Shloka 173
Vāg-yuddha and Nimitta-darśana before the Gadāyuddha
Verbal Duel and Omens
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
tasmin deśe tv aniriṇe te tu yuddham arocayan | tad-anantaraṁ te sarve śreṣṭhā naravīrāḥ tava putreṇa saha paścimābhimukhāḥ calitvā pūrvokte kurukṣetre samupāgaman | tad uttamaṁ tīrthaṁ sarasvatyā dakṣiṇa-taṭe sthitaṁ ca sad-gati-pradaṁ ca | tatra kvacid uṣara-bhūmir nāsīt | tasminn eva sthāne samāgatya sarvair yuddhaṁ rocitām iti |
Wika ni Sanjaya: Sa lupaing iyon, na walang tigang at maalat na kaparangan, pinili nilang doon maglaban. Pagkaraan, ang lahat ng pinakadakilang bayani, kasama ang iyong anak, ay nagmartsa na nakaharap sa kanluran at dumating sa naunang binanggit na Kurukṣetra. Ang dakilang tawiran na iyon ay nasa timog na pampang ng Sarasvatī at sinasabing nagkakaloob ng mapalad na hantungan. Wala roong anumang lupang wasak o tigang. Nang magtipon sila sa mismong pook na iyon, silang lahat ay nanaising sumabak sa digmaan.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage frames the battlefield within sacred geography: even amid war, the setting is described as a tīrtha that grants sadgati, highlighting the Mahābhārata’s tension between kṣatriya duty to fight and the moral weight of choosing violence in a place associated with spiritual merit.
Sanjaya reports that the leading warriors, along with Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son, move to a specific, non-barren area of Kurukṣetra on the southern bank of the Sarasvatī and decide to fight there, emphasizing the chosen location’s auspicious and sacred character.