Shloka 16
Vāg-yuddha and Nimitta-darśana before the Gadāyuddha
Verbal Duel and Omens
ततस्ते तु कुरुक्षेत्रं प्राप्ता नरवरोत्तमा:,तस्मिन् देशे त्वनिरिणे ते तु युद्धमरोचयन् । तदनन्तर वे सभी श्रेष्ठ नरवीर आपके पुत्रके साथ पश्चिमाभिमुख चलकर पूर्वोक्त कुरक्षेत्रमें आ पहुँचे। वह उत्तम तीर्थ सरस्वतीके दक्षिण तटपर स्थित एवं सदगतिकी प्राप्ति करानेवाला था। वहाँ कहीं ऊसर भूमि नहीं थी। उसी स्थानमें आकर सबने युद्ध करना पसंद किया
tataste tu kurukṣetraṃ prāptā naravarottamāḥ | tasmin deśe tv aniriṇe te tu yuddham arocayan ||
Sañjaya said: Then those foremost of men reached Kurukṣetra. Finding that region free from barren, saline wasteland and fit for auspicious passage, they chose that very place as the ground for battle—thus letting the war be decided in a terrain deemed proper rather than in a defiled or inauspicious tract.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in the harsh necessity of war, the epic frames action within dharmic and auspicious considerations: the warriors deliberately choose a suitable, untainted terrain, reflecting the Mahābhārata’s concern that means, place, and context shape the moral weight of an act.
Sañjaya reports that the leading warriors arrive at Kurukṣetra and, seeing a tract that is not ‘iriṇa’ (barren/saline wasteland), decide to fight there, selecting the battlefield based on the land’s suitability and auspicious character.