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Bhagavad gita Means: Bhagavadgita or Bhagavad
gita is usually translated as the Song of God. It is actually
a song meant for the Bhagavatas, meaning the servants of God.
The Status of the Bhagavad gita in Hinduism:
The Bhagavad gita is regarded as an Upanishad (secret
teaching), Brahma Vidya (knowledge of Brahman), and Yoga
sastra ( a scripture on yoga). The Bhagavad gita,
Brahma sutras and the Upanishad together are considered the
triple scriptures or Prastanatraya. However, because it forms part of the Mahabharata,
the Bhagavad gita is considered a memorial scripture (smriti)
rather than a revelation (shruti) to which the Vedas belong.
Who composed the Bhagavad gita?: We do not
have definite information regarding who composed the Bhagavad gita
in the scriptural form. Since it forms part of the Bhishma Parva
of the Mahabharata, its authorship is traditionally ascribed
to Ved Vyasa and the ultimate source to Lord Krishna Himself.
When the Bhagavad gita was composed?: Historians
tend to ascribe different dates to the composition of the Bhagavad
gita. It is possible that the Bhagavad gita existed as a secret
teaching and was transmitted orally and selectively to a chosen
few before it gained popularity and earned the status of a scripture
by itself, coinciding with the rise of Bhakti movement and Vaishnavism
after sixth century BCE.
Main characters of the Bhagavad gita: Dhritarashtra,
Sanjaya, Arjuna, Lord Krishna are the four main participants
of the Bhagavad-Gita. The four represent the four states of
awareness and four means of knowing.
Contents of the Bhagavad gita: The most
commonly accepted renderings of the Bhagavad gita contains 18
chapters of varying lengths and in all 699 or 700 verses. It
is believed that the actual number of verses was originally
745. The verses are composed in Anustup meter and hence suitable
for singing and chanting. Ved Vyasa is considered the seer (rishi)
of the Bhagavad gita mantra. Lord Krishna is its chief deity
(devata).
The message of the Bhagavad gita: Know your
identity, do your duty, surrender to God, offer your actions
and their fruit to Him, practice detachment, renounce all desires,
meditate upon God and His manifestations, cultivate divine qualities,
learn to discriminate the right from wrong and the pure from
the impure using your intelligence and work for your
salvation: this, in brief, is the message of the Bhagavad gita.
Translation of the Bhagavad gita: The Bhagavad
gita was first translated in 1785 by Charles Wilkins. After
that there have been many translations. The following is a translation
done by Jayaram V in 2000. This is a free translation in the
sense that it is not a word to word translation. This is different
from the recently published translations by the same
author, namley The Bhagavad gita Complete Translation
and its abridged version, The Bhagavad gita Simple Translation.
The Complete Translation also contains a comprehensive commentary.
We are providing links to all the three versions. The other
two versions are presently available only in print form and
not available online. We will provide some contents from these
two soon. Presently you can read only a few excerpts.
The Bhagavadgita Complete Translation: Word to Word Translation
and Commentary by Jayaram V. This contains the
most comprehensive commentary on the Bhagavad gita in recent times.
Only printed copies are available presently. If you want to purchase
a copy please use this link. You may also
read a
few excerpts from here.
The Bhagavadgita Simple Translation: This is
an abridged version of the Bhagavad gita translation. It contains
the Sanskrit text, word-to-word translation and the meaning of each
verse rendered in English. Only printed copies are available presently.
If you want to purchase a copy please use this link.
Essays on
the Bhagavadgita: In this collection of essays, you
will find a critical analysis of the philosophy of the Bhagavad
gita and its relevance to human life. Only printed copies are available
presently. If you want to purchase a copy please use this link.
The Bhagavadgita Free Translation: This is a
FREE TRANSLATION of the Bhagavad gita different from the
Bhagavadgita Complete Translation and
its abridged version. The Free Translation contains only the meaning
of each verse in English. It is simple to read and very useful to
understand the meaning, significance and the message of the Bhagavad
gita.
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Suggested Further Reading
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