Bhagavad Gita

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Krishna and Arjuna at Kurukshetra, 18–19th century painting.

The Bhagavad Gita (Sanskrit भगवदगीता, Bhagavad Gītā, "Song of God"), also more simply known as Gita, is a sacred Hindu scripture,[1][2]considered among the most
important texts in the history of literature and philosophy.[3] The Bhagavad Gita comprises roughly 700 verses, and is a part of the Mahabharata. The teacher of the
Bhagavad Gita is Lord Krishna, who is revered by Hindus as a manifestation of God (Parabrahman) himself,[3] and is referred to within as Bhagavan, the Divine One.[4]

The content of the Gita is the conversation between Lord Krishna and Arjuna taking place on the battlefield before the start of the Kurukshetra war. Responding to
Arjuna's confusion and moral dilemma about fighting his own cousins, Lord Krishna explains to Arjuna his duties as a warrior and prince and elaborates on
different Yogic[5] and Vedantic philosophies, with examples and analogies. This has led to the Gita often being described as a concise guide to Hindu theology and
also as a practical, self-contained guide to life. During the discourse, Lord Krishna reveals His identity as the Supreme Being Himself (Svayam Bhagavan), blessing
Arjuna with an awe-inspiring vision of His divine universal form.
The Bhagavad Gita is also called Gītopaniṣad, implying its having the status of an Upanishad, i.e. a Vedantic scripture.[6] Since the Gita is drawn from
the Mahabharata, it is classified as a Smṛiti text. However, those branches of Hinduism that give it the status of an Upanishad also consider it a śruti or "revealed"
text.[7][8] As it is taken to represent a summary of the Upanishadic teachings, it is also called "the Upanishad of the Upanishads".[1] Another title is mokṣaśāstra, or
"Scripture of Liberation".[9]

Contents
[hide]

• 1 Date and text

• 2 Prelude

• 3 Background

○ 3.1 War as allegory

○ 3.2 Overview of

chapters

• 4 Scripture of Yoga

○ 4.1 Major themes of

yoga

 4.1.1 Karma

Yoga

 4.1.2 Bhakti

Yoga

 4.1.3 Jnana

Yoga
 ○ 4.2 Eighteen Yogas

• 5 Message or the summary of the

Gita

• 6 Influence

• 7 Commentaries and translations

• 8 Adaptations

• 9 See also

• 10 Notes

• 11 References

• 12 External links

[ edit]Date and text

Bhagavad Gita, a 19th century manuscript.

Further information: Mahabharata

The Bhagavad Gita occurs in the Bhishma Parva of the Mahabharata and comprises 18 chapters from the 25th through 42nd and consists of 700 verses.[10] Its
authorship is traditionally ascribed to Vyasa, the compiler of the Mahabharata.[11][12] Because of differences in recensions, the verses of the Gita may be numbered in
the full text of the Mahabharata as chapters 6.25–42 or as chapters 6.23–40.[13] According to the recension of the Gita commented on by Shankaracharya, the number
of verses is 700, but there is evidence to show that old manuscripts had 745 verses.[14] The verses themselves, using the range and style of
Sanskrit meter (chhandas) with similes and metaphors, are written in a poetic form that is traditionally chanted.

The Bhagavad Gītā appeared later than the great movement represented by the early Upanishads and earlier than the period of the development of the philosophic
systems and their formulation. The date and authorship of the Gītā are not known with certainty and scholars of an earlier generation opined that it was composed
between the 5th and the 2nd century BCE.[11][15][16] Radhakrishnan, for example, asserted that the origin of the Gītā is definitely in the pre-Christian era.[11] More recent
assessments of Sanskrit literature, however, have tended to bring the chronological horizon of the texts down in time. In the case of the Gītā, John Brockington has
now made cogent arguments that it can be placed in the first century CE.[17] Based on claims of differences in the poetic styles some scholars like Jinarajadasa have
argued that the Bhagavad Gītā was added to the Mahābhārata at a later date.[18][19]

Within the text of the Bhagavad Gītā itself, Lord Krishna states that the knowledge of Yoga contained in the Gītā was first instructed to mankind at the very beginning
of their existence.[20] Although the original date of composition of the Bhagavad Gita is not clear, its teachings are considered timeless and the exact time of revelation
of the scripture is considered of little spiritual significance by scholars like Bansi Pandit, and Juan Mascaro.[1][21] Swami Vivekananda dismisses concerns about
differences of opinion regarding the historical events as unimportant for study of the Gita from the point of acquirement of Dharma.[22]

[ edit]Prelude
Main articles: Mahabharata, Kurukshetra war, and Krishna
A manuscript illustration of the Battle of Kurukshetra, fought between the Kauravas and the Pandavas, recorded in the Mahābhārata.

The Mahabharata centers on the exploits of the Pandavas and the Kauravas, two families of royal cousins descended from two brothers, Pandu andDhritarashtra,
respectively. Because Dhritarashtra was born blind, Pandu inherited the ancestral kingdom, comprising a part of northern India around modern Delhi. The Pandava
brothers were Yudhishthira the eldest, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva. The Kaurava brothers were one hundred in number, Duryodhana being the eldest.
When Pandu died at an early age, his young children were placed under the care of their uncle Dhritarashtra who usurped the throne.[23][24]

The Pandavas and the Kauravas were brought up together in the same household and had the same teachers, the most notable of whom
wereBhishma and Dronacharya.[24] Bhishma, the wise grandsire, acted as their chief guardian, and the brahmin Drona was their military instructor. The Pandavas
were endowed with righteousness, self-control, nobility, and many other knightly traits. On the other hand, the hundred sons of Dhritarashtra, especially Duryodhana,
were endowed with negative qualities and were cruel, unrighteous, unscrupulous, greedy, and lustful. Duryodhana, jealous of his five cousins, contrived various
means to destroy them.[25]
Arjuna chooses Krishna instead of his vast army, 18th century painting

When the time came to crown Yudhisthira, eldest of the Pandavas, as prince, Duryodhana, through a fixed game of dice, exiled the Pandavas into the forest.[24] On
their return from banishment the Pandavas demanded the return of their legitimate kingdom. Duryodhana, who had consolidated his power by many alliances, refused
to restore their legal and moral rights. Attempts by elders and Krishna who was a friend of the Pandavas and also a well wisher of the Kauravas, to resolve the issue
failed. Nothing would satisfy Duryodhana's inordinate greed.[26][27]

War became inevitable. Both Duryodhana and Arjuna requested Krishna to support them in the war, since he possessed the strongest army, and was revered as the
wisest teacher and the greatest yogi. Krishna offered to give his vast army to one of them and to become a charioteer and counselor for the other, but he would not
touch any weapon nor participate in the battle in any manner.[26] While Duryodhana chose Krishna's vast army, Arjuna preferred to have Krishna as his charioteer.
[28]
The whole realm responded to the call of the Pandavas and the Kauravas. The kings, princes, and knights of India with their armies assembled on the sacred plain
of Kurukshetra.[26] The blind king Dhritarashtra wished to follow the progress of the battle. The sage Vyasa offered to endow him with supernatural sight, but the king
refused the boon, for he felt that the sight of the destruction of those near and dear to him would be too much to bear. Thereupon Vyasa bestowed supernatural sight
on Sanjaya, who was to act as reporter to Dhritarashtra. The Gita opens with the question of the blind king to Sanjaya regarding what happened on the battlefield
when the two armies faced each other in battle array.[29]
[ edit]Background

Bronze statue representing the discourse of Krishna and Arjuna, in Kurukshetra

The Bhagavad Gita begins before the start of the climactic battle at Kurukshetra, with the Pandava prince Arjuna becoming filled with doubt on the battlefield.
Realizing that his enemies are his own relatives, beloved friends, and revered teachers, he turns to his charioteer and guide, Krishna, for advice.

In summary the main philosophical subject matter of the Bhagavad Gita is the explanation of five basic concepts or "truths":[30]

 Ishvara (The Supreme Controller)

 Jiva (Living beings/the individualized soul)

 Prakrti (Nature/Matter)

 Dharma (Duty in accordance with Divine law)

 Kaala (Time)

Krishna counsels Arjuna on the greater idea of dharma, or universal harmony and duty. He begins with the tenet that the soul (Atman) is eternal and immortal.[31] Any
'death' on the battlefield would involve only the shedding of the body, whereas the soul is permanent. Arjuna's hesitation stems from a lack of accurate understanding
of the 'nature of things,' the privileging of the unreal over the real. His fear and hesitance become impediments to the proper balancing of the universal dharmic order.
Essentially, Arjuna wishes to abandon the battle, to abstain from action; Krishna warns, however, that without action, the cosmos would fall out of order and truth
would be obscured.

In order to clarify his point, Krishna expounds the various Yoga processes and understanding of the true nature of the universe. Krishna describes the yogic paths
of devotional service,[32] action,[33]meditation[34] and knowledge.[35] Fundamentally, the Bhagavad Gita proposes that true enlightenment comes from growing beyond
identification with the temporal ego, the 'False Self', the ephemeral world, so that one identifies with the truth of the immortal self, the absolute soul or Atman. Through
detachment from the material sense of ego, the Yogi, or follower of a particular path of Yoga, is able to transcend his/her illusory mortality and attachment to the
material world and enter the realm of the Supreme.[36]

Krishna does not propose that the physical world must be forgotten or neglected. Rather, one's life on Earth must be lived in accordance with greater laws and truths,
one must embrace one's temporal duties whilst remaining mindful of timeless reality, acting for the sake of service without consideration for the results thereof. Such a
life would naturally lead towards stability, happiness and, ultimately, enlightenment.

To demonstrate his divine nature, Krishna grants Arjuna the boon of cosmic vision (albeit temporary) and allows the prince to see his 'Universal Form' (this occurs in
the eleventh chapter).[37] He reveals that he is fundamentally both the ultimate essence of Being in the universe and also its material body, called
the Vishvarupa ('Universal Form').

In the Bhagavad Gita Krishna refers to the war about to take place as 'Dharma Yuddha', meaning a righteous war for the purpose of justice. In Chapter 4, Krishna
states that he incarnates in each age (yuga) to establish righteousness in the world.[38]

[edit]War as allegory
There are many who regard the story of the Gita as an allegory; Swami Nikhilananda, for example, takes Arjuna as an allegory of Atman, Krishna as an allegory
of Brahman, Arjuna's chariot as the body, etc.[39] Compare to this the chariot allegory found in the Katha Upanishad.

Mahatma Gandhi, in his commentary on the Gita,[40] interpreted the battle as "an allegory in which the battlefield is the soul and Arjuna, man's higher impulses
struggling against evil."[41] Swami Vivekananda also said that the first discourse in the Gita related to war can be taken allegorically.[42] Vivekananda further remarks,
"this Kurukshetra War is only an allegory. When we sum up its esoteric significance, it means the war which is constantly going on within man between the tendencies
of good and evil."[12]

In Sri Aurobindo's view, Krishna was a historical figure, but his significance in the Gita is as a "symbol of the divine dealings with humanity",[43] while Arjuna typifies a
"struggling human soul."[44]However, Aurobindo rejects the interpretation that the Gita, and the Mahabharata by extension, is "an allegory of the inner life, and has
nothing to do with our outward human life and actions":[44]

[edit]Overview of chapters
Krishna displays his Vishvarupa (Universal Form) to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra.

The Gita consists of eighteen chapters in total:

1. Arjuna requests Krishna to move his chariot between the two armies. When Arjuna sees his relatives on the opposing army side
of the Kurus, he loses morale and decides not to fight.
2. After asking Krishna for help, Arjuna is instructed that only the body may be killed as he was worried if it would become a sin to
kill people (including his gurus and relatives), while the eternal self is immortal. Krishna appeals to Arjuna that, as a warrior, he
has a duty to uphold the path of dharma through warfare.

3. Arjuna asks why he should engage in fighting if knowledge is more important than action. Krishna stresses to Arjuna that
performing his duties for the greater good, but without attachment to results, is the appropriate course of action.

4. Krishna reveals that he has lived through many births, always teaching Yoga for the protection of the pious and the destruction
of the impious and stresses the importance of accepting a guru.

5. Arjuna asks Krishna if it is better to forgo action or to act. Krishna answers that both ways may be beneficent, but that acting
in Karma Yoga is superior.

6. Krishna describes the correct posture for meditation and the process of how to achieve Samādhi.

7. Krishna teaches the path of knowledge (Jnana Yoga).

8. Krishna defines the terms brahman, adhyatma, karma, atman, adhibhuta and adhidaiva and explains how one can remember
him at the time of death and attain his supreme abode.

9. Krishna explains panentheism, "all beings are in me" as a way of remembering him in all circumstances.

10. Krishna describes how he is the ultimate source of all material and spiritual worlds. Arjuna accepts Krishna as the Supreme
Being, quoting great sages who have also done so.

11. On Arjuna's request, Krishna displays his "universal form" (Viśvarūpa), a theophany of a being facing every way and emitting the
radiance of a thousand suns, containing all other beings and material in existence.

12. Krishna describes the process of devotional service (Bhakti Yoga).

13. Krishna describes nature (prakrti), the enjoyer (purusha) and consciousness.

14. Krishna explains the three modes (gunas) of material nature.

 15. Krishna describes a symbolic tree (representing material existence), its roots in the heavens and its foliage on earth. Krishna
explains that this tree should be felled with the "axe of detachment", after which one can go beyond to his supreme abode.

16. Krishna tells of the human traits of the divine and the demonic natures. He counsels that to attain the supreme destination one
must give up lust, anger and greed, discern between right and wrong action by evidence from scripture and thus act rightly.

17. Krishna tells of three divisions of faith and the thoughts, deeds and even eating habits corresponding to the three gunas.

18. In conclusion, Krishna asks Arjuna to abandon all forms of dharma and simply surrender unto him. He describes this as the
ultimate perfection of life.

[ edit]Scripture of Yoga

Part of a series on

Hindu scriptures

Vedas

Rigveda · Yajurveda
Samaveda · Atharvaveda
 Divisions
Samhita · Brahmana
Aranyaka · Upanishad

Vedangas

Shiksha · Chandas
Vyakarana · Nirukta
Kalpa · Jyotisha

Upanishads

Rig vedic
Aitareya

Yajur vedic
Brihadaranyaka · Isha
Taittiriya · Katha
Shvetashvatara

Sama vedic
Chandogya · Kena

Atharva vedic
Mundaka · Mandukya
 Prashna

Puranas

Brahma puranas
Brahma · Brahmānda
Brahmavaivarta
Markandeya · Bhavishya

Vishnu puranas
Vishnu · Bhagavata
Naradeya · Garuda · Padma · Agni

Shiva puranas
Shiva · Linga
Skanda · Vayu

Epics

Ramayana
Mahabharata (Bhagavad Gita)

Other scriptures
 Manu Smriti
Artha Shastra · Agama
Tantra · Pancharatra
Sūtra · Stotra
Dharmashastra
Divya Prabandha
Tevaram
Ramcharitmanas
Yoga Vasistha

Scripture classification

Śruti · Smriti

v•d•e

The Gita addresses the discord between the senses and the intuition of cosmic order. It speaks of the Yoga of equanimity, a detached outlook. The term Yoga covers
a wide range of meanings, but in the context of the Bhagavad Gita, describes a unified outlook, serenity of mind, skill in action and the ability to stay attuned to the
glory of the Self (Atman) and the Supreme Being (Bhagavan). According to Krishna, the root of all suffering and discord is the agitation of the mind caused by selfish
desire. The only way to douse the flame of desire is by simultaneously stilling the mind through self-discipline and engaging oneself in a higher form of activity.

However, abstinence from action is regarded as being just as detrimental as extreme indulgence. According to the Bhagavad Gita, the goal of life is to free the mind
and intellect from their complexities and to focus them on the glory of the Self by dedicating one's actions to the divine. This goal can be achieved through the Yogas
of meditation, action, devotion and knowledge. In the sixth chapter, Krishna describes the best Yogi as one who constantly meditates upon him[45] - which is
understood to mean thinking of either Krishna personally, or the supreme Brahman - with different schools of Hindu thought giving varying points of view.
Krishna summarizes the Yogas through eighteen chapters. Three yogas in particular have been emphasized by commentators:

 Bhakti Yoga or Devotion,

 Karma Yoga or Selfless Action

 Jnana Yoga or Self Transcending Knowledge

While each path differs, their fundamental goal is the same - to realize Brahman (the Divine Essence) as being the ultimate truth upon which our material universe
rests, that the body is temporal, and that the Supreme Soul (Paramatman) is infinite. Yoga's aim (moksha) is to escape from the cycle of reincarnation through
realization of the ultimate reality. There are three stages to self-realization enunciated from the Bhagavad Gita:

1. Brahman - The impersonal universal energy

2. Paramatma - The Supreme Soul sitting in the heart of every living entity.

3. Bhagavan - God as a personality, with a transcendental form.

[edit]Major themes of yoga
The influential commentator Madhusudana Sarasvati (b. circa 1490) divided the Gita's eighteen chapters into three sections, each of six chapters. According to his
method of division the first six chapters deal with Karma Yoga, which is the means to the final goal, and the last six deal with the goal itself, which he says is
Knowledge (Jnana). The middle six deal with bhakti.[46] Swami Gambhirananda characterizes Madhusudana Sarasvati's system as a successive approach in which
Karma yoga leads to Bhakti yoga, which in turn leads to Jnana yoga.[47]

[edit]Karma Yoga

Main article: Karma Yoga

Karma Yoga is essentially Acting, or doing one's duties in life as per his/her dharma, or duty, without concern of results - a sort of constant sacrifice of action to the
Supreme. It is action done without thought of gain. In a more modern interpretation, it can be viewed as duty bound deeds done without letting the nature of the result
affecting one's actions. Krishna advocates Nishkam Karma (Selfless Action) as the ideal path to realize the Truth. Allocated work done without expectations, motives,
or thinking about its outcomes tends to purify one's mind and gradually makes an individual fit to see the value of reason and the benefits of renouncing the work
itself. These concepts are vividly described in the following verses:

"To action alone hast thou a right and never at all to its fruits; let not the fruits of action be thy motive; neither let there be in thee
any attachment to inaction"(2.47)[48]

"Fixed in yoga, do thy work, O Winner of wealth (Arjuna), abandoning attachment, with an even mind in success and failure, for
evenness of mind is called yoga"(2.48)[49]

"With the body, with the mind, with the intellect, even merely with the senses, the Yogis perform action toward self-purification,
having abandoned attachment. He who is disciplined in Yoga, having abandoned the fruit of action, attains steady peace..."[50]

In order to achieve true liberation, it is important to control all mental desires and tendencies to enjoy sense pleasures.
The following verses illustrate this:[51]

"When a man dwells in his mind on the object of sense, attachment to them is produced. From attachment springs desire and
from desire comes anger."(2.62)[51]

"From anger arises bewilderment, from bewilderment loss of memory; and from loss of memory, the destruction of intelligence
and from the destruction of intelligence he perishes"(2.63)[51]
[edit]Bhakti Yoga

Main article: Bhakti Yoga

According to Catherine Cornille, Associate Professor of Theology at Boston College, "The text [of the Gita]
offers a survey of the different possible disciplines for attaining liberation through knowledge (jnana), action
(karma) and loving devotion to God (bhakti), focusing on the latter as both the easiest and the highest path to
salvation."[52]

In the introduction to Chapter Seven of the Gita, bhakti is summed up as a mode of worship which consists
of unceasing and loving remembrance of God. As M. R. Sampatkumaran explains in his overview of
Ramanuja's commentary on the Gita, "The point is that mere knowledge of the scriptures cannot lead to final
release. Devotion, meditation and worship are essential."[53]

As Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita:

 "And of all yogins, he who full of faith worships Me, with his inner self abiding in Me, him, I hold to be the
most attuned (to me in Yoga)."[54]

 "After attaining Me, the great souls do not incur rebirth in this miserable transitory world, because they
have attained the highest perfection."[55]

 "... those who, renouncing all actions in Me, and regarding Me as the Supreme, worship Me... For those
whose thoughts have entered into Me, I am soon the deliverer from the ocean of death and
transmigration, Arjuna. Keep your mind on Me alone, your intellect on Me. Thus you shall dwell in Me
hereafter."[56]

 "And he who serves Me with the yoga of unswerving devotion, transcending these qualities [binary
opposites, like good and evil, pain and pleasure] is ready for liberation in Brahman."[57]

 "Fix your mind on Me, be devoted to Me, offer service to Me, bow down to Me, and you shall certainly
reach Me. I promise you because you are My very dear friend."[58]

 "Setting aside all meritorious deeds (Dharma), just surrender completely to My will (with firm faith and
loving contemplation). I shall liberate you from all sins. Do not fear."[59]
[edit]Jnana Yoga

Main article: Jnana Yoga

Jnana Yoga is a process of learning to discriminate between what is real and what is not, what is eternal and
what is not. Through a steady advancement in realization of the distinction between Real and the Unreal, the
 Eternal and the Temporal, one develops into a Jnani. This is essentially a path of knowledge and
discrimination in regards to the difference between the immortal soul (atman) and the body.

In the second chapter, Krishna’s counsel begins with a succinct exposition of Jnana Yoga. Krishna argues
that there is no reason to lament for those who are about to be killed in battle, because never was there a
time when they were not, nor will there be a time when they will cease to be. Krishna explains that the self
(atman) of all these warriors is indestructible. Fire cannot burn it, water cannot wet it, and wind cannot dry it.
It is this Self that passes from body to another body like a person taking worn out clothing and putting on new
ones. Krishna’s counsel is intended to alleviate the anxiety that Arjuna feels seeing a battle between two
great armies about to commence. However, Arjuna is not an intellectual. He is a warrior, a man of action, for
whom the path of action, Karma Yoga, is more appropriate.

"When a sensible man ceases to see different identities due to different material bodies and he sees how beings are expanded
everywhere, he attains to the Brahman conception."[60]

"Those who see with eyes of knowledge the difference between the body and the knower of the body, and can also understand
the process of liberation from bondage in material nature, attain to the supreme goal."[61]
[edit]Eighteen Yogas
In Sanskrit editions of the Gita, the Sanskrit text includes a traditional chapter title naming each
chapter as a particular form of yoga. These chapter titles do not appear in the Sanskrit text of the
Mahabharata.[62] Since there are eighteen chapters, there are therefore eighteen yogas
mentioned, as explained in this quotation from Swami Chidbhavananda:

All the eighteen chapters in the Gita are designated, each as a type of yoga. The
function of the yoga is to train the body and the mind.... The first chapter in the Gita is
designated as system of yoga. It is called Arjuna Vishada Yogam - Yoga of Arjuna's
Dejection.[63]
In Sanskrit editions, these eighteen chapter titles all use the word yoga, but in English
translations the word yoga may not appear. For example, the Sanskrit title of Chapter 1 as given
in Swami Sivananda's bilingual edition is arjunaviṣādayogaḥ which he translates as "The Yoga
of the Despondency of Arjuna".[64] Swami Tapasyananda's bilingual edition gives the same
Sanskrit title, but translates it as "Arjuna's Spiritual Conversion Through Sorrow".[65] The English-
only translation by Radhakrishnan gives no Sanskrit, but the chapter title is translated as "The
Hesitation and Despondency of Arjuna".[66] Other English translations, such as that by Zaehner,
omit these chapter titles entirely.[67]

Swami Sivananda's commentary says that the eighteen chapters have a progressive order to
their teachings, by which Krishna "pushed Arjuna up the ladder of Yoga from one rung to
another."[68] AsWinthrop Sargeant explains,

In the model presented by the Bhagavad Gītā, every aspect of life is in fact a way of
salvation.[69]

[ edit]Message or the summary of the Gita

There are 6 arishadvargas, or evils that the Gita says one should avoid: kama (lust), krodha
(anger), lobh (greed), moha (delusion), mada or ahankar (pride) and matsarya (jealousy). These
are the negative characteristics which prevent man from attaining moksha (liberation from the
birth and death cycle).

Several scholars and philosophers have tried to summarise the central teaching of the Bhagavad
Gita.
The Gita centers on the revelation of Vaishna monotheism, offering the alternative of just war,
even against relatives, provided the aggression is in the "active and selfless defence of dharma",
to the pacifist Hindu concept of non-violence.[70]

Some commentators have attempted to resolve the apparent conflict between the proscription of
violence and ahimsa by allegorical readings. Gandhi, for example, took the position that the text
is not concerned with actual warfare so much as with the "battle that goes on within each
individual heart". Such allegorical or metaphorical readings are derived from
the Theosophical interpretations of Subba Row, William Q. Judge and Annie Besant. Stephen
Mitchell has attempted to refute such allegorical readings.[71]

Scholar Radhakrishnan writes that the verse 11.55 is "the essence of bhakti" and the "substance
of the whole teaching of the Gita":[72]

Scholar Steven Rosen summarizes the Gita in four basic, concise verses:[73]

Ramakrishna said that the essential message of the Gita can be obtained by repeating the word
several times,[74] "'Gita, Gita, Gita', you begin, but then find yourself saying 'ta-Gi, ta-Gi, ta-
Gi'. Tagimeans one who has renounced everything for God."

According to Swami Vivekananda, "If one reads this one Shloka — कलैबयं मा सम गमः पाथर नैतततवययुपपदते
। कुद ं हृदयदौबरलयं तयकतवोितष परंतप॥ — one gets all the merits of reading the entire Gita; for in this one
Shloka lies imbedded the whole Message of the Gita.[75]
Mahatma Gandhi writes, "The object of the Gita appears to me to be that of showing the most
excellent way to attain self-realization" and Gandhi writes that this can be achieved by selfless
action, "By desireless action; by renouncing fruits of action; by dedicating all activities to God, i.e.,
by surrendering oneself to Him body and soul." Gandhi called Gita, The Gospel of Selfless
Action.[76]

Eknath Easwaran writes that the Gita's subject is "the war within, the struggle for self-mastery
that every human being must wage if he or she is to emerge from life victorious",[77] and "The
language of battle is often found in the scriptures, for it conveys the strenuous, long, drawn-out
campaign we must wage to free ourselves from the tyranny of the ego, the cause of all our
suffering and sorrow".[78]

[ edit]Influence
śrī bhagavān uvāca

kālo 'smi lokakṣayakṛt pravṛddho; lokān samāhartum iha pravṛttaḥ

ṛte 'pi tvā na bhaviṣyanti sarve; ye 'vasthitāḥ pratyanīkeṣu yodhāḥ (11:32 = MBh 6.33.32)

The Lord Said:

Doom am I, full-ripe, dealing death to the worlds, engaged in devouring mankind.

Even without slaying them not one of the warriors, ranged for battle against thee, shall survive.

In a heterogeneous text, the Gita reconciles facets and schools of Hindu philosophy, including
those ofBrahmanical (orthodox Vedic) origin and the parallel ascetic and Yogic traditions. It had
always been a creative text for Hindu priests and Yogis. Although it is not strictly part of the
'canon' of Vedic writings, almost all Hindu traditions draw upon the Gita as authoritative. For
the Vedantic schools of Hindu philosophy, it belongs to one of the three foundational
texts Prasthana Trayi (lit. "three points of departure"), the other two being
the Upanishads and Brahma Sutras.

The Bhagavad Gita's emphasis on selfless service was a prime source of inspiration for Mahatma
Gandhi.Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the founder of Gaudiya Vaishnavism has also been inspired by
the Gita.[citation needed]

J. Robert Oppenheimer, American physicist and director of the Manhattan Project,

learned Sanskrit in 1933 and read the Bhagavad Gita in the original, citing it later as one of the
most influential books to shape his philosophy of life. Upon witnessing the world's first nuclear
test in 1945, he later claimed to have thought of the quotation "Now I am become Death, the
destroyer of worlds", verse 32 from Chapter 11 of the Bhagavad Gita.[79][80]

A 2006 report suggests that the Gita is replacing the influence of the "The Art of War" (ascendant
in the 1980s and '90s) in the Western business community.[81]

[ edit]Commentaries and translations

Traditionally the commentators belong to spiritual traditions or schools (sampradaya) and Guru
lineages (parampara), which claim to preserve teaching stemming either directly from Krishna
himself or from other sources, each claiming to be faithful to the original message. In the words of
Hiriyanna, "[The Gita] is one of the hardest books to interpret, which accounts for the numerous
commentaries on it - each differing from the rest in an essential point or the other."[82]

Different translators and commentators have widely differing views on what multi-
layered Sanskrit words and passages signify, and their presentation in English depending on the
sampradaya they are affiliated to. Especially in Western philology, interpretations of particular
passages often do not agree with traditional views.
The oldest and most influential medieval commentary was that of the founder of
the Vedanta school[83] of extreme 'non-dualism", Shankara (788-820 A. D.),[84] also known as
Shankaracharya (Sanskrit:Śaṅkarācārya).[85] Shankara's commentary was based on a
recension of the Gita containing 700 verses, and that recension has been widely adopted by
others.[86] There is not universal agreement that he was the actual author of the commentary on
the Bhagavad Gita that is attributed to him.[87] A key commentary for the "modified non-dualist"
school of Vedanta[88] was written by Ramanujacharya(Sanskrit: Rāmānujacharya), who lived in
the eleventh century A.D.[85][89] Ramanujacharya's commentary chiefly seeks to show that the
discipline of devotion to God (Bhakti yoga) is the way of salvation.[90] The commentary
by Madhva, whose dates are given either as (b. 1199 - d. 1276)[91] or as (b. 1238 - d. 1317),
[69]
also known as Madhvacharya (Sanskrit: Madhvācārya), exemplifies thinking of the "dualist"
school.[85] Madhva's school of dualism asserts that there is, in a quotation provided by Winthrop
Sargeant, "an eternal and complete distinction between the Supreme, the many souls, and matter
and its divisions."[69] Madhva is also considered to be one of the great commentators reflecting
the viewpoint of the Vedanta school.[92]

In the Shaiva tradition,[93] the renowned philosopher Abhinavagupta (10-11th century CE) has
written a commentary on a slightly variant recension called Gitartha-Samgraha.

Other classical commentators include Nimbarka (1162 CE), Vallabha(1479 CE)., Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu (1486 CE),[94] while Dnyaneshwar (1275-1296 CE) translated and commented on
the Gita inMarathi, in his book Dnyaneshwari.

In modern times notable commentaries were written by Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Mahatma
Gandhi, who used the text to help inspire the Indian independence movement.[95][96] Tilak wrote
his commentary while in jail during the period 1910-1911, while he was serving a six-year
sentence imposed by the British colonial government in India for sedition.[97] While noting that the
Gita teaches possible paths to liberation, his commentary places most emphasis on Karma yoga.
[98]
No book was more central to Gandhi's life and thought than the Bhagavadgita, which he
referred to as his "spiritual dictionary".[99] During his stay in Yeravda jail in 1929,[100] Gandhi wrote
a commentary on the Bhagavad Gita in Gujarati. The Gujarati manuscript was translated
into English by Mahadev Desai, who provided an additional introduction and commentary. It was
published with a Foreword by Gandhi in 1946.[101][102] Mahatma Gandhi expressed his love for the
Gita in these words:

I find a solace in the Bhagavadgītā that I miss even in the Sermon on the Mount. When
disappointment stares me in the face and all alone I see not one ray of light, I go back to
theBhagavagītā. I find a verse here and a verse there and I immediately begin to smile
in the midst of overwhelming tragedies - and my life has been full of external tragedies -
and if they have left no visible, no indelible scar on me, I owe it all to the teaching
of Bhagavadgītā.[103]

Three translations: Bhagavad Gita As It Is, a Gujaratitranslation by Gita Press, and another English one
published by Barnes & Noble.
Other notable modern commentators include Sri Aurobindo, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, and
Swami Vivekananda, who took a syncretistic approach to the text.[104][105]

Swami Vivekananda, the follower of Sri Ramakrishna, was known for his commentaries on the
four Yogas - Bhakti, Jnana, Karma and Raja Yoga. He drew from his knowledge of the Gita to
expound on these Yogas. Swami Sivananda advises the aspiring Yogi to read verses from the
Bhagavad Gita every day. Paramahamsa Yogananda, writer of the famous Autobiography of a
Yogi, viewed the Bhagavad Gita as one of the world's most divine scriptures. A.C. Bhaktivedanta
Swami Prabhupada, the founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness,
wrote Bhagavad-Gītā As It Is, a commentary on the Gita from the perspective of Gaudiya
Vaishnavism. The work became the principal text for the modern Hare Krishnamovement. In
1965, the modern sage Maharishi Mahesh Yogi published his own commentary of the Gita and
proclaimed his technique ofTranscendental Meditation to be the practical procedure for
experiencing the field of absolute Being described by Lord Krishna.[106]

The first English translation of the Bhagavad Gita was done by Charles Wilkins in 1785.[107][108] In
1981, Larson listed more than 40 English translations of the Gita, stating that "A complete listing
of Gita translations and a related secondary bibliography would be nearly endless" (p. 514[109]).
He stated that

Overall... there is a massive translational tradition in English, pioneered by the British,

solidly grounded philologically by the French and Germans, provided with its indigenous
roots by a rich heritage of modern Indian comment and reflection, extended into various
disciplinary areas by Americans, and having generated in our time a broadly based
cross-cultural awareness of the importance of the Bhagavad Gita both as an expression
of a specifically Indian spirituality and as one of the great religious "classics" of all time.
(p. 518[109])
 The Gita has also been translated into other European languages. In 1808 passages from the
Gita were part of the first direct translation of Sanskrit into German, appearing in a book through
whichFriedrich Schlegel became known as the founder of Indian philology in Germany.[110]

[ edit]Adaptations
Philip Glass retold the story of Gandhi's early development as an activist in South Africa through
the text of the Gita in the opera Satyagraha. The entire libretto of the opera consists of sayings
from the Gita sung in the original sanskrit.[111]

In Douglas Cuomo's Arjuna's dilemma, the philosophical dilemma faced by Arjuna is dramatized
in operatic form with a blend of Indian and Western music styles.[112]

In Doctor Atomic, an opera by John Adams, the librettist Peter Sellars uses text from the
Bhagavad Gita (including J. Robert Oppenheimer's mistranslated quote I am become death,
destroyer of worldsquote from the Gita).

[ edit]See also
Wikiquote has a collection of
quotations related
to: Bhagavad Gita

 Uddhava Gita

 Ashtavakra Gita

 The Ganesha Gita

 Vyadha Gita
 Avadhuta Gita

[ edit]Notes
1. ^ a b c Pandit, Bansi, Explore Hinduism, p. 27

2. ^ Hume, Robert Ernest (1959), The world's living religions, p. 29

3. ^ a b Nikhilananda, Swami, "Introduction", The Bhagavad Gita, p. 1

4. ^ "Bhagavan". Bhaktivedanta VedaBase Network (ISKCON). Retrieved 2008-01-14.

5. ^ Introduction to the Bhagavad Gita

6. ^ The phrase marking the end of each chapter identifies the book as Gītopanishad. The
book is identified as "the essence of the Upanishads" in the Gītā-māhātmya 6, quoted in

the introduction toBhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, A.C. (1983), Bhagavad-gītā As It Is,

Los Angeles: The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.

7. ^ Thomas B. Coburn, "Scripture" in India: Towards a Typology of the Word in Hindu Life,
Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Vol. 52, No. 3 (Sep., 1984), pp. 435-

459. JSTOR 1464202

8. ^ Tapasyananda, p. 1.

9. ^ Nikhilananda, Swami (1944), "Introduction", The Bhagavad Gita, Advaita Ashrama, p. xxiv

10. ^ Swarupananda, Swami (1909), "FOREWORD", Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita

11. ^ a b c Radhakrishnan, S. (2002), "Introductory Essay", The Bhagavad Gita, HarperCollins,

pp. 14–15

12. ^ a b Vivekananda, Swami, "Lectures and Discourses ~ Thoughts on the Gita", The Complete
works of Swami Vivekananda, 4
13. ^ The Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (BORI) electronic edition. Electronic text (C)
Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune, India, 1999.

14. ^ Gambhiranda (1997), p. xvii.

15. ^ Juan Mascaro; Simon Brodbeck (2003), "Translator's introduction to 1962 edition", The
Bhagavad Gita, Penguin Classics, p. xlviii

16. ^ Zaehner, Robert Charles (1973), The Bhagavad-Gita, Oxford University Press, p. 7, "As
with most major religious texts in India, no firm date can be assigned to the Gītā. It seems

certain, however, that it was written later than the 'classical' Upanishads with the possible
exception of the Maitrī which was post-Buddhistic. One would probably not be going far

wrong if one dated it at some time between the fifth and the second centuries B. C."

17. ^ John Brockington, The Sanskrit Epics (Leiden, 1998)

18. ^ C. Jinarajadasa (1915). "The Bhagavad Gita". Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar,
Madras. India. Retrieved 2008-09-24. "…an analysis of the epic shows at once by differences

of style and by linguistic and other peculiarities, that it was composed at different times and

by different hands"

19. ^ For a brief review of the literature supporting this view see: Radhakrihnan, pp. 14-15.

20. ^ Bhagavad Gita Chapter 4, Text 1: vivasvan manave praha, manur ikshvakave 'bravit

21. ^ Mascaro, Juan; Simon Brodbeck, The Bhagavad Gita, p. xlviii, "Scholars differ as to the
date of the Bhagavad Gita; but as the roots of this great poem are in Eternity the date of its

revelation in time is of little spiritual importance."

22. ^ Vivekananda, Swami, "Thoughts on the Gita", The Complete Works of Swami
Vivekananda, Advaita Ashrama, "One thing should be especially remembered here, that
 there is no connection between these historical researches and our real aim, which is the

knowledge that leads to the acquirement of Dharma. Even if the historicity of the whole thing

is proved to be absolutely false today, it will not in the least be any loss to us. Then what is

the use of so much historical research, you may ask. It has its use, because we have to get

at the truth; it will not do for us to remain bound by wrong ideas born of ignorance."

23. ^ Nikhilananda, Swami (1944), Introduction, p. xiii

24. ^ a b c Rama, Swami (1985), Perennial Psychology of the Bhagavad Gita, Himalayan Institute
Press, p. 10

25. ^ Nikhilananda, Swami (1944), Introduction, pp. xiv-xv

26. ^ a b c Nikhilananda, Swami (1944), Introduction, p. xvi

27. ^ Rama, Swami (1985), Perennial Psychology of the Bhagavad Gita, Himalayan Institute
Press, p. 11

28. ^ Rama, Swami (1985), Perennial Psychology of the Bhagavad Gita, Himalayan Institute
Press, p. 12

29. ^ Nikhilananda, Swami (1944), Introduction, p. vii

30. ^ A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. "Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Introduction".

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase Network (ISKCON). Retrieved 2008-01-14. "The subject of the

Bhagavad-gita entails the comprehension of five basic truths"

31. ^ Ramanuja's translation BG 2.12 "...you have always existed. It is not that 'all of us', I and
you, shall cease to be 'in the future', i.e., beyond the present time; we shall always exist.

Even as no doubt can be entertained that I, the Supreme Self and Lord of all, am eternal,
 likewise, you (Arjuna and all others) who are embodied selves, also should be considered

eternal."

32. ^ A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. "Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Chapter 12: Devotional

Service". Bhaktivedanta VedaBase Network (ISKCON). Retrieved 2008-01-14.

33. ^ A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. "Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Chapter 3: Karma Yoga".

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase Network (ISKCON). Retrieved 2008-01-14.

34. ^ A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. "Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Chapter 6: Dhyana

Yoga". Bhaktivedanta VedaBase Network (ISKCON). Retrieved 2008-01-14.

35. ^ A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. "Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Chapter 2:Summary".

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase Network (ISKCON). Retrieved 2008-01-14.

36. ^ A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. B-Gita 8.10 "Bhagavad-gita As It Is, verse 8.10".
Bhaktivedanta VedaBase Network (ISKCON). Retrieved 2008-01-14. "by the strength of

yoga, with an undeviating mind, engages himself in remembering the Supreme Lord in full

devotion, will certainly attain to the Supreme"

37. ^ A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. "Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Chapter 11:Universal

Form". Bhaktivedanta VedaBase Network (ISKCON). Retrieved 2008-01-14.

38. ^ A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. "Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Verse 4.8".

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase Network (ISKCON). Retrieved 2008-01-14."to reestablish the

principles of religion, I Myself appear"

39. ^ "Arjuna represents the individual soul, and Sri Krishna the Supreme Soul dwelling in every
heart. Arjuna's chariot is the body. The blind king Dhritarashtra is the mind under the spell of

ignorance, and his hundred sons are man's numerous evil tendencies. The battle, a
 perennial one, is between the power of good and the power of evil. The warrior who listens to

the advice of the Lord speaking from within will triumph in this battle and attain the Highest

Good."Nikhilananda, Swami (1944), "Introduction", The Bhagavad Gita, p. 2

40. ^ Gandhi, Mohandas K., The Bhagavad Gita According to Gandhi Berkeley Hills Books,
Berkeley 2000

41. ^ Fischer, Louis: Gandhi: His Life and Message to the World Mentor, New York 1954, pp. 15-
16

42. ^ Vivekananda, Swami, "Sayings and Utterances", The Complete works of Swami
Vivekananda, 5, p. 416

43. ^ Aurobindo, Sri (1995), "The divine teacher", Essays on the Gita, Lotus Press,
p. 15, ISBN 0914955187

44. ^ a b Aurobindo, Sri (1995), "The human disciple", Essays on the Gita, Lotus Press, pp. 17–
18, ISBN 0914955187

45. ^ A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. "Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Verse 6.47".

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase Network (ISKCON). Retrieved 2008-01-14."And of all yogis, the

one with great faith who always abides in Me, thinks of Me within himself, and renders

transcendental loving service to Me -- he is the most intimately united with Me in yoga and is

the highest of all. That is My opinion."

46. ^ Gambhirananda (1998), p. 16.

47. ^ Gambhiranda (1997), p. xx.

48. ^ Radhakrishnan 1993, p. 119

49. ^ Radhakrishnan 1993, p. 120

50. ^ A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. "Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Verse 5.11".
Bhaktivedanta VedaBase Network (ISKCON). Retrieved 2008-01-14.

51. ^ a b c Radhakrishnan 1993, pp. 125-126

52. ^ Cornille, Catherine, ed., 2006. Song Divine: Christian Commentaries on the Bhagavad
Gita." Leuven: Peeters. p. 2.

53. ^ For quotation and summarizing bhakti as "a mode of worship which consists of unceasing
and loving remembrance of God" see: Sampatkumaran, p. xxiii.

54. ^ Radhakrishan(1970), ninth edition, Blackie and son India Ltd., p.211, Verse 6.47

55. ^ A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. "Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Verse 8.15".

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase Network (ISKCON). Retrieved 2008-01-14.

56. ^ A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. "Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Verse 12.6".

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase Network (ISKCON). Retrieved 2008-01-14.

57. ^ A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. "Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Verse 14.26".

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase Network (ISKCON). Retrieved 2008-01-14.

58. ^ A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. "Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Verse 18.65".

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase Network (ISKCON). Retrieved 2008-01-14.

59. ^ A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. "Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Verse 18.66".

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase Network (ISKCON). Retrieved 2008-01-14.

60. ^ A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. "Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Verse 13.31".

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase Network (ISKCON). Retrieved 2008-01-14.

61. ^ A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. "Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Verse 13.35".

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase Network (ISKCON). Retrieved 2008-01-14.
62. ^ For example, the first line of the Bhagavad Gita is dhṛtarāşţra uvāca, which occurs
immediately after the last line of the preceding chapter in the full Sanskrit text of the
Mahabharata: | 6.23.1 dhṛtarāşţra uvāca | 6.23.1a dharmakşetre kurukṣetre

samavetā yuyutsavaḥ || Source: Electronic text (C) Bhandarkar Oriental Research

Institute, Pune, India, 1999. Electronic edition downloaded from: [1].

63. ^ Chidbhavananda, p. 33.

64. ^ Sivananda, p. 3.

65. ^ Tapasyananda, p. 13

66. ^ Radhakrishnan, p. 79.

67. ^ Zaehner, passim.

68. ^ Sivananda, p. xvii.

69. ^ a b c Sargeant, p. xix.

70. ^ "Strength founded on the Truth and the dharmic use of force are thus the Gita's answer to
pacifism and non-violence. Rooted in the ancient Indian genius, this third way can only be

practised by those who have risen above egoism, above asuric ambition or greed. The Gita

certainly does not advocate war; what it advocates is the active and selfless defence of

dharma. If sincerely followed, its teaching could have altered the course of human history. It

can yet alter the course of Indian history." Michel Danino, "Greatest Gospel of Spiritual

Works" in New Indian Express (10 December 2000).

71. ^ Steven J. Rosen, Krishna's Song (2007), ISBN 9780313345531, pp. 22f.

72. ^ Radhakrishnan, S (1974), "XI. The Lord's Transfiguration", The Bhagavad Gita,
HarperCollins, p. 289
73. ^ Rosen, Steven; Graham M. Schweig, "The Bhagavad-Gita and the life of Lord
Krishna", Essential Hinduism, p. 121

74. ^ Isherwood, Christopher (1964), "The Story Begins", Ramakrishna and his Disciples, p. 9

75. ^ Vivekananda, Swami, "Thoughts on the Gita", The Complete Works of Swami
Vivekananda, 4, Advaita Ashrama

76. ^ Gandhi, M.K. (1933), "Introduction", The Gita According to Gandhi

77. ^ Eknath Easwaran, The Bahagavad Gita (2007), ISBN 978-1586380199 p. 15.

78. ^ Eknath Easwaran, The End of Sorrow: The Bahagavad Gita for Daily Living (vol
1) (1993), ISBN 978-0915132171 p. 24.

79. ^ James A. Hijiya, "The Gita of Robert Oppenheimer" Proceedings of the American
Philosophical Society, 144, no. 2 (June 2000). [2]

80. ^ See Robert_Oppenheimer#Trinity for other refs

81. ^ "Karma Capitalism". Business Week. The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc.. 2006-10-30.
Retrieved 2008-01-12.

82. ^ Singh pp.54-55

83. ^ For Shankara's commentary falling within the Vedanta school of tradition, see: Flood
(1996), p. 124.

84. ^ Dating for Shankara as 788-820 CE is from: Sargeant, p. xix.

85. ^ a b c Zaehner, p. 3.

86. ^ Gambhirananda (1997), p. xviii.

87. ^ Flood (1996), p. 240.

88. ^ For classification of Ramanujacharya's commentary as within the Vedanta school see:
Flood (1996), p. 124.

89. ^ Gambhirananda (1997), p. xix.

90. ^ Sampatkumaran, p. xx.

91. ^ Dating of 1199-1276 for Madhva is from: Gambhirananda (1997), p. xix.

92. ^ For classification of Madhva's commentary as within the Vedanta school see: Flood (1996),
p. 124.

93. ^ For classification of Abhinavagupta's commentary on the Gita as within the Shaiva tradition
see: Flood (1996), p. 124.

94. ^ Singh p.55

95. ^ For B. G. Tilak and Mahatma Gandhi as notable commentators see: Gambhiranda (1997),
p. xix.

96. ^ For notability of the commentaries by B. G. Tilak and Mahatma Gandhi and their use to
inspire the independence movement see: Sargeant, p. xix.

97. ^ Stevenson, Robert W., "Tilak and the Bhagavadgita's Doctrine of Karmayoga", in: Minor, p.
44.

98. ^ Stevenson, Robert W., "Tilak and the Bhagavadgita's Doctrine of Karmayoga", in: Minor, p.
49.

99. ^ Jordens, J. T. F., "Gandhi and the Bhagavadgita", in: Minor, p. 88.

100.^ For composition during stay in Yeravda jail in 1929, see: Jordens, J. T. F., "Gandhi and
the Bhagavadgita", in: Minor, p. 88.
101.^ Desai, Mahadev. The Gospel of Selfless Action, or, The Gita According To Gandhi.
(Navajivan Publishing House: Ahmedabad: First Edition 1946). Other editions: 1948, 1951,

1956.

102.^ A shorter edition, omitting the bulk of Desai's additional commentary, has been published
as: Anasaktiyoga: The Gospel of Selfless Action. Jim Rankin, editor. The author is listed as

M.K. Gandhi; Mahadev Desai, translator. (Dry Bones Press, San Francisco, 1998) ISBN 1-

883938-47-3.

103.^ Quotation from M. K. Gandhi. Young India. (1925), pp. 1078-1079, is cited from
Radhakrishnan, front matter.

104.^ For Sri Aurobindo, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, and Swami Vivekananda as notable
commentators see: Sargeant, p. xix.

105.^ For Sri Aurobindo as notable commentators, see: Gambhiranda (1997), p. xix.

106.^ Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, On The Bhagavad Gita; A Translation and Commentary With
Sanskrit Text Chapters 1 to 6, Chapter Two, Verse 42, p. 129 and pp. 470-472

107.^ Clarke, John James (1997), Oriental enlightenment, Routledge, pp. 58–
59, ISBN 9780415133753

108.^ Winternitz, Volume 1, p. 11.

109.^ a b Gerald James Larson (1981). "The Song Celestial: Two centuries of the Bhagavad Gita
in English". Philosophy East and West: A Quarterly of Comparative Philosophy (University of

Hawai'i Press) 31(4): 513–540.

110.^ What had previously been known of Indian literature in Germany had been translated
from the English. Winternitz, Volume 1, p. 15.
 111.^ Tommasini, Anthony (April 14, 2008). "Fanciful Visions on the Mahatma’s Road to Truth
and Simplicity". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-10-16.

112.^ Tommasini, Anthony (November 7, 2008). "Warrior Prince From India Wrestles With
Destiny". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-10-16.

[ edit]References
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 Easwaran, Eknath (1975), The Bhagavad Gita for Daily Living Volume 1, Berkeley,
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 Singh, R. Raj (2006), Bhakti and Philosophy, Lexington Books, ISBN 0739114247

 Sivananda, Swami (1995), The Bhagavad Gita, The Divine Life Society, ISBN 81-7052-000-2

 Tapasyananda, Swami (1990), Śrīmad Bhagavad Gītā, Sri Ramakrishna Math, ISBN 81-
7120-449-X

 Vivekananda, Swami (1998), Thoughts on the Gita, Delhi: Advaita Ashrama, ISBN 81-7505-
033-0

 Winternitz, Maurice (1972), History of Indian Literature, New Delhi: Oriental Books

 Zaehner, R. C. (1969), The Bhagavad Gītā, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-501666-1

[ edit]External links
Wikisource has original text
related to this article:

The Bhagavad Gita

 Bhagavad Gita at the Open Directory Project

Original text
 Mahabharata 6.23–6.40 (sacred-texts.com)

 GRETIL etext of MBh 6 (text begins at 06,023)

Translations and Commentaries

 शीमद् भगवद् गीता (Bhagavad Gita)

 1890 translation by William Quan Judge

 1900 translation by Sir Edwin Arnold

 The Gita According to Gandhi by Mahadev Desai of Mahatma Gandhi's

1929 Gujurati translation and commentary

 1942 translation by Swami Sivananda

 1971 translation by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada entitled Bhagavad Gita As It

Is with Sanskrit text and English commentary.

 1988 translation by Ramananda Prasad

 1992 translation and commentary by Swami Chinmayananda

 1993 translation by Jagannatha Prakasa (John of AllFaith)

 2001 translation by Sanderson Beck

 2004 metered translation by Swami Nirmalananda Giri

 Six commentaries: by Adi Sankara, Ramanuja, Sridhara Swami, Madhusudana

Sarasvati, Visvanatha Chakravarti and Baladeva Vidyabhusana (all in sanskrit)

 Essays on Gita by Sri Aurobindo

  Gita Supersite Original text, with several accompanying translations or commentaries in
Sanskrit, English, or Hindi

 Srimad Bhagavad Gita

 Bhagavad-Gita Trust translation in multiple languages with audio and translation of

commentary from the four authorized Vaishnava sampradayas

 Multiple English Translations

Audio

 Recitation of verses in Sanskrit (MP3 format)

 Bhagavad Gita (As It Is) Complete produced by The International Society for Krishna
Consciousness

 Bhagavad Gita in 6 Languages

 Bhagavad Gita in 19 Languages with commentaries

Journals

 "Bhagavad Gita for everyday living". The Vedanta Kesari 95 (12). 2008-12-12. ISSN 0042-
2983.
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