Bhagavad Gita

23/12/2019 Bhagavad Gita - Wikipedia
Bhagavad Gita
The Bhagavad Gita (/ˌbʌɡəvəd ˈɡiːtɑː, -tə/; Sanskrit: भगवद ्
Bhagavad Gita
गीता, IAST: bhagavad-gītā, lit. "The Song of God"),[1] often
referred to as the Gita, is a 700-verse Sanskrit scripture that
is part of the Hindu epic Mahabharata (chapters 23–40 of
Bhishma Parva).
The Gita is set in a narrative framework of a dialogue between

Pandava prince Arjuna and his guide and charioteer Krishna.
At the start of the Dharma Yudhha (righteous war) between
Pandavas and Kauravas, Arjuna is filled with moral dilemma
and despair about the violence and death the war will cause.
He wonders if he should renounce and seeks Krishna's counsel,
whose answers and discourse constitute the Bhagavad Gita.
Krishna and Arjuna at Kurukshetra,
Krishna counsels Arjuna to "fulfill his Kshatriya (warrior) duty
c.1820 painting
to uphold the Dharma" through "selfless action".[web 1][2][note 1]
The Krishna–Arjuna dialogue cover a broad range of spiritual Information
topics, touching upon ethical dilemmas and philosophical Religion Hinduism
issues that go far beyond the war Arjuna faces.[1][3][4] Author Vyasa
The Bhagavad Gita presents a synthesis[5][6] of Hindu ideas Language Sanskrit

about dharma,[5][6][7] theistic bhakti,[8][7] and the yogic Verses 700
[6] [6]
ideals of moksha. The text covers jnana, bhakti, karma,
and Raja Yoga (spoken of in the 6th chapter)[8] incorporating ideas from the Samkhya-Yoga
philosophy.[web 1][note 2]
Numerous commentaries have been written on the Bhagavad Gita with widely differing views on
the essentials. Vedanta commentators read varying relations between Self and Brahman in the text:
Advaita Vedanta sees the non-dualism of Atman (soul) and Brahman as its essence,[9] whereas
Bhedabheda and Vishishtadvaita see Atman and Brahman as both different and non-different,
while Dvaita Vedanta sees dualism of Atman (soul) and Brahman as its essence. The setting of the
Gita in a battlefield has been interpreted as an allegory for the ethical and moral struggles of the
human life.[4][10][11]
The Bhagavad Gita is the best known and most famous of Hindu texts,[12] with a unique pan-
Hindu influence.[13][14] The Gita's call for selfless action inspired many leaders of the Indian
independence movement including Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Mahatma Gandhi; the latter referred
to it as his "spiritual dictionary".[15]
Contents
Nomenclature
Authorship
Date
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhagavad_Gita 1/51
Composition and significance

Hindu synthesis
Manuscripts
Content
Structure
Narrative
Characters
Chapters
Themes
Theology
Dharma
Moksha: Liberation
Pancaratra Agama
Translations
The Gita in other languages
Bhashya (commentaries)
Classical commentaries
Modern era commentaries
Reception
Praise and popularity
Criticisms and apologetics
Adaptations
See also
Notes
References
Sources
External links
Nomenclature
The Gita in the title of the text "Bhagavad Gita" means "song". Religious leaders and scholars
interpret the word "Bhagavad" in a number of ways. Accordingly, the title has been interpreted as
"the Song of God" by the theistic schools,[16] "the Song of the Lord",[17] "the Divine Song",[18][19]
and "Celestial Song" by others.[20] In India, its Sanskrit name is often written as Shrimad
Bhagavad Gita, ीमद ् भगवद ् गीता (the latter two words often contracted with a compound alphabet as
भगव ीता), where the Shrimad prefix is used to denote a high degree of respect. This is not to be
confused with the Shrimad Bhagavatam, which is a Purana dealing with the life of the Hindu God
Krishna and various avatars of Vishnu.
The work is also known as the Isvara Gita, the Ananta Gita, the Hari Gita, the Vyasa Gita, or
simply the Gita.[21]
Authorship
In the Indian tradition, the Bhagavad Gita, as well as the epic

Mahabharata of which it is a part, is attributed to sage
Vyasa,[22] whose full name was Krishna Dvaipayana, also
called Veda-Vyasa.[23] Another Hindu legend states that Vyasa
narrated it while the elephant-headed deity Ganesha broke one
of his tusks and wrote down the Mahabharata along with the
Bhagavad Gita.[24][25][note 3]
Scholars consider Vyasa to be a mythical or symbolic author, in

part because Vyasa is also the traditional compiler of the Vedas
and the Puranas, texts dated to be from different
millennia.[24][28][29] The word Vyasa literally means
"arranger, compiler", and is a surname in India. According to
Kashi Nath Upadhyaya, a Gita scholar, it is possible that a
number of different individuals with the same name compiled
different texts.[30]
Swami Vivekananda, the 19th-century Hindu monk and The Bhagavad Gita is a discourse
between Krishna and Arjuna set in a
Vedantist, stated that the Bhagavad Gita may be old but it was
chariot at the start of the
mostly unknown in the Indian history till early 8th-century
Mahabharata war
when Adi Shankara (Shankaracharya) made it famous by
writing his much-followed commentary on it.[31][32] Some
infer, states Vivekananda, that "Shankaracharya was the author of Gita, and that it was he who
foisted it into the body of the Mahabharata."[31] This attribution to Adi Shankara is unlikely in
part because Shankara himself refers to the earlier commentaries on the Bhagavad Gita, and
because other Hindu texts and traditions that compete with the ideas of Shankara refer to much
older literature referencing the Bhagavad Gita, though much of this ancient secondary literature
has not survived into the modern era.[31]
According to J. A. B. van Buitenen, an Indologist known for his translations and scholarship on
Mahabharata, the Gita is so contextually and philosophically well knit with the Mahabharata that
it was not an independent text that "somehow wandered into the epic".[33] The Gita, states van
Buitenen, was conceived and developed by the Mahabharata authors to "bring to a climax and
solution the dharmic dilemma of a war".[33][note 4]
According to Alexus McLeod, a scholar of Philosophy and Asian Studies, it is "impossible to link
the Bhagavad Gita to a single author", and it may be the work of many authors.[24][36] This view is
shared by the Indologist Arthur Basham, who states that there were three or more authors or
compilers of Bhagavad Gita. This is evidenced by the discontinuous intermixing of philosophical
verses with theistic or passionately theistic verses, according to Basham.[37][note 5]
Date
Theories on the date of the composition of the Gita vary considerably. Scholars accept dates from
the fifth century to the second century BCE as the probable range, the latter likely. The Hinduism
scholar Jeaneane Fowler, in her commentary on the Gita, considers second century BCE to be the
probable date of composition.[38] J. A. B. van Buitenen too states that the Gita was likely composed
about 200 BCE.[39] According to the Indologist Arvind Sharma, the Gita is generally accepted to be
a 2nd-century BCE text.[40]
Kashi Nath Upadhyaya, in contrast, dates it a bit earlier.

He states that the Gita was always a part of the
Mahabharata, and dating the latter suffices in dating the
Gita.[41] On the basis of the estimated dates of
Mahabharata as evidenced by exact quotes of it in the
Buddhist literature by Asvaghosa (c. 100 CE), Upadhyaya
states that the Mahabharata, and therefore Gita, must
have been well known by then for a Buddhist to be
quoting it.[41][note 6] This suggests a terminus ante quem
(latest date) of the Gita to be sometime prior to the 1st- A manuscript illustration of the battle of
century CE.[41] He cites similar quotes in the Kurukshetra, fought between the Kauravas
Dharmasutra texts, the Brahma sutras, and other and the Pandavas, recorded in the
literature to conclude that the Bhagavad Gita was Mahabharata.
composed in the fifth or fourth century BCE.[43][note 7]
According to Arthur Basham, the context of the Bhagavad Gita suggests that it was composed in
an era when the ethics of war were being questioned and renunciation to monastic life was
becoming popular.[45] Such an era emerged after the rise of Buddhism and Jainism in the 5th-
century BCE, and particularly after the semi-legendary life of Ashoka in 3rd-century BCE. Thus,
the first version of the Bhagavad Gita may have been composed in or after the 3rd-century
BCE.[45]
Linguistically, the Bhagavad Gita is in classical Sanskrit of the early variety, states the Gita scholar
Winthrop Sargeant.[46] The text has occasional pre-classical elements of the Sanskrit language,
such as the aorist and the prohibitive mā instead of the expected na (not) of classical Sanskrit.[46]
This suggests that the text was composed after the Pāṇini era, but before the long compounds of
classical Sanskrit became the norm. This would date the text as transmitted by the oral tradition to
the later centuries of the 1st-millennium BCE, and the first written version probably to the 2nd- or
3rd-century CE.[46][47]
According to Jeaneane Fowler, "the dating of the Gita varies considerably" and depends in part on
whether one accepts it to be a part of the early versions of the Mahabharata, or a text that was
inserted into the epic at a later date.[48] The earliest "surviving" components therefore are believed
to be no older than the earliest "external" references we have to the Mahabharata epic. The
Mahabharata – the world's longest poem – is itself a text that was likely written and compiled over
several hundred years, one dated between "400 BCE or little earlier, and 2nd-century CE, though
some claim a few parts can be put as late as 400 CE", states Fowler. The dating of the Gita is thus
dependent on the uncertain dating of the Mahabharata. The actual dates of composition of the
Gita remain unresolved.[48] While the year and century is uncertain, states Richard Davis, the
internal evidence in the text dates the origin of the Gita discourse to the Hindu lunar month of
Margashirsha (also called Agrahayana, generally December or January of the Gregorian
calendar).[49]
Composition and significance

The Bhagavad Gita is the best known,[50] and most famous of Hindu scriptures.[12] While
Hinduism is known for its diversity and its synthesis therefrom, the Bhagavad Gita has a unique
pan-Hindu influence.[13][51] Gerald James Larson – an Indologist and classical Hindu Philosophies
scholar, states "if there is any one text that comes near to embodying the totality of what it is to be
a Hindu, it would be the Bhagavad Gita."[12][14]
The Bhagavad Gita is part of the Prasthanatrayi, which also includes the Upanishads and Brahma
sutras. These are the three starting points for the Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy.[52] The
Brahma sutras constitute the Nyāya prasthāna or the "starting point of reasoning canonical base",
while the Principal Upanishads constitute the Sruti prasthāna or the "starting point of heard
scriptures", and the Bhagavad Gita constitutes the Smriti prasthāna or the "starting point of
remembered canonical base".[52] The Bhagavad Gita is a "summation of the Vedanta", states
Sargeant.[53] It is thus one of the key texts for the Vedanta,[54][55] a school that provides one of the
theoretical foundations for Hinduism,[56] and one that has had an enormous influence over time,
becoming the central ideology of the Hindu renaissance in the 19th-century, according to Gavin
Flood – a scholar of Hinduism.[57]
Some Hindus give it the status of an Upanishad, and

some consider it to be a "revealed text".[58][59][60] Others
consider the Bhagavad Gita as an important Smriti,[61]
or secondary text that exist in alternate versions such as
one found in Kashmir though it does not affect the basic
message of the text.[62][63][64]
Hindu synthesis
The Bhagavad Gita is the sealing achievement of Hindu
Krishna recounts Gita to Arjuna
Synthesis, incorporating its various religious
traditions.[8][6][7] The synthesis is at both philosophical
and socio-religious levels, states the Gita scholar Keya Maitra.[65] The text refrains from insisting
on one right marga (path) to spirituality. It openly synthesizes and inclusively accepts multiple
ways of life, harmonizing spiritual pursuits through action (karma), knowledge (jnana), devotion
(bhakti).[66] According to the Gita translator Radhakrishnan, quoted in a review by Robinson,
Krishna's discourse is a "comprehensive synthesis" that inclusively unifies the competing strands
of Hindu thought such as "Vedic ritual, Upanishadic wisdom, devotional theism and philosophical
insight".[67] Aurobindo described the text as a synthesis of various Yogas. The Indologist Robert
Minor, and others,[web 1] in contrast, state the Gita is "more clearly defined as a synthesis of
Vedanta, Yoga and Samkhya" philosophies of Hinduism.[68]
The synthesis in Bhagavad Gita addresses the question as to what constitutes the virtuous path
and one necessary for the spiritual liberation and a release from the cycles of rebirth
(moksha).[69][70] It discusses whether one should renounce a householder lifestyle for a life as an
ascetic, or lead a householder life dedicated to one's duty and profession, or pursue a householder
life devoted to a personalized god in the revealed form of Krishna. Thus Gita discusses and
synthesizes the three dominant trends in Hinduism: enlightenment-based renunciation, dharma-
based householder life, and devotion-based theism. According to Deutsch and Dalvi, the Bhagavad
Gita attempts "to forge a harmony" between these three paths.[8][note 8]
The Bhagavad Gita's synthetic answer recommends that one must resist the "either-or" view, and
consider a "both-and" view.[71][72][73] It states the dharmic householder can achieve the same goals
as the renouncing monk through "inner renunciation", that is "motiveless action".[69][note 9] One
must do the right thing because one has determined that it is right, states Gita, without craving for
its fruits, without worrying about the results, loss or gain.[76][75][77] Desires, selfishness and the
craving for fruits can distort one from the dharmic action and spiritual living.[76] The Gita
synthesis goes further, according to its interpreters such as Swami Vivekananda, and the text states
that there is Living God in every human being and the devoted service to this Living God in
everyone – without craving for personal rewards – is a means to spiritual development and
liberation.[78][79][80] According to Galvin Flood, the teachings in Gita differ from other Indian
religions that encouraged extreme austerity and self-torture of various forms (karsayanta). The
Gita disapproves of these, stating that not only is it against the tradition but against Krishna
himself, because "Krishna dwells within all beings, in torturing the body the ascetic would be
torturing him", states Flood. Even a monk should strive for the "inner renunciation", rather than
external pretensions.[81]
The Gita synthesizes several paths to spiritual realization based on the premise that people are
born with different temperaments and tendencies (guna).[82] According to Winthrop Sargeant, the
text acknowledges that some individuals are more reflective and intellectual, some affective and
engaged by their emotions, some are action driven, yet others favor experimenting and exploring
what works.[82] It then presents different spiritual paths for each personality type respectively: the
path of knowledge (jnana yoga), the path of devotion (bhakti yoga), the path of action (karma
yoga), and the path of meditation (raja yoga).[82][83] The guna premise is a synthesis of the ideas
from the Samkhya school of Hinduism. According to Upadhyaya, the Gita states that none of these
paths to spiritual realization are "intrinsically superior or inferior", rather they "converge in one
and lead to the same goal".[84]
According to Hiltebeitel, Bhakti forms an essential ingredient of this synthesis, and the text
incorporates Bhakti into Vedanta.[85] The Bhagavad Gita is a Brahmanical text which uses the
shramanic and Yogic terminology to spread the Brahmanic idea of living according to one's duty or
dharma, in contrast to the ascetic ideal of liberation by avoiding all karma.[6] According to Galvin
Flood and Charles Martin, the Gita rejects the shramanic path of non-action, emphasizing instead
"the renunciation of the fruits of action".[86] The Bhagavad Gita, states Raju, is a great synthesis of
the ideas of the impersonal spiritual monism with personal God, of "the yoga of action with the
yoga of transcendence of action, and these again with yogas of devotion and knowledge".[7]
Manuscripts
The Bhagavad Gita manuscript is found in the sixth book of the Mahabharata manuscripts – the
Bhisma-parvan. Therein, in the third section, the Gita forms chapters 23–40, that is 6.3.23 to
6.3.40.[87] The Bhagavad Gita is often preserved and studied on its own, as an independent text
with its chapters renumbered from 1 to 18.[87]
The Bhagavad Gita manuscripts exist in numerous Indic scripts.[88] These include writing systems
that are currently in use, as well as early scripts such as the Sharada script now dormant.[88][89]
Variant manuscripts of the Gita have been found on the Indian subcontinent[90][62] Unlike the
enormous variations in the remaining sections of the surviving Mahabharata manuscripts, the
Gita manuscripts show only minor variations and the meaning is the same.[90][62]
According to Gambhirananda, the old manuscripts may have had 745 verses, though he agrees that
700 verses is the generally accepted historic standard.[91] Gambhirananda's view is supported by a
few versions of chapter 6.43 of the Mahabharata. These versions state the Gita is a text where
"Kesava [Krishna] spoke 620 slokas, Arjuna 57, Samjaya 67, and Dhritarashtra 1", states the
Religious Studies and Gita exegesis scholar Robert Minor.[92] This adds to 745 verses. An authentic
manuscript of the Gita with 745 verses has not been found.[93] Of all known extant historic
manuscripts, the largest version contains 715 verses.[92] Adi Shankara, in his 8th-century
commentary, explicitly states that the Gita has 700 verses, which was likely a deliberate
declaration in order to prevent further insertions and changes to the Gita. Since Shankara's time,
the "700 verses" has been the standard benchmark for the critical edition of the Bhagavad Gita.[93]
Content
Structure
The Bhagavad Gita is a poem written in the Sanskrit
language.[94] Its 700 verses[90] are structured into
several ancient Indian poetic meters, with the principal
being the shloka (Anushtubh chanda).[95] Each shloka
consists of a couplet, thus the entire text consists of 1,400
lines. Each shloka line has two quarter verses with
exactly eight syllables. Each of these quarters is further
arranged into "two metrical feet of four syllables each",
state Flood and Martin.[94][note 10] The metered verse
does not rhyme.[96] While the shloka is the principal
meter in the Gita, it does deploy other elements of
Sanskrit prosody.[97] At dramatic moments, it uses the
tristubh meter found in the Vedas, where each line of the
couplet has two quarter verses with exactly eleven
syllables.[96]
Narrative A 19th-century Sanskrit manuscript of the

Bhagavad Gita, Devanagari script
The Gita is a dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna right
before the start of the climactic Kurukshetra War in the
Hindu epic Mahabharata.[98][note 11] Two massive armies have gathered to destroy the other. The
Pandava prince Arjuna asks his charioteer Krishna to drive to the center of the battlefield so that he
can get a good look at both the armies and all those "so eager for war".[100] He sees that some
among his enemies are his own relatives, beloved friends, and revered teachers. He does not want
to fight to kill them and is thus filled with doubt and despair on the battlefield.[101] He drops his
bow, wonders if he should renounce and just leave the battlefield.[100] He turns to his charioteer
and guide Krishna, for advice on the rationale for war, his choices and the right thing to do. The
Bhagavad Gita is the compilation of Arjuna's questions and moral dilemma, Krishna's answers
and insights that elaborate on a variety of philosophical concepts.[100][102] The compiled dialogue
goes far beyond the "a rationale for war", it touches on many human ethical dilemmas,
philosophical issues and life's choices.[100] According to Flood and Martin, the Gita though set in
the war context in a major epic, the narrative is structured for the abstract to all situations; it
wrestles with questions about "who we are, how we should live our lives, and how should we act in
the world".[103] According to Sargeant, it delves into questions about the "purpose of life, crisis of
self-identity, human soul, human temperaments, and ways for spiritual quest".[4]
Characters
Arjuna, one of the Pandavas
Krishna, Arjuna's charioteer and guru who was actually an incarnation of Vishnu
Sanjaya, counselor of the Kuru king Dhritarashtra (secondary narrator)
Dhritarashtra, Kuru king (Sanjaya's audience)
Chapters
Bhagavad Gita comprises 18 chapters (section 25 to

42)[106][web 2] in the Bhishma Parva of the epic
Mahabharata. 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.[web 3] The number of verses in each chapter vary in
some manuscripts of the Gita discovered on the Indian
subcontinent. However, variant readings are relatively
few in contrast to the numerous versions of the
Mahabharata it is found embedded in, and the meaning
The thematic story of Arjuna and Krishna
is the same.[90] at the Kurukshetra war became popular in
southeast Asia as Hinduism spread there
The original Bhagavad Gita has no chapter titles. Some in the 1st-millennium CE.[104][105] Above,
Sanskrit editions that separate the Gita from the epic as an Arjuna-Krishna chariot scene in Jakarta
an independent text, as well as translators, however, add center, Indonesia.
chapter titles such as each chapter being a particular
form of yoga.[107][web 3] For example, Swami
Chidbhavananda describes each of the eighteen chapters as a separate yoga because each chapter,
like yoga, "trains the body and the mind". He labels the first chapter "Arjuna Vishada Yogam" or
the "Yoga of Arjuna's Dejection".[108] Sir Edwin Arnold titled this chapter in his 1885 translation as
"The Distress of Arjuna".[17][note 12]
Chapter 1 (46 verses)

Some translators have variously titled the first chapter as Arjuna vishada yoga, Prathama
Adhyaya, The Distress of Arjuna, The War Within, or Arjuna's Sorrow.[17][111][112] The Bhagavad
Gita opens by setting the stage of the Kurukshetra battlefield. Two massive armies representing
different loyalties and ideologies face a catastrophic war. With Arjuna is Krishna, not as a
participant in the war, but only as his charioteer and counsel. Arjuna requests Krishna to move the
chariot between the two armies so he can see those "eager for this war". He sees family and friends
on the enemy side. Arjuna is distressed and in sorrow.[113] The issue is, states Arvind Sharma, "is it
morally proper to kill?"[114] This and other moral dilemmas in the first chapter are set in a context
where the Hindu epic and Krishna have already extolled ahimsa (non-violence) to be the highest
and divine virtue of a human being.[114] The war feels evil to Arjuna and he questions the morality
of war. He wonders if it is noble to renounce and leave before the violence starts, or should he fight,
and why.[113]

Some translators title the chapter as Sankhya Yoga, The Book of Doctrines, Self-Realization, or
The Yoga of Knowledge (and Philosophy).[17][111][112] The second chapter begins the philosophical
discussions and teachings found in Gita. The warrior Arjuna whose past had focused on learning
the skills of his profession now faces a war he has doubts about. Filled with introspection and
questions about the meaning and purpose of life, he asks Krishna about the nature of life, soul,
death, afterlife and whether there is a deeper meaning and reality.[115] Krishna answers. The
chapter summarizes the Hindu idea of rebirth, samsara, eternal soul in each person (Self),
universal soul present in everyone, various types of yoga, divinity within, the nature of Self-
knowledge and other concepts.[115] The ideas and concepts in the second chapter reflect the
framework of the Samkhya and Yoga schools of Hindu Philosophy. This chapter is an overview for
the remaining sixteen chapters of the Bhagavad Gita.[115][116][117] Mahatma Gandhi memorized the
Face pages of chapters 1, 2 and 3 of historic Bhagavad Gita manuscripts. Top: Bengali script; Bottom:
Gurmukhi script.
last 19 verses of the second chapter, considering them as his companion in his non-violent
movement for social justice during the colonial rule.[118]

Some translators title the chapter as Karma yoga, Virtue in Work, Selfless Service, or The Yoga of
Action.[17][111][112] Arjuna, after listening to Krishna's spiritual teachings in Chapter 2, gets more
confounded and returns to the predicament he faces. He wonders if fighting the war is "not so
important after all" given Krishna's overview on the pursuit of spiritual wisdom. Krishna replies
that there is no way to avoid action (karma), since abstention from work is also an action.[119]
Krishna states that Arjuna has an obligation to understand and perform his duty (dharma),
because everything is connected by the law of cause and effect. Every man or woman is bound by
activity. Those who act selfishly create the karmic cause and are thereby bound to the effect which
may be good or bad.[119] Those who act selflessly for the right cause and strive to do their dharmic
duty do God's work.[119] Those who act without craving for fruits are free from the karmic effects,
because the results never motivated them. Whatever the result, it does not affect them. Their
happiness comes from within, and the external world does not bother them.[119][120] According to
Flood and Martin, chapter 3 and onwards develops "a theological response to Arjuna's
dilemma".[121]

Some translators title the fourth chapter as Jñāna–Karma-Sanyasa yoga, The Religion of
Knowledge, Wisdom in Action, or The Yoga of Renunciation of Action through
Knowledge.[17][111][112] Krishna reveals that he has taught this yoga to the Vedic sages. Arjuna
questions how Krishna could do this, when those sages lived so long ago, and Krishna was born
more recently. Krishna reminds him that everyone is in the cycle of rebirths, and while Arjuna does
not remember his previous births, he does. Whenever dharma declines and the purpose of life is
forgotten by men, says Krishna, he returns to re-establish dharma.[note 13] Every time he returns,
he teaches about inner Self in all beings. The later verses of the chapter return to the discussion of
motiveless action and the need to determine the right action, performing it as one's dharma (duty)
while renouncing the results, rewards, fruits. The simultaneous outer action with inner
renunciation, states Krishna, is the secret to the life of freedom. Action leads to knowledge, while
selfless action leads to spiritual awareness, state the last verses of this chapter.[2] The 4th chapter is
the first time where Krishna begins to reveal his divine nature to Arjuna.[122][123]

Some translators title this chapter as Karma–Sanyasa yoga, Religion by Renouncing Fruits of
Works, Renounce and Rejoice, or The Yoga of Renunciation.[17][111][112] The chapter starts by
presenting the tension in the Indian tradition between the life of sannyasa (monks who have
renounced their household and worldly attachments) and the life of grihastha (householder).
Arjuna asks Krishna which path is better.[124] Krishna answers that both are paths to the same
goal, but the path of "selfless action and service" with inner renunciation is better. The different
paths, says Krishna, aim for—and if properly pursued, lead to—Self-knowledge. This knowledge
leads to the universal, transcendent Godhead, the divine essence in all beings, to Brahman — the
Krishna himself. The final verses of the chapter state that the self-aware who have reached self-
realization live without fear, anger, or desire. They are free within, always.[125][126] Chapter 5
shows signs of interpolations and internal contradictions. For example, states Arthur Basham,
verses 5.23–28 state that a sage's spiritual goal is to realize the impersonal Brahman, yet the next
verse 5.29 states that the goal is to realize the personal God who is Krishna.[37]
Chapter 6 (47 verses) Selfless service

Some translators title the sixth chapter as
Dhyana yoga, Religion by Self-Restraint, The
Practice of Meditation, or The Yoga of
Meditation.[17][111][112] The chapter opens as a
continuation of Krishna's teachings about It is not those who lack energy
selfless work and the personality of someone nor those who refrain from action,
who has renounced the fruits that is found in but those who work without expecting reward
chapter 5. Krishna says that such self-realized who attain the goal of meditation,
people are impartial to friends and enemies, Theirs is true renunciation.
are beyond good and evil, equally disposed to
—Bhagavad Gita 6.1
those who support them or oppose them
because they have reached the summit of Eknath Easwaran[127][note 14]
consciousness. The verses 6.10 and after
proceed to summarize the principles of Yoga
and meditation in the format similar to but simpler than Patanjali's Yogasutra. It discusses who is
a true yogi, and what it takes to reach the state where one harbors no malice towards
anyone.[133][134]

Some translators title this chapter as Jnana–Vijnana yoga, Religion by Discernment, Wisdom
from Realization, or The Yoga of Knowledge and Judgment.[17][111][112] The chapter 7 once again
opens with Krishna continuing his discourse. He discusses jnana (knowledge) and vijnana
(realization, understanding) using the Prakriti-Purusha (matter-soul) framework of the Samkhya
school of Hindu philosophy, and the Maya-Brahman framework of its Vedanta school. The chapter
states that evil is the consequence of ignorance and the attachment to the impermanent, delusive
Maya. It equates self-knowledge and the union with Purusha (Krishna) as the Self to be the highest
goal of any spiritual pursuit.[135]

Some translators title the chapter as Aksara–Brahma yoga, Religion by Devotion to the One
Supreme God, The Eternal Godhead, or The Yoga of the Imperishable Brahman.[17][111][112] The
chapter opens with Arjuna asking questions such as what is Brahman and what is the nature of
karma. Krishna states that his own highest nature is the imperishable Brahman, and that he lives
in every creature as the adhyatman. Every being has an impermanent body and an eternal soul,
and that "Krishna as Lord" lives within every creature. The chapter discusses cosmology, the nature
of death and rebirth.[136] This chapter contains eschatology of the Bhagavad Gita. Importance of
the last thought before death, differences between material and spiritual worlds, and light and dark
paths that a soul takes after death are described.[136]

Some translators title the ninth chapter as Raja–Vidya–Raja–Guhya yoga, Religion by the Kingly
Knowledge and the Kingly Mystery, The Royal Path, or The Yoga of Sovereign Science and
Sovereign Secret.[17][111][112] Chapter 9 opens with Krishna continuing his discourse as Arjuna
listens. Krishna states that he is everywhere and in everything in an unmanifested form, yet he is
not in any way limited by them. Eons end, everything dissolves and then he recreates another eon
subjecting them to the laws of Prakriti (nature).[137] He equates himself to being the father and the
mother of the universe, to being the Om, to the three Vedas, to the seed, the goal of life, the refuge
and abode of all. The chapter recommends devotional worship of Krishna.[137] According to
theologian Christopher Southgate, verses of this chapter of the Gita are panentheistic,[138] while
German physicist and philosopher Max Bernhard Weinstein deems the work pandeistic. It may, in
fact, be neither of them, and its contents may have no definition with previously-developed
Western terms.[139]

Some translators title the chapter as Vibhuti–Vistara–yoga, Religion by the Heavenly Perfections,
Divine Splendor, or The Yoga of Divine Manifestations.[17][111][112] Krishna reveals his divine being
in greater detail, as the ultimate cause of all material and spiritual existence, one who transcends
all opposites and who is beyond any duality. Krishna says he is the atman in all beings, Arjuna's
innermost Self, also compassionate Vishnu, the Surya (sun god), Indra, Shiva-Rudra, Ananta,
Yama, as well as the Om, Vedic sages, time, Gayatri mantra, and the science of Self-knowledge.
Arjuna accepts Krishna as the purushottama (Supreme Being).[140]

Some translators title the chapter as Vishvarupa–Darshana yoga, The Manifesting of the One and
Manifold, The Cosmic Vision, or The Yoga of the Vision of the Cosmic Form.[17][111][112] On
Arjuna's request, Krishna displays his "universal form" (Viśvarūpa).[141] This is an idea found in
the Rigveda and many later Hindu texts, where it is a symbolism for atman (soul) and Brahman
(Absolute Reality) eternally pervading all beings and all existence.[142][143] Chapter 11, states
Eknath Eswaran, describes Arjuna entering first into savikalpa samadhi (a particular), and then
nirvikalpa samadhi (a universal) as he gets an understanding

of Krishna. A part of the verse from this chapter was recited by
Robert Oppenheimer as he witnessed the first atomic bomb
explosion.[141]

Some translators title the chapter as Bhakti yoga, The Religion
of Faith, The Way of Love, or The Yoga of Devotion.[17][111][112]
In this chapter, Krishna glorifies the path of love and devotion
to God. Krishna describes the process of devotional service
(Bhakti yoga). This chapter of the Gita, states Easwaran, offers
a "vastly easier" path to most human beings to identify and
love God in an anthropomorphic representation, in any
form.[144] He can be projected as "a merciful father, a divine
mother, a wise friend, a passionate beloved, or even a
mischievous child", according to Easwaran. The text states that
combining "action with inner renunciation" with the love of
A frieze in the early 8th-century
Krishna as a personal God leads to peace. In the last eight Virupaksha temple (Pattadakal)
verses of this chapter, Krishna states that he loves those who depicting Mahabharata scenes
have compassion for all living beings, are content with involving Arjuna-Krishna chariot.
whatever comes their way, who live a detached life that is Pattadakal is a UNESCO world
impartial and selfless, unaffected by fleeting pleasure or pain, heritage site.
neither craving for praise nor depressed by criticism.[144][145]

Some translators title this chapter as Ksetra–Ksetrajna Vibhaga yoga, Religion by Separation of
Matter and Spirit, The Field and the Knower, or The Yoga of Difference between the Field and
Field-Knower.[17][111][112] The chapter opens with Krishna continuing his discourse from the
previous chapter. He describes the difference between transient perishable physical body (kshetra)
and the immutable eternal soul (kshetrajna). The presentation explains the difference between
ahamkara (ego) and atman (soul), from there between individual consciousness and universal
consciousness. The knowledge of one's true self is linked to the realization of the soul.[146][147] The
13th chapter of the Gita offers the clearest enunciation of the Samkhya philosophy, states Basham,
by explaining the difference between field (material world) and the knower (soul), prakriti and
purusha.[148] According to Miller, this is the chapter which "redefines the battlefield as the human
body, the material realm in which one struggles to know oneself" where human dilemmas are
presented as a "symbolic field of interior warfare".[149]

Some translators title the fourteenth chapter as Gunatraya–Vibhaga yoga, Religion by
Separation from the Qualities, The Forces of Evolution, or The Yoga of the Division of Three
Gunas.[17][111][112] The chapter once again opens with Krishna continuing his discourse from the
previous chapter. Krishna explains the difference between purusha and prakriti, by mapping
human experiences to three Guṇas (tendencies, qualities).[150] These are listed as sattva, rajas and
tamas. All phenomena and individual personalities are a combination of all three gunas in varying
and ever-changing proportions. The gunas affect the ego, but not the soul, according to the
text.[150] This chapter also relies on the Samkhya theories.[151][152][153]
Chapter 15 (20
verses)
Sanskrit, Malayalam script (Kerala)
Sanskrit, Kannada script

(Karnataka)
Bhagavad Gita and related commentary literature exists in numerous Indian languages.
Some translators title the chapter as Purushottama yoga, Religion by Attaining the Supreme
Krishna, The Supreme Self, or The Yoga of the Supreme Purusha.[17][111][112] The fifteenth chapter
expounds on Krishna theology, in the Vaishnava Bhakti tradition of Hinduism. Krishna discusses
the nature of God, according to Easwaran, wherein Krishna not only transcends impermanent body
(matter), he also transcends the atman (soul) in every being.[154] According to Franklin Edgerton,
the verses in this chapter in association with select verses in other chapters make the metaphysics
of the Gita to be dualistic. Its overall thesis is, states Edgerton, more complex however, because
other verses teach the Upanishadic doctrines and "thru its God the Gita seems after all to arrive at
an ultimate monism; the essential part, the fundamental element, in every thing, is after all One —
is God."[155]

Some translators title the chapter as Daivasura–Sampad–Vibhaga yoga, The Separateness of the
Divine and Undivine, Two Paths, or The Yoga of the Division between the Divine and the
Demonic.[17][111][112] According to Easwaran, this is an unusual chapter where two types of human
nature are expounded, one leading to happiness and the other to suffering. Krishna identifies these
human traits to be divine and demonic respectively. He states that truthfulness, self-restraint,
sincerity, love for others, desire to serve others, being detached, avoiding anger, avoiding harm to
all living creatures, fairness, compassion and patience are marks of the divine nature. The opposite
of these are demonic, such as cruelty, conceit, hypocrisy and being inhumane, states
Krishna.[156][157][158] Some of the verses in Chapter 16 may be polemics directed against competing
Indian religions, according to Basham.[45] The competing tradition may be the materialists
(Charvaka), states Fowler.[158]

Some translators title the chapter as Shraddhatraya-Vibhaga yoga, Religion by the Threefold
Kinds of Faith, The Power of Faith, or The Yoga of the Threefold Faith.[17][111][112] Krishna
qualifies the three divisions of faith, thoughts, deeds, and even eating habits corresponding to the
three modes (gunas).[159]

Some translators title the chapter as Moksha–Sanyasa yoga, Religion by Deliverance and
Renunciation, Freedom and Renunciation, or The Yoga of Liberation and
Renunciation.[17][111][112] In the final and long chapter, the Gita offers a final summary of its
teachings in the previous chapters.[160] It covers many topics, states Easwaran.[161] It begins with
discussion of spiritual pursuits through sannyasa (renunciation, monastic life) and spiritual
pursuits while living in the world as a householder. It re-emphasizes the karma-phala-tyaga
teaching, or "act while renouncing the fruits of your action".[161]
Themes
Chapter 11 of the Gita refers to Krishna as Vishvarupa (above). This is an idea found in the Rigveda.[162] The
Vishvarupa omniform has been interpreted as symbolism for Absolute Reality, God or soul that is in all
creatures, everywhere, eternally.[163][164]
Theology
The nature of God

The Gita adopts the Upanishadic concept of Absolute Reality (Brahman), a shift from the earlier
ritual-driven Vedic religion to one abstracting and internalizing spiritual experiences.[165][166]
According to Jeaneane Fowler, the Gita builds on the Upanishadic Brahman theme, conceptualized
to be that which is everywhere, unaffected, constant Absolute, indescribable and nirguna (abstract,
without features). This Absolute in Gita is neither a He nor a She, but a "neuter principle", an "It or
That".[165][166] Like some of the Upanishads, the Gita does not limit itself to the nirguna Brahman.
It teaches both the abstract and the personalized Brahman (God), the latter in the form of
Krishna.[165][166] It accomplishes this synthesis by projecting the nirguna Brahman as higher than
saguna or personalized Brahman, where the nirguna Brahman "exists when everything else does
not", states Fowler.[167][168] The text blurs any distinction between the personalized God and
impersonal Absolute Reality by amalgamating their equivalence, using it interchangeably in the
later chapters.[167] This theme has led scholars to call the Gita as panentheistic,[165] theistic and
monistic.[169][7][8]
The nature of Self

The Gita, states Fowler, "thoroughly accepts" atman as a foundational concept.[170] In the
Upanishads, this is the Brahmanical idea that all beings have a "permanent real self", the true
essence, the soul it refers to as Atman (Self).[171][172][173][note 15] In the Upanishads that preceded
the Gita such as the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, the salvific goal is to know and realize this Self, a
knowledge that is devoid of the delusions of instinctive "I, mine, egoistic" typically connected with
the body, material life processes that are impermanent and transient. The Gita accepts atman as
the pure, unchanging, ultimate real essence, experiencer of one's being.[176]
The nature of the world

The Gita considers the world to be transient, all bodies and matter as impermanent. Everything
that constitutes prakriti (nature, matter) is process driven and has a finite existence. It is born,
grows, matures, decays and dies. It considers this transient reality as Maya. Like the Upanishads,
the Gita focuses on what it considers as Real in this world of change, impermanence, and
finitude.[177][178] To build its theological framework about the world, the text relies on the theories
found in Samkhya and Vedanta schools of Hinduism.[178]
Brahman-atman
The Upanishads developed the equation "Atman = Brahman", states Fowler, and this belief is
central to the Gita.[177] This equation is, however, interpreted in a number of ways by different sub-
schools of Vedanta. In the Gita, the soul of each human being is considered to be identical to every
other human being and all beings, but it "does not support an identity with the Brahman",
according to Fowler.[177] According to Raju, the Gita supports this identity and spiritual monism,
but as a form of synthesis with a personal God.[7] According to Edgerton, the author(s) of the Gita
rely on their concept of personalized God (Krishna) to ultimately arrive at an ultimate monism,
where the devotee ultimately realizes that Krishna is the essential part, the Real, the fundamental
element in him, everyone and everything. Krishna is all and One.[155] According to Huston Smith,
the Gita is teaching that "when one sees the entire universe as pervaded by the single Universal
Spirit [Krishna], one contemplates, marvels, and falls in love with its amazing glory. [...] Having
experienced that Truth oneself, all doubts are dispelled. This is how the flower of devotion evolves
into the fruit of knowledge."[179]
Means to God
The Gita teaches several spiritual paths – jnana, bhakti and karma – to the divine. However, states
Fowler, it "does not raise any of these to a status that excludes the others".[180] The theme that
unites these paths in the Gita is "inner renunciation" where one is unattached to personal rewards
during one's spiritual journey.[180]
Karma yoga
The Gita teaches the path of Karma yoga in Chapter 3 and others. It upholds the necessity of
action.[181] However, this action should "not simply follow spiritual injunctions", without any
attachment to personal rewards or because of craving for fruits. The Gita teaches, according to
Fowler, that the action should be undertaken after proper knowledge has been applied to gain the
full perspective of "what the action should be".[182][183]
The concept of such detached action is also called Nishkam Karma, a term not used in the Gita but
equivalent to other terms such as karma-phala-tyaga.[182] This is where one determines what the
right action ought to be and then acts while being detached to personal outcomes, to fruits, to
success or failure. A karma yogi finds such work inherently fulfilling and satisfying.[184] To a
karma yogi, right work done well is a form of prayer,[185] and karma yoga is the path of selfless
action.[186]
According to Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, the object of the Gita is to show the way to attain
self-realization, and 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 the Gita "The Gospel of Selfless Action".[187] According to Jonardon Ganeri,
the premise of "disinterested action" is one of the important ethical concepts in the Gita.[188]
Bhakti yoga
In the Bhagavad Gita, bhakti is characterized as the "loving devotion, a longing, surrender, trust
and adoration" of the divine Krishna as the ishta-devata.[189] While bhakti is mentioned in many
chapters, the idea gathers momentum after verse 6.30, and it is chapter 12 where the idea is
sustainly developed. According to Fowler, the bhakti in the Gita does not imply renunciation of
"action", but the bhakti effort is assisted with "right knowledge" and dedication to one's
dharma.[189] Theologian Catherine Cornille writes, "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."[190]
According to M. R. Sampatkumaran, a Bhagavad Gita scholar, the Gita message is that mere
knowledge of the scriptures cannot lead to final release, but "devotion, meditation, and worship are
essential."[191] The Gita likely spawned a "powerful devotionalism" movement, states Fowler,
because the text and this path was simpler, available to everyone.[192]
Jnana yoga
Jnana yoga is the path of knowledge, wisdom, and direct realization of the Brahman.[193][194] In
the Bhagavad Gita, it is also referred to as buddhi yoga and its goal is self-realization.[195] The text
states that this is the path that intellectuals tend to prefer.[196] The chapter 4 of the Bhagavad Gita
is dedicated to the general exposition of jnana yoga.[197][198]
The Gita praises the path, calling the jnana yogin to be exceedingly dear to Krishna, but adds that
the path is steep and difficult.[199]
Synthesis of yogas, Raja yoga

Sivananda's commentary regards the eighteen chapters of the Bhagavad Gita as having a
progressive order, by which Krishna leads "Arjuna up the ladder of Yoga from one rung to
another."[200] The influential commentator Madhusudana Sarasvati divided the Gita's eighteen
chapters into three sections of six chapters each. Swami

Gambhirananda characterises Madhusudana Sarasvati's
system as a successive approach in which Karma yoga leads to
Bhakti yoga, which in turn leads to Jnana yoga:[201]
Chapters 1–6 = Karma yoga, the means to the final goal

Chapters 7–12 = Bhakti yoga or devotion
Chapters 13–18 = Jnana yoga or knowledge, the goal itself
Some scholars treat the "yoga of meditation" to be a distinct
fourth path taught in the Gita, referring to it as Raja
yoga.[202][82][83] Others consider it as a progressive stage or a
combination of Karma yoga and Bhakti yoga.[203] Some, such
as Adi Shankara, have considered its discussion in the 13th
chapter of the Gita and elsewhere to be an integral part of the
Jnana yoga.[204][205]
Adi Shankara with Disciples, by
Raja Ravi Varma (1904); Shankara
Asceticism, renunciation and ritualism published 700 verses of the Gita
(800 CE), now the standard version.
The Gita rejects ascetic life, renunciation as well as
Brahminical Vedic ritualism where outwardly actions or non-
action are considered a means of personal rewards in this life, after-life or a means of liberation. It
instead recommends the pursuit of an active life where the individual adopts "inner renunciation",
acts to fulfill what he determines to be his dharma, without craving for or concerns about personal
rewards, viewing this as an "inner sacrifice to the personal God for a higher good".[206][207]
According to Edwin Bryant, the Indologist with publications on Krishna-related Hindu traditions,
the Gita rejects "actionless behavior" found in some Indic monastic traditions. It also "relegates the
sacrificial system of the early Vedic literature to a path that goes nowhere because it is based on
desires", states Bryant.[208]
Dharma
Dharma is a prominent paradigm of the Mahabharata, and it is referenced in the Gita as well. The
term dharma has a number of meanings.[209] Fundamentally, it means "what is right".[209]
Contexually, it also means the essence of "duty, law, class, social norms, ritual and cosmos itself" in
the text, in the sense "the way things should be in all these different dimensions", states
Fowler.[209] According to Zaehner, the term dharma means "duty" in Gita's context, in verse 2.7
refers to the "right [and wrong]", and in 14.27 to "eternal law of righteousness".[210]
Few verses in the Bhagavad Gita deal with dharma, according to the Indologist Paul Hacker, but
the theme of dharma is important in it.[211] In Chapter 1, responding to Arjuna's despondency,
Krishna asks him to follow his sva-dharma,[212] "the dharma that belongs to a particular man
(Arjuna) as a member of a particular varna, (i.e., the kshatriya – the warrior varna)".[213]
According to Paul Hacker, the term dharma has additional meanings in the context of Arjuna. It is
more broadly, the "duty" and a "metaphysically congealed act" for Arjuna.[214] According to the
Indologist Jacqueline Hirst, the dharma theme is "of significance only at the beginning and end of
the Gita" and this may have been a way to perhaps link the Gita to the context of the
Mahabharata.[215]
According to Malinar, "Arjuna's crisis and some of the arguments put forward to call him to action
are connected to the debates on war and peace in the Udyoga Parva."[216] The Udyoga Parva
presents many views about the nature of a warrior, his duty and what calls for heroic action.While
Duryodhana presents it as a matter of status, social norms, and fate, Vidura states that the heroic
warrior never submits, knows no fear and has the duty to protect people.[217] The Bhishma parva
sets the stage of two ideologies in conflict and two massive armies gathered for what each considers
as a righteous and necessary war. In this context, the Gita advises Arjuna to do his holy duty (sva-
dharma) as a warrior, fight and kill.[218][219][220]
According to the Indologist Barbara Miller, the text frames heroism not in terms of physical
abilities, but instead in terms of effort and inner commitment to fulfill a warrior's dharma in the
battlefield.[221] War is depicted as a horror, the impending slaughter a cause of self-doubts, yet at
stake is the spiritual struggle against evil.[221] The Gita message emphasizes that the personal
moral confusion and struggle must be addressed, the warrior needs to rise beyond "personal and
social values" and understand what is at stake and "why he must fight", states Miller. The text
explores the "paradoxical interconnectedness of disciplined action and freedom".[221]
The Field of Dharma

The first reference to dharma in the Bhagavad Gita occurs in its first verse, where Dhritarashtra
refers to the Kurukshetra, the location of the battlefield, as the Field of Dharma, "The Field of
Righteousness or Truth".[209] According to Fowler, dharma in this verse may refer to the sanatana
dharma, "what Hindus understand as their religion, for it is a term that encompasses wide aspects
of religious and traditional thought and is more readily used for religion".[209] Therefore, 'Field of
action' implies the field of righteousness, where truth will eventually triumph, states Fowler.[209]
According to Jacqueline Hirst, the "field of dharma" phrase in the Gita epitomizes that the struggle
concerns dharma itself. This dharma has "resonances at many different levels".[222]
"The Field of Dharma" is also called the "Field of action" by Sri Aurobindo, a freedom fighter and
philosopher.[209] Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, a professor of Philosophy at the Oxford University and
the second president of India, saw "The Field of Dharma" as the world (Bhavsagar), which is a
"battleground for moral struggle".[223]
Allegory of war
Unlike any other religious scripture, the Bhagavad Gita broadcasts its message in the centre of the
battlefield.[224] Several modern Indian writers have interpreted the battlefield setting as an
allegory of "the war within".[225] 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".[226]
Swami Nikhilananda, takes Arjuna as an allegory of Ātman, Krishna as an allegory of Brahman,

Arjuna's chariot as the body, and Dhritarashtra as the ignorance filled mind.[note 16] Nikhilananda's
allegorical interpretation is shared by Huston Smith.[53] Swami Vivekananda interprets the first
discourse in the Gita as well as the "Kurushetra war" allegorically.[227] Vivekananda states, "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".[228]
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, in his commentary on the Gita,[229] interprets the battle as "an
allegory in which the battlefield is the soul and Arjuna, man's higher impulses struggling against
evil".[230]
In Aurobindo's view, Krishna was a historical figure, but his significance in the Gita is as a "symbol
of the divine dealings with humanity",[231] while Arjuna typifies a "struggling human soul".[232]
However, Aurobindo rejected the interpretation that the Gita, and the Mahabharata by extension,
is only "an allegory of the inner life", and it has nothing to do with our outward human life and
actions.[232][note 17]
Promotion of just war and duty

Other scholars such as Steven Rosen, Laurie L. Patton and Stephen Mitchell have seen in the Gita a
religious defense of the warrior class's (Kshatriya Varna) duty (svadharma), which is to conduct
combat and war with courage and do not see this as only an allegorical teaching, but also a real
defense of just war.[233][234]
Indian independence leaders like Lala Lajpat Rai and Bal Gangadhar Tilak saw the Gita as a text
which defended war when necessary and used it to promote war against the British Empire. Lajpat
Rai wrote an article on the "Message of the Bhagavad Gita". He saw the main message as the
bravery and courage of Arjuna to fight as a warrior.[235] Bal Gangadhar Tilak saw the Gita as
defending killing when necessary for the betterment of society, such as, for example, the killing of
Afzal Khan.[235]
Moksha: Liberation
Liberation or moksha in Vedanta philosophy is not something that can be acquired. Ātman (Soul)
and Self-knowledge, along with the loss of egotistic ignorance, the goal of moksha, is something
that is always present as the essence of the self, and must be realized by each person by one's own
effort.While the Upanishads largely uphold such a monistic viewpoint of liberation, the Bhagavad
Gita also accommodates the dualistic and theistic aspects of moksha. The Gita, while including
impersonal Nirguna Brahman as the goal, mainly revolves around the relationship between the
Self and a personal God or Saguna Brahman. A synthesis of knowledge, devotion, and desireless
action is offered by Krishna as a spectrum of choices to Arjuna; the same combination is suggested
to the reader as a way to moksha.[236] Christopher Chapple – a Comparative Theology scholar
focusing on Indian religions, in Winthrop Sargeant translation of the Gita, states, "In the model
presented by the Bhagavad Gītā, every aspect of life is in fact a way of salvation."[237]
Pancaratra Agama
According to Dennis Hudson, there is an overlap between Vedic and Tantric rituals with the
teachings found in the Bhagavad Gita.[238] He places the Pancaratra Agama in the last three or
four centuries of 1st-millennium BCE, and proposes that both the tantric and vedic, the Agama and
the Gita share the same Vasudeva-Krishna roots.[239] Some of the ideas in the Bhagavad Gita
connect it to the Shatapatha Brahmana of Yajurveda. The Shatapatha Brahmana, for example,
mentions the absolute Purusha who dwells in every human being. A story in this vedic text, states
Hudson, highlights the meaning of the name Vasudeva as the 'shining one (deva) who dwells (vasu)
in all things and in whom all things dwell', and the meaning of Vishnu to be the 'pervading actor'.
In Bhagavad Gita, similarly, 'Krishna identified himself both with Vasudeva, Vishnu and their
meanings'.[240][note 18] The ideas at the center of Vedic rituals in Shatapatha Brahmana and the
teachings of the Bhagavad Gita revolve around this absolute Person, the primordial genderless
absolute, which is same as the goal of Pancaratra Agama and Tantra.[242]
Translations
Cover pages of early Gita translations. Left: Charles Wilkins (1785); Center: Parraud re-translation of Wilkins
(1787); Right: Wesleyan Mission Press (1849).
The first English translation of the Bhagavad Gita was published by Charles Wilkins in
1785.[243].The Wilkins translation had an introduction to the Gita by Warren Hastings. Soon the
work was translated into other European languages such as French (1787), German, and Russian.
In 1849, the Weleyan Mission Press, Bangalore published The Bhagavat-Geeta, Or, Dialogues of
Krishna and Arjoon in Eighteen Lectures, with Sanskrit, Canarese and English in parallel columns,
edited by Rev. John Garrett, and the efforts being supported by Sir. Mark Cubbon.[244]
In 1981, Larson stated that "a complete listing of Gita translations and a related secondary
bibliography would be nearly endless".[245]:514 According to Larson, 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."[245]:518
According to Sargeant, the Gita is "said to have been translated at least 200 times, in both poetic
and prose forms".[246] Richard Davis cites a count by Callewaert & Hemraj in 1982 of 1,891
translations of the Bhagavad Gita in 75 languages, including 273 in English.[247] These
translations vary,[248] and are in part an interpretative reconstruction of the original Sanskrit text
that differ in their "friendliness to the reader",[249] and in the amount of "violence to the original
Gita text" that the translation does.[250][note 19]
The translations and interpretations of the Gita have been so diverse that these have been used to
support apparently contradictory political and philosophical values. For example, state Galvin
Flood and Charles Martin, these interpretations have been used to support "pacifism to aggressive
nationalism" in politics, from "monism to theism" in philosophy.[255] According to William
Johnson, the synthesis of ideas in the Gita is such that it can bear almost any shade of
interpretation.[256] A translation "can never fully reproduce an original and no translation is
transparent", states Richard Davis, but in the case of Gita the linguistic and cultural distance for
many translators is large and steep which adds to the challenge and affects the translation.[257] For
some native translators, their personal beliefs, motivations, and subjectivity affect their
understanding, their choice of words and interpretation.[258][259][260] Some translations by

Indians, with or without Western co-translators, have "orientalist", "apologetic", "Neo-Vedantin"
or "guru phenomenon" bias.[245]:525–530
Gerald Larson summarizes the history of translation and interpretation of the Gita as follows:[245]
In her native environment, the Bhagavad Gita is a beguiling, seductive, naturally

beautiful and altogether elegant daughter in the Hindu extended family of Sanskrit
texts. Her limbs are perfectly shaped, her shining black hair and moist pale skin glisten
in the sunlight; the lines of her body evoke the fullness of her breasts and the lush
softness of her lips, and when her sari occasionally drops away to reveal her hidden
nakedness, even a distant observer pauses to marvel and reflect upon such spontaneous
loveliness. [...] She is, thus, in every way a remarkable Hindu daughter, beloved and
pampered by all in the family and combining in her person the best, as well as the most
puzzling, qualities of her heritage. Like all daughters of India, however, her character
and substance are profoundly ethnic and contextual. [...] When she is taken by a foreign
lover or an Indian lover of things foreign, however, and more than that, when she is
taken out of India to live permanently in a different medium – whether Latin or
German or French or English – she becomes diminished. She is occasionally raped and
to some extent always abused, at best becoming a concubine in some house of Western
scholarship, at worst a whore in some brothel of ideology or of an insipid cross-cultural
mysticism. Her natural paradoxes then appear as an unintelligent fickleness; her
simple elegance as simple-mindedness; her refreshing openness to varying perspectives
as proof of her lack of originality; and effortless devotion as hopeless naivete.
— The Song Celestial: Two Centuries of the "Bhagavad Gītā" in English[245]
A sample of translations of the Bhagavad Gita[245]

Title Translator Year
The Bhagavat geeta, or Dialogue of Kreeshna and Arjoon
1785 (https://archive.org/details/B
in Eighteen Lectures with Notes (https://oll.libertyfund.org/t
Charles Wilkins hagavatGitaCharlesWilkins/page/
itles/wilkins-the-bhagvat-geeta-or-dialogues-of-kreeshna-a
n0)
nd-arjoon)
1823 (https://archive.org/details/b
August Wilhelm
Bhagavad-Gita hagavadgitaide00schlgoog/page/
Schlegel
n11)
The Bhagavadgita J.C. Thomson 1856
La Bhagavad-Gita Eugene Burnouf 1861
1875 (https://archive.org/details/T
heBhagavataGitaWithSanataSuja
The Bhagavadgita K.T. Telang
tiyaAndAnugitaKTTelang/page/n
5)
1885 (https://archive.org/details/s
The Song Celestial Sir Edwin Arnold ongcelestialor00arnogoog/page/n
10)
The Bhagavad Gita William Q. Judge 1890
The Bhagavad-Gita with the Commentary of Sri A. Mahadeva
1897
Sankaracarya Sastry
Bhagavadgita: The Lord's Song L.D. Barnett 1905
Anne Besant
Bhagavad Gita and Bhagavan
hagavadgitaorlo00besa/page/n1)
Das
Die Bhagavadgita Richard Garbe 1905
1911 (https://archive.org/details/d
Der Gesang des Heiligen Paul Deussen ergesangdeshei00deusgoog/pag
e/n7)
1913 (https://archive.org/details/sr
Swami
Srimad Bhagavad-Gita imadbhagavadg00swamgoog/pag
Paramananda
e/n10)
1922 (https://fr.wikisource.org/wik
La Bhagavad-Gîtâ Emile Sénart i/Livre:La_Bhagavadgita,_trad._d
e_Senart,_1922.djvu)
1929 (https://babel.hathitrust.org/
The Bhagavad-Gita Arthur W. Ryder cgi/pt?id=uc1.32106016334002;vi
ew=1up;seq=7)
The Song of the Lord, Bhagavad-Gita E.J. Thomas 1931
The Yoga of the Bhagavat Gita Sri Krishna Prem 1938
Franklin
The Bhagavad Gita heBhagavadGitaByEdgertonFran
Edgerton
klinClark/page/n1)
Swami
Prabhavananda 1944 (https://books.google.com/b
The Song of God: Bhagavad Gita
and Christopher ooks?id=JfRjAAAAMAAJ)
Isherwood
1944 (https://archive.org/details/S
Swami
The Bhagavad Gita rimadBhagavadGitaTranslatedSw
Nikhilananda
amiNikhilananda1944/page/n0)
The Bhagavadgita S. 1948 (https://archive.org/details/B
Radhakrishnan hagavadGitaBySRadhakrishnan/p
age/n1)
Shakuntala Rao
The Bhagavadgita 1959
Sastri
The Bhagavad Gita Juan Mascaro
hagavadgitatran00masc)
Swami
The Bhagavadgita heBhagavadBySwamiChidbhava
Chidbhavananda
nand/page/n0)
The Bhagavadgita Eliot Deutsch
hagavadgita00deut)
1968 (https://archive.org/details/B
A.C. hagavadGitaHisDivineGraceACB
Bhagavadgita As It Is
Bhaktivedanta haktivedantaSwamiPrabhupada_
201712/page/n3)
The Bhagavad Gita R.C. Zaehner 1969
The Bhagavad Gita: A New Verse Translation Ann Stanford 1970
Winthrop
Sargeant (Editor: 1979 (https://books.google.com/b
The Bhagavad Gita
Christopher K ooks?id=COuy5CDAqt4C)
Chapple)
J.A.B. van 1980 (https://books.google.com/b
The Bhagavadgita in the Mahabharata
Buitenen ooks?id=4S5OCgAAQBAJ)
Eknath
The Bhagavadgita 1985
Easwaran
1986 (https://books.google.com/b
The Bhagavad-Gita: Krishna's Counsel in Time of War Barbara S. Miller
ooks?id=l_dvDwAAQBAJ)
Ramananda
The Bhagavad-Gita 1988
Prasad
1994 (https://books.google.com/b
The Bhagavad-Gita W.J. Johnson
ooks?id=U3MRAQAAIAAJ)
George 2008 (https://books.google.com/b
The Bhagavad Gita: A New Translation
Thompson ooks?id=K_knYDLJMfsC)
Georg
The Bhagavad Gita, A New Translation 2011
Feuerstein
Jeaneane D. 2012 (https://books.google.com/b
The Bhagavad Gita: A Text and Commentary for Students
Fowler ooks?id=dHX5XwAACAAJ)
Galvin Flood, 2012 (https://books.google.com/b
The Bhagavad Gita: A New Translation
Charles Martin ooks?id=PDYEAwAAQBAJ)
Philosophy of the Bhagavad Gita Keya Maitra 2018
The Bhagavad Gita Chapter 1 to 13 - English
Ravi Shankar 2018
ISBN 9789387578968
According to the exegesis scholar Robert Minor, the Gita is "probably the most translated of any
Asian text", but many modern versions heavily reflect the views of the organization or person who
does the translating and distribution. In Minor's view, the Harvard scholar Franklin Edgerton's
English translation and Richard Garbe's German translation are closer to the text than many
others.[261] According to Larson, the Edgerton translation is remarkably faithful, but it is "harsh,
stilted, and syntactically awkward" with an "orientalist" bias and lacks "appreciation of the text's
contemporary religious significance".[245]:524
The Gita in other languages
The Gita has also been translated into European languages other than English. In 1808, passages
from the Gita were part of the first direct translation of Sanskrit into German, appearing in a book
through which Friedrich Schlegel became known as the founder of Indian philology in
Germany.[262] The most significant French translation of the Gita, according to J. A. B. van
Buitenen, was published by Emile Senart in 1922.[263] Swami Rambhadracharya released the first
Braille version of the scripture, with the original Sanskrit text and a Hindi commentary, on 30
November 2007.[web 4]
The Gita Press has published the Gita in multiple Indian languages.[264] R. Raghava Iyengar
translated the Gita into Tamil in sandam metre poetic form.[265] The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust
associated with ISKCON (https://www.iskconbangalore.org/bhagavad-gita/) has re-translated and
published A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada's 1972 English translation of the Gita in 56 non-
Indian languages.[266][267][note 20] Vinoba Bhave has written the Geeta in Marathi language as
Geetai i.e. Mother Geeta in the similar shloka form.
Paramahansa Yogananda's commentary on the Bhagavad Gita called God Talks With Arjuna: The
Bhagavad Gita has been translated into Spanish, German, Thai and Hindi so far. The book is
significant in that unlike other commentaries of the Bhagavad Gita, which focus on karma yoga,
jnana yoga, and bhakti yoga in relation to the Gita, Yogananda's work stresses the training of one's
mind, or raja yoga.[270]
Bhashya (commentaries)
Bhagavad Gita integrates various schools of thought, notably Vedanta, Samkhya and Yoga, and
other theistic ideas. It remains a popular text for commentators belonging to various philosophical
schools. However, its composite nature also leads to varying interpretations of the text and historic
scholars have written bhashya (commentaries) on it.[271] According to Mysore 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 one essential point or the other".[272]
According to Richard Davis, the Gita has attracted much scholarly interest in Indian history and
some 227 commentaries have survived in the Sanskrit language alone.[273] It has also attracted
commentaries in regional vernacular languages for centuries, such as the one by Dnyaneshwar in
Marathi language (13th-century).[274]
Classical commentaries
The Bhagavad Gita is referred to in the Brahma Sutras, and numerous scholars including
Shankara, Bhaskara, Abhinavagupta of Shaivism tradition, Ramanuja and Madhvacharya wrote
commentaries on it.[275][276] Many of these commentators state that the Gita is "meant to be a
moksa-shastra (moksasatra), and not a dharmasastra, an arthasastra or a kamasastra", states
Sharma.[277]
Śaṅkara (c. 800 CE)

The oldest and most influential surviving commentary was published by Adi Shankara
(Śaṅkarācārya).[278][279] Shankara interprets the Gita in a monist, nondualistic tradition (Advaita
Vedanta).[280] Shankara prefaces his comments by stating that the Gita is popular among the laity,
that the text has been studied and commented upon by earlier scholars (these texts have not
survived), but "I have found that to the laity it appears to teach diverse and quite contradictory
doctrines". He calls the Gita as "an epitome of the essentials of the whole Vedic teaching".[281] To
Shankara, the teaching of the Gita is to shift an individual's focus from the outer, impermanent,
fleeting objects of desire and senses to the inner, permanent, eternal atman-Brahman-Vasudeva
that is identical, in everything and in every being.[282]
Abhinavagupta (c. 1000 CE)

Abhinavagupta was a theologian and philosopher of the Kashmir Shaivism (Shiva) tradition.[279]
He wrote a commentary on the Gita as Gitartha-Samgraha, which has survived into the modern
era. The Gita text he commented on, is slightly different recension than the one of Adi Shankara.
He interprets its teachings in the Shaiva Advaita (monism) tradition quite similar to Adi Shankara,
but with the difference that he considers both soul and matter to be metaphysically real and
eternal. Their respective interpretations of jnana yoga are also somewhat different, and
Abhinavagupta uses Atman, Brahman, Shiva, and Krishna interchangeably. Abhinavagupta's
commentary is notable for its citations of more ancient scholars, in a style similar to Adi Shankara.
However, the texts he quotes have not survived into the modern era.[283]
Rāmānuja (c. 1100 CE)

Ramanuja was a Hindu theologian, philosopher, and an exponent of the Sri Vaishnavism (Vishnu)
tradition in 11th- and early 12th-century. Like his Vedanta peers, Ramanuja wrote a bhashya
(commentary) on the Gita.[284] Ramanuja's disagreed with Adi Shankara's interpretation of the
Gita as a text on nondualism (Self and Brahman are identical), and instead interpreted it as a form
of dualistic and qualified monism philosophy (Vishishtadvaita).[285][286]
Madhva (c. 1250 CE)

Madhva, a commentator of the Dvaita Vedanta school,[279] wrote a commentary on the Bhagavad
Gita, which exemplifies the thinking of the "dualist" school (Dvaita Vedanta).[278] According to
Christopher Chapelle, in the Madhva's school that there is "an eternal and complete distinction
between the Supreme, the many souls, and matter and its divisions".[287] His commentary on the
Gita is called Gita Bhāshya. Madhva's commentary has attracted secondary works by pontiffs of
the Dvaita Vedanta monasteries such as Padmanabha Tirtha, Jayatirtha, and Raghavendra
Tirtha.[288]
Vallabha (1481–1533 A.D)

Vallabha the proponent of "Suddhadvaita" or pure non-dualism, wrote a commentary on the Gita,
the "Sattvadipika". According to him, the true Self is the Supreme Brahman. Bhakti is the most
important means of attaining liberation.
Others
Other classical commentators include
Bhāskara (c. 900 CE) disagreed with Adi Shankara, wrote his own commentary on both
Bhagavad Gita and Brahma Sutras in the Dvaita-advaita tradition also called as the
Bhedābheda tradition.[289] According to Bhaskara, the Gita is essentially Advaita, but not quite
exactly, suggesting that "the Atman (soul) of all beings are like waves in the ocean that is
Brahman". Bhaskara also disagreed with Shankara's formulation of the Maya doctrine, stating
that prakriti, atman and Brahman are all metaphysically real.[289]
Yamunacharya, Ramanuja's teacher summarised the teachings of the Bhagavadgita in his
"Gitarthasangraha".
Nimbarka (1162 CE) followed Bhaskara, but it is unclear if he ever wrote the commentary; the
commentary Gitatattvaprakashika is generally attributed to a student named Kesava Bhatta in
his tradition; the text states that Dasasloki – possibly authored by Nimbarka – teaches the
essence of the Gita; the Gita tattva prakashika interprets the Gita also in a hybrid monist-
dualist manner.[289][290]
Dnyaneshwar (1290 CE),[274][291] the commentary is titled Dnyaneshwari also called
Jnaneshwari or Bhavarthadipika;[292] it is the oldest surviving literary work in the Marathi
language,[293] one of the foundations of the Varkari tradition in Maharashtra (Bhakti movement,
Eknath, Tukaram);[293][294][295] the commentary interprets the Gita in the Advaita Vedanta
tradition[296] Dnyaneshwar belonged to the Nath yogi tradition. His commentary on the Gita is
notable for stating that it is the devotional commitment and love with inner renunciation that
matters, not the name Krishna or Shiva, either can be used interchangeably.[297][298]
Vallabha II, descendent of Vallabha (1479 CE) commentary Tattvadeepika is in the Suddha-
Advaita tradition[271]
Madhusudana Saraswati commentary Gudhartha Deepika is in the Advaita Vedanta
tradition[271]
Hanumat's commentary Paishacha-bhasya is in the Advaita Vedanta tradition[271]
Anandagiri's commentary Bhashya-vyakhyanam is in the Advaita Vedanta tradition[271]
Nilkantha's commentary Bhava-pradeeps is in the Advaita Vedanta tradition[271]
Shreedhara's (1400 AD) commentary Avi gita is in the Advaita Vedanta tradition[271]
Dhupakara Shastri's commentary Subodhini is in the Advaita Vedanta tradition[271]
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (b. 1486 CE) commentaries on various parts of the Gita are in the
Gaudiya Vaishnavism Bhakti (achintya bhedabheda)[note 21] Vedanta tradition; in part a
foundation of the ISKCON (https://www.iskconbangalore.org/bhagavad-gita/) (Hare Krishna)
interpretation of the Gita[300][299]
Purushottama (1668-1781 A.D), Vallabha's follower, also wrote a commentary on Bhagavadgita
Raghavendra's commentary Artha samgraha is in the Dvaita Vedanta tradition[271]
Vanamali Mishra (1685 CE), Gitagudharthacandrika is quite similar to Madhvacharya's
commentary and is in the Dvaita Vedanta tradition[301]
Modern era commentaries

Among notable modern commentators of the Bhagavad Gita are Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Vinoba
Bhave, Mahatma Gandhi (who called its philosophy Anasakti Yoga), Sri Aurobindo, Sarvepalli
Radhakrishnan, and Chinmayananda. Chinmayananda took a syncretistic approach to interpret
the text of the Gita.[302][303]
Tilak wrote his commentary Shrimadh Bhagavad Gita Rahasya while in jail during the period
1910–1911 serving a six-year sentence imposed by the British colonial government in India for
sedition.[304] While noting that the Gita teaches possible paths to liberation, his commentary
places most emphasis on Karma yoga.[305]
No book was more central to Gandhi's life and thought that the Bhagavad Gita, which he
referred to as his "spiritual dictionary".[306] During his stay in Yeravda jail in 1929,[306] 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.[307][308]
The version by A.C. Bhaktivēdānta Swāmi Prabhupāda, entitled Bhagavad-gītā As It Is, is "by
far the most widely distributed of all English Gīta translations" due to the efforts of
ISKCON.[267] Its publisher, the Bhaktivēdānta Book Trust, estimates sales at twenty-three
million copies, a figure which includes the original English edition and secondary translations
into fifty-six other languages.[267] The Prabhupada commentary interprets the Gita in the
Gaudiya Vaishnavism tradition of Chaitanya,[267] quite similar to Madhvacharya's Dvaita
Vēdanta ideology.[309]
It presents Krishna as the Supreme, a means of saving mankind from
the anxiety of material existence through loving devotion. Unlike in Bengal and nearby regions
of India where the Bhagavata Purana is the primary text for this tradition, the devotees of
Prabhupada's ISKCON (https://www.iskconbangalore.org/bhagavad-gita/) tradition have found
better reception for their ideas by those curious in the West through the Gita, according to
Richard Davis.[267]
In 1966, Mahārishi Mahesh Yogi published a partial translation.[267]
An abridged version with 42 verses and commentary was published by Ramana Maharishi.[310]
Bhagavad Gita – The song of God, is a commentary by Swami Mukundananda.[311]
Paramahansa Yogananda's two-volume commentary on the Bhagavad Gita, called God Talks
With Arjuna: The Bhagavad Gita, was released 1995 and is available in 5 language.[312] The
book is significant in that unlike other commentaries of the Bhagavad Gita, which focus on
karma yoga, jnana yoga, and bhakti yoga in relation to the Gita, Yogananda's work stresses the
training of one's mind, or raja yoga.[270] It is published by Self-Realization Fellowship/Yogoda
Satsanga Society of India.
Eknath Easwaran's commentary interprets the Gita for his collection of problems of daily
modern life.[313]
Other modern writers such as Swami Parthasarathy and Sādhu Vāsvāni have published their
own commentaries.[314]
Academic commentaries include those by Jeaneane Fowler,[315] Ithamar Theodor,[316] and
Robert Zaehner.[317]
A collection of Christian commentaries on the Gita has been edited by Catherine Cornille,
comparing and contrasting a wide range of views on the text by theologians and religion
scholars.[318]
Reception
Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi has strongly pitched the Bhagavad Gita as "India's biggest
gift to the world".[319] Modi gifted The Bhagavad Gita to the then President of the United States of
America, Mr. Barack Obama in 2014 during his U.S. visit.[320]
With the translation and study of the Bhagavad Gita by Western scholars beginning in the early
18th century, the Bhagavad Gita gained a growing appreciation and popularity.[web 1] According to
the Indian historian and writer Khushwant Singh, Rudyard Kipling's famous poem "If—" is "the
essence of the message of The Gita in English."[321]
Praise and popularity

The Bhagavad Gita has been highly praised, not only by prominent Indians including Mohandas
Karamchand Gandhi and Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan,[322] but also by Aldous Huxley, Henry David
Thoreau, J. Robert Oppenheimer,[323] Ralph Waldo Emerson, Carl Jung, Herman Hesse,[324][325]
and Bülent Ecevit.[326]
At a time when Indian nationalists were seeking an indigenous basis for social and political action,
Bhagavad Gita provided them with a rationale for their activism and fight against injustice.[327]
Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Mahatma Gandhi used the text to help inspire the Indian independence
movement.[note 22][note 23] 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
the Bhagavadgītā. 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.[328][329]
Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of independent India, commented on the Gita:
The Bhagavad-Gita deals essentially with the spiritual foundation of human existence.
It is a call of action to meet the obligations and duties of life; yet keeping in view the
spiritual nature and grander purpose of the universe.[330]
A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, 11th President of India, despite being a Muslim, used to read Bhagavad Gita
and recite mantras.[331][332][333][334][335]
J. Robert Oppenheimer, American physicist and director

of the Manhattan Project, learned Sanskrit in 1933 and
read the Bhagavad Gita in the original form, citing it later
as one of the most influential books to shape his
philosophy of life. Oppenheimer later recalled that, while
witnessing the explosion of the Trinity nuclear test, he
thought of verses from the Bhagavad Gita (XI,12):
The Trinity test of the Manhattan Project

द व सूयसह भवे ुगपदु ता य द भाः स शी सा
was the first detonation of a nuclear
weapon, which lead Oppenheimer to ा ास महा नः ॥११- १२॥
recall verses from the Bhagavad Gita,
notably being: "I am become Death, the If the radiance of a thousand suns were to
destroyer of worlds". burst at once into the sky, that would be like
the splendor of the mighty one ...[336]
Years later he would explain that another verse had also entered his head at that time:
We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried.
Most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the
Bhagavad Gita; Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he should do his duty and,
to impress him, takes on his multi-armed form and says, 'Now I am become Death, the
destroyer of worlds.' I suppose we all thought that, one way or another.[337][note 24]
Ralph Waldo Emerson, remarked the following after his first study of the Gita, and thereafter
frequently quoted the text in his journals and letters, particularly the "work with inner
renunciation" idea in his writings on man's quest for spiritual energy:[340]
I owed – my friend and I owed – a magnificent day to the Bhagavad Geeta. It was the
first of books; it was as if an empire spoke to us, nothing small or unworthy, but large,
serene, consistent, the voice of an old intelligence which in another age and climate had
pondered and thus disposed of the same questions which exercise us.[340]
Criticisms and apologetics
Varna system
The Gita presents its teaching in the context of a war where the warrior Arjuna is in inner crisis
about whether he should renounce and abandon the battlefield, or fight and kill. He is advised by
Krishna to do his sva-dharma, a term that has been variously interpreted. According to the
Indologist Paul Hacker, the contextual meaning in the Gita is the "dharma of a particular
varna".[341] Neo-Hindus such as Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, states Hacker, have preferred to not
translate it in those terms, or "dharma" as religion, but leave Gita's message as "everyone must
follow his sva-dharma".[342] According to Chatterjee, the Hindus already understand the meaning
of that term. To render it in English for non-Hindus for its better understanding, one must ask
what is the sva-dharma for the non-Hindus? The Lord, states Chatterjee, created millions and
millions of people, and he did not ordain dharma only for Indians [Hindus] and "make all the
others dharma-less", for "are not the non-Hindus also his children"? According to Chatterjee, the
Krishna's religion of Gita is "not so narrow-minded".[342] This argument, states Hacker, is an
attempt to "universalize Hinduism".[342]
The Gita has been cited and criticized as a Hindu text that supports varna-dharma and the caste
system.[343][344][345] B. R. Ambedkar, born in a Dalit family and the principal architect of the
Constitution of India, criticized the text for its stance on caste and for "defending certain dogmas of
religion on philosophical grounds".[345] According to Jimmy Klausen, Ambedkar in his essay
Krishna and his Gita stated that the Gita was a "tool" of Brahmanical Hinduism and for its latter-
day saints such as Mahatma Gandhi and Lokmanya Tilak. To Ambedkar, states Klausen, it is a text
of "mostly barbaric, religious particularisms" offering "a defence of the kshatriya duty to make war
and kill, the assertion that varna derives from birth rather than worth or aptitude, and the
injunction to perform karma" neither perfunctorily nor egotistically.[346] Similar criticism of the
Gita has been published by Damodar Dharmananda Kosambi, another Marxist historian.[347]
Nadkarni and Zelliot present the opposite view, citing early Bhakti saints of the Krishna-tradition
such as the 13th-century Dnyaneshwar.[348] According to Dnyaneshwar, the Gita starts off with the
discussion of sva-dharma in Arjuna's context but ultimately shows that caste differences are not
important. For Dnyaneshwar, people err when they see themselves distinct from each other and
Krishna, and these distinctions vanish as soon as they accept, understand and enter with love unto
Krishna.[349][350]
According to Swami Vivekananda, sva-dharma in the Gita does not mean "caste duty", rather it
means the duty that comes with one's life situation (mother, father, husband, wife) or profession
(soldier, judge, teacher, doctor). For Vivekananda, the Gita was an egalitarian scripture that
rejected caste and other hierarchies because of its verses such as 13.27—28, which states "He who
sees the Supreme Lord dwelling equally in all beings, the Imperishable in things that perish, he
sees verily. For seeing the Lord as the same everywhere present, he does not destroy the Self by the
Self, and thus he goes to the highest goal."[351][note 25]
Aurobindo modernises the concept of dharma and svabhava by internalising it, away from the
social order and its duties towards one's personal capacities, which leads to a radical
individualism,[354] "finding the fulfilment of the purpose of existence in the individual alone."[354]
He deduced from the Gita the doctrine that "the functions of a man ought to be determined by his
natural turn, gift, and capacities",[354] that the individual should "develop freely"[354] and thereby
would be best able to serve society.[354]
Gandhi's view differed from Aurobindo's view.[355] He recognised in the concept of sva-dharma
his idea of svadeshi (sometimes spelled swadeshi), the idea that "man owes his service above all to
those who are nearest to him by birth and situation."[355] To him, svadeshi was "sva-dharma
applied to one's immediate environment."[356]
According to Jacqueline Hirst, the universalist neo-Hindu interpretations of dharma in the Gita is
modernism, though any study of pre-modern distant foreign cultures is inherently subject to
suspicions about "control of knowledge" and bias on the various sides.[357] Hindus have their own
understanding of dharma that goes much beyond the Gita or any particular Hindu text.[357]
Further, states Hirst, the Gita should be seen as a "unitary text" in its entirety rather than a
particular verse analyzed separately or out of context. Krishna is presented as a teacher who "drives
Arjuna and the reader beyond initial preconceptions". The Gita is a cohesively knit pedagogic text,
not a list of norms.[358]
Modern-Hinduism
Novel interpretations of the Gita, along with apologetics on it, have been a part of the modern era
revisionism and renewal movements within Hinduism.[359] Bakim Chandra Chatterji, the author of
Vande Mataram – the national song of India, challenged orientalist literature on Hinduism and
offered his interpretations of the Gita, states Ajit Ray.[360][213] Bal Gangadhar Tilak interpreted the
karma yoga teachings in Gita as a "doctrine of liberation" taught by Hinduism,[361] while S
Radhakrishnan stated that the Bhagavad Gita teaches a universalist religion and the "essence of
Hinduism" along with the "essence of all religions", rather than a private religion.[362]
Vivekananda's works contained numerous references to the Gita, such as his lectures on the four
yogas – Bhakti, Jnana, Karma, and Raja.[363] Through the message of the Gita, Vivekananda
sought to energise the people of India to reclaim their dormant but strong identity.[364] Aurobindo
saw Bhagavad Gita as a "scripture of the future religion" and suggested that Hinduism had
acquired a much wider relevance through the Gita.[365] Sivananda called Bhagavad Gita "the most
precious jewel of Hindu literature" and suggested its introduction into the curriculum of Indian
schools and colleges.[366]
According to Ronald Neufeldt, it was the Theosophical Society that dedicated much attention and
energy to the allegorical interpretation of the Gita, along with religious texts from around the
world, after 1885 and given H. P. Blavatsky, Subba Rao and Anne Besant writings.[367] Their
attempt was to present their "universalist religion". These late 19th-century theosophical writings
called the Gita as a "path of true spirituality" and "teaching nothing more than the basis of every
system of philosophy and scientific endeavor", triumphing over other "Samkhya paths" of
Hinduism that "have degenerated into superstition and demoralized India by leading people away
from practical action".[367]
Political violence
In the Gita, Krishna persuades Arjuna to wage war where the enemy includes some of his own
relatives and friends. In light of the Ahimsa (non-violence) teachings in Hindu scriptures, the Gita
has been criticized as violating the Ahmisa value, or alternatively, as supporting political
violence.[368] The justification of political violence when peaceful protests and all else fails, states
Varma, has been a "fairly common feature of modern Indian political thought" along with the
"mighty antithesis of Gandhian thought on non-violence". During the freedom movement in India,
Hindus considered active "burning and drowning of British goods" which technically illegal under
the colonial laws, were viewed as a moral and just-war for the sake of liberty and righteous values
of the type Gita discusses.[369]

According to Paul Schaffel the influential Hindu nationalist V.D.
Savarkar "often turned to Hindu scripture such as the Bhagavad Gita, arguing that the text justified
violence against those who would harm Mother India."[370]
Mahatma Gandhi credited his commitment for ahimsa to the Gita. For Gandhi, the Gita is
teaching that people should fight for justice and righteous values, that they should never meekly
suffer injustice to avoid a war. According to the Indologist Ananya Vajpeyi, the Gita does not
elaborate on the means or stages of war, nor on ahimsa, except for stating that "ahimsa is virtuous
and characterizes an awakened, steadfast, ethical man" in verses such as 13.7–10 and 16.1–5.[371]
For Gandhi, states Vajpeyi, ahimsa is the "relationship between self and other" while he and his
fellow Indians battled against the colonial rule. Gandhian ahimsa is in fact "the essence of the
entire Gita", according to Vajpeyi.[371] The teachings of the Gita on ahimsa are ambiguous, states
Arvind Sharma, and this is best exemplified by the fact that Nathuram Godse stated the Gita as his
inspiration to do his dharma after he assassinated Mahatma Gandhi.[114] Thomas Merton, the
Trappist monk and author of books on Zen Buddhism, concurs with Gandhi and states that the
Gita is not teaching violence nor propounding a "make war" ideology. Instead, it is teaching peace
and discussing one's duty to examine what is right and then act with pure intentions, when one's
faces difficult and repugnant choices.[372]
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 (1979). The entire libretto of the opera consists of
sayings from the Gita sung in the original Sanskrit.[web 5]
In Douglas Cuomo's Arjuna's dilemma, the philosophical dilemma faced by Arjuna is dramatised
in operatic form with a blend of Indian and Western music styles.[web 6]
The 1993 Sanskrit film, Bhagavad Gita, directed by G. V. Iyer won the 1993 National Film Award
for Best Film.[web 7][web 8]
The 1995 novel by Steven Pressfield, and its adaptation as the 2000 golf movie The Legend of
Bagger Vance by Robert Redford has parallels to the Bhagavad Gita, according to Steven J.
Rosen. Steven Pressfield acknowledges that the Gita was his inspiration, the golfer character in his
novel is Arjuna, the caddie is Krishna, states Rosen. The movie, however, uses the plot but glosses
over the teachings unlike the novel.[373]
See also
Ashtavakra Gita
Avadhuta Gita
Bhagavata Purana
The Ganesha Gita
Puranas
Self-consciousness (Vedanta)
Uddhava Gita
Vedas
Prasthanatrayi
Vyadha Gita
Notes
1. Krishna states that the body is impermanent and dies, never the immortal soul, the latter is
either reborn or achieves moksha for those who have understood the true spiritual path he
teaches in the Gita.[web 1]
2. The Bhagavad Gita also integrates theism and transcendentalism[web 1] or spiritualmonism,[7]
and identifies a God of personal characteristics with the Brahman of the Vedic tradition.[web 1]
3. This legend is depicted with Ganesha (Vinayaka) iconography in Hindu temples where he is
shown with a broken right tusk and his right arm holds the broken tusk as if it was a
stylus.[26][27]
4. The debate about the relationship between the Gita and the Mahabharata is historic, in part the
basis for chronologically placing the Gita and its authorship. The Indologist Franklin Edgerton
was among the early scholars and a translator of the Gita who believed that the Gita was a
later composition that was inserted into the epic, at a much later date, by a creative poet of
great intellectual power intimately aware of emotional and spiritual aspects of human
existence.[34] Edgerton's primary argument was that it makes no sense that two massive
armies facing each other on a battlefield will wait for two individuals to have a lengthy dialogue.
Further, he states that the Mahabharata has numerous such interpolations and inserting the
Gita would not be unusual.[34] In contrast, the Indologist James Fitzgerald states, in a manner
similar to van Buitenen, that the Bhagavad Gita is the centerpiece and essential to the
ideological continuity in the Mahabharata, and the entire epic builds up to the fundamental
dharma questions in the Gita. This text, states Fitzgerald, must have been integral to the
earliest version of the epic.[35]
5. According to Basham, passionately theistic verses are found, for example, in chapters 4, 7, 9,
10, 11, 14.1–6 with 14.29, 15, 18.54–78; while more philosophical verses with one or two
verses where Krishna identifies himself as the highest god are found, for example, in chapters
2.38–72, 3, 5, 6, 8, 13 and 14.7–25, 16, 17 and 18.1–53. Further, states Basham, the verses
that discuss Gita's "motiveless action" doctrine was probably authored by someone else and
these constitute the most important ethical teaching of the text.[37]
6. According to the Indologist and Sanskrit literature scholar Moriz Winternitz, the founder of the
early Buddhist Sautrāntika school named Kumaralata (1st-century CE) mentions both
Mahabharata and Ramayana, along with early Indian history on writing, art and painting, in his
Kalpanamanditika text. Fragments of this early text have survived into the modern era.[42]
7. The Indologist Étienne Lamotte used a similar analysis to conclude that the Gita in its current
form likely underwent one redaction that occurred in the 3rd- or 2nd-century BCE.[44]
8. They state that the authors of the Bhagavad Gita must have seen the appeal of the
soteriologies found in "the heterodox traditions of Buddhism and Jainism" as well as those
found in " the orthodox Hindu traditions of Samkhya and Yoga". The Gita attempts to present a
harmonious, universalist answer, state Deutsch and Dalvi.[8]
9. This is called the doctrine of nishakama karma in Hinduism.[74][75]
10. An alternate way to describe the poetic structure of Gita, according to Sargeant, is that it
consists of "four lines of eight syllables each", similar to one found in Longfellow's Hiawatha.[96]
11. In the epic Mahabharata, after Sanjaya—counsellor of the Kuru king Dhritarashtra—returns
from the battlefield to announce the death of Bhishma, he begins recounting the details of the
Mahabharata war. Bhagavad Gita is a part of this recollection.[99]
12. Some editions include the Gita Dhyanam consisting of 9 verses. The Gita Dhyanam is not a
part of the original Bhagavad Gita, but some modern era versions insert it as a prefix to the
Gītā. The verses of the Gita Dhyanam (also called Gītā Dhyāna or Dhyāna Ślokas) offer
salutations to a variety of sacred scriptures, figures, and entities, characterise the relationship
of the Gītā to the Upanishads, and affirm the power of divine assistance.[109][110]
13. This is the avatara concept found in the Vaishnavism tradition of Hinduism.[2]
14. For alternate worded translations, see Radhakrishnan,[128] Miller,[129] Sargeant,[130]

Edgerton,[131] Flood & Martin,[132] and others.
15. This contrasts with a few competing schools of Indian religions which denied the concept of
self, soul.[174][175]
16. Nikhilananda & Hocking 2006, p. 2 "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."
17. Aurobindo writes, "... That is a view which the general character and the actual language of the
epic does not justify and, if pressed, would turn the straightforward philosophical language of
the Gita into a constant, laborious and somewhat puerile mystification ... the Gita is written in
plain terms and professes to solve the great ethical and spiritual difficulties which the life of
man raises, and it will not do to go behind this plain language and thought and wrest them to
the service of our fancy. But there is this much of truth in the view, that the setting of the
doctrine though not symbolical, is certainly typical.[232]
18. Other parallelism include verse 10.21 of Gita replicating the structure of verse 1.2.5 of the
Shatapatha Brahmana.[241]
19. Sanskrit scholar Barbara Stoler Miller produced a translation in 1986 intended to emphasise
the poem's influence and current context within English Literature, especially the works of T.S.
Eliot, Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson.[251] The translation was praised by
scholars as well as literary critics.[252][253] Similarly, the Hinduism scholar Jeaneane Fowler's
translation and student text has been praised for its comprehensive introduction, quality of
translation, and commentary.[254]
20. Teachings of International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), a Gaudiya Vaishnava
religious organisation which spread rapidly in North America in the 1970s and 1980s, are
based on a translation of the Gita called Bhagavad-Gītā As It Is by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupada.[268] These teachings are also illustrated in the dioramas of Bhagavad-gita
Museum in Los Angeles, California.[269]
21. According to Edwin Bryant and Maria Ekstrand, this school incorporates and integrates aspects
of "qualified monism, dualism, monistic dualism, and pure nondualism".[299]
22. For B.G. Tilak and Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi as notable commentators see:
Gambhirananda 1997, p. xix
23. For notability of the commentaries by B.G. Tilak and Gandhi and their use to inspire the
independence movement see: Sargeant 2009, p. xix
24. Oppenheimer spoke these words in the television documentary The Decision to Drop the Bomb
(http://www.atomicarchive.com/Movies/Movie8.shtml) (1965).[337] Oppenheimer read the
original text in Sanskrit, "kālo'smi lokakṣayakṛtpravṛddho lokānsamāhartumiha pravṛttaḥ"
(XI,32), which he translated as "I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds". In the literature,
the quote usually appears in the form shatterer of worlds, because this was the form in which it
first appeared in print, in Time magazine on November 8, 1948.[338] It later appeared in Robert
Jungk's Brighter than a Thousand Suns: A Personal History of the Atomic Scientists
(1958),[336] which was based on an interview with Oppenheimer. See Hijiya, The Gita of Robert
Oppenheimer[339]
25. This view in the Gita of the unity and equality in the essence of all individual beings as the
hallmark of a spiritually liberated, wise person is also found in the classical and modern
commentaries on Gita verses 5.18, 6.29, and others.[352][353] Scholars have contested
Kosambi's criticism of the Gita based on its various sections on karma yoga, bhakti yoga and
jnana yoga.[347]
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Retrieved 16 October 2009.
6. Tommasini, Anthony (7 November 2008). "Warrior Prince From India Wrestles With Destiny" (ht
tps://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/07/arts/music/07arju.html). The New York Times. Retrieved
16 October 2009.
7. "40th National Film Awards" (https://web.archive.org/web/20160602174839/http://iffi.nic.in/Dff2
011/Frm40thNFAAward.aspx). India International Film Festival. Archived from the original (htt
p://iffi.nic.in/Dff2011/Frm40thNFAAward.aspx) on 2 June 2016. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
8. "40th National Film Awards (PDF)" (http://dff.nic.in/2011/40th_nff_1993.pdf) (PDF). Directorate
of Film Festivals. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
External links
Sanskrit Wikisource has original text related to this article: भगव ीता
Works related to The Bhagavad Gita (Arnold translation) at Wikisource
Bhagavad Gita (https://curlie.org/Society/Religion_and_Spirituality/Hinduism/Religious_Texts/B
hagavad_Gita) at Curlie
Bhagavad Gita Shloka (https://archive.org/details/Shrimad_Bhagavad_Gita-Sanskrit_Audio) in
Sanskrit
Bhagvat Geeta - Dialogues of Kreeshna and Arjoon by Charles Wilkins (https://oll.libertyfund.or
g/titles/wilkins-the-bhagvat-geeta-or-dialogues-of-kreeshna-and-arjoon)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bhagavad_Gita&oldid=931959300"
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23/12/2019 Bhagavad Gita - Wikipedia

The Gita is set in a narrative framework of a dialogue between

The Bhagavad Gita presents a synthesis[5][6] of Hindu ideas Language Sanskrit

Composition and signiﬁcance

In the Indian tradition, the Bhagavad Gita, as well as the epic

Scholars consider Vyasa to be a mythical or symbolic author, in

Kashi Nath Upadhyaya, in contrast, dates it a bit earlier.

Composition and significance

Some Hindus give it the status of an Upanishad, and

Narrative A 19th-century Sanskrit manuscript of the

Bhagavad Gita comprises 18 chapters (section 25 to

Chapter 1 (46 verses)

Chapter 2 (72 verses)

Chapter 3 (43 verses)

Chapter 4 (42 verses)

Chapter 5 (29 verses)

Chapter 6 (47 verses) Selfless service

Chapter 7 (30 verses)

Chapter 8 (28 verses)

Chapter 9 (34 verses)

Chapter 10 (42 verses)

Chapter 11 (55 verses)

nirvikalpa samadhi (a universal) as he gets an understanding

Chapter 12 (20 verses)

Chapter 13 (35 verses)

Chapter 14 (27 verses)

Sanskrit, Malayalam script (Kerala)

Sanskrit, Kannada script

Chapter 16 (24 verses)

Chapter 17 (28 verses)

Chapter 18 (78 verses)

The nature of God

The nature of Self

The nature of the world

Synthesis of yogas, Raja yoga

chapters into three sections of six chapters each. Swami

Chapters 1–6 = Karma yoga, the means to the ﬁnal goal

The Field of Dharma

Swami Nikhilananda, takes Arjuna as an allegory of Ātman, Krishna as an allegory of Brahman,

Promotion of just war and duty

understanding, their choice of words and interpretation.[258][259][260] Some translations by

In her native environment, the Bhagavad Gita is a beguiling, seductive, naturally

— The Song Celestial: Two Centuries of the "Bhagavad Gītā" in English[245]

A sample of translations of the Bhagavad Gita[245]

The Gita in other languages

Śaṅkara (c. 800 CE)

Abhinavagupta (c. 1000 CE)

Rāmānuja (c. 1100 CE)

Madhva (c. 1250 CE)

Vallabha (1481–1533 A.D)

Modern era commentaries

Praise and popularity

J. Robert Oppenheimer, American physicist and director

The Trinity test of the Manhattan Project

Criticisms and apologetics

of the type Gita discusses.[369]

14. For alternate worded translations, see Radhakrishnan,[128] Miller,[129] Sargeant,[130]

1. Davis 2014, p. 2.

28. George M.Williams (2008). Handbook of Hindu Mythology (https://books.google.com/books?id

55. Singh 2005, p. 37.