An engraved shrine niche in gold line work, with a lotus at its centre.

The old stories, told plainly, as they were heard.

Old Indian texts, chanted in the original and explained in simple Kannada.

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A blind king asks what happened on the battlefield. The Gita begins there.

Here is a verse from the Gita, chanted in Sanskrit, with its meaning in Kannada.

The chant

Sanskrit, Bhagavad Gita 1.1

धृतराष्ट्र उवाच । धर्मक्षेत्रे कुरुक्षेत्रे समवेता युयुत्सवः । मामकाः पाण्डवाश्चैव किमकुर्वत सञ्जय ॥

dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca dharmakṣetre kurukṣetre samavetā yuyutsavaḥ māmakāḥ pāṇḍavāścaiva kimakurvata sañjaya

The meaning

Kannada

ಧೃತರಾಷ್ಟ್ರ ಹೇಳಿದನು: ಸಂಜಯ, ಧರ್ಮಕ್ಷೇತ್ರವಾದ ಕುರುಕ್ಷೇತ್ರದಲ್ಲಿ ಯುದ್ಧಕ್ಕೆ ಸಜ್ಜಾಗಿ ಸೇರಿದ ನನ್ನ ಮಕ್ಕಳು ಮತ್ತು ಪಾಂಡವರು ಏನು ಮಾಡಿದರು?

In English

The blind king Dhritarashtra asks Sanjaya: my sons and the Pandavas met at Kurukshetra, ready to fight. What did they do?

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The Gita comes first. More old texts follow.

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Bhagavad Gita

ಭಗವದ್ಗೀತೆ

From the Mahabharata, in Sanskrit

Chapter 1 begins with a blind king’s question.

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