Bhagavad Gita

Bhagavad Gita As It Is in English [New Edition] | Bhagwat Geeta in English

Bhagavad Gita As It Is in English [New Edition] | Bhagwat Geeta in English

The Bhagavad Gita (/ˌbʌɡəvəd ˈɡiːtɑː, -tə/; Sanskrit: भगवद्गीता, bhagavad-gītā in IAST. "The Song of God"), often referred to as the Gita, is a 700 verse Hindu scripture in Sanskritthat is part of the Hindu epic Mahabharata (chapters 23–40 of the 6th book of Mahabharata).

The Gita is set in a narrative framework of a dialogue between Pandava prince Arjuna and his guide and charioteer Lord Krishna. Facing the duty as a warrior to fight the Dharma Yudhha or righteous war between Pandavas and Kauravas, Arjuna is counselled by Lord Krishna to "fulfill his Kshatriya (warrior) duty as a warrior and establish Dharma". Inserted in this appeal to kshatriya dharma (chivalry) "is a dialogue ... between diverging attitudes concerning methods toward the attainment of liberation (moksha)".

The Bhagavad Gita presents a synthesis of the concept of Dharma, theistic bhakti, the yogic ideals of moksha through jnana, bhakti, karma, and Raja Yoga (spoken of in the 6th chapter) and Samkhyaphilosophy.

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, whereas Bhedabheda and Vishishtadvaita see Atman and Brahman as both different and non-different, and Dvaita sees them as different. The setting of the Gita in a battlefield has been interpreted as an allegory for the ethical and moral struggles of the human life.

The Bhagavad Gita's call for selfless action inspired many leaders of the Indian independence movement including Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi referred to the Gita as his "spiritual dictionary"

Bhagavad Gita comprises 18 chapters

1.Prathama adhyaya - Lamenting the Consequence of War

2.Sankhya yoga - The Eternal Reality of the Souls Immortality

3.Karma yoga - The Eternal Duties of Human Beings

4.Gyaana Yoga - Approaching the Ultimate Truth

5.Karma Yoga - Action and Renunciation

6.Dhyan yoga or Atmasanyam yoga - The Science of Self Realization

7.Gyaana ViGyaana yoga - Knowledge of the Ultimate Truth

8.Aksara Brahma yoga - Attainment of Salvation

9.Raja Vidya Raja Guhya yoga - Confidential Knowledge of the Ultimate Truth

10.Vibhuti Vistara yoga - The Infinite Glories of the Ultimate Truth

11.Visvarupa Darsana yoga - The Vision of the Universal Form

12.Bhakti yoga - The Path of Devotion

13.Ksetra Ksetrajna Vibhaga yoga - The Individual Consciousness and Ultimate Consciousness

14.Gunatraya Vibhaga yoga - The Three Qualities of Material Nature

15.Purusottama yoga - Realization of the Ultimate Truth

16.Daivasura Sampad Vibhaga yoga - The Divine and the Demoniac Natures Defined

17.Sraddhatraya-Vibhaga yoga - The Three Divisions of Material Existence

18.Moksha Sanyasa yoga - Final Revelations of the Ultimate Truth

Bhagavad Gita comprises 18 chapters (section 25 to 42) in the Bhishma Parva of the epic Mahabharata and consists of 700 verses 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. According to the recension of the Gita commented on by Adi Shankara, a prominent philosopher of the Vedanta school, the number of verses is 700, but there is evidence to show that old manuscripts had 745 verses. The verses themselves, composed with similes and metaphors, are poetic in nature. The verses mostly employ the range and style of the Sanskrit Anustubh metre (chhandas), and in a few expressive verses the Tristubh metre is used.

The Sanskrit editions of the Gita name each chapter as a particular form of yoga. However, these chapter titles do not appear in the Sanskrit text of the Mahabharata.