Shloka 7

Vāg-yuddha and Nimitta-darśana before the Gadāyuddha

Verbal Duel and Omens

Devanagari script

कुरुक्षेत्रं परं पुण्यं पावन स्वर्ग्यमेव च । दैवतैर्ऋषिभिर्जुषं ब्राह्मणैश्व महात्मभि:,“नृपश्रेष्ठ! मैंने माहात्म्य-कथा कहनेवाले ऋषियोंके मुखसे यह सुना है कि कुरुक्षेत्र परम पावन पुण्यमय तीर्थ है। वह स्वर्ग प्रदान करनेवाला है। देवता, ऋषि तथा महात्मा ब्राह्मण सदा उसका सेवन करते हैं

Transliteration

kurukṣetraṁ paraṁ puṇyaṁ pāvanaṁ svargyam eva ca | daivatair ṛṣibhir juṣaṁ brāhmaṇaiś ca mahātmabhiḥ ||

Translation

サンジャヤは言った。「クルクシェートラはこの上なく聖なる地――罪垢を清め、まことに天界を授ける。私はその偉大さを語る聖仙たちから聞いたのだが、この聖なる野は、神々とリシ（仙人）と、大いなる心のブラーフマナたちに、常に訪れられ敬われている」と。

Word by Word

• {'kurukṣetram': 'Kurukṣetra

• the sacred field/region that is also the battlefield of the Bhārata war', 'param': 'supreme, highest', 'puṇyam': 'meritorious, holy, auspicious

• a source of religious merit', 'pāvanam': 'purifying

• that which cleanses sin/impurity', 'svargyam': 'heaven-leading

• conducive to attaining Svarga', 'eva ca': 'indeed, and also', 'daivataiḥ': 'by the gods (deities)', 'ṛṣibhiḥ': 'by seers/sages', 'juṣam': 'enjoyed, resorted to, inhabited/frequented (from √juṣ, ‘to delight in, to frequent’)', 'brāhmaṇaiḥ': 'by brāhmaṇas', 'ca': 'and', 'mahātmabhiḥ': 'by great-souled/noble persons'}

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Kurukṣetra
• Daivata (gods)
• Ṛṣi (sages)
• Brāhmaṇa

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames Kurukṣetra not merely as a battlefield but as a tīrtha: a place that purifies and generates religious merit. By stating that gods, sages, and great brāhmaṇas continually resort to it, the text underscores the ethical idea that sacred space supports dharmic aspiration and spiritual uplift (even amid the harsh context of war).

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes Kurukṣetra’s sanctity, citing what he has heard from sages who narrate its greatness. This functions as a contextual elevation of the setting—reminding the listener that the events unfolding in the war occur on ground traditionally revered and frequented by divine and ascetic beings.