Bhagavad Gita

by Franklin Edgerton

The Bhagavad Gita is the principle source of religious inspiration for many millions of Indians. This two-volume edition contains transliteration of the original Sanskrit and its close translation. Edgerton's interpretation analyzes its influence on later literature and its place in Indian philosophy.

The Bhagavad Gita, "The Song of the Lord," is the chief devotional text of most Indians. This text is part of a larger epic of Mahabharata, an ancient story that took literary form between the fifth BCE and third century CE. The Gita refers to dharma, which is the right ordering that supports the cosmos. Dharma is equivalent to natural law and conscience. In the Gita, a Pandava brother Arjuna loses his will to fight and has a discussion with his charioteer Krishna, about duty, action, and renunciation. The Gita has three major themes: knowledge, action, and love.

To most Visnuites, and to most Hindus, the Bhagavad Gita is what the New Testament is to Christians. It is their chief devotional book, and has been for centuries the principal source of religious inspiration for many millions of Indians. In this two-volume edition (bound in one), Volume I contains on facing pages a transliteration of the original Sanskrit and the author's close translation. Volume II is Edgerton's interpretation in which he makes clear the historical setting of the poem and analyzes its influence on later literature and its place in Indian philosophy.

2 Vols. in one (Vol. I:Text and Translation; Vol. II: Interpretation and Arnold's Translation).

About the Author:

Franklin Edgerton was Salisbury Professor of Sanskrit and Comparative Philosophy in Yale University. He has many books and articles to his credit in the fields of Indian literature, philosophy and religion Sanskrit and general comparative philology.

Review:

"It is a real pleasure to read 'India's favorite Bible' in this beautiful and very convenient edition...Edgerton analyzes the doctrines of the Gita with clearness and acuteness, and his expos´e is full of well-chosen quotations and suggestive remarks."  P.E. Dumont, Journal of the American Oriental Society