Kurukshetra

The battlefield where the Mahabharata war is fought — and where the Bhagavad Gita is taught.

Overview

Kurukshetra is an actual place near Delhi — Swami notes you can go there. In the Mahabharata, it is where the eighteen-day war between the Pandavas and Kauravas is fought, and where Krishna teaches Arjuna on the eve of battle.

The Gita’s opening verse calls it Dharmakshetra — “the field of dharma,” where right and wrong are decided. Swami reads this symbolically: Kurukshetra represents life itself, the field on which dharma is worked out.

Related entities and concepts

• Setting of the mahabharata war and the bhagavad-gita
• Called Dharmakshetra — the field of dharma
• Presences on the field: krishna, arjuna, bhishma, drona, the kauravas, the pandavas

In the Gita

• 01-summary — the setting throughout chapter 1.

Lecture evidence

• Ep. 1 [49:02]: Kurukshetra is an actual place near Delhi; the Gita calls it Dharmakshetra.
• Ep. 1 [49:17]: Symbolizes life itself — the field of dharma.