1.1
धृतराष्ट्र उवाच
धर्मक्षेत्रे कुरुक्षेत्रे समवेता युयुत्सवः ।
मामकाः पाण्डवाश्चैव किमकुर्वत सञ्जय ॥
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca
dharmakṣetre kurukṣetre samavetā yuyutsavaḥ
māmakāḥ pāṇḍavāś caiva kim akurvata sañjaya
Dhṛtarāṣṭra (धृतराष्ट्र) is speaking, to Sañjaya (सञ्जय). uvāca (उवाच) is "he said." It stands outside the meter.
The verse
Dhṛtarāṣṭra (धृतराष्ट्र) said: On the field of dharma, the field of the Kurus, gathered and wanting to fight, what did my sons and the sons of Pāṇḍu (पाण्डु) do, Sañjaya (सञ्जय)?
नेपालीमा
धृतराष्ट्रले भने, हे सञ्जय, धर्मको मैदानमा, कुरुहरूको मैदानमा, लड्न चाहेर जम्मा भएका मेरा छोराहरू र पाण्डुका छोराहरूले के गरे।
Where it sits
The book opens on a blind king asking for a report. The partiality is in the grammar. māmakāḥ (मामकाः) comes first, and it means "mine," not the name of a side. Everything Sañjaya (सञ्जय) will say, through all eighteen chapters, is the answer to this question. The answer will not stay a battle report.
Split: धर्म-क्षेत्रे + कुरु-क्षेत्रे + समवेताः + युयुत्सवः + मामकाः + पाण्डवाः + च + एव + किम् + अकुर्वत + सञ्जय
dharma-kṣetre + kuru-kṣetre + samavetāḥ + yuyutsavaḥ + māmakāḥ + pāṇḍavāḥ + ca + eva + kim + akurvata + sañjaya
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| देवनागरी | Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|---|
| धर्म-क्षेत्रे | dharma-kṣetre | locative singular | on the field of dharma. kṣetra (क्षेत्र) is a field. |
| कुरु-क्षेत्रे | kuru-kṣetre | locative singular | on the field of the Kurus. Kurukṣetra (कुरुक्षेत्र), the place. |
| समवेताः | samavetāḥ | nominative plural | gathered together. sam (सम्) "together," अव-इत ava-ita "come." |
| युयुत्सवः | yuyutsavaḥ | nominative plural | wanting to fight. A desiderative from yudh (युध्), "fight." |
| मामकाः | māmakāḥ | nominative plural | mine. My sons. The word is built from mama (मम), "of me." |
| पाण्डवाः | pāṇḍavāḥ | nominative plural | the sons of Pāṇḍu (पाण्डु). |
| च | ca | indeclinable | and. |
| एव | eva | indeclinable | indeed, just. It presses the word it follows. |
| किम् | kim | indeclinable, here an interrogative | what. |
| अकुर्वत | akurvata | imperfect, 3rd plural, middle | they did. From kṛ (कृ), "do, make." |
| सञ्जय | sañjaya | vocative | Sañjaya (सञ्जय). The man who can see the field from the palace. |
The phrases
dharmakṣetre kurukṣetre (धर्मक्षेत्रे कुरुक्षेत्रे) is one place named twice. First by what the ground is for, then by the people whose ground it is.
samavetā yuyutsavaḥ (समवेता युयुत्सवः) describes both parties before they are named: gathered, and wanting to fight. The ḥ (ः) of samavetāḥ (समवेताः) does not survive in front of y (य्). The recited word is samavetā (समवेता).
māmakāḥ pāṇḍavāś caiva (मामकाः पाण्डवाश् चैव) is the subject. "Mine, and the sons of Pāṇḍu (पाण्डु)." He does not say "the Kauravas." He says "mine."
किम् अकुर्वत kim akurvata is the question. sañjaya (सञ्जय) is who must answer.
There is a verb. Epic verse is not sūtra (सूत्र) verse. The verb is allowed to stand in the line.
Sanskrit in this line
Locative --e (ए) on an a (अ)-stem answers "on" or "in." kṣetra (क्षेत्र) becomes kṣetre (क्षेत्रे). You will see the same ending on a body, a battle, and a destroyed dharma before this chapter ends.
āḥ (आः) before a voiced sound drops its visarga and leaves ā (आ). samavetāḥ yuyutsavaḥ (समवेताः युयुत्सवः) is recited samavetā yuyutsavaḥ (समवेता युयुत्सवः). āḥ (आः) before the voiceless c (च्) of ca (च) becomes āś (आश्): pāṇḍavāḥ ca (पाण्डवाः च) is pāṇḍavāś ca (पाण्डवाश् च). Then अ + ए a + e inside च + एव ca + eva becomes ai (ऐ), so the two small words are one sound, caiva (चैव).
akurvata (अकुर्वत) is past. The a- (अ-) at the front is the past-time prefix of the imperfect, not the negative a- (अ-). The negative a- (अ-) arrives at 1.10, on a noun. Do not confuse the two.
Say it back
Cover this page below the Devanagari. Say where they are, who they are, and what is being asked. If māmakāḥ (मामकाः) comes out as a neutral "the Kauravas," stay here.