Shloka 1
Varṣa-Parvata-Nivāsinām Varnanam
Description of Regions, Mountains, and Their Inhabitants
धृतराष्ट्र बोले--संजय! यह जो भारतवर्ष है, जिसमें यह राजाओंकी विशाल वाहिनी युद्धके लिये एकत्र हुई है, जहाँका साम्राज्य प्राप्त करनेके लिये मेरा पुत्र दुर्योधन ललचाया हुआ है, जिसे पानेके लिये पाण्डवोंके मनमें भी बड़ी इच्छा है तथा जिसके प्रति मेरा मन भी बहुत आसक्त है, उस भारतवर्षका तुम यथार्थरूपसे वर्णन करो; क्योंकि इस कार्यके लिये मेरी दृष्टिमें तुम्हीं सबसे अधिक बुद्धिमान् हो
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca— sañjaya! yad idaṃ bhāratavarṣaṃ, yasmin rājñāṃ vipulā vāhinī yuddhāya samāgatā, yasya sāmrājya-prāptaye mama putro duryodhanaḥ lubdhaḥ, yasya prāptaye pāṇḍavānāṃ manasi api mahad icchā, yasmin mama manaḥ api atīva āsaktam— tasya bhāratavarṣasya tvaṃ yathārthataḥ varṇanaṃ kuru; yataḥ asmin kārye mama dṛṣṭyā tvam eva sarvataḥ adhika-buddhimān asi.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “Sañjaya, describe to me truthfully this Bhāratavarṣa—this land in which a vast host of kings has assembled for war; the sovereignty of which my son Duryodhana covets; which the Pāṇḍavas too greatly desire to obtain; and to which my own mind is deeply attached. Give me an accurate account of Bhāratavarṣa, for in this matter I consider you the most discerning.”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds how attachment (āsakti) and covetous desire for sovereignty (sāmrājya) can cloud judgment and propel societies toward war. Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s request for a ‘truthful description’ highlights the ethical need for clear seeing and honest counsel even when one’s mind is emotionally bound to the object of conflict.
At the outset of this chapter, Dhṛtarāṣṭra addresses Sañjaya and asks him to describe Bhāratavarṣa accurately—the realm for which armies have gathered. He explicitly notes the competing claims and desires: Duryodhana’s greed for empire, the Pāṇḍavas’ strong wish to regain it, and his own deep attachment, setting the moral and political stakes of the coming war.