Shloka 26
Kapālamocana-tīrtha (Auśanasa) and Balarāma’s Sarasvatī Pilgrimage
सुरेणुरषभे द्वीपे पुण्ये राजर्षिसेविते । कुरोश्व यजमानस्य कुरुक्षेत्र महात्मन:
sureṇur-ṛṣabhe dvīpe puṇye rājarṣi-sevite | kurośva yajamānasya kuru-kṣetra mahātmanaḥ ||
সুরেণু-ঋষভ নামে পুণ্য দ্বীপে, যেখানে রাজর্ষিগণ সেবন করতেন, সেখানে যজ্ঞকারী মহাত্মা কুরু-রাজের পবিত্র ক্ষেত্র—কুরুক্ষেত্র—স্থিত।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames Kurukṣetra as a sanctified space created and sustained by righteous kingship and sacrificial duty (yajña). It suggests that places acquire moral weight through dharmic action, and that the epic’s war unfolds upon ground already marked by ritual merit and the presence of sages.
Vaiśampāyana is describing Kurukṣetra’s sacred provenance and setting—locating it within a holy region (a dvīpa) associated with royal sages and with Kuru as a sacrificer. This functions as contextual narration, reminding the listener of the battlefield’s earlier religious and ethical significance.