capital of the kingdom of the Kauravas. This was the kingdom that the Pandavas were supposed to rule, but which was now ruled by their cousin, Duryodhana, who had usurped the kingdom. The Pandavas were tricked into exile by Duryodhana. They had to spend twelve years in the forest plus one-year living incognito somewhere in the empire. The kingdom was to be returned to them after they had fulfilled these conditions.

The Pandavas served this term of thirteen years and came back to claim their kingdom. However, Duryodhana would not give it back to them and therefore, war was declared. They could choose to either go back to the forest or take the kingdom back in battle. All possible compromises were put forward, but Duryodhana would not give one needlepoint of land to the Pandavas . It had, therefore, become a problem of justice — dharma.

Dhrtarastra is the father of Duryodhana. Being blind, he cannot participate to the war and is in the palace of Hastinapura. He asks Sanjaya to describe what is happening on the battle field. What is Dhrtarastra's state of mind and what does it reveal to us?

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The translation from Sanskrit to English of the Bhagavad Gita verses presented in this series of videos is from our teacher Swami Dayananda Saraswati.

With all our thanks to our friend, Arun Sethi, a professional film maker, for his infinite patience and all the time he spent to make this project possible.

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