Chapter 1 is not yet the direct teaching of the Gītā. The actual spiritual teaching begins in Chapter 2, verse 11, but Chapter 1 is essential because it prepares the ground. It presents the basic human disease called saṃsāra and introduces the future guru and śiṣya, Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna. The first chapter shows how the problem of rāgaḥ, attachment; śokaḥ, sorrow; and mohaḥ, delusion, appears in a human being. This is why Arjuna’s grief is not merely Arjuna’s private emotional problem; it is the universal human problem shown in one battlefield situation.

This first shloka begins with Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s question. He is physically blind, but the deeper issue is his inner blindness caused by attachment to his own sons. His words already reveal division: māmakāḥ, “my people,” and pāṇḍavāḥ, “the Pāṇḍavas.” Though both sides belong to the same Kuru family, Dhṛtarāṣṭra does not say “our children” or “the Kurus.” He separates them into “mine” and “theirs.” This is the seed of saṃsāra: the mind divides reality according to attachment.

The battlefield is called dharmakṣetra and kurukṣetra. Kurukṣetra is not merely a geographical place; it is described as a holy field. The irony is powerful: in a field of dharma, people have assembled for war. The war itself did not arise casually. The Pāṇḍavas tried peaceful methods first, but when adharma could not be corrected by non-violent means, war became the last resort for the protection of dharma. Ahiṃsā is a great value, but it is not an absolute value in every situation; under certain conditions, especially for a kṣatriya, force may become part of dharma when all other methods fail.

Dhṛtarāṣṭra asks, “What did they do?” The armies have already assembled, and they are yuyutsavaḥ, eager to fight. Still, Dhṛtarāṣṭra is anxious. He knows Kurukṣetra is dharmakṣetra. He knows the Pāṇḍavas stand for dharma. He also knows his own sons have been on the side of adharma. His question carries fear: will the holiness of the place change the minds of the warriors? Will the Pāṇḍavas withdraw? Will his sons be affected? The verse therefore introduces not only the war but the inner condition of a father whose attachment clouds dharma.

This shloka also begins the Gītā as a reported dialogue. Dhṛtarāṣṭra cannot see, so Sañjaya reports the battlefield to him. Later, the larger dialogue between Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna will reveal that spiritual knowledge must be received through a guru. The first chapter introduces this need by showing the human problem before presenting the remedy.