Commentary by Sri Madhvacharya of Brahma

Sampradaya:
Sri Madhvacharya did not comment on this sloka.

Commentary by Sri Keshava Kashmiri of Kumara

Sampradaya:
The Supreme Lord Krishna in order to mitigate Arjuna’s lamentation tells
him that he grieves for that which is not worthy of sorrow in answer to
the cause of Arjuna woes as has been described in the first chapter which
began by the blind Dhrtarastra inquiring about his hoped for sons victory;
yet internally in doubt due to Arjunas unsurpassable valour revealed in his
aquisition of divine weapons by satisfying Shiva, also this was proved
when Arjuna defeated the Gandharvas and released Duryodhana even
though the latter had come to cause he and his brothers mischief, also by
Arjunas removing of the Kauravas crowns and ornaments when he
defeated them recapturing the cowherd of the king at the city of Virata.
All these events flashed through Dhritarastra’s mind and with a heavy
heart he asked Sanjaya who had been bequeathed with clairvoyance by
Vedavyasa giving him the capacity to envision everything that was
happening on the battlefield of Kurukshetra between the army of his sons
the Kauravas and the army of the Pandavas.

The Mahabharata records these events from a conversation between the holy
sage Vaisampayana and Arjunas great-grandson Janamejaya and begins the
Bhagavad-Gita with Dhritarastra spoke. In this very first verse the question is
placed within the sentence thus: In the holy land of Kuruksetra what did my
sons and the sons of Pandu desiring battle do? Kuruksetra is the place of the
origin of dharma or righteousness. The Vedic scriptures declare that Kurukshetra
is a place for performing sacrifice. Its significance is well known and recorded. All
through the ages Kuruksetra has been a place for performing sacrifice, sacred
and holy, resided at by the Brahma-rishis. Those who depart this world at
Kuruksetra should not be grieved for under any circumstances. The suggested
question that Dhritarastra is inwardly posing is whether or not his sons
observing the