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Bhagavad Gita

Several terms redirect here. For other uses, see Bhagavad Gita (disambiguation) and Gita (disambiguation).

Bhagavad Gita
Bhagavad Gita's revelation: Krishna tells the Gita to Arjuna
Information
ReligionHinduism
AuthorTraditionally attributed to Vyasa
LanguageSanskrit
Chapters18
Verses700
Full text
The Bhagavad Gita at English Wikisource

The Bhagavad Gita (/ˈbʌɡəvəd ˈɡiːtɑː/;[1] Sanskrit: भगवद्गीता, IPA: [ˌbʱɐɡɐʋɐd ˈɡiːtɑː], romanized: bhagavad-gītā, lit. 'god's Song'),[a] often referred to as the Gita (IAST: gītā), is a Hindu scripture, dated to the second or first century BCE,[7] which forms part of the Epic Mahabharata. It is a synthesis of various strands of Indian religious thought, including the Vedic concept of dharma (duty, rightful action); samkhya-based yoga and jnana (insight, knowledge); and bhakti (devotion).[8][b] It holds a unique pan-Hindu influence as the most prominent sacred text and is a central text in Vedanta and the Vaishnava Hindu tradition.

While traditionally attributed to the sage Veda Vyasa, the Gita is probably a composite work composed by multiple authors.[9][10][11] It is set in a narrative framework of dialogue between the Pandava prince Arjuna and his charioteer guide Krishna, an avatar of Vishnu, at the onset of the Kurukshetra War, incorporating teachings from the Upanishads and samkhya yoga philosophy.[6]

While praising the benefits of yoga[12][13] to release man's inner essence from the bounds of desire and the wheel of rebirth,[6] the Gita propagates the Brahmanic idea of living according to one's duty or dharma, in contrast to the ascetic ideal of liberation by avoiding all karma.[12] Facing the perils of war, Arjuna hesitates to perform his duty (dharma) as a warrior. Krishna persuades him to commence in battle, arguing that while following one's dharma, one should not consider oneself to be the agent of action, but attribute all of one's actions to God (bhakti).[14][15]

The Gita posits the existence of an individual self (jivatman) and the higher Godself (Krishna, Atman/Brahman) in every being;[c] the Krishna-Arjuna dialogue has been interpreted as a metaphor for an everlasting dialogue between the two.[d] Numerous classical and modern thinkers have written commentaries on the Gita with differing views on its essence and essentials, including on the relation between the individual self (jivatman) and God (Krishna)[16] or the supreme self (Atman/Brahman). The Gita famously mentions, in chapter XIII verse 24–25, the four ways to see the self, interpreted as four yogas, namely through meditation (raja yoga), insight/intuition (jnana yoga), work/right action (karma yoga) and devotion/love (bhakti yoga), an influential division that was popularized by Swami Vivekananda in the 1890s.[17][18]

  1. ^ "Bhagavad-Gita". Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.
  2. ^ Davis 2014, p. 2.
  3. ^ Sharma 1986, p. 3.
  4. ^ Fowler 2012, p. xxiv.
  5. ^ Buitenen 2013, pp. 6, Quote: "ca. 200 BC is a likely date"..
  6. ^ a b c Doniger 2024.
  7. ^ [3][4][5][6]
  8. ^ Smith 2009, p. xii.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference McLeod2014p168 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Minor 1982, p. xxxiv, Quote: "Therefore, instead of the traditional view of authorship, many scholars have argued that the Gita is not the work of one author but a composite work.".
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference basham1991p85 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ a b Scheepers 2000, pp. 122–127.
  13. ^ Flood & Martin 2013, p. xxvi.
  14. ^ Zaehner 1973, p. 200.
  15. ^ Flood 1996, p. 124-128.
  16. ^ Sutton 2017, p. 113.
  17. ^ De Michelis 2005.
  18. ^ Birch 2013.


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