text:
THE

**BHAGAVAD GITA**

A NEW TRANSLATION

**Gavin Flood** and **Charles Martin**

_To our teachers_
CONTENTS

_Translators' Introduction_

The **_Bhagavad Gita_**

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

_Notes_
TRANSLATORS' INTRODUCTION

The _Bhagavad Gita_ , the "Song of the Lord," is a Sanskrit poem composed in seven hundred numbered stanzas, divided into eighteen chapters, in the form of a dialogue between the Lord Krishna, a god whom we first see in his "gentle, human form," and Arjuna, a heroic warrior, who is himself the son of another god by a mortal woman. Their discourse takes place on the eve of a cataclysmic battle, on a field between two armies of warring cousins. Arjuna, realizing that if he fights, he will be forced to kill his friends, relatives, and teachers, casts down his bow and arrow (he is a great archer) and refuses to engage in combat. The _Gita_ unfolds as a discussion of Arjuna's moral dilemma, with Krishna as the wise interlocutor explaining to Arjuna that he must overcome his instinctual revulsion and convincing him that he must attend to his duties as a warrior, while Krishna reveals himself as an incarnation of God in human form.

Ever since its composition, sometime between the second century BC and the third or fourth century AD, the _Gita_ has captivated the Hindu imagination, proving an inspiration to some of India's leading politicians and public figures (such as Mahatma Gandhi) and a generating source of art and literature. And yet, because it deals with common human issues—how we should act, how we should perform virtue in the context of who we are in our own lives—Gandhi justifiably regarded it as a universal text. Still, the _Gita_ is a dialogue, rather than a work of systematic philosophy, and so the meanings of the text are not self-evident. As a result, the _Gita_ has been interpreted in many ways and used in support of a number of different philosophical and political ideas, from pacifism to aggressive nationalism, from philosophical monism to theism.

As we have said, the _Gita_ begins with the moral dilemma of Arjuna. But we need now to say more about that dilemma and the narrative context in which it is set. Although the _Gita_ is self-contained, its actions and characters are firmly interwoven with those of a much larger poem, one of the largest ever conceived, a Sanskrit epic of nearly one hundred thousand stanzas called the _Mahabharata_. The _Gita_ forms a small but important part of this epic (6.23–40). Complex in its narrative and chronology, the _Mahabharata_ tells many stories, but a brief description of the relevant part of the epic will help us to understand the stakes involved in the dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna.

The _Gita_ and the _Mahabharata_

The story into which the _Gita_ is set is that of a war between two rival factions over succession to the throne of the North Indian kingdom of Bharata. Both parties have arguments that legitimate their claim. Once upon a time, there were two brothers, sons of Vyasa, who is both the author of the _Mahabharata_ and a character in it. The elder son, Dhritarashtra, was born blind and could not inherit the throne, and so his younger brother Pandu became king. Pandu had been cursed, so that he would die if he ever slept with a woman. His resourceful first wife Pritha (also known as Kunti) slept in turn with three gods, producing the first three of five sons; his second wife, Madri, slept with twin gods and produced twins. The five children were known collectively as the Pandavas: Yudhishthira, the eldest, Bhima, the strongest, our protagonist Arjuna, and the twins Nakula and Sahadeva. The other faction consisted of their cousins, the hundred sons of Dhritarashtra, known as the Kauravas, or descendants of Kuru. The Kauravas were led by their eldest brother, Duryodhana.

On the death of King Pandu, blind Dhritarashtra succeeded him, which created rivalry between the two sets of cousins. In an attempt to keep the cousins' rivalry from turning into war, Dhritarashtra divided the kingdom; one half to be ruled by Duryodhana, and the other half by Yudhishthira. Yudhishthira instituted a royal consecration, sanctioned by the Vedic scriptures, to establish his authority, which involved Duryodhana challenging him to a game of dice. Yudhishthira accepted the challenge and gambled away his kingdom, along with his brothers and their shared wife Draupadi, who was publicly humiliated. A second game of dice, however, yielded a somewhat better outcome, ensuring that he and his brothers, along with Draupadi, would go into exile in the forest for twelve years with a further year spent incognito. Once this period of time had elapsed, the Pandavas could return to reclaim their kingdom.

The _Mahabharata_ recounts their time in the forest, the adventures they experienced, and the various religious teachings they encountered. After thirteen years in exile they returned to reclaim their kingdom as agreed, but Duryodhana refused to give it up, and so war ensued. The battle at Kurukshetre (an actual place north of Delhi) lasted for eighteen days, until the Kauravas were utterly defeated by the Pandavas. Set on the eve of this great conflict, in a timeless moment before the storm, the _Bhagavad Gita_ itself is removed from the battle, framed by the request of the blind king Dhritarashtra to his minister Sanjaya, behind the Kaurava lines:

_"Having gathered, battle-hungry_
 _on virtue's field, the field of Kuru,_
 _what did they do then, Sanjaya,_
 _my sons and the sons of Pandu?"_

Sanjaya observes the battle with his divine sight, and recounts the dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna to the king.

Arjuna's charioteer Krishna is a prince of the Vrishni clan and cousin to both the Pandus and Kauravas. He declared that one side could have his army and the other side could have him in a non-combative role. The Pandavas chose to have Krishna and so he became Arjuna's charioteer while his army was relegated to the Kauravas. Again, Krishna's decision not to side wholeheartedly with one faction reflects the subtlety and complexity of the story; the Kauravas are not straightforwardly the perpetrators of wrong and both sets of cousins have legitimate claims to succession.

The Teachings

The main issues for the _Gita_ are therefore issues of ethics and virtue, and the opening lines of the text reflect these fundamental concerns. Dhritarashtra asks Sanjaya to tell him what the Pandavas did "on virtue's field, the field of Kuru" ( _dharmakshetre kurukshetre_ ). The Sanskrit term for virtue is _dharma_ , whose semantic range includes duty, law, truth, ethics, and the sociocosmic order. It is from a Sanskrit verbal root _dhri_ , meaning "to uphold" or "bear up," and so _dharma_ points to a power that upholds the universe and to a natural law that constrains the behavior of all beings. Thus it is the _dharma_ of grass to grow, of birds to fly, and of warriors to fight. But it is not only natural law but moral law as well. An ordered society must be virtuous and people must act in accordance with their _dharma_. _Kurukshetre_ and the field of virtue represent, of course, the field of life, the field of all our lives. The teachings of the _Gita_ , although set within a particular narrative and context, are intended to be abstracted to all situations. What is at stake is who we are, how we should live our lives, and how we should act in the world.

_Dharma_ is a key term for understanding the _Gita_ and for understanding Hinduism generally. Guidance and rules for how a community should organize itself and how individuals should act and conduct themselves were contained in ancient scriptures. These scriptures, known collectively as the _Veda_ ("knowledge"), were thought to be revelations from a higher source beyond this world. For many years the _Veda_ was not written down but orally received and transmitted through the generations. In time this body of literature came to be regarded as _shruti_ —that which has been heard by the ancient sages who communicated this revelation to humanity. Another group of later texts about conduct came to be known as that which is remembered, _smriti_ , the traditions of human, although inspired, authorship. If _shruti_ constitutes a primary revelation of a higher reality—some maintaining it to be a revelation from God, others simply an eternal revelation without origin—then _smriti_ is a secondary revelation. _Shruti_ has more authority than _smriti_ but, practically, guidance about how society should conduct itself is found in the _smriti_ literature, especially the law books or _Dharmashastra_.

The _Mahabharata_ was thought to be composed by the sage Vyasa, and so the _Bhagavad Gita_ is technically _smriti_. It is, however, for all practical purposes regarded as a revelation of God and is treated as though it were on a par with the _Veda_. It is to the _smriti_ texts that we need to refer primarily to find out about the practicalities of _dharma_ since they contain prescriptions for life-cycle rituals (birth, marriage, death) and statements about a person's duty with regard to their social status or class ( _varna_ ), whether one is a priest, warrior, commoner, or servant, and stage of life, whether one is a student of the _Veda_ , a householder, retired person, or renouncer. A person's "own duty" or _svadharma_ varies at different stages of life and in different social groups. _Dharma_ has variability depending on context. For Arjuna, his _svadharma_ as a warrior or _kshatriya_ is to fight in the battle as the battle is righteous.

Arjuna's moral dilemma is deeply serious. He is a warrior, and so his duty is to wage righteous war; however, his intuitive reaction is that killing his kinsfolk is wrong. He sees his teachers and relatives ranged against him on the Kauravas' side as it is their duty to serve Duryodhana, but he has doubts about the ethics of killing them in war. Even though the desires for victory and kingdom are legitimate for a warrior, in Arjuna's mind they are superseded by the virtue of peace and duty toward the family ( _kuladharma_ ). His desire for the prosperity of the family, which would be compromised by killing his kinfolk, overrules any desire of the warrior for victory and the prosperity of the kingdom that the Pandavas will attain. The family above all needs to be preserved and upheld against lawlessness (1.40–42).

Should he therefore simply give up the world and seek salvation? What is the righteous or dharmic way to act, given the person he is? And there is more at stake than simply Arjuna's own inclinations. There is a broader ethical concern that the correct line of royal succession be established, for the Kauravas seem to have disrupted the legitimacy of this lineage. Should one group forcefully take over control and thereby challenge the established authority? As the _Gita_ unfolds, Krishna responds to Arjuna's dilemma and shows him the reasons why he needs to act as a warrior in the battle and why his action is fundamentally virtuous; indeed, not to act in the way he should as _dharma_ prescribes would be the opposite of virtue, it would be _adharma_.

In their dialogue, Krishna reasons with Arjuna, presenting him with a number of arguments why he should fight in the battle. This reasoning is linked to the revelation of Krishna himself as God and the approach to God through devotion ( _bhakti_ ). Arjuna's gradual realization of the true nature of his charioteer is also his gradual persuasion about his duty and how he should act. Krishna first makes the point that Arjuna would seem like a coward, a eunuch, were he not to fight; it would be unmanly for a warrior to reject his station, and people would scorn him. It is a virtue for the warrior to fight and to place responsibility toward the broader body politic and social values over responsibility to the family alone. Arjuna's own responsibility, his _svadharma_ , is to act as a noble warrior and not seem to be a coward.

Then Krishna tries to persuade Arjuna through a more philosophical argument about the self and the world. The world and person appear to be permanent and real, yet from an absolute perspective they are not. We have an underlying soul, the _atman_ , which is beyond change, but everything else is in flux. Thus, while the bodies of warriors die, the soul goes on unchanging, reincarnated into body after body, as a man might discard old clothes and put on new ones (2.22), until freed from the endless cycle. It is possible only to kill the body, but the self cannot be killed; the wise, for whom happiness and suffering are the same, know this (2.15). Indeed, Arjuna should stop complaining and fight, as even if he were to die himself, this would be a doorway into heaven (2.31, 2.37). Thus he needs to develop the power of discrimination that will free him from the bond of action and its consequence (2.39). This power of discrimination the _Gita_ refers to as _buddhi yoga_ (2.49; 10.10; 18.57), the practice of distinguishing the true Self from what is not the Self, namely, matter or nature.

Yet still Arjuna does not fully understand why he should fight if discriminative wisdom is better than action (3.1), and if he can avoid the fight through renunciation. From chapter 3, the text develops a theological response to Arjuna's dilemma. While it is true that the wise person should cultivate an inner evenness with regard to life and death, for the soul is immortal, this does not mean that giving up the world by becoming a renouncer or mendicant is the answer. In what at first might seem to be a divergence from the main question, Krishna expounds ideas found in the ancient philosophical school of Samkhya, which claims that there are two principal realities in the universe: the individual Self ( _purusha_ ) and nature or matter ( _prakriti_ ). In this philosophy, the Self needs to free itself from the bonds of matter (or realize that it was, in fact, never bound). The manifest universe that we experience is within the category of matter, with action as a fundamental quality. Indeed, we might say that action is fundamental to the very nature of the universe, and the _Gita_ tells us that it is the creative power that brings the universe into being (8.3), and so Arjuna cannot help but act.

But does this mean that Arjuna must inevitably be controlled by action? No, he can renounce not action itself but the results or fruits of action. He can become detached from the consequences of his acts, and so long as he acts from _dharma_ , he will not suffer bad consequences. He can be _in_ the world through action but not _of_ the world through detachment. Not only acting with impunity, more than simply being detached from the results of action, Arjuna must hand over the fruits of action to Krishna. Act from _dharma_ with detachment and God will take care of the rest. The _Gita_ seems to be saying that we cannot know the consequences of our actions, although we have to act as virtue demands; but we must act with detachment in order to practice wisdom. Acting in such a way that one is detached from the consequences of action is superior to the attempted detachment from action itself (5.2).

Performing unattached action and handing over the fruits of those acts to God is an act of devotion ( _bhakti_ ). It is here that we find the solution to Arjuna's dilemma. Because of attachment and delusion, Arjuna cannot see that his duty as a warrior is higher than his inclination toward preserving peace, and that action when performed with detachment and the spirit of devotion can itself lead toward liberation. This is what the _Gita_ calls _karma yoga_ (the yoga of action) (3.7): the practice of detached action rooted in virtue in which the results of that action are surrendered to God. But along with detachment from the fruits of action and surrendering the results of action to God, we also have devotion.

Although the text only uses the term _bhakti yoga_ (the yoga of devotion) once (14.26), devotion to a theistic reality or God is undoubtedly the central thrust of the text and the ultimate solution to Arjuna's moral problem. The supreme verse of the _Gita_ is 18.66 (known as the _carama shloka_ ), which says that Arjuna—and so, _mutatis mutandis_ , all of us—should abandon duty and dedicate himself to Krishna, who will release him from all evils. Salvation comes from devotion to God, who will liberate us through His grace. In the _Gita,_ God is a being who relates directly to us, who comes down to meet us through Krishna the king and charioteer. Indeed, from chapter 4, Krishna begins to reveal his divine nature to Arjuna. He is not simply a man like others but descended from a lineage of spiritual teachers and is of high yogic attainment, remembering all his past births and being born, not due to action ( _karma_ ) as Arjuna was, but due to his own volition and his magical power ( _maya_ ) (4.6). His ability to use material creation as a means to manifest himself shows that Krishna is the supreme deity, the highest God, who controls the universe. He manifests himself in times of trouble when virtue ( _dharma_ ) is on the decline (4.7). Although the text does not use the terms "incarnation" or "descent" ( _avatara_ ), which were to become popular later in the traditions of the god Vishnu, this is a clear indication that Krishna appears in the world for the sake of righteousness or, more specifically, to correct teachings that have decayed over time.

Anyone who understands that Krishna is God, that his birth and action ( _karma_ ) are divine, is not reborn but goes to Krishna (4.9). Liberation ( _moksha_ ) from the cycle of reincarnation ( _samsara_ ), driven by action ( _karma_ ), is thus inseparably linked to a person's perception of, and experience of, God. The chapters that follow reveal the nature of this one God who manifests himself in the world. This revelation culminates in chapter 11, when Arjuna tells Krishna that his doubts have been dispelled and his mind is now clear. He then asks Krishna to show himself in his divine form (11.1–3) and Krishna gives Arjuna a divine eye (11.8) to allow himself to be seen.

Krishna reveals himself as containing the universe, as creating and destroying all worlds and all the beings that inhabit those worlds (11.10–13). In the text Arjuna is awestruck and trembles with amazement, begging Krishna to return to his human form (11.45). This picture of a majestic Lord of the Universe, who is time itself and in whom all beings have their foundation, being, and destruction, is not the end of the matter. Krishna, upon returning to human form, avows that Arjuna is profoundly dear to him (18.64–66), revealing the secret that the deity and devotee are intimately close and that God is not only a majestic, terrifying vision but a loving companion as well. The _Gita_ ends with Arjuna assuring Krishna that he has indeed been persuaded away from his initial doubts about the war, and that he will perform his warrior's duty, as he should. The next book of the _Mahabharata_ opens with Arjuna preparing for war.

Historical Context

Whether or not there was a great internecine war on India's northern plains in the ancient past is impossible to say for certain, although given what we know of human societies it is possible and even probable; but there is no evidence external to the _Mahabharata_ itself that could bear witness to it. Yet the theme of the war provides a narrative frame within which different doctrines, tensions, and dilemmas are worked out and brought together in a synthesis. In spite of its universal appeal, the _Bhagavad Gita_ is very much a text of its time and reflects the sociopolitical and religious reality of South Asia from the cusp of the first millennium BC to the first millennium AD. In it we see ideas about kingship, sacrifice, renunciation, the nature of society as a whole, and the resolution of tensions between different paths through life, namely, ascetic renunciation and living in the world with its demands.

With the _Gita_ we have one of the very earliest expressions in the history of Indian religious literature of a God, called Krishna in the text, who not only pervades the cosmos but also transcends it and stands outside it as its origin and foundation. This idea of God was modeled in part on the idea of the King. The ideal King was not a despot but administered justice and protected his people. The ideal King would defend righteousness, uphold the law ( _dharma_ ), and display prowess in battle. In a similar vein, Krishna in the _Gita_ is like a king. He is majestic and rules his kingdom, in this case the entire universe, with justice and compassion. In later traditions of the medieval period, this idea of Krishna as king comes to be replaced by Krishna as friend and lover, and we can see the beginnings of this development here when Krishna speaks of his devotees as dear (12.14–20) and tells Arjuna how dear he is to him (18.65).

At the time of the _Gita_ 's composition, the religious beliefs and practices of the highest class or caste, the Brahmins, were focused on sacrifice to different gods of the earth, atmosphere, and sky to achieve benefit for the sacrificer in the next life. This sacrificial religion was being challenged by new developments, particularly by devotion to a personal God; and while the practice of sacrificial killing was disparaged, the idea or metaphor of sacrifice is central to the _Gita_. Rather than acceptance of the orthodox religion, we have a reinterpretation of sacrifice. Sacrifice is not the literal killing of animals to appease a deity, but a personal renunciation. The devotee dedicates or sacrifices his life to Krishna, inwardly renouncing the fruits of action and giving them to Krishna. Indeed, the entire epic battle can be seen as a sacrifice to righteousness.

The _Bhagavad Gita_ arguably represents a reaction against the orthodox religion of the Brahmins, offering as a substitute a form of religion based on worship of a personal deity or Lord. This religion of devotion is more inclusive than the older sacrificial religion. Indeed, anyone of any social standing, including women and persons of low castes, can approach God through devotion and be accepted. The term _Bhagavan_ or Lord (from which the word _Bhagavad_ is derived) reflects the idea of a personal deity who is the focus of worship for a group of devotees. These devotees were known as _Bhagavatas_ —those who worship _Bhagavan_. This _Bhagavan_ comes to be known as Krishna, although he has synonyms, and through a complex historical process, Krishna comes to be assimilated with Vishnu (who first appears in the ancient Vedic texts). The _Gita_ is a text focused on Krishna, who is the transcendent reality, and although Vishnu is mentioned three times (10.21, 11.24, and 11.30), it is clearly Krishna who is regarded as supreme. In the new kind of religion that the _Gita_ reflects, the way to salvation comes about through devotion and by worshipping a personal God who transcends the universe while yet pervading it. While the _Bhagavad Gita_ can be seen as a text of the _Bhagavatas_ , it was nevertheless composed as an integral part of the _Mahabharata_ and came to transcend any sectarian origin.

So, at the time of its composition, we have an orthodox religion of the Brahmins practicing sacrifice to deities while upholding the law and adhering to a social structure in which there were principally four social groups: the priests, or Brahmins; the warriors, or _Kshatriyas_ ; the commoners, or _Vaishyas_ ; and the serfs, or _Shudras_. The Brahmins also maintained an ideology of four stages of life: a student stage in which the _Vedas_ were studied; a householder stage in which a man experienced married life and reared children; a "wilderness dweller" stage, which is in effect retirement to focus on religious duties; and a renouncer stage, in which a man leaves home to seek liberation from the cycle of reincarnation. The _Gita_ reflects a rise in the importance of the _Kshatriya_ class that we see in the focus on Arjuna and from the context of the broader epic, and reflects the development of devotion ( _bhakti_ ) to a personal God. In this text, that God is Krishna, although in other traditions of Hinduism it would be a different deity, particularly Shiva and his traditions, which have a distinct literary inheritance.

Alongside the orthodox Brahminical religion and the devotionalism of groups like the _Bhagavatas_ , we have the development of traditions that reject the _Veda_ , particularly Buddhism and Jainism. These groups were collectively known as _Shramanas_ , and are characterized by renunciation and asceticism, as well as by the belief that salvation lies beyond the world of human action and transaction. To achieve liberation, one must refrain from action that creates consequences which keep a person bound in a cycle of rebirth. Both the Buddhists and the Jains were atheistic, monastic adherents, who sought liberation through giving up the householder life, refraining from ritual action, practicing meditation, and ultimately, for Jainism, refraining from any action whatsoever in the experience of ritual death for extreme ascetics. The _Bhagavad Gita_ was composed at a time when all these groups were vying with one another for patronage, and the philosophers within each group were beginning to hold sophisticated arguments with each other that endured for generations into the medieval period. The _Gita_ itself rejects the Buddhist and Jain path of non-action, emphasizing instead the renunciation of the fruits of action. One can be a householder and act in the world to fulfill _dharma_ , but what matters is the inner renunciation, not the outer renunciation of the mendicant groups. Similarly, the _Gita_ reinterprets the orthodox religion of the Brahmins, advocating an inner sacrifice to a personal God and the sacrifice of personal desire for a higher good.

As time passed, the _Gita_ came to be a very important text, especially for the followers of the religion of Vishnu and its philosophical expression in the Vedanta tradition. Because it is multilayered and rich, it is open to different interpretations. The Vedanta school of philosophy regarded the _Gita_ as one of its main textual authorities, along with the _Upanishads_ and _Brahma Sutras_ , but they interpreted it in different ways. Shankara (AD 788–820) wrote the first commentary on the text and read the _Gita_ as supporting his monistic philosophy that the individual self ( _atman_ ) and the absolute ( _Brahman_ ) are one. Other commentaries followed, most importantly that of Ramanuja (c. 1017–1137), who interpreted the _Gita_ to mean that God is the inner controller of all things and maintained some distinction between self and God. Madhva (in the thirteenth century) thought that the text supported his own strictly dualistic theology, that the Self and God are wholly different from each other.

The _Gita_ has never been particularly central to the religions of Shiva, although the famous Shaiva philosopher Abhinavagupta (c. 975–1025) wrote a commentary on the Kashmir recension, and there is also a commentary on the established text by the Shaiva Rajanaka Ramakantha (c. 950–1025). Swami Vivekananda (1863–1902) emphasized three paths taken from the _Gita_ of _karma yoga_ , _jnana_ (knowledge) _yoga_ , and _bhakti_ (devotion) _yoga_ , although, as we have seen, the text does not systematically expound these (indeed, the terms _jnana_ and _bhakti yoga_ are only mentioned at 3.3 and 14.26). Mohatma Gandhi took up the _Gita_ as an important influence on his life, which he first read in Edwin Arnold's English translation, and thought it central to his message of non-violence. The _Gita_ continues to hold sway over multitudes far beyond its original context and continent.

A Note on This Translation

We have used the standard version of the _Bhagavad Git_ a in S. K. Belvarkar, ed., _The Mahabharata_ , vol. 7, _The Bhishmaparvan_ (Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1947) pp. 114–88.

Because the _Bhagavad Gita_ is both a profound religious text and a great poem written in Sanskrit, our intent from the first has been twofold: to represent it in English with as great a fidelity as we could muster; and to respond to it with a poem in English. The _Gita_ is a metrical composition, and we felt that we would have to find a responsive metrical arrangement for it.

The principal meter of the _Bhagavad Gita_ is called the _shloka_. The _shloka_ stanza is usually arranged as a couplet: two lines of sixteen syllables each. Each of these lines can be divided into two quarter verses of eight syllables each, and each of these into two metrical feet of four syllables each. _Shloka_ meter is therefore syllabic, but, like the meters of classical Greek and Latin verse, it is also quantitative: that is to say, it is based on length of syllable. A syllable in the _shloka_ meter is short if it contains a short vowel, long if it contains a long vowel, a diphthong, or a short vowel followed by two or more consonants, not necessarily in the same word. The patterns generated by the arrangement of long and short syllables are counterpointed by an unvarying accentual meter—trochaic tetrameter—a pattern recognizable to readers of Philip Larkin's "The Explosion":

_On the day of the explosion_
 _Shadows pointed towards the pithead . . ._

The only other meter used by the Gita poet is _tristubh_ , a stanza composed of four lines of eleven syllables each, similar to the hendecasyllabic meter of classical Greek and Latin poetry. The _tristubh_ meter was used sparingly: it does not appear in every chapter and often appears by itself or in groups of two or three stanzas. The general consensus is that it was employed either for metrical variety or for emotional intensity. Interestingly, the greatest sustained use of the _tristubh_ meter occurs in chapter 11, during Krishna's revelation of his divinity to Arjuna.

We decided to retain the syllabic constraints of the original. Our ideal was to restrict each of our stanzas to thirty-two syllables, and we did so for the most part, arranging them in four octosyllabic lines. Occasionally we allowed a line of nine syllables where this could be justified either by elision or creative accounting. (In our defense, it should be noted that syllabification in English is not an exact science, and that both John Milton and John Wesley treated "heaven" as a monosyllable.) We did not follow either the quantitative or qualitative rules of the _Gita_ , but attempted, as we moved from a very literal prose version into verse, to find a cadence similar to that of the original. The _shloka_ meter tends to divide the stanza into two symmetrical halves on the sixteenth syllable, and, for the most part, we followed this pattern. Our approach can be described as analogous rather than imitative, and we attempted to translate not word for word or line for line, but stanza for stanza.

We have retained and whenever possible deployed the heroic epithets that Krishna and Arjuna employ throughout the _Gita,_ as they illustrate the great love and admiration that these two have for each other, and they help to give us a sense of the flavor of that society the _Gita_ was written about—archaic, heroic, and on the edge of its catastrophic doom.

One of the issues involved in translating the _Gita_ stems from the recognition that, in rendering Sanskrit words into English, we inevitably reduce the semantic range of terms such as _dharma, atman_ , and _guna_. This is true, but we have felt that the reader without Sanskrit would be at a greater disadvantage faced with the untranslated terms than with an admittedly partial account in English. We also felt it as part of our duty ( _dharma_ , in this case) to bring the work over into English, whatever its limitations as a language or ours as translators.

We wish to thank the editors of _Blackbird_ and _Eleven Eleven_ , in which portions of this work have previously appeared.

We are grateful to Robert Hass and to Daniel Gold and Vinay Dharwadker, who read our work and gave us thoughtful and useful comments about it. At Norton, we have benefited from the care of Ann Adelman. Our greatest thanks must go to our editor, Carol Bemis, who first suggested this project to us, and to her assistant, Rivka Genesen, for their ongoing dedication and support.
THE
  **BHAGAVAD GITA**
_chapter_

Dhritarashtra said,

"Having gathered, battle-hungry | 1

---|---

on virtue's field, the field of Kuru,

what did they do then, Sanjaya,

my sons and the sons of Pandu?"

Sanjaya said,

"King Duryodhana, witnessing | 2

---|---

the army of the Pandavas

drawn up in battle lines, approached

his teacher and said this to him:

'Master, observe this enormous | 3

---|---

army of the sons of Pandu

deployed for battle by your wise

pupil, the son of Drupada!

'Here are heroes, mighty archers, | 4

---|---

Bhima's equal, Arjuna's too,

Yuyudhana and Virata,

with mighty Drupada himself;

'Dhrishtaketu, Chekitana, | 5

---|---

and the noble king of Kashis,

Purujit and Kuntibhoga,

and Shaibya, that human bull;

'Great-spirited Yudhamanyu | 6

---|---

and valorous Uttamauja;

Subhadra's son, Draupadi's sons;

all are great warriors indeed!

'O best of all who are twice-born, | 7

---|---

I shall now list the names for you

of our most distinguished men,

the leaders by whom we are led:

'Your Lordship first, and then Bhishma, | 8

---|---

Karna and triumphant Kripa;

Ashvatthaman and Vikarna,

and Somadatta's son as well,

'and many other heroes who | 9

---|---

are here prepared to die for me;

all battle-hardened warriors,

and all of them diversely armed.

'Our army, under Bhishma, | 10

---|---

is the equal of their forces;

the enemy, protected by

Bhima, is not a match for us.

'So, wherever you are stationed | 11

---|---

in your true place along the line,

your Lordships all must remember,

Bhishma is to be protected!'

"Like a lion, Bhishma bellowed, | 12

---|---

That wise old man of the Kurus,

and blew his conch, full of power,

bringing joy to Duryodhana!

"Then conches and the kettledrums, | 13

---|---

the cymbals, drums and trumpets too,

all at once indeed were sounded

in a tumultuous uproar!

"Standing in their great chariot | 14

---|---

drawn by a yoked pair of white steeds,

Krishna and the Son of Pandu

blew upon their sacred conches:

"Lord Krishna blew 'The Demon's Horn,' | 15

---|---

and Arjuna blew 'Heaven's Gift';

wolf-bellied Bhima, fierce in war,

blew upon the great conch 'Paundra.'

"Kunti's son, King Yudhishthira, | 16

---|---

blew the conch 'Endless Victory';

Nakula and Sahadeva blew

'Sweet of Tone' and 'Jewel-Flowered.'

"The Kashis' king, best of archers, | 17

---|---

Shikandi, that great warrior,

Dhrishtadyumna and Virata,

Satyaki, the invincible,

"in unison, O Dhritarashtra, | 18

---|---

with the fierce son of Subhadra,

Drupada and Draupadi's sons

blew their conches respectively:

"rolling as it did like thunder | 19

---|---

between the earth and firmament,

that great commotion caused the hearts

of Dhritarashtra's sons to burst!

"Now Monkey-Bannered Arjuna, | 20

---|---

seeing his foes drawn up for war,

raised his bow, that Son of Pandu,

as the weapons began to clash.

"Then he said these words to Krishna: | 21

---|---

'Lord of the Earth, Unshaken One,

bring my chariot to a halt

between the two adverse armies,

'so I may see these men, arrayed | 22

---|---

here for the battle they desire,

whom I am soon to undertake

a warrior's delight in fighting!

'I see those who have assembled, | 23

---|---

the warriors prepared to fight,

eager to perform in battle

for Dhritarashtra's evil son!'

"When Arjuna had spoken so | 24

---|---

to Krishna, O Bharata,

he, having brought their chariot

to a halt between the armies,

"in the face of Bhisma, Drona, | 25

---|---

and the other Lords of the Earth,

said, 'Behold, O Son of Pritha,

how these Kurus have assembled!'

"And there the Son of Pritha saw | 26

---|---

rows of grandfathers and grandsons;

sons and fathers, uncles, in-laws;

teachers, brothers and companions,

"all relatives and friends of his | 27

---|---

in both of the assembled armies.

And seeing them arrayed for war,

Arjuna, the Son of Kunti,

"felt for them a great compassion, | 28

---|---

as well as great despair, and said,

'O Krishna, now that I have seen

my relatives so keen for war,

'I am unstrung: my limbs collapse | 29

---|---

beneath me, and my mouth is dry,

there is a trembling in my body,

and my hair rises, bristling;

'Gandiva, my immortal bow, | 30

---|---

drops from my hand and my skin burns,

I cannot stand upon my feet,

my mind rambles in confusion—

'All inauspicious are the signs | 31

---|---

that I see, O Handsome-Haired One!

I foresee no good resulting

from slaughtering my kin in war!

'I have no wish for victory, | 32

---|---

nor for kingship and its pleasures!

O Krishna, what good is kingship?

What good even life and pleasure?

'Those for whose sake we desire | 33

---|---

kingship, pleasures and enjoyments,

are now drawn up in battle lines,

their lives and riches now abandoned:

'fathers, grandfathers; sons, grandsons; | 34

---|---

my mother's brothers and the men

who taught me in my youth; brothers-

and fathers-in-law: kinsmen all!

'Though they are prepared to slay us, | 35

---|---

I do not wish to murder them,

not even to rule the three worlds—

how much less one earthly kingdom?

'What joy for us in murdering | 36

---|---

Dhritarashtra's sons, O Krishna?

for if we killed these murderers,

evil like theirs would cling to us!

'So we cannot in justice slay | 37

---|---

our kinsmen, Dhritarashtra's sons,

for, having killed our people, how

could we be pleased, O Madhava?

'Even if they, mastered by greed, | 38

---|---

are blind to the consequences

of the family's destruction,

of friendships lost to treachery,

'how are we not to comprehend | 39

---|---

that we must turn back from evil?

The wrong done by this destruction

is evident, O Shaker of Men.

'For with the family destroyed, | 40

---|---

its eternal laws must perish;

and when they perish, lawlessness

overwhelms the whole family.

'Whelmed by lawlessness, the women | 41

---|---

of the family are corrupted;

from corrupted women comes

the intermingling of classes.

'Such intermingling sends to hell | 42

---|---

the family and its destroyers:

their ancestors fall then, deprived

of rice and water offerings.

'Those who destroy the family, | 43

---|---

who institute class mingling,

cause the laws of the family

and laws of caste to be abolished.

'Men whose familial laws have been | 44

---|---

obliterated, O Krishna,

are damned to dwell eternally

in hell, as we have often heard.

'It grieves me that as we intend | 45

---|---

to murder our relatives

in our greed for pleasures, kingdoms,

we are fixed on doing evil!

'If the sons of Dhritarashtra, | 46

---|---

armed as they are, should murder me

weaponless and unresisting,

I would know greater happiness!'

"And having spoken, Arjuna | 47

---|---

collapsed into his chariot,

his bow and arrows clattering,

and his mind overcome with grief."
_chapter_

Sanjaya said,

"Said Madhu-Slaying Krishna to | 1

---|---

Arjuna, whose downcast eyes

were brimming over, overcome

by pity mingled with despair:

"The Lord said,

'Where has it come from, Arjuna, | 2

---|---

your weakness in a testing time,

so unsuited to one highborn?

Disgrace, not heaven, is its end!

'O Son of Pritha, impotence | 3

---|---

does not become your true nature!

Abandon your faintheartedness,

rise up, O Scorcher of the Foe!'

"Arjuna said,

'How can I possibly make war | 4

---|---

against those venerable men,

Bhisma and Drona, with my bow,

O Slayer of the Demon Madhu?

'Sooner would I go begging for my dinner | 5

---|---

than ever slay those worthiest of teachers;

if I slew them, although they wish my kingdom,

my dinner would be stained with bloody carnage.

'Nor do we know whether it would be better | 6

---|---

for us to vanquish them or be overcome.

We would not wish to live on after slaying

the sons of Dhritarashtra here before us.

'The flaw of pity overcomes my being, | 7

---|---

my mind is too confused to know its duty;

tell me for certain, which of these is better?

Instruct the student who prostrates himself before you!

'Nothing I see can remedy the sorrow | 8

---|---

that has completely withered all my senses,

not if I had unrivaled earthly power,

not if I had authority in heaven!'

Sanjaya said,

"Thus Arjuna, the Thick-Haired One, | 9

---|---

to Krishna, the Divine Cowherd:

'I will not fight.' And nothing more

did he say after saying that.

"Then Krishna, the Unshaken One, | 10

---|---

addressed dejected Arjuna

as they stood between the armies,

while laughing at him, as it were:

"The Lord said:

'Although you seem to speak wisely, | 11

---|---

you have mourned those not to be mourned:

the wise do not grieve for those gone

or for those who are not yet gone.

'There was no time when I was not, | 12

---|---

nor you, nor these lords around us,

and there will never be a time

henceforth when we shall not exist.

'The embodied one passes through | 13

---|---

childhood, youth, and then old age,

then attains another body;

in this the wise are undeceived.

'Contacts with matter by which we | 14

---|---

feel heat and cold, pleasure and pain,

are transitory, come and go:

these you must manage to endure.

'Such contacts do not agitate | 15

---|---

a wise man, O Bull among Men,

to whom pleasure and pain are one.

He is fit for immortality.

'Non-being cannot come to be, | 16

---|---

nor can what _is_ come to be not.

The certainty of these sayings

is known by seers of the truth.

'Know it as indestructible, | 17

---|---

that by which all is pervaded;

no one may cause the destruction

of the imperishable one.

'Bodies of the embodied one, | 18

---|---

eternal, boundless, all-enduring,

are said to die; the one cannot:

therefore, take arms, O Bharata!

'This man believes the one may kill; | 19

---|---

That man believes it may be killed;

both of them lack understanding:

it can neither kill nor _be_ killed.

'It is not born, nor is it ever mortal, | 20

---|---

and having been, will not pass from existence;

ancient, unborn, eternally existing,

it does not die when the body perishes.

'How can a man who knows the one | 21

---|---

to be eternal (both unborn

and without end) murder or cause

another to? Whom does he kill?

'Someone who has abandoned worn-out garments | 22

---|---

sets out to clothe himself in brand-new raiment;

just so, when it has cast off worn-out bodies,

the embodied one will encounter others.

'This may not be pierced by weapons, | 23

---|---

nor can this be consumed by flames;

flowing waters cannot drench this,

nor blowing winds desiccate this.

'Not to be pierced, not to be burned, | 24

---|---

neither drenched nor desiccated—

eternal, all-pervading, firm,

unmoving, everlasting this!

'This has been called unmanifest, | 25

---|---

unthinkable and unchanging;

therefore, because you know this now,

you should not lament, Arjuna.

'But even if you think that this | 26

---|---

is born and dies time after time,

forever, O great warrior,

not even then should you mourn this.

'Death is assured to all those born, | 27

---|---

and birth assured to all the dead;

you should not mourn what is merely

inevitable consequence.

'Beginnings are unmanifest, | 28

---|---

but manifest the middle-state,

and ends unmanifest again;

so what is your complaint about?

'Somebody looks upon this as a marvel, | 29

---|---

and likewise someone tells about this marvel,

and yet another hears about this marvel,

but even having heard it, no one knows it.

'The one cannot ever perish | 30

---|---

in a body it inhabits,

O Descendant of Bharata;

and so no being should be mourned.

'Nor should you tremble to perceive | 31

---|---

your duty as a warrior;

for him there is nothing better

than a battle that is righteous.

'And if by chance they will have gained | 32

---|---

the wide open gate of heaven,

O Son of Pritha, warriors

rejoice in fighting such as that!

'If you turn from righteous warfare, | 33

---|---

your behavior will be evil,

for you will have abandoned both

your duty and your honored name.

'People will speak of your disgrace | 34

---|---

forever, and an honored man

who falls from honor into shame

suffers a fate much worse than death.

'Great warriors will think you've turned | 35

---|---

away from battle's joy in fear;

and those who once thought well of you

will think you insignificant.

'Unspeakable words will be said | 36

---|---

about you by your enemies!

Your prowess will be ridiculed!

What greater suffering than that?

'If slain, you will attain heaven; | 37

---|---

victorious, the earth is yours!

Therefore, rise up, O Son of Kunti,

be resolute for the battle!

'When pleasure is the same as pain, | 38

---|---

profit as loss, conquest, defeat,

then join the battle, Arjuna;

evil will not be heaped on you!

'Theory proclaims the higher mind, | 39

---|---

but hear of it in practice now.

Yoked by the higher mind, you will

give up being bound by action.

'Here there is no loss of effort, | 40

---|---

no backsliding, Son of Pritha;

just a little of this yoga

will protect one from great danger.

'Here higher mind, so resolute, | 41

---|---

is undivided, Arjuna,

though minds of the irresolute

branch out in many endless ways.

'The undiscerning, whose delight | 42

---|---

is in the Vedic ritual,

utter florid speech, proclaiming,

"Why, there is nothing else but this!"

'Those whose nature is desire, | 43

---|---

fixed on heaven, turn to varied

rituals of lust and power,

the fruit of which will be rebirth.

'Their meditation does not grant | 44

---|---

a resolute intelligence

to those attached to lust and power,

whose thought is stolen by their speech.

'Nature is the _Vedas_ ' subject; | 45

---|---

be free of the three qualities,

Arjuna, and the opposing pairs:

abide in truth, possessed of self.

'What is the purpose of a well | 46

---|---

overflowing on every side?

Just as useful are the _Vedas_

for the knowledgeable Brahmin.

'Your concern should be with action, | 47

---|---

never with an action's fruits;

these should never motivate you,

nor attachment to inaction.

'Established in this practice, act | 48

---|---

without attachment, Arjuna,

unmoved by failure or success!

Equanimity is yoga.

'Action is far inferior | 49

---|---

to the practice of higher mind;

seek refuge there, for pitiful

are those moved by fruit of action!

'One disciplined by higher mind | 50

---|---

here casts off good and bad actions;

therefore, be yoked to discipline;

discipline is skill in actions.

'Having left the fruit of action, | 51

---|---

the wise ones yoked to higher mind

are freed from the bonds of rebirth,

and go where no corruption is.

'When your higher mind has crossed | 52

---|---

over the thicket of delusion,

you will become disenchanted

with what is heard in the _Vedas_.

'When, unvexed by revelation, | 53

---|---

your higher mind is motionless

and stands fixed in meditation,

then you will attain discipline.'

"Arjuna asked,

'Tell me, Krishna, how may I know | 54

---|---

the man steady in his wisdom,

who abides in meditation?

How should that one sit, speak and move?'

"The Blessed Lord replied,

'When he renounces all desires | 55

---|---

entering his mind, Arjuna,

and his self rests within the Self,

then his wisdom is called steady.

'He who is not agitated | 56

---|---

by suffering or by desires,

freed from anger, fear and passions,

is called a sage of steady mind.

'Who is wholly unimpassioned, | 57

---|---

not rejoicing in the pleasant,

nor rejecting the unpleasant,

is established in his wisdom.

'And when this one wholly withdraws | 58

---|---

all his senses from their objects,

as a tortoise draws in its limbs,

his wisdom is well-established.

'When the embodied one abstains | 59

---|---

from food, sense-objects disappear,

save for flavor, which will depart

after one beholds the highest.

'And yet the agitated senses | 60

---|---

even of the discerning man

who strives against them, Arjuna,

will carry off his mind by force.

'He who has subdued his senses, | 61

---|---

should sit, controlled, intent on me.

The wisdom of one whose senses

are subdued is well-established.

'Attachment to sense-objects comes | 62

---|---

to one who meditates on them;

from attachment comes desire,

and from desire, anger comes.

'Delusion rises out of anger, | 63

---|---

loss of mindfulness from delusion;

with mindfulness gone, higher mind

perishes, and the man is lost.

'One unyoked to hates and passions, | 64

---|---

though engaging with sense-objects,

is self-controlled and self-restrained.

That one attains tranquility.

'Cessation of all suffering | 65

---|---

is born of his tranquility.

The intellect at once becomes

steady for one of tranquil thought.

'There is no higher mind in one | 66

---|---

without control, nor meditation;

no peace without meditation;

and without peace, no happiness.

'The mind that regulates itself | 67

---|---

by the undisciplined senses

loses discernment, as the wind

blows a ship from its course at sea.

'Therefore, O Strong-Armed Warrior, | 68

---|---

he whose senses have been withdrawn

from sense-objects is said to be

well-established in his wisdom.

'In the nighttime of all beings, | 69

---|---

the self-controlled man is awake;

that time when beings are awake

is nighttime for the seeing sage.

'For just as waters pour into the ocean, | 70

---|---

which, when it fills, becomes still and unmoving,

peace comes to one whom all desires enter,

not to the one who still desires desires.

'The man who has abandoned all | 71

---|---

desire moves, free from longing,

indifferent to "me" and "mine,"

and without ego, attains peace.

'This is the divine condition; | 72

---|---

who, undeluded, comes to this,

abiding there till his end-time,

Arjuna, knows the absolute.'"
_chapter_

"Arjuna said:

'If you regard the intellect | 1

---|---

as superior to action,

why urge me, O Handsome-Haired One,

into actions so appalling?

'By your equivocating speech | 2

---|---

my mind is, as it were, confused.

Tell me this one thing, and clearly:

By what means may I reach the best?'

"The Blessed Lord said:

'As I have previously taught, | 3

---|---

there are two paths, O Blameless One:

there is the discipline of knowledge

and the discipline of action.

'Not by not acting in this world | 4

---|---

does one become free from action,

nor does one approach perfection

by renunciation only.

'Not even for a moment does | 5

---|---

someone exist without acting.

Even against one's will, one acts

by the nature-born qualities.

'He who has restrained his senses, | 6

---|---

but sits and summons back to mind

the sense-objects, is said to be

a self-deluding hypocrite.

'But he whose mind controls his senses, | 7

---|---

who undertakes the discipline

of action by the action-organs,

without attachment, is renowned.

'You must act as bid, for action | 8

---|---

is better than non-action is:

not even functions of the body

could be sustained by non-action.

'This world is bound by action, save | 9

---|---

for action which is sacrifice;

therefore, O Son of Kunti, act

without attachment to your deeds.

'When Prajapati brought forth life, | 10

---|---

he brought forth sacrifice as well,

saying, "By this may you produce,

may this be your wish-fulfilling cow."

'Nourish the gods with sacrifice, | 11

---|---

and they will nourish you as well.

By nourishing each other, you

will realize the highest good.

'Nourished by sacrifice, the gods | 12

---|---

will give the pleasures you desire.

One who enjoys such gifts without

repaying them is just a thief.

'The good, who eat of the remains | 13

---|---

from sacrifice, rise up faultless.

But the wicked, who cook only

for their own sakes, eat their own filth.

'Beings come to exist by food, | 14

---|---

which emanates from the rain god,

who comes to be by sacrifice,

which arises out of action.

'Know that action comes from Brahman, | 15

---|---

Brahman comes from the eternal;

so the all-pervading Brahman

is based in sacrifice forever.

'One who in this world does not turn | 16

---|---

the wheel, thus setting it in motion,

lives uselessly, O Son of Pritha,

a sensual, malicious life.

'But the man whose only pleasure | 17

---|---

and satisfaction is the self,

which is his sole contentment too,

has no task he must accomplish.

'That man finds no significance | 18

---|---

in what has, or has not, been done;

moreover, he does not depend

on any being whatsoever.

'Therefore, act without attachment | 19

---|---

in whatever situation,

for by the practice of detached

action, one attains the highest.

'Only by action Janaka | 20

---|---

and the others reached perfection.

In order to maintain the world,

your obligation is to act.

'Whatever the best leader does | 21

---|---

the rank and file will also do;

everyone will fall in behind

the standard such a leader sets.

'O Son of Pritha, there is nought | 22

---|---

that I need do in the three worlds,

nor anything I might attain;

and yet I take part in action.

'For if I were not always to | 23

---|---

engage in action ceaselessly,

men everywhere would soon follow

in my path, O Son of Pritha.

'Should I not engage in action, | 24

---|---

these worlds would perish, utterly;

I would cause a great confusion,

and destroy all living beings.

'The unwise are attached to action | 25

---|---

even as they act, Arjuna;

so, for the welfare of the world,

the wise should act with detachment.

'The wise should not cause confusion | 26

---|---

in the unwise, attached to action;

but by living in discipline,

bring them to enjoy all actions.

'All actions are undertaken | 27

---|---

by the qualities of nature,

though one deceived by his ego

imagines, 'I am doing this.'

'Who understands the division | 28

---|---

between action and quality,

and knows that qualities act on

one another, is not attached.

'Those whom the qualities deceive | 29

---|---

are attached to those qualities;

Those who are all-knowing should not

agitate weak-minded dullards.

'Referring all your deeds to me, | 30

---|---

and focused solely on the Self,

desireless, devoid of ego,

free of fever, join the battle!

'All those who practice constantly | 31

---|---

my doctrine without grumbling

because they have had faith in me,

they are released from their actions.

'But those who whine and sneer at this | 32

---|---

are not practicing my doctrine;

know such people as deluded

to all knowledge, lost and mindless.

'Even a man of wisdom acts | 33

---|---

in accordance with his nature.

Since beings act in this way, what

is accomplished by suppression?

'Sensual love and hatred both | 34

---|---

abide in what senses desire:

one should not submit to these two,

since their powers will block his path.

'Better to do one's own duty | 35

---|---

ineptly, than another's well.

Death is better in one's duty;

another's duty invites fear.'

"Arjuna said:

'Say what impels a man to do | 36

---|---

such evil, Krishna, what great force

urges him, forces him into it,

even if he is unwilling?'

"The Blessed Lord said:

'Know that the enemy is this: | 37

---|---

desire, anger, whose origins

are in the quality of passion,

all-consuming, greatly harmful.

'As fire is obscured by smoke, | 38

---|---

or by dust, a mirror's surface,

or an embryo by its membrane,

so this is covered up by that.

'Knowledge is constantly obscured | 39

---|---

by this enemy of the wise,

by this insatiable fire

whose form, Arjuna, is desire.

'The senses, mind, and intellect | 40

---|---

are its abode, as it is said.

Having obscured knowledge with these,

it deludes the embodied one.

'When you have subdued your senses, | 41

---|---

then, O Bull of the Bharatas,

kill this demon, the destroyer

of all knowledge and discernment.

'Senses are said to be important, | 42

---|---

but mind is higher than they are,

and intellect is above mind;

but Self is greater than all these.

'So knowing it to be supreme, | 43

---|---

and sustaining the self with Self,

slay the foe whose form is desire,

so hard to conquer, Arjuna.'"
_chapter_

"The Blessed Lord said:

'This is the undying yoga | 1

---|---

that I proclaimed to Vivasvat,

who related it to Manu,

and Ikshvaku had it from him.

'The royal seers came to learn this | 2

---|---

yoga from a long tradition;

but after many ages, it

was lost, O Scorcher of the Foe.

'I proclaim this ancient yoga | 3

---|---

to you here today, Arjuna:

you are my devotee and friend,

and this is the supreme secret.'

"Arjuna said:

'But the Sun God, Vivasvat, was | 4

---|---

born earlier than Your Lordship;

how may I understand that you

proclaimed this in the beginning?'

"The Blessed Lord said:

'Arjuna, you and I have had | 5

---|---

many births which have passed away;

I know all of these births, but you

do not, O Scorcher of the Foe.

'Though I am unborn and deathless, | 6

---|---

and the Lord of All Creation,

superior to my own nature,

I create myself by magic.

'Indeed, whenever righteousness | 7

---|---

decays, O Son of Bharata,

and unrighteousness increases,

then do I manifest myself.

'In order to protect the good, | 8

---|---

and to destroy evildoers,

and to establish righteousness,

age after age, I come to be.

'He who truly knows my divine | 9

---|---

birth and action, Arjuna,

will not be reborn when he sheds

his body, but will come to me.

'Emptied of anger, fear and passion, | 10

---|---

many men are imbued with me;

purified by austere wisdom,

they come into my condition.

'So I reward the devotion | 11

---|---

of all those who resort to me;

everywhere my followers walk

in my path, O Son of Pritha.

'Seeking ritual fulfillment, | 12

---|---

they offer sacrifice to gods,

for in this human world, success

born of ritual comes quickly.

'I created the four classes, | 13

---|---

their different qualities and roles.

Although I am their creator,

know me as one who never acts!

'I am left unstained by actions, | 14

---|---

not wishing any of their fruit;

so the one who understands me

is not fettered by his actions.

'The ancients who wished for release | 15

---|---

knew this too, and so they acted.

Therefore, you must act as they did,

those who lived in earlier times.

'"So what is action and non-action?" | 16

---|---

This confuses even poets.

I will tell you of this action

which will free you from corruption.

'To be enlightened, one should know | 17

---|---

the way of actions, good and bad.

Non-action one should also know.

The way of action is profound.

'Who in action sees non-action, | 18

---|---

and sees in non-action, action,

is a wise man, is disciplined,

whole in all actions he performs.

'In all his undertakings, he | 19

---|---

ignores desire and volition.

The wise see him as wise, whose acts

have been burned in wisdom's fire.

'With no attachment to the fruit | 20

---|---

of action, always satisfied,

independent, he does not act—

even when engaged in action.

'No guilt attaches to one whose | 21

---|---

self is governed by his yoked mind,

and who performs, without desire,

actions only in his body.

'Content with what he gains by chance, | 22

---|---

undivided, free of envy,

success and failure one to him,

he is not bound by his actions.

'The acts of one unattached and free, | 23

---|---

whose consciousness dwells in knowledge,

are performed as sacrifices;

and such acts utterly dissolve.

'Brahman is offering, Brahman | 24

---|---

is the oblation and the fire,

to be attained by one intent

on Brahman seen in all actions.

'Some yogis practice sacrifice | 25

---|---

to a god while others offer

sacrifice by sacrificing

in the fire of the Brahman.

'Some offer senses—hearing, say— | 26

---|---

into the fires of restraint;

some give sense-objects, such as sound,

to the fires of the senses.

'Others offer up all actions | 27

---|---

of the senses and of the breath

to the fires of the yoga

of knowledge-kindled self-restraint.

'Others offer material things, | 28

---|---

their discipline as sacrifice;

and some there are who with keen vows

sacrifice knowledge and self-study.

'Having restrained the double paths | 29

---|---

of breathing in and breathing out,

and focused on control of breath,

others make this their sacrifice.

'Others who restrict consumption | 30

---|---

of food offer breaths into breaths;

all these indeed know sacrifice,

which has purged their impurities.

'Who eat the leavings of the gods | 31

---|---

at sacrifice go to Brahman.

This world is not for those who do

not sacrifice: how then the next?

'Many the kinds of sacrifice | 32

---|---

set before the mouth of Brahman;

know that all are born of action,

and this knowledge will release you.

'Better than material sacrifice | 33

---|---

is the sacrifice of knowledge:

all action is perfected by

knowledge, O Scorcher of the Foe.

'Know this, O Son of Pritha: by | 34

---|---

submission, inquiry and service,

the seers of reality

will instruct you in this knowledge;

'having attained it, you will not | 35

---|---

fall again into delusion,

for by it you will see all beings

first in yourself and then in me.

'Were you the very worst of all | 36

---|---

the very worst of sinful men,

nonetheless, you would transcend all

evils in the boat of knowledge.

'Thus, even as a kindled fire | 37

---|---

reduces firewood to ash,

the fire of knowledge, Arjuna,

acts upon all actions so.

'Nothing in this world may be found | 38

---|---

that purifies as knowledge does;

one whose yoga is perfected

will find such knowledge in the Self.

'A faithful man, restrained in senses, | 39

---|---

holding knowledge as highest good,

obtains it quickly; with it, he

achieves (and not unswiftly!) bliss.

'The ignorant unfaithful one | 40

---|---

whose self is doubtful is destroyed.

Neither in this world nor the next,

can there be happiness for him.

'One whose actions are renounced by | 41

---|---

yoga, and who is self-possessed,

with knowledge that dispels all doubt

is not bound by deeds, Arjuna.

'So, having cut away doubt, caused | 42

---|---

by ignorance within the heart,

with the sword of your self-knowledge,

turn to yoga! Rise, Arjuna!'"
_chapter_

"Arjuna said:

'Now you praise renunciation, | 1

---|---

now, O Krishna, you praise yoga:

without equivocation, say

which is the better of these two?'

"The Blessed Lord said:

'Yoga and renunciation | 2

---|---

will both lead to ultimate bliss;

but the yoga of action is

better than renunciation.

'Renunciation's exemplar | 3

---|---

is without hatred or desire;

indifferent to opposites,

he is lightly freed from bondage.

'Fools say, "Theory and practice | 4

---|---

are different!" But not the wise:

either one performed correctly

will yield the fruit common to both.

'The place attained by theory | 5

---|---

is also gotten to by practice.

Who sees that theory is one

with practice, accurately sees!

'Renunciation, Arjuna, | 6

---|---

is hard to attain without yoga.

The sage, by yoga disciplined,

in no great time reaches Brahman.

'One yoked by yoga, whose cleansed self | 7

---|---

and senses both have been subdued,

whose self is now that of all beings,

is untainted by his actions.

'Whether seeing, hearing, touching, | 8

---|---

tasting, eating, moving, sleeping,

even breathing, " _I_ do nothing,"

the yoked-by-yoga seer will say,

'speaking, letting go or grasping; | 9

---|---

opening the eyes or closing,

while believing that "the senses

act so upon the sense-objects."

'One who, in acting, consecrates | 10

---|---

all of his actions to Brahman,

shed of attachments, is unstained

like a lotus leaf by water.

'With body, mind and intellect, | 11

---|---

even merely with the senses,

the yogis act without attachment,

so as to purify the self.

'Unattached to action's fruits, | 12

---|---

the yoked one comes to final peace;

the unyoked are bound by desires

and by attachment to results.

'All actions of the mind renounced, | 13

---|---

the Self embodied sits in peace

within the city of nine gates,

and neither acts nor causes action.

'The Lord is not responsible | 14

---|---

for worldly acts or agency,

nor for linking act to outcome;

inherent nature causes these.

'The all-pervading has no share | 15

---|---

either in evil or in good.

Knowledge is veiled by ignorance,

whereby people are deluded.

'But those whose ignorance of Self | 16

---|---

is overcome by their knowledge,

find that knowledge is like the sun,

illuminating the supreme!

'Those whose minds are fixed upon it, | 17

---|---

whose selves are set upon this goal,

with their impurities all cleansed

by knowledge will not be reborn.

'The wise ones see the very same | 18

---|---

in a learned, cultured Brahmin,

a cow, an elephant, a dog—

or in a dog-cooking outcaste!

'They overcome creation, who | 19

---|---

dwell here in equanimity:

Brahman is faultless and equable;

therefore, they abide in Brahman.

'One should not thrill at what delights, | 20

---|---

nor shudder at what one abhors;

who knows the absolute, abides

in _it_ —steady, undeluded.

'The self detached from externals | 21

---|---

finds happiness within the Self.

One whose Self is joined to Brahman

attains undying happiness.

'Those pleasures born of touch are wombs | 22

---|---

of suffering, O Son of Kunti!

Because they are contained in time,

they do not satisfy the wise.

'One who is able to endure | 23

---|---

the lashings of rage and desire

before escaping from the body,

is disciplined and is content.

'With happiness and joy within, | 24

---|---

and inner radiance thereby,

a yogi will indeed attain

extinction and become Brahman.

'Seers shed all of impurities, | 25

---|---

with doubts dispelled and selves restrained,

benevolent to all beings,

attain extinction in Brahman.

'Ascetics separated from | 26

---|---

rage and lust, of disciplined minds,

who know the self, are very close

to their extinction in Brahman.

'Excluding all external contacts, | 27

---|---

with his gaze fixed between the brows,

with inhalations equal to

his exhalations, the wise one,

'whose senses, mind and intellect | 28

---|---

are firmly fixed upon release,

shed of desire, fear and rage

will soon attain bliss forever.

'Who understands me as the Friend | 29

---|---

of all Beings, Lord of this World,

Enjoyer of Sacrifices

and Austerities, attains peace!'"
_chapter_

"The Blessed Lord said,

'He who performs the rituals | 1

---|---

without attachment to their fruits,

is a renouncer and a yogi,

not he who lacks rites and fires.

'Know, Arjuna, that what is called | 2

---|---

renunciation is yoga!

For no one becomes a yogi

without renouncing volition.

'Acts are said to be the means of | 3

---|---

the sage who would rise to yoga;

tranquility is called the means

of the one who has ascended.

'A man detached from his actions | 4

---|---

and the objects of the senses,

who renounces all volition,

is said to have risen to yoga.

'By the Self one should raise the self, | 5

---|---

but one should not degrade the self,

for the self is the Self's true friend,

and may indeed be the Self's foe.

'The self overcome by the Self | 6

---|---

has the Self as its companion;

but the Self is inimical

to the self that is unsubdued.

'The supreme Self of the self-subdued | 7

---|---

and tranquil one is collected

in cold, heat, pleasure and pain,

in honor and dishonor too.

'Whose self, subdued, is satisfied | 8

---|---

by knowledge and insight, aloof,

and sees clods, stones and gold nuggets

as one, is said to be a yogi.

'Who sits apart, indifferent | 9

---|---

to foes, associates and friends,

neutral to enemies and kinsmen,

righteous and wicked, is renowned.

'The yogi should be self-subdued | 10

---|---

always, and stand in solitude,

alone, controlled in thought and self,

without desires or possessions.

'Having established for himself | 11

---|---

a steady seat in a pure place,

neither too high nor yet too low,

covered with grass, deerhide and cloth,

'with his mind sharpened to one point, | 12

---|---

with thought and senses both subdued,

there he should sit, doing yoga

so as to purify the self,

'keeping his head, neck and body | 13

---|---

aligned, erect and motionless,

gaze fixed on the tip of his nose,

not looking off distractedly,

'now fearless and with tranquil self, | 14

---|---

firm in avowed celibacy,

with his thought focused on myself,

he should sit, devoted to me.

'Thus always chastening himself | 15

---|---

the yogi's mind, subdued, knows peace,

whose farthest point is cessation;

thereafter, he abides in me.

'Yoga is not for the greedy, | 16

---|---

nor yet for the abstemious;

not for one too used to sleeping,

nor for the sleepless, Arjuna.

'Yoga destroys the pain of one | 17

---|---

temperate in his behavior,

in his food and recreation,

and in his sleep and waking too.

'After his thought has been subdued, | 18

---|---

and abides only in the Self,

free from all longing and desire,

then he is said to be steadfast.

'"Like a lamp in a windless place | 19

---|---

unflickering," is the likeness

of the yogi subdued in thought,

performing yoga of the Self.

'Where all thought comes to cease, restrained | 20

---|---

by the discipline of yoga,

where, by the self, the Self is seen,

one is satisfied in the Self.

'When he knows that eternal joy | 21

---|---

grasped only by the intellect,

beyond the senses where he dwells,

he does not deviate from truth;

'having attained it, he believes | 22

---|---

there is no gain superior;

abiding there, he is unmoved

even by profound suffering.

'Let him know that the dissolving | 23

---|---

of the union with suffering

is called yoga, to be practiced

with persistence, mind undaunted.

'Having abandoned all desires | 24

---|---

born to satisfy intentions,

and having utterly restrained

the many senses by the mind,

'Gradually let him find rest, | 25

---|---

his intellect under control,

his mind established in the Self,

not thinking about anything.

'Having subdued the unsteady | 26

---|---

mind in motion, he should lead it

back from wherever it strays to,

into the domain of the Self.

'Supreme joy comes to the yogi | 27

---|---

of calm mind and tranquil passion,

who has become one with Brahman

and is wholly free of evil.

'Constantly controlling himself, | 28

---|---

the yogi, freed from evil now,

swiftly attains perpetual

joy of contact here with Brahman.

'He whose self is yoked by yoga, | 29

---|---

and who perceives sameness always,

will see the Self in all beings

and see all beings in the Self.

'I am not lost for someone who | 30

---|---

perceives my presence everywhere,

and everything perceives in me,

nor is that person lost for me.

'The yogi firmly set in oneness | 31

---|---

who worships me in all beings,

whatever the path that he takes,

will nonetheless abide in me.

'The yogi who sees all the same | 32

---|---

analogous to his own Self

in happiness or suffering

is thought supreme, O Arjuna.'

"Arjuna said,

'Because of mind's unsteadiness | 33

---|---

I do not see the changeless state

of the yoga known as sameness,

O Slayer of the Demon Madhu!

'Krishna, the mind is most infirm, | 34

---|---

is troubling, powerful, intense!

I think it no less difficult

to subjugate than is the wind!'

"The Blessed Lord said,

'Doubtless, O Mighty Warrior, | 35

---|---

the restless mind resists restraints;

but by practice, O Son of Kunti,

and by detachment, it is gripped.

'Yoga, I say, is hard to reach | 36

---|---

by one whose self is unsubdued;

with effort, someone self-controlled

may find the means to attain it.'

"Arjuna said,

'One faithful, but yet unsubdued, | 37

---|---

whose mind has strayed from discipline,

not having reached that perfection,

what path does he walk, O Krishna?

'Fallen from here and hereafter, | 38

---|---

does he just vanish like a cloud,

fluctuating, O Great-Armed One,

baffled on the path of Brahman?

'Only you and no one other | 39

---|---

can totally efface my doubts;

none but you comes forth, O Krishna,

to efface my uncertainty!'

"The Blessed Lord said,

'Neither down here nor hereafter | 40

---|---

will he be found to be destroyed,

O Son of Pritha; for no one

who does good comes to a bad end.

'Having dwelled for ages in the | 41

---|---

worlds of the meritorious,

one lost to yoga is reborn

in an illustrious family.

'Or else he comes to be within | 42

---|---

a family of wise yogis;

but such a kind of birth as this

is hard to attain in this world.

'There he rejoins an intellect | 43

---|---

drawn from a past incarnation,

and so he struggles once again,

O Joy of Kuru, for perfection.

'Even against his will, he is | 44

---|---

sustained by previous practice;

he who even wishes to know

yoga transcends the Word-Brahman.

'From his striving with a conquered | 45

---|---

mind, the sage, cleansed of defilement,

and purified through many births,

will pass to the supreme abode.

'The yogi is superior | 46

---|---

to ascetics and the learned,

and to those who perform the rites;

so, Arjuna, be a yogi!

'Also, of all yogis, the one | 47

---|---

whose inner Self has come to me,

who worships me, rich in his faith,

is thought to be the most steadfast.'"
_chapter_

"The Blessed Lord said:

'Arjuna, hear how with your mind | 1

---|---

subsumed in me as your refuge,

practicing yoga, you will come

to know me wholly, without doubt!

'I will grant this knowledge fully | 2

---|---

and with it give understanding,

beyond which there is nothing more

in this world that you need to know.

'Of many thousands, just a few | 3

---|---

strive for perfection here below;

and of those who strive, perfected,

scarcely any know me truly.

'Earth and water, fire and wind, | 4

---|---

ether, mind, intellect, ego:

this is the eightfold division

of my material nature.

'Know this as my inferior | 5

---|---

nature, Arjuna; my other,

higher nature consists of souls

through which this universe abides!

'Understand my higher nature | 6

---|---

as the womb of every being;

thus the source and dissolution

of the entire universe.

'There is nothing superior | 7

---|---

to me, O Conqueror of Wealth;

this universe is strung on me

as pearls are strung upon a thread.

'I am water's taste, Arjuna, | 8

---|---

I am the light of sun and moon,

the _Vedas_ ' sacred syllable,

sound in the air, manhood in men.

'I am the pure fragrance of earth | 9

---|---

and the radiance of fire;

I am the life in all beings,

the ascetics' asceticism.

'Know me, O Son of Pritha, as | 10

---|---

the eternal seed in all beings,

the mind of the intelligent,

the splendor of the radiant!

'I am the might of the mighty, | 11

---|---

freed from passion and desire,

I am desire unopposed

to law, O Bull of Bharatas.

'And know that states of being which | 12

---|---

are pure or passionate or dark,

proceed from me—however, I

am not in them: they are in me!

'By these three states of being, made | 13

---|---

of the three qualities, this world

is deluded, unaware of

me as higher and eternal.

'Only those who resort to me | 14

---|---

pass beyond my divine illusion,

formed upon the three qualities

and difficult to penetrate.

'Evildoers, the worst of men, | 15

---|---

do not find a refuge in me.

With knowledge lost to illusion,

their existence is demonic!

'Arjuna, I am honored by | 16

---|---

four kinds of benevolent men:

the distressed, the knowledge seeker,

the wealth seeker, and the wise man.

'Of these four, the steadfast wise man, | 17

---|---

devoted to one, is distinguished,

for I am exceedingly dear

to the wise man, and he to me.

'All these are truly noble, but | 18

---|---

the wise man I call my own self,

for he of steadfast self abides

in me as his supreme abode.

'After being reborn often, | 19

---|---

the wise man takes refuge in me:

"Krishna," he thinks, "is all that is!"

Such a great soul is hard to find.

'Those who are bereft of knowledge | 20

---|---

by these or those lusts turn to gods

of this or that persuasion, being

overruled by their own natures.

'Whoever has the wish to worship | 21

---|---

whatever god-form faithfully,

it is I who truly grant him

a faith that is immovable.

'Yoked in this faith, the devotee | 22

---|---

desires to propitiate

that god for answering the prayers

which were granted by me only!

'Fleeting are the results for those | 23

---|---

who are weak in understanding.

God worshippers go to the gods;

my devotees attain me truly.

'Although I am unmanifest, | 24

---|---

the foolish think that I have form,

unaware of my eternal,

incomparable higher being.

'Hidden by my magic power, | 25

---|---

I am not manifest to all;

this foolish world cannot perceive

me as birthless and eternal.

'I know those who have crossed over, | 26

---|---

Arjuna, and the living too;

I know the beings yet to be,

but I am known by none whatever.

'Deluded by duality | 27

---|---

arising out of lust and hate,

all beings in creation are

deceived, O Scorcher of the Foe.

'But those whose sins are ended, those | 28

---|---

whose good deeds have brought them merit,

undeceived by duality,

they worship me with steadfast vows.

'Those who strive for liberation | 29

---|---

from age and death, relying on me,

know Brahman and know all action,

and know the Self that is supreme.

'And those who know me as Supreme | 30

---|---

Being and God and Sacrifice,

have steadfast minds and will know me

even at the time of dying.'"
_chapter_

"Arjuna said,

'O Supreme One, what is Brahman? | 1

---|---

What is the self? What is action?

What undergirds all creation?

What undergirds the Supreme God?

'Who is the Lord of Sacrifice, | 2

---|---

and how does he live in this flesh?

How are you known by steadfast selves

at end time, O Demon Slayer?'

"The Blessed Lord said,

'Known as the essence of the Self, | 3

---|---

undying Brahman is supreme.

The power by which all creatures

come to exist is called action.

'Transient being is the physical; | 4

---|---

and the spirit is the divine.

Here in this flesh I am the Lord

of Sacrifice, O Bharata.

'At the end time, mind fixed on me, | 5

---|---

one relinquishing his body

goes forth from it to my being,

without a doubt in this instance.

'Whatever state of being one | 6

---|---

holds in mind, he will attain to,

always changed to that condition

when he leaves his corpse, Arjuna.

'And so, at all times, meditate | 7

---|---

upon me! Fight, O Warrior!

With mind and intellect fixed on me,

you will attain me, without doubt!

'Steadfast in yogic discipline, | 8

---|---

thoughts not straying to another,

while meditating, Arjuna,

one goes to the Supreme Person.

'One meditating on the ancient poet, | 9

---|---

the ruler who is smaller than an atom,

form unimaginable, all-supporting,

the sun-colored one from beyond the darkness,

'drawing the vital breath between his eyebrows, | 10

---|---

motionless in mind at the time of dying,

yoked by yoga and guided by devotion,

he will approach the divine, Supreme Person.

'What students of the _Vedas_ call "the deathless," | 11

---|---

which passionless ascetics wish to enter,

and lead chaste lives in order they may do so—

I will explain this path to you now, briefly.

'Having closed all the body's gates, | 12

---|---

confining mind within the heart,

placing one's own breath in the head,

firm in yogic concentration,

'uttering the Brahmanic OM, | 13

---|---

and meditating upon me,

who sheds his body and goes forth,

that one attains the highest goal.

'For one of never-straying mind, | 14

---|---

who constantly remembers me,

for the yogi constantly yoked,

I am quite easily attained.

'Having approached me, the great selves | 15

---|---

gone to the supreme perfection

are not reborn to this transient

abode of suffering and pain.

'All the way up to Brahma's realm | 16

---|---

the worlds are reborn, Arjuna,

but those who have resort to me

are not found subject to rebirth.

'Such men know a Brahmanic day | 17

---|---

which lasts for a thousand ages,

and a night equal in its length;

these truly know the day and night.

'When day arrives, appearances | 18

---|---

all come from the unmanifest,

dissolving at approach of night,

and are unmanifest once more.

'Repeatedly caused to exist, | 19

---|---

this vast aggregate of beings

perforce dissolves when night comes on,

returning with returning day.

'Even higher and more ancient | 20

---|---

is another unmanifest state;

this, when all beings are destroyed

in the destruction, does not die.

'Undying, this unmanifest | 21

---|---

is said to be the supreme goal

from which there is no returning.

That place is my supreme abode.

'This is the Supreme One, attained | 22

---|---

by unwavering devotion;

within this all beings abide,

this is what is all-pervading!

'But now, O Bull of Bharatas, | 23

---|---

I will inform you where in time

those departed yogis go,

those who do, or do not, return.

'Fire, light, day, the moon's bright fortnight, | 24

---|---

six months of the northern going,

those departing, Brahman-knowing

men go forth then unto Brahman.

'Smoke and night, the moon's dark fortnight, | 25

---|---

six months of the southern going,

the yogi, with the moon's light glowing,

returns to earth to be reborn.

'There are two paths, the light and dark, | 26

---|---

both thought to be perpetual;

by one he goes not to return,

but by the other he returns.

'Knowing these two paths, Arjuna, | 27

---|---

the yogi is not deluded.

Therefore, O Son of Pritha, be

always disciplined by yoga!

'The yogi, having known all this, surpasses | 28

---|---

merit attained by study of the _Vedas_ ,

by gifts and sacrifices, self-denial—

the yogi goes to the primal, highest place.'"
_chapter_

"The Blessed Lord said,

'But now I will explain to you, | 1

---|---

who do not scoff, this deepest secret:

your discerning knowledge of it

will liberate you from evil.

'This secret wisdom of the kings | 2

---|---

is the greatest purifier,

self-evident and righteous too,

a joy to practice and eternal.

'Men lacking faith in this virtue, | 3

---|---

Arjuna, not attaining me,

come back again, reborn into

the cycle of transmigration.

'This universe is filled with me, | 4

---|---

with my unmanifested form;

all beings here abide in me

but I do not abide in them.

'Yet beings do not dwell in me. | 5

---|---

Behold my majestic power,

creating and sustaining them!

But it does not abide in them.

'As the great wind that stands in space | 6

---|---

eternally goes everywhere,

so every being everywhere

abides in me. Reflect on this!

'When one age ends, all beings go | 7

---|---

to my own material nature,

O Son of Kunti; I send them forth

again when the next age begins.

'Resting upon my own nature, | 8

---|---

I send forth this whole helpless group,

this multitude of beings, by

the very power of my nature.

'Nor do these actions fetter me | 9

---|---

at all, O Conqueror of Wealth;

indifferent to them, I sit

among them, wholly unattached.

'Nature, with me as overseer, | 10

---|---

brings forth both still and moving forms;

because of this, the universe

goes round and round, O Son of Kunti.

'Deluded men disesteem me | 11

---|---

for dwelling in a human form,

all unaware of my higher

nature as Great Lord of Beings.

'Those of fruitless hopes and actions, | 12

---|---

those of vain and empty knowledge,

abide in a delusional

demonic, devilish nature!

'But the great souls, O Son of Pritha, | 13

---|---

at rest in my divine nature,

worship me single-mindedly,

known as the deathless source of beings.

'Forever glorifying me, | 14

---|---

and striving with firm observance,

honoring me with devotion,

the ever steadfast worship me.

'I am worshipped by yet others | 15

---|---

in the sacrifice of knowledge,

as the one and as the many,

manifold and omniscient.

'I am the rite, the sacrifice, | 16

---|---

I am the offering, the herb,

I am the mantra and the _ghee_ ,

I am fire and oblation;

'the father of this universe, | 17

---|---

its mother and grandfather too;

object of knowledge, soma-strainer,

sacred OM, the three chief _Vedas_ ;

'I am the way, the Lord, the witness; | 18

---|---

abode, refuge and companion;

origin, death, and all between;

sepulcher and treasure horde.

'I radiate heat, Arjuna, | 19

---|---

I hold rain back and let it go,

I am immortal life and death,

I am being and non-being.

'Soma drinkers, well versed in the three _Vedas_ , | 20

---|---

striving for heaven, cleansed by sacrifices,

reaching the pure and longed-for world of Indra,

will feast upon the gods' own sacred pleasures!

'Having enjoyed the spacious world of heaven, | 21

---|---

merit exhausted, they return to this one;

conforming to the law of the three _Vedas_ ,

desiring desires, they but come and go here.

'Those men who single-mindedly | 22

---|---

worship me without wavering,

the steadfast ones, I satisfy

their needs, and what is theirs, protect.

'Even the faithful who worship | 23

---|---

other gods, O Son of Kunti,

even they also worship me,

though not in accord with custom.

'For I am the Lord and only | 24

---|---

enjoyer of all sacrifices,

but they do not recognize my

reality, and so they fall.

'To the gods go their worshippers, | 25

---|---

as to the ancestors go theirs,

and to spirits, theirs; but those who

sacrifice to me, go to me.

'Who with devotion offers me | 26

---|---

a leaf or flower, water, fruit,

I will taste from that steadfast self,

anything devoutly offered.

'Let anything done or tasted, | 27

---|---

anything given or endured,

O Son of Kunti, be transformed

into an offering to me!

'Thus freed from the bonds of action, | 28

---|---

and from its good and evil fruit,

self-disciplined by self-denial,

delivered, you will come to me.

'I am the same in all beings, | 29

---|---

and dislike none and none hold dear,

but those devout in my worship

are within me and I in them.

'Even the evildoer, if | 30

---|---

he worships me and no other,

is considered to be righteous,

truly, for his resolution.

'The one whose self is virtuous | 31

---|---

goes swiftly to eternal peace,

O Son of Kunti. Understand,

no devotee of mine is lost!

'By having found refuge in me, | 32

---|---

even those out of evil wombs,

such as women, merchants, servants,

go to the supreme goal as well.

'How much more so may the Brahmins | 33

---|---

and the devoted royal seers!

Finding yourself in this transient

world of misfortune, worship me!

'Be fixed on me in devotion, | 34

---|---

sacrificing, doing reverence!

So steadied, you will come to me,

having me as your supreme aim!'"
_chapter_

"The Blessed Lord said,

'Once more, O Mighty Warrior, | 1

---|---

hear from my lips my matchless word,

which I address to you, Beloved,

from my care for your well-being!

'Neither the multitude of gods | 2

---|---

nor great seers know my origin,

for I am the true source of all

gods and great seers in any case.

'Who knows me as the world's Great Lord, | 3

---|---

birthless and without beginning,

is undeluded among men

and liberated from all ills.

'Intelligence, knowledge, clarity, | 4

---|---

forbearance, truth and self-restraint,

tranquility, joy and sorrow,

being, non-being, fear and courage;

'non-violence, equanimity, | 5

---|---

austerity, contentedness,

gifts, honor, shame; the diverse states

of being spring from me only.

'In the past the seven great seers | 6

---|---

and the four law-giving Manus,

progenitors of humankind,

originated in my mind.

'Who truly knows this manifest | 7

---|---

power and mastery of mine

is joined to me, without a doubt,

by the unwavering yoga.

'I am the origin of all, | 8

---|---

and from me everything proceeds;

and thinking so, the learned ones,

filled with my being, worship me.

'Mind fixed on me, breath gone to me, | 9

---|---

enlightening one another

and speaking of me constantly,

they are content and they rejoice.

'To those who are yoked constantly, | 10

---|---

and are joyful in their worship,

I give the yoga of higher mind,

by which they will attain to me.

'So, from my compassion for them, | 11

---|---

I who dwell in their own beings

destroy ignorance-born darkness

with the shining lamp of knowledge.'

"Arjuna said,

'You are the consummate Brahman, | 12

---|---

matchless abode and purifier,

the eternal sacred person,

god unborn and all-pervading.

'So all the wise men say of you, | 13

---|---

and the divine seer Narada,

and Asita, Devala too,

and Vyasa, and you yourself.

'I think all this to be the truth | 14

---|---

you tell me, O Handsome-Haired One,

for neither gods nor demons know

your manifestations, O Lord.

'Through yourself only, do you know | 15

---|---

your own self, O Highest Person,

Creator God, Lord of Beings,

God of Gods, Lord of the Universe!

'Please describe for me completely | 16

---|---

your divine manifestations

by which, having permeated

these worlds, you abide in them.

'How may I know you, O Yogin, | 17

---|---

reflecting on you constantly?

In what diverse states of being

are you to be imagined, Lord?

'Once more explain in great detail | 18

---|---

your power and your diverse forms,

for I cannot hear enough of

the deathless nectar of your speech!'

"The Blessed Lord said,

'Hear! I will tell you of my own | 19

---|---

divine self-manifestations,

my main ones, O Best of Kurus,

for my extension has no end.

'I am the Self, situated | 20

---|---

in the heart of every being,

for whom I am the origin,

midpoint and end, O Thick-Haired One.

'Of the Adityas I am Vishnu, | 21

---|---

of lights I am the radiant sun,

of storm gods I am Marici,

and of the stars I am the moon.

'Of _Vedas_ , the _Sama Veda_ ; | 22

---|---

of the gods I am Vasava;

of the senses I am the mind;

of beings I am consciousness.

'Of the Rudras I am Shiva, | 23

---|---

of Rakshasas, Kubera,

of the Vasus I am Agni,

of the mountains I am Meru.

'Know, O Son of Pritha, I | 24

---|---

am the chief of household priests;

of generals I am Skanda;

of the waters I am Ocean.

'Of the great seers I am Bhrigu, | 25

---|---

I am the OM of utterances,

of sacrifice, the muttered prayer,

of mountains, the Himalayas.

'Of trees I am the sacred fig, | 26

---|---

of the divine seers, Narada,

of Gandharvas, Citraratha,

of the perfected, Kapila.

'Of horses, the one Indra rides, | 27

---|---

born of nectar; of elephants,

Indra's lordly Airavata;

of mortal men I am the king.

'Of weapons I am the thunderbolt, | 28

---|---

of cows, the wish-fulfilling cow;

I am Kandarpa, god of love;

of serpents I am Vasuki.

'Of Naga-snakes I am Ananta, | 29

---|---

of water-creatures I am Varuna,

of ancestors I am Aryaman,

of punishers I am Yama.

'Of demons I am Prahlada, | 30

---|---

of regulators I am Time,

of animals I am the lion,

and of the birds, Vainateya.

'Of purifiers I am wind, | 31

---|---

of weapon bearers I am Rama,

Makara of the sea monsters,

And of rivers I am Ganges.

'Of creations I am beginning, | 32

---|---

middle and the end, Arjuna;

of sciences, that of the Self,

of speakers I am the discourse.

'Of letters I am the letter "A," | 33

---|---

of compound words the conjunctive;

I am indeed undying time,

and the omniscient arranger.

'I am death, the all-destroying, | 34

---|---

and the source of what will happen;

of feminine things, fame, wealth, speech,

memory, wisdom, courage, patience.

'Of Saman-chants, Bhradsama, | 35

---|---

of meters I am Gayatri,

of months I am the very first,

of seasons, flower-bearing spring.

'I am the gambling of cheats, | 36

---|---

I am the brilliance of the bright,

I am victory and effort,

the virtue of the virtuous.

'Of the Vrishnis I am Krishna, | 37

---|---

of Pandavas I am Arjuna,

and of the sages, Vyasa,

of poets I am Ushana.

'I am the clout of the rulers, | 38

---|---

the advice of those who wish to win;

of secrets I am the silence,

and the knowledge of those who know.

'And I am that which is the seed | 39

---|---

within all beings, Arjuna;

without me, nothing can exist,

whether moving or motionless.

'Endless, my manifestations, | 40

---|---

O Scorcher of the Enemy.

But these have been declared by me

as explanations of my force.

'Know that the origin of any | 41

---|---

being, however glorious

or powerful, is never more

than a fraction of my brilliance!

'But Arjuna, what purpose does | 42

---|---

all this extensive knowledge serve?

With but one fragment of myself

I constantly support this world.'"
_chapter_

"Arjuna said,

'As a result of your kindness | 1

---|---

in speaking of that greatest secret

recognized as the Supreme Self,

I have been left undeluded.

'I have, in detail, heard you speak | 2

---|---

Of creatures' origins and ends,

and of your eternal greatness,

O One of Lotus-Petal-Eyes.

'This is just as you have spoken | 3

---|---

about yourself, O Supreme Lord.

I desire to behold your

lordly form, O Supreme Spirit.

'If you think it is possible | 4

---|---

for me to see this, then, O God,

O Lord of Yoga, allow me

to behold your eternal Self!'

"The Blessed Lord said,

'O Son of Pritha, look upon | 5

---|---

my hundredfold, no, thousandfold

forms various and celestial,

forms of diverse shapes and colors!

'Behold the Adityas and Vasus, | 6

---|---

the Rudras, Ashvins and Maruts,

many unseen previously!

Behold these wonders, Arjuna!

'Here behold all the universe, | 7

---|---

beings moving and motionless,

standing as one in my body,

and all else that you wish to see!

'Because you are unable to | 8

---|---

behold me with your mortal eye,

I give you one that is divine:

Behold my majestic power!'

Sanjaya said,

"And after saying this, O King, | 9

---|---

Vishnu, the great Lord of Yoga,

revealed his supreme, majestic

form to him, the Son of Pritha.

"That form has many eyes and mouths, | 10

---|---

and many wonders visible,

with many sacred ornaments,

and many sacred weapons raised.

"Clothed in sacred wreaths and garments, | 11

---|---

with many sacred fragrances,

and comprising every wonder,

the infinite, omniscient god!

"If in the sky a thousand suns | 12

---|---

should have risen all together,

the brilliance of it would be like

the brilliance of that Great-Souled One.

"And then the Son of Pandu saw | 13

---|---

the universe standing as one,

divided up in diverse ways,

embodied in the god of gods.

"Then Arjuna, seized by wonder, | 14

---|---

with his hair standing up on end,

with joined hands raised to his bowed head

in reverential gesture, said,

'I see all gods, O God, within your body, | 15

---|---

and every kind of being all collected,

and the Lord Brahma seated on his lotus,

with all the seers and with the sacred serpents.

'I see your many arms, your bellies, faces; | 16

---|---

I see you everywhere, whose form is boundless,

endless, with no beginning and no middle,

Lord of the Universe, whose form your own is.

'I see you crowned and armed with mace and discus, | 17

---|---

a splendid mass of many-sided brilliance

almost impossible to grasp completely,

limitless blazing of the sun and fire!

'You, the unchanging object of all knowledge, | 18

---|---

you, the ultimate refuge of this cosmos,

you, the eternal law's immortal champion,

and, as I now believe, primeval spirit!

'Infinite power, unbegun, unending; | 19

---|---

arms without number, sun and moon for vision;

I see your fire-blazing mouth devour

whole worlds entire, scorched by your own brilliance!

'All between earth and heaven is pervaded | 20

---|---

only by you, in every direction;

seeing your wondrous, terrible appearance,

Almighty Soul, the three worlds quake and shudder!

'Throngs of gods enter you; some, fearful, praise you, | 21

---|---

and having greeted you with reverent gestures,

perfected ones and sages in assembly

celebrate you with praises in abundance!

'Rudras, Adityas, Vasus, Saddhyas, All-Gods, | 22

---|---

Storm Gods, the Asvins, steam-inhaling forebears,

Gandharvas, Yakshas, demon Asuras,

and the Perfected, all behold you awestruck!

'Seeing your form so mighty in appearance, | 23

---|---

so many mouths and eyes, thighs, feet and bellies,

and with those fangs of yours that are so dreadful,

all the worlds tremble, terrified as I am!

'With gaping mouths and eyes gigantic blazing, | 24

---|---

you touch the sky and burn with many colors!

So I have seen you, and my spirit shuddered,

calmness and courage lost to me, O Vishnu!

'So terrifying your mouths in appearance, | 25

---|---

resembling the fires of destruction,

disoriented, I can find no refuge,

O Lord of Gods, O World Abode, have mercy!

'Into you pour the sons of Dhritarashtra | 26

---|---

with all the earthly rulers there assembled,

Bhisma and Drona too, along with Karna,

and with them also our leading warriors!

'Quickly they spill into your mouths so fearsome, | 27

---|---

your jaws that all with fangs are thickly studded,

some men with heads grotesquely crushed and mangled,

between your teeth in desperation clinging!

'Just as the many torrents of the rivers | 28

---|---

flow ever onward into the great ocean,

so do the heroes of this world of mortals

enter your flaming mouths seen in the distance.

'Like moths that hasten onward till they enter | 29

---|---

the blazing flame in which they find destruction,

just so the worlds, in hastening to enter

your gaping mouths, all seek out their destruction.

'With every mouth ablaze, you lick with flaming | 30

---|---

tongues the worlds which on every side you swallow,

and fill the cosmos wholly with your brilliance,

your awful light that blazes forth, O Vishnu!

'Who are you? Tell me, Lord of Dread Appearance! | 31

---|---

Homage to you! O Best of Gods, have mercy!

For I would understand you, Primal Being,

whose purpose is beyond my comprehension!'

"The Blessed Lord said,

'I am almighty time, the world-destroying, | 32

---|---

and to destroy these worlds I have arisen!

Those warriors arrayed in lines opposing

your men, even without you, will have perished!

'Arise, therefore, and seize upon your glory! | 33

---|---

With your foe conquered, enjoy thriving kingship!

I have destroyed your enemy already:

serve as my tool, O Ambidextrous Archer!

'Kill! Do not hesitate to take on Drona, | 34

---|---

Bhishma, Jayadratha, Karna, and the others,

warrior-heroes I have caused to perish!

You will destroy your enemies in battle!'

Sanjaya said,

"With his joined hands pressed in reverential gesture | 35

---|---

to his bowed head, Arjuna, struck with terror

at hearing the words of the Handsome-Haired One,

humbly bowed down and stammered out to Krishna:

"Arjuna said,

'By your renown, the universe rejoices | 36

---|---

and takes its pleasure, O Bristling-Haired One!

Terrified demons scatter, the assembly

of the perfected ones all bows before you!

'Why should they not, O Great Soul, even greater | 37

---|---

than Brahma? You, the primary creator,

infinite Lord of Gods, home of the cosmos,

deathless beyond both being and non-being.

'You are the primal god, the ancient person, | 38

---|---

you are this universe's highest refuge:

knower and known, and the supreme condition!

Infinite form suffusing all the cosmos!

'You are the moon, Vayu, Yama, Varuna; | 39

---|---

the Lord of Creatures and the Great-Grandfather.

May there be a thousand times made reverence,

reverence to you, and again, reverence!

'May you be greeted everywhere with bowing, | 40

---|---

before, behind you, everywhere obeisance!

You are unmeasured strength, infinite power,

and you are all by being all-pervasive!

'If I have thought of you as friend and spoken | 41

---|---

impetuously, "Hey, friend, Yadava, Krishna—"

in ignorance of your majestic power,

out of confusion, even with affection,

'If ever with disrespect I treated you, | 42

---|---

made sport of you while resting, seated, dining,

O Unshaken One, alone or with others,

I ask you, measureless one, for your pardon!

Father of all the world, the still and moving, | 43

---|---

you are what it worships and its teacher;

with none your match, how could there be one greater

in the three worlds, O Power-Without-Equal?

'Making obeisance, lying in prostration, | 44

---|---

I beg your indulgence, praiseworthy ruler;

as father to son, as one friend to another,

as lover to beloved, show your mercy!

'I am pleased to have seen what never has been | 45

---|---

seen before, yet my mind quakes in its terror:

show me, O God, your human form; have mercy,

O Lord of Gods, abode of all the cosmos!

'I wish to see you even as I did once, | 46

---|---

wearing a diadem, with mace and discus;

assume that form now wherein you have four arms,

O thousand-armed, of every form the master!'

"The Blessed Lord said,

'For you, Arjuna, by my grace and favor, | 47

---|---

this highest form is brought forth by my power,

of splendor made, universal, endless, primal,

and never seen before by any other.

'Not Vedic sacrifice nor recitation, | 48

---|---

gifts, rituals, strenuous austerities,

will let this form of mine be seen by any

mortal but you, O Hero of the Kurus!

'You should not tremble, nor dwell in confusion | 49

---|---

at seeing such a terrible appearance.

With your fears banished and your mind now cheerful,

look once again upon my form, Arjuna.'

Sanjaya said,

"So Krishna, having spoken to Arjuna, | 50

---|---

stood before him once more in his own aspect;

having resumed again a gentle body,

the Great Soul calmed the one who had been frightened.

"Arjuna said,

'Seeing once again your gentle, | 51

---|---

human form now, I am composed,

O Agitator of Mankind;

my mind is restored to normal.'

"The Blessed Lord said,

'It is difficult to see this | 52

---|---

aspect of me that you have seen;

even the gods are forever

desirous of seeing it.

'Not by studying the _Vedas_ , | 53

---|---

nor even by austerities,

and not by gifts or sacrifice,

may I be seen as you saw me;

'but by devotion undisturbed | 54

---|---

can I be truly seen and known,

and entered into, Arjuna,

O Scorcher of the Enemy!

'Who acts for me, depends on me, | 55

---|---

devoutly, without attachment

or hatred for another being,

comes to me, O Son of Pandu!'"
_chapter_

"Arjuna said,

'Who are more knowing of yoga, | 1

---|---

those who worship you steadfastly,

or those other ones who worship

the eternal unseen Brahman?'

"The Blessed Lord said,

'Those who, steadfast in their yoga, | 2

---|---

worship me with attentive minds,

endowed with the most perfect faith,

are considered the more knowing.

'Those who worship the unchanging, | 3

---|---

unseen and inexplicable,

the omnipresent beyond thought,

the summit-dwelling constancy;

'who restrain their many senses, | 4

---|---

who practice equanimity,

rejoicing in the welfare of

all creatures, also come to me.

'A greater toil is known by those | 5

---|---

whose minds cleave to the unseen Brahman;

embodied ones attain that goal

only with much more exertion.

'But those who yield all acts to me, | 6

---|---

intent on me as the highest,

and worship me, meditating

with undistracted discipline;

'O Son of Pritha, presently | 7

---|---

I will redeem, from the ocean

of death and transmigration, those

whose conscious minds have entered me.

'But fix your mind on me alone, | 8

---|---

and place your intellect in me:

I will be your only abode

from that time forth, without a doubt!

'Or if you are unable to | 9

---|---

keep your mind fixed on me always,

then by the practice of yoga

seek to attain me, Arjuna!

'If incapable of practice, | 10

---|---

be intent upon my action,

and just by acting for my sake

you will attain to perfection.

'And if incapable of that, | 11

---|---

lean upon my yogic power;

abandon all the fruits of

action, and act with self restraint!

'Value knowledge over practice, | 12

---|---

meditation over knowledge;

highest is renunciation,

whence comes, immediately, peace.

'Who does not hate any being, | 13

---|---

is friendly and compassionate,

without possessiveness and ego,

the same in grief and joy, enduring,

'the yogi who lives in content, | 14

---|---

firmly resolved and self-restrained,

whose higher mind is fixed on me,

who is devout is dear to me.

'One from whom the world does not shrink, | 15

---|---

one who does not shrink from the world,

freed from distress, from impatience,

from fear and joy, is dear to me.

'Who sits apart, indifferent, | 16

---|---

pure, able, free of anxiety;

who has abandoned all busyness,

and is devout, is dear to me.

'Who neither hates nor rejoices, | 17

---|---

who neither grieves nor desires,

abjuring pleasant and unpleasant,

and is devout, is dear to me.

'He who is one with foe and friend, | 18

---|---

and one in honor and disgrace,

in cold and heat, joy and anguish,

freed from attachment to results,

'with one response to praise or blame, | 19

---|---

contented with whatever comes,

silent, homeless, steady in mind,

devout, he is most dear to me!

'Those who honor this immortal | 20

---|---

law, as I have described above,

keeping their faith, intent on me

as highest, are most dear to me!'"
_chapter_

"Arjuna said,

'O Handsome-Haired One, I would know

of nature and of the spirit,

of the field and of its knower,

of knowledge and of its object.'

"The Blessed Lord said,

'This body, O Son of Kunti, | 1

---|---

is that which is known as the field;

one who knows it is said to be

the field's knower, by those who know.

'Know me as knower of the field | 2

---|---

in every field, O Bharata!

I regard knowledge of the field

and its knower as true knowledge.

'What this field is, what it is like, | 3

---|---

of its changes, from whence they come,

of its knower and his power,

hear me speak of them concisely!

'It has often been sung by seers | 4

---|---

in Vedic hymns of many kinds,

with lines sacred to the Brahmins

unarguably reasoned out.

'The great elements, the ego, | 5

---|---

the higher mind, the unmanifest,

and the eleven faculties

with the five fields of sense-action;

'desire, hatred, pleasure, pain, | 6

---|---

the body, consciousness, resolve;

all these, in brief, compose the field

with its capacity for change.

'Humility, sincerity, | 7

---|---

non-violence, patience, candor,

docility, integrity,

stability and self-restraint;

'firm detachment from sense-objects, | 8

---|---

egoism wholly absent,

mindfulness of the faults of birth,

death, old age, disease and anguish;

'non-attachment, with no clinging | 9

---|---

to son, wife, home, _et cetera_ ,

and constant equanimity

in what is longed for or avoided;

'and with no other discipline, | 10

---|---

unwavering in love of me,

frequenting secluded places

and avoiding crowds of people;

'seeking the knowledge of the Self, | 11

---|---

seeing into reality:

this is declared to be knowledge.

What is not this is ignorance.

'I shall address the to-be-known, | 12

---|---

by which one becomes immortal;

the birthless, matchless Brahman, said

neither to be nor to be not.

'Its hand and foot are everywhere, | 13

---|---

and everywhere its eye, head, face;

its ears on earth are everywhere;

it abides, all-enveloping.

'Apprehended by the senses | 14

---|---

and yet detached and free from them,

all-maintaining, unattached to

the qualities that it enjoys.

'Within all beings and without, | 15

---|---

moving and motionless at once

in uncomprehended fineness,

it dwells afar and yet nearby.

'Undistributed in beings, | 16

---|---

and yet existing as though shared,

to be known as the sustainer,

all-destroying, all-creating.

'This is also called the light | 17

---|---

of lights that lie beyond darkness;

knowledge, its object and its goal,

located in the hearts of all.

'The field, knowledge, and its object, | 18

---|---

here have been considered briefly.

In grasping this, my devotee

arrives at my state of being.

'Know that matter and spirit are | 19

---|---

both of them without beginning!

Know as well what transformations

and qualities spring from matter!

'Matter is said to be the reason | 20

---|---

for agency, cause and effect.

Spirit has been called the reason

for apprehending joy and sorrow.

'The spirit that dwells in matter | 21

---|---

knows qualities born of matter.

Attachment to these qualities

leads to birth in good and bad wombs.

'The highest spirit in this body | 22

---|---

is called witness and consenter,

supporter, experiencer,

the Great Lord and the Highest Self.

'One who therefore knows both spirit | 23

---|---

and matter with its qualities,

existing in whatever way,

will not be subject to rebirth.

'Some see the Self within the Self | 24

---|---

by the Self through meditation,

others by Samkhya yoga,

or the discipline of action.

'Yet some who do not know of this, | 25

---|---

worship what they hear from others;

they also travel beyond death,

devoted to what they have heard.

'Know, O Bharata, that any | 26

---|---

being, whether still or moving,

is born out of the union of

the field and knower of the field!

'Who sees the Supreme Lord existing | 27

---|---

equally in all beings

and not perishing when they do,

truly sees, O Son of Kunti!

'Indeed, when he beholds the Lord | 28

---|---

existing equally everywhere,

he does not injure Self by self

and so goes to the highest goal.

'And he who sees that actions are | 29

---|---

entirely performed by matter,

the Self having no agency,

that one truly sees, Arjuna.

'When one observes diverse states of | 30

---|---

being abiding in the one,

diverging only from that one,

then he attains the absolute.

'Though located in the body, | 31

---|---

this everlasting supreme Self

without a source or qualities,

does not act and is not defiled.

'Like the all-pervading ether, | 32

---|---

so subtle it cannot be stained,

so the Self, situated in

the body, cannot be defiled.

'Just as the one sun illumines | 33

---|---

this world entire by itself,

so the field's owner shines upon

the entire field, O Bharata!

'Those who with the eye of knowledge | 34

---|---

distinguish between field and knower

and understand deliverance

from nature's bonds, attain Brahman.'"
_chapter_

"The Blessed Lord said,

'And furthermore, I shall declare | 1

---|---

the highest knowledge and the best;

having known this, all the sages

are gone hence to supreme perfection.

'Resorting to this knowledge, they | 2

---|---

attain to my identity;

not born even at creation,

they hold fast at dissolution.

'My womb is the great absolute, | 3

---|---

in which I place the embryo;

the origin of all beings

is in that source, O Bharata.

'Whatever forms that arise in | 4

---|---

other wombs, O Son of Kunti,

have _their_ womb in the absolute;

I am the seed-sowing father.

'Purity, passion and darkness, | 5

---|---

the qualities born of nature,

bind the imperishable one

fast in the body, Arjuna.

'There, immaculate purity, | 6

---|---

brightly shining, undiseased,

binds by attachments both to joy

and to knowledge, O Sinless One.

'Learn that passion's disposition | 7

---|---

arises from thirst attachment,

and fetters the embodied one

by the attachment to action!

'Learn that ignorance-born darkness | 8

---|---

confuses all embodied ones,

and binds by sleep, by laziness,

and negligence, O Bharata!

'Purity brings about attachment | 9

---|---

to happiness; passion, to action;

knowledge-hiding darkness brings a-

bout attachment to negligence.

'Passion and darkness overcome, | 10

---|---

purity comes into being,

as do passion and darkness, when

each overcomes the other two.

'When the light of knowledge shines | 11

---|---

through all the body's apertures,

then it ought to be apparent

that purity is dominant.

'Greed, activity, busyness, | 12

---|---

desire and disquietude

are born when passion dominates,

O Bull of the Bharatas.

'The absence of enlightenment, | 13

---|---

indolence, negligence, delusion—

all these come into being when

darkness prevails, O Joy of Kuru.

'But when an embodied one dies | 14

---|---

while purity is dominant,

that one attains the stainless worlds

of those knowing of the highest.

'Who dies when passion dominates | 15

---|---

is born with those attached to action;

likewise, one who dies in darkness

is born to a deluded womb.

'The fruit of action well performed | 16

---|---

is said to be immaculate,

but misery is passion's fruit,

and that of darkness, ignorance.

'Knowledge is born from purity, | 17

---|---

and avarice comes from passion;

distraction and delusion come

from darkness, as does ignorance.

Those firm in purity ascend; | 18

---|---

the passionate stay in the middle;

those governed by the lowest mode,

the mode of darkness, go below.

'When the seer sees no other | 19

---|---

agent besides the qualities,

and knows that which is above them,

he attains my state of being.

'Transcending these three qualities, | 20

---|---

the body's source, an embodied one

becomes immortal when released

from birth, death, old age and anguish.'

"Arjuna said,

'One transcending these qualities, | 21

---|---

by what signs is he known, O Lord?

How does that one conduct himself?

How are the qualities transcended?'

"The Blessed Lord said,

'When they occur, he does not hate | 22

---|---

splendor, activity, delusion,

O Pandava; nor does that one

desire them not to occur.

'One seated as if indifferent, | 23

---|---

undisturbed by the qualities,

who thinks, "The qualities exist,"

and stands firm and unwavering,

'indifferent to pain and joy, | 24

---|---

not preferring gold to glebe,

the same with cherished as despised,

the same whether praised or censured,

'the same in honor or dishonor, | 25

---|---

not taking sides with friend or foe,

who gives up all undertakings,

is said to transcend the qualities.

'And who unswervingly serves me | 26

---|---

with the practice of devotion,

transcending these three qualities,

is fit to be one with Brahman.

'For I am the support of Brahman, | 27

---|---

and of the imperishable,

and of the everlasting law,

and of the one and only bliss.'"
_chapter_

"The Blessed Lord said,

'They speak of an eternal fig tree | 1

---|---

with root above and branch below,

of which the leaves are Vedic chants;

he who knows this knows the _Vedas_.

'Fed by the qualities, its branches spread out | 2

---|---

above and below, its shoots are sense-objects,

with roots stretched out extensively beneath it,

which, in the world of men, give rise to action.

'Here in the world, its form is imperceptible, | 3

---|---

neither its end, duration, nor beginning;

with the firm ax of non-attachment, having

chopped down this holy, strong-rooted fig tree,

'only then is that place to be sought after | 4

---|---

from which none may return of those who reach it,

"And I take refuge in that primal person

whence, long ago, activity once issued."

'Humbly, having vanquished faults of attachment, | 5

---|---

spurning desire, in the Supreme Self always,

freed from dualities of pain and pleasure,

to that changeless realm come the undeluded.

'Neither the sun nor moon nor fire | 6

---|---

illuminates that place from whence

none return once they have gone there.

That place is my supreme abode.

'In this world the merest fragment | 7

---|---

of me becomes eternal soul,

draws to itself mind and the five

senses that abide in nature.

'When the Lord assumes a body | 8

---|---

and when he steps away from it,

departing, he takes these with him,

as wind wafts odors from their source.

'Presiding over hearing, sight, | 9

---|---

touch, taste and smell, along with mind,

the embodied Self takes pleasure

in the senses and their objects.

'In his presence or departure | 10

---|---

or pleasured by the qualities,

the deluded do not see him:

those with the eye of knowledge do.

'Striving, the yogins see the Lord | 11

---|---

situated within the Self;

unthinking, unperfected selves,

although striving, do not see him.

'The splendor that the sun gives off, | 12

---|---

illuming all the universe,

found in the moon and found in fire—

Know that this splendor is my own!

'Diffused through earth, by energy | 13

---|---

I sustain all living creatures;

as juicy soma, Lord of Plants,

I make all the verdure flourish.

'Now become digestive fire | 14

---|---

dwelling in all breathing bodies,

conjoined to breathing in and out,

I break down the four kinds of food.

'And into everyone's heart I am entered; | 15

---|---

from me come memory, knowledge, and reason;

I am the only subject of the _Vedas_ ,

Vedanta's maker, knower of the Veda.

'This world knows two kinds of being: | 16

---|---

those who perish, those who do not;

all creatures die, save for the un-

changing one, called the eternal.

'But the highest person is another, | 17

---|---

known as the Supreme Being,

who, having entered the three worlds,

bears them as their eternal Lord.

'Being beyond the perishable | 18

---|---

and higher than imperishable,

in this world and in the _Vedas_

I am called the Supreme Person.

'Therefore, he who, undeluded, | 19

---|---

knows me as the Supreme Person,

he, all-knowing, shares in me with

all his being, Arjuna.

'Thus is this most secret doctrine | 20

---|---

proclaimed by me, O Blameless One;

one who awakens to this knows

wisdom and fulfills all duty.'"
_chapter_

"The Blessed Lord said,

'Fearlessness, purity of heart, | 1

---|---

dwelling in the yoga of knowledge,

giving, self-restraint, sacrifice,

recitation, penance, straightness;

'non-violence, truth and calmness, | 2

---|---

renunciation, slander-shunning,

compassion, freedom from all lusts,

gentleness, modesty, steadiness;

'Vigor, patience, courage, cleanliness, | 3

---|---

absence of malice and of pride;

these qualities endow those born

to a divine fate, Arjuna.

'Hypocrisy, arrogance, pride, | 4

---|---

anger, a harsh way of speaking

and ignorance endow one born

to a demonic destiny.

'The divine state leads to freedom, | 5

---|---

the demonic into bondage.

You have been born to the former,

so do not grieve, O Pandava!

'In this world are two kinds of beings, | 6

---|---

the divine and the demonic;

I have described the first at length,

now learn from me of the latter.

'Demonic men are unaware | 7

---|---

of when to act and when to cease.

Truth, purity, and good behavior

are not to be found in such men.

'"The universe," they say, "is false, | 8

---|---

is baseless and without a God,

not produced one by the other."

How else, then? "Brought about by lust!"

'Holding this view, men of lost selves, | 9

---|---

men of little intelligence

and cruel deeds, rise up, become

foes out to destroy the cosmos.

Subject to insatiable lusts, | 10

---|---

full of hypocrisy and pride,

intoxicated on delusions,

their observances are impure.

'Clinging to immeasurable | 11

---|---

anxiety, whose end is death,

holding pleasure their highest aim,

they are certain that this is all.

'Bound by a hundred snares of hope, | 12

---|---

devoted to lusts and anger,

unjustly they seek piles of wealth

to gratify their desires.

'"Today I have acquired _this_ , | 13

---|---

_that_ , I will obtain tomorrow;

_these_ now belong to me and soon

_those_ riches will become my own!

'"That foe is dead by my doing | 14

---|---

and I shall slay even others;

I am the Lord, the Enjoyer,

accomplished, mighty, and content!

'"I am wealthy, of noble birth, | 15

---|---

what other man is my equal?

I will sacrifice, give and rejoice,"

they say, deceived by ignorance.

'Borne off by their imaginings, | 16

---|---

ensnared by the web of folly,

attached to gratification,

they fall into an impure hell.

'Self-centered and refractory, | 17

---|---

intoxicated by their wealth,

they sacrifice in name only,

falsely, not as they are bidden.

'Attached to ego, force and pride, | 18

---|---

as well as to lust and anger,

these malcontented men hate me

in their own bodies and in others'.

'I forever fling those vile, | 19

---|---

hate-filled, cruel, impure men

into the cycles of rebirth,

just so, into demonic wombs.

'Not gaining me, the deluded, | 20

---|---

having entered wombs of demons,

descend from there, birth after birth,

to the lowest place, Arjuna.

'Desire, anger, greediness | 21

---|---

comprise the threefold gate of hell

truly destructive of the self,

so one should renounce this triad.

'O Son of Kunti, one released | 22

---|---

from these three doors of the darkness,

proceeds then to the highest place,

O Descendant of Bharata.

'One who, ignoring the commands | 23

---|---

of scripture, follows his own desires,

does not attain to perfection

nor happiness, nor the highest place.

'Scripture is your authority | 24

---|---

for what to do and not to do.

Understanding its injunctions,

you are obliged to action here!'"
_chapter_

"Arjuna said,

'What is the status of those who | 1

---|---

have cast aside the Vedic rules,

but sacrifice in faith, O Krishna?

—The pure, the passionate, the dark?'

"The Blessed Lord said,

'The faith of the embodied ones | 2

---|---

is of three kinds. Born of itself,

of its own being, it is pure

and passionate and dark. Hear more!

'In every case, faith corresponds | 3

---|---

to one's own essential nature.

Man is made of faith, Arjuna,

and _is_ the very faith he _has_.

'The pure give worship to the gods, | 4

---|---

the passionate worship demons,

and men of darkness sacrifice

to ghosts and hordes of ancient shades.

'Who suffer dread austerities | 5

---|---

that are not ordained by scripture,

these ostentatious egotists

endowed with force, lust and passion,

'by whom the body's aggregate | 6

---|---

of elements suffers tortures,

and I too, within the body—

know them fixed on the demonic!

'Each of the three kinds has its own | 7

---|---

preference with regard to food,

worship, austerities and gifts;

now hear what distinguishes them!

'Foods dear to the pure-of-being | 8

---|---

enhance life, virtue, strength and health,

happiness and satisfaction,

are tasty, smooth, firm and pleasant.

'Foods cherished by the passionate | 9

---|---

are pungent, sour, salty, hot,

sharp, dry and spiced excessively,

causing pain, sorrow and sickness.

'Spoiled and stale and without flavor, | 10

---|---

putrid and crusted leftovers

unfit for sacrifice are foods

agreeable to the dark-natured.

'Pure sacrifice is offered by | 11

---|---

those unattached to its results

whose minds are fixed upon the thought

that "This is to be sacrificed."

'That sacrifice which is offered | 12

---|---

in expectation of results

and showily, O Bharata,

is to be known as passionate!

'Sacrifice without injunction, | 13

---|---

or food offered, or a mantra,

without gifts given to the priest,

devoid of faith, is seen as darkness.

'Revering the gods, the twice-born; | 14

---|---

teachers and sages; purity,

truth, chastity, and non-violence:

asceticism of the body.

'Speech not causing agitation, | 15

---|---

truthful, pleasing, beneficent,

with daily Vedic recitation:

asceticism made of speech.

'Clarity and benevolence, | 16

---|---

silence along with self-control,

joined with purity-of-being:

asceticism of the mind.

'This three-fold asceticism, | 17

---|---

faithfully practiced by men yoked

in discipline, without regard

to fruit of action, is called pure.

'Fraudulent asceticism, | 18

---|---

to gain honor or win favors,

I declare to be passionate,

unsteady and impermanent.

'Austerities involving torture, | 19

---|---

with a deluded grasp of self,

intended to destroy another,

that is dark asceticism.

'A gift given for its own sake, | 20

---|---

not in response to prior favors,

worthy the place, time and person,

that gift is known as pure-natured.

'But that gift given with the aim | 21

---|---

of recompense for another,

or one given unwillingly,

that gift is known as passionate.

'The gift given at the wrong place | 22

---|---

and wrong time to one unworthy,

without respect or with contempt

is said to be dark in nature.

'"OM THAT [IS] TRUTH" IS said to be | 23

---|---

the symbol of threefold Brahman;

by this were priesthood, _Vedas_ , forms

of worship anciently ordained.

'Thus worship, gifts, austerities | 24

---|---

commence after "OM" is uttered,

as provided in the scriptures

by philosophers of Brahman.

'Uttering "TRUTH," without aiming | 25

---|---

at results, those who seek release

offer donations and perform

ascetic acts and sacrifices.

'"TRUTH" designates reality | 26

---|---

and designates goodness also;

O Son of Pritha, the word "TRUTH"

is used for a praiseworthy act.

'In worship, gifts, austerities, | 27

---|---

"TRUTH" is considered steadfastness,

and any related action

is also designated "TRUTH."

'Oblations or austerities | 28

---|---

done without faith are called "UNTRUE,"

and have no meaning, Arjuna,

here in this world or hereafter.'"
_chapter_

"Arjuna said,

'O Mighty-Armed One, I would know | 1

---|---

how renunciation differs

from abandonment, O Krishna,

with each considered in its turn.'

"The Blessed Lord said,

'For the seers, renunciation | 2

---|---

means ceasing to act from desires;

for the clear-eyed, abandonment

is giving up all fruits of action.

'Some wise men say that _all_ action | 3

---|---

is wrong and should be given up;

others exempt sacrificial acts,

gift-giving and austerities.

'Hear my judgment in the matter | 4

---|---

of abandonment, O Bharata!

For that subject, O Tiger of Men,

has a threefold designation.

'Sacrifice, gifts, austerities | 5

---|---

should be performed, not abandoned;

sacrifice, donations, hardships

are purifiers of the wise.

'These actions, though, should be performed | 6

---|---

without attachment to their fruits.

O Son of Pritha, this is my

supreme conviction, without doubt.

'Renunciation of prescribed | 7

---|---

action is inappropriate;

abandoning it from delusion

is said to be suffused in darkness.

'Who would abandon difficult | 8

---|---

action from fear of physical pain

does passionate abandonment;

truly he will find it fruitless.

'When acts are performed, Arjuna, | 9

---|---

solely out of obligation,

with no attachment to their fruits,

such abandonment is called pure.

'The lightness-filled abandoner, | 10

---|---

a wise man cut free from all doubt,

does not hate unpleasant actions,

nor does he cling to pleasant ones.

'Embodied beings are unable | 11

---|---

to abandon action wholly;

but one who abandons the fruits

is known as an "abandoner."

'Those who die without renouncing | 12

---|---

know the threefold fruit of action:

desired, undesired, mixed.

But for renouncers, there is none.

'O Mighty-Armed One, awaken | 13

---|---

to these five causes, taught by me,

declared in the Samkhya doctrine

for the fulfillment of all actions!

'There is the body and the agent, | 14

---|---

and instruments of diverse kinds,

and various activities,

and lastly there is providence.

'Whatever action anyone | 15

---|---

begins by body, speech, or mind,

either proper or improper,

these five causes will be present.

'This being so, who sees himself | 16

---|---

as the sole doer, does not see,

that incorrectly thinking man

whose intellect is unfinished!

'Who is not egotistical, | 17

---|---

whose intellect is untainted,

even having slain these people,

he neither slays, nor is he bound.

'Knowledge, the known, and the knower | 18

---|---

are the threefold prompts to action;

the means, the act, and the agent

are action's threefold components.

'Knowledge, action, and the agent | 19

---|---

are of three distinct qualities,

as Samkhya doctrine declares;

duly hear about these also!

'Knowledge by which the undying | 20

---|---

oneness is seen in all beings,

undivided in divisions—

know it as pure in quality!

'Knowledge that sees in all beings | 21

---|---

their various existences

and sees them all as separate—

know this knowledge as passionate!

'Knowledge attached to one effect | 22

---|---

as though to all; unreasoning,

slight and without significance—

that knowledge is said to be dark.

'Action restrained and unattached, | 23

---|---

performed without hate or passion,

without desire for the fruits—

that action is said to be pure.

'That action performed to obtain | 24

---|---

a desire or done selfishly,

or one performed with great effort,

is declared to be passionate.

'Action undertaken due | 25

---|---

to delusion, disregarding

strength, injury, death, consequence,

is said to be dark in nature.

'One who is free from attachment, | 26

---|---

firmly resolved, self-effacing,

unmoved by success or failure,

is said to be a pure agent.

'One who desires fruit of action, | 27

---|---

greedy, violent, and unchaste,

accompanied by joy and grief,

is called a passionate agent.

'One unrefined, undisciplined, | 28

---|---

stubborn, false, dishonest, lazy,

depressed and procrastinating,

is called an agent of darkness.

'Now hear the threefold distinction | 29

---|---

of intellect and resolution

proclaimed completely, each in turn,

according to the qualities.

'Mind that knows action from inaction, | 30

---|---

right from wrongdoing, fear from courage,

liberation from enslavement

is pure mind, O Son of Pritha.

'Mind that wrongly discriminates | 31

---|---

between virtue and non-virtue,

the to-be-done and not-to be,

is passionate, O Son of Pritha.

'Mind that, enveloped in its own | 32

---|---

darkness, considers wrong as right,

and sees all aims as perverted,

O Son of Pritha, is dark mind.

'The firmness that controls the mind, | 33

---|---

breath, and senses with unswerving

practice of yoga—that firmness is

considered light, O Son of Pritha.

'But firmness by which one maintains | 34

---|---

virtue, pleasure, and great riches

while longing for the fruits of action

is impassioned, O Son of Pritha.

'Firmness by which the dull-witted | 35

---|---

do not abandon sleep, fear, grief,

depression, and conceit, is dark

firmness indeed, O Son of Pritha.

'Now learn from me of the threefold | 36

---|---

joy experienced from practice,

and where one goes to end anguish,

O Bull of the Bharatas!

'That which first resembles poison, | 37

---|---

but seems like nectar when transformed,

is known as pure happiness, born

out of one's own tranquil spirit.

'That which first resembles nectar | 38

---|---

due to object-sense connection,

but is like poison when transformed,

is called passionate happiness.

'That happiness which, first and always, | 39

---|---

is the confusion of the self,

born of sleep, sloth, and negligence,

is said to be dark happiness.

'No being, whether here on earth, | 40

---|---

or among the gods in heaven,

is freed from these three qualities,

born of material nature.

'The actions of priests, warriors, | 41

---|---

commoners and serfs, Arjuna,

are bestowed by the qualities,

which arise from their own natures.

'Calm self-control, uprightness, wisdom, | 42

---|---

asceticism, purity,

faith and discernment are innate

attributes of the Brahmin class.

'Valor, majesty, firmness, skill, | 43

---|---

bravery, generosity,

and lordliness are attributes

innate to the warrior class.

'Plowing, trade, and cattle-herding | 44

---|---

are innate to the commoners;

service to others, the innate

attribute of the class of serfs.

'So a man obtains perfection, | 45

---|---

pleased by acting from his nature;

hear how, by acting from one's nature,

perfection is achieved by man!

'By worshipping with one's own actions, | 46

---|---

the Origin of all Beings

by whom the cosmos is pervaded,

perfection is achieved by man.

'Better one's own duty ill-done, | 47

---|---

than someone else's, well performed;

no one is faulted for performing

acts ordained by one's own nature.

'One should not abandon innate | 48

---|---

action even though imperfect:

all beginnings are enveloped

by error as fire by smoke.

'Whose intellect is unattached, | 49

---|---

with self controlled and longings gone,

by renunciation comes to

perfect freedom from all action.

'Now briefly learn from me, Arjuna, | 50

---|---

how one perfected also then

attains the absolute, which is

the highest state of all knowledge.

'Once yoked with pure intelligence | 51

---|---

and the self controlled with firmness,

free from sound and all sense-objects,

having put off hate and passion,

'solitary, lightly eating, | 52

---|---

controlled in body, speech and mind,

meditating, doing yoga,

finding refuge in dispassion,

'having freed oneself from ego, | 53

---|---

force, pride, anger, lust and grasping,

serene and without selfishness,

one is fit for the absolute.

'One with Brahman, self-untroubled, | 54

---|---

neither laments nor desires;

impartial among all beings,

he attains perfect love for me.

'He comes to know, by devotion, | 55

---|---

how great, and who I am, in truth,

then, having known me as I am,

immediately enters me.

'Though he always performs actions, | 56

---|---

his refuge is in my being;

and by my grace that one attains

the abode which is unchanging.

'Devoted to me as supreme, | 57

---|---

placing all actions upon me,

your refuge, the yoga of mind,

perpetually think of me!

'Focused on me, due to my grace | 58

---|---

you will transcend all obstacles;

but if, because of ego, you

do not listen, you will perish.

'If, because of egotism, | 59

---|---

you think, "No! I will not fight!"

vain is your resolution, for

your own nature will compel you.

'Bound by actions born of your | 60

---|---

own nature, O Son of Kunti,

you will not act from delusion,

although you act against your will.

'The Lord of All Beings abides | 61

---|---

in every heart, O Son of Kunti,

spinning all by his magic spells,

as though they were on a turntable.

'Go seek refuge in him only, | 62

---|---

with your whole being, Arjuna!

By his grace, you will attain that

supreme abode, eternal peace.

'I have declared to you the most | 63

---|---

secret knowledge in all the world.

Reflect upon all parts of it,

and then do as you wish to do!

'Hear from me now, the supreme word, | 64

---|---

the greatest secret of them all:

you are indeed my beloved,

so I will speak for your well-being.

'Be mindful of me and devoted, | 65

---|---

make sacrifices and revere me,

and you will surely go to me

as I promise, for you are dear.

'Relinquishing all your duties, | 66

---|---

vow to take refuge just in me!

I will cause you to be released

From every evil; do not grieve.

'This should not be spoken ever | 67

---|---

to one negligent in worship,

nor to one who will not hear it,

nor any who speaks ill of me.

'But he who teaches this supreme | 68

---|---

secret among my devotees,

giving me perfect devotion,

will go to me without a doubt.

'There will not be another man | 69

---|---

who gives me greater joy than he,

nor will there be a man dearer

on earth to me than that one is.

'And I would have him worship me | 70

---|---

by the sacrifice of knowledge,

the one who studies to recite

this sacred discourse of ours.

'And even he who listens to it | 71

---|---

in good faith and without sneering,

once liberated, may attain

pure worlds of those whose deeds are pure.

'Have you heard this, Son of Pritha, | 72

---|---

with single-minded concentration?

O Conqueror of Wealth, have you

shed ignorance and confusion?'

"Arjuna said,

'Delusion lost and wisdom gained | 73

---|---

by your grace, O Unchanging One;

I stand here with all doubt dispelled,

and I will do as you command!'

Sanjaya spoke,

"Thus I have heard this marvelous | 74

---|---

dialogue between the great-souled

Son of Pritha and Lord Krishna,

which has made my hair stand on end!

"Thanks to Vyasa, I have heard | 75

---|---

this supreme and secret practice

declared directly by Himself,

Krishna, who is Lord of Yoga.

"O King, repeatedly recalling | 76

---|---

this marvelous discourse between

Krishna and Arjuna to mind,

I rejoice again and again!

"And repeatedly recalling | 77

---|---

the marvelous form of Krishna,

great, O King, is my amazement;

again and again, I rejoice!

"Where Krishna, Lord of Yoga, is, | 78

---|---

where Arjuna the Archer is,

will be splendor, victory, wealth,

and righteousness. So I maintain."

HERE ENDS THE _Bhagavad Gita Upanishad_
NOTES

_**Introduction**_

PAGE XXIX. " _On the day_ ": from "The Explosion," by Philip Larkin, in _Collected Poems_ (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2004), p. 154.

_**Chapter 1**_

_Dhritarashtra said_ : The blind king sets the _Gita_ in motion by asking his minister Sanjaya to describe the battlefield action.

STANZA 1. _the field of Kuru_ : Kuru was the mythical ancestor of both the Pandavas and the Kauravas.

_the sons of Pandu_ : The five sons of Pandu are (in age order) Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, and the twins, Nakula and Sahadeva.

STANZA 2. _King Duryodhana_ : The eldest of the Kauravas.

_his teacher_ : Drona, a great warrior and martial arts instructor to both the Kauravas and the Pandavas.

STANZA 3. _the son of Drupada_ : Dhrishtadyumna, the twin brother of Draupadi, who is the shared wife of the five sons of Pandu.

STANZA 4. _Bhima_ : The Son of Pritha (who was later known as Kunti) by the wind god, Vayu. The strongest of the Pandavas.

_Arjuna_ : Kunti's son by the god Indra and the protagonist of the _Gita._ Arjuna is called "Son of Pritha" or "Son of Kunti" throughout the _Gita._

_Yuyudhana and Virata_ : Two Pandava warriors. Virata was the king of Matsya, where the disguised Pandavas found refuge in the thirteenth year of their exile.

STANZA 5. _Dhrishtaketu, Chekitana_ : Two more Pandava warriors. Their names mean "Daring Brightness" and "Intelligent."

_noble king of Kashis_ : An ally of the Pandavas.

_Purujit_ : Another Pandava warrior, whose name means "Conquering Many."

_Kuntibhoga_ : Prince of the Yadavas, and the foster father of Kunti, mother of the first three Pandavas.

_Shaibya_ : King of the Shibis, an ally of the Pandavas.

STANZA 6. _Yudhamanyu_ : Another ally of the Pandavas, whose name means "Passion for Battle."

_Uttamauja_ : Ally of the Pandavas, whose name means "Of Excellent Valor."

_Subhadra's son_ : Abhimanyu was the son of Subhadra, sister of Krishna, and Arjuna's second wife.

_Draupadi's sons_ : Five in number, one by each of the Pandavas. Yudishthira's son was Prativindhya, Bhima's was Sutasoma, Arjuna's was Srutakirti, Satanika was Nakula's, and Srutakarman was Sahadeva's.

STANZA 7. _who are twice-born_ : The _Gita_ represents the class system that existed in Vedic society. There were four classes: the Brahmans (priests); the nobles or warriors; the commoners; and the serfs. The first three were called "twice-born" because boys of these classes underwent a ritual investiture during which they were given a sacred thread that was worn over the left shoulder.

STANZA 8. _Bhishma_ : Though a grand-uncle of the Pandavas, he is fighting against them, reluctantly.

_Karna_ : An unacknowledged half brother of the Pandavas, the first son of Kunti by the sun god, Surya. He is fighting for the Kauravas.

_Kripa_ : Warrior and martial arts instructor of the Kauravas.

_Ashvatthaman and Vikarna_ : Warriors of the Kauravas. Their names mean "Strength of a Horse" and "Large Ears," respectively.

_Somadatta's son_ : A Kauravan warrior prince, whose name means "Gift of Soma." Soma is the name for a Vedic deity and also for an intoxicating drink originally used in sacrifice.

STANZA 14. _Krishna_ : When the _Gita_ begins, Krishna is a man, a prince of the Yadava clan, who has offered his army to whichever side wants it and his own presence to the opposing side. Duryodhana, the eldest of the Kauravas, chooses Krishna's army, and Arjuna takes Krishna for the Pandavas, even though he says that he will not fight. Krishna serves, however, as Arjuna's charioteer, and in the course of the _Gita_ reveals himself as God incarnate. This revelation culminates in the theophany of chapter 11.

STANZA 17. _Shikandi_ : A Pandava warrior born as a girl who was miraculously changed into a man. His name means "Wearing a Tuft of Hair."

_Satyaki_ : Yuyudhana, a Pandava ally, whose name means "Truthful."

STANZA 18. _fierce son of Subhadra_ : Subhadra was the daughter of Krishna and wife of Arjuna. Their son was named Abhimanyu.

_Drupada_ : Father of Draupadi, the shared wife of the five Pandavas.

STANZA 20. _Monkey-Bannered Arjuna_ : Arjuna's standard was a banner depicting Hanuman, the monkey god who aids Rama in the _Ramayana._

STANZA 21. _Lord of the Earth, Unshaken One_ : Epithets for Krishna.

STANZA 23. _Dhritarashtra's evil son_ : His eldest, Duryodhana.

STANZA 24. _O Bharata_ : Sanjaya here is addressing King Dhritarashtra, though Krishna uses this epithet for Arjuna.

STANZA 31. _O Handsome-Haired One_ : Arjuna's epithet for Krishna.

STANZA 35. _the three worlds_ : In Vedic literature the three worlds are the three realms where different gods live: earth, atmosphere, and sky. It is a phrase that simply denotes the entire universe, although some modern uses take it to mean three levels of the universe: physical, subtle, and supreme.

STANZA 37. _O Madhava_ : Krishna was a descendant of Madhu, progenitor of the Yadava clan.

STANZA 42. _their ancestors fall . . . water offerings_ : War in this world has its consequences in the afterlife for the ancestors. Rice balls and water were common offerings to the dead.

STANZA 44. _damned to dwell eternally / in hell_ : Although the text does say "eternally in hell" ( _narake niyatam),_ a soul's sojourn in hell, or indeed heaven, was not thought to be permanent. As soon as the fruits of bad or good deeds have been reaped, the soul is reborn again.

_**Chapter 2**_

STANZA 1. _Madhu-Slaying Krishna_ : This epithet comes from an incident in which Krishna slew the demon named Madhu.

STANZA 5. _Tristubh_ meter begins in this stanza and continues through stanza 8.

STANZA 9. _the Divine Cowherd_ : Another epithet for Krishna, who tended cattle as a youth.

STANZA 22. A single stanza in the _tristubh_ meter.

STANZA 31. _your duty as a warrior_ : Arjuna cannot consider only his own feelings, since his identity and his destiny have been shaped by his membership in the warrior class.

STANZA 39. _Theory_ : The term used here is _Samkhya,_ literally, "enumeration" (of the categories, or _tattvas_ , that make up the universe). Samkhya was a early system of philosophy which claimed that there are two fundamental kinds of substance: _purusha,_ or spirit; and _prakriti,_ or matter/nature. The universe that we experience is an unfolding or evolution of _prakriti_ , which includes what we regard as mental constituents as well, such as the ego, the intellect, and the mental faculty that perceives thoughts, along with the senses and their objects. The aim of life is to achieve liberation, which is the realization that the individual Self or _purusha_ is distinct and isolated from matter. To free the spirit we must discriminate what the spirit is from what it is not (i.e., matter).

Although the _Gita_ probably does not specifically mean the school of philosophy in its developed form, Samkhya is central to the _Gita's_ vision and its influence can be particularly seen in chapters 13 and 14. Whereas the Samkhya school of philosophy was atheistic, the _Gita_ , of course, is theistic.

_higher mind_ : This translates _buddhi,_ which can also be rendered as "intellect" or "discrimination." It refers to the first evolute from _prakriti_ and reflects the true Self ( _purusha_ ).

_in practice now_ : Although the term _Yoga_ is used to denote a distinct system of philosophy, traditionally yoga is the method to realize the truth of Samkhya. In the _Gita_ the term has more general application and can be rendered as "practice."

STANZA 42. _The undiscerning . . . in the Vedic ritual_ : Krishna here seems to be denigrating the performers of Vedic ritual. This reflects the general rejection of traditional, brahmanical tradition in favor of devotion to a personal God. It also reflects the rise of the warrior class with their own religious traditions against the traditional priests.

STANZA 45. _the three qualities_ : These are the three _gunas,_ or principles, within _prakriti_ that order and control the lower evolutes ( _tattva_ ) from _prakriti._ They are _sattva, rajas,_ and _tamas_ , which can be translated as "lightness" or "purity," "passion," and "darkness" or "inertia." The _gunas_ are a very important classification in Hinduism generally, especially for types of food.

_the opposing pairs_ : That is, the pairs of heat and cold, pain and pleasure, light and dark, and so on.

STANZA 55. _his self rests within the Self_ : The Sanskrit word _atman_ has two designations: one where it is simply a reflexive noun used in the singular to refer to myself, oneself, yourself, or ourselves, and so on; the second where it refers to the eternal self or soul. In one view, this _atman_ is identical with Brahman, the ground of all being; in another view, it refers to one's own personal, mortal self. In this translation we have used the uppercase "Self" to indicate the former and the lowercase "self" for the latter.

STANZA 70. A single stanza in the _tristubh_ meter.

_**Chapter 3**_

STANZA 5. _the nature-born qualities_ : That is, the qualities, or _gunas,_ born from _prakriti._

STANZA 10. _Prajapati_ : A creator god, whose name means "Lord or Father of Creatures."

_your wish-fulfilling cow_ : In the _Mahabharata,_ Surabhi is the "cow of wishes," a sacred cow who granted human wishes and desires.

STANZA 15. _Brahman_ : The term Brahman denotes the impersonal, absolute reality. Originally it meant the power of the sacrifice but then came to mean the power that pervades the entire cosmos. The _Gita_ (8.20–22) tells us that the Supreme Person, the personal God Krishna, is a higher truth than the impersonal, imperishable absolute. Those who reach Brahman are liberated, but God, the Supreme Person, is attained only by those with devotion ( _bhakti_ ).

STANZA 20. _Janaka_ : Legendary warrior-king, one of the great sages.

_**Chapter 4**_

STANZA 1. _Vivasvat_ : The Hindu god of the sun, father of Manu.

_Manu_ : A giver of laws and the progenitor of the human race.

_Ikshvaku_ : Manu's son and the founder of a dynasty of kings.

_**Chapter 5**_

STANZA 4. _Fools say, "Theory and practice / are different!"_ : Samkhya and Yoga were closely related traditions. Samkhya was regarded as the theoretical or metaphysical backdrop to Yoga. Yoga assumed the Samkhya categories ( _tattva_ ) and general theory of the development of the cosmos and person. Similarly, Samkhya was thought to be not simply a philosophy but an intellectual practice that brought a person to spiritual liberation.

STANZA 13. _the city of nine gates_ : The human body, with its nine orifices considered as "gates."

STANZA 18. _a dog-cooking outcaste_ : One of the lowest of the low, technically outside of the class system (that is, _avarna_ rather than _varna)._

STANZA 24. _extinction_ : Extinction ( _nirvana_ ) is a Buddhist term that the _Gita_ here uses to signify the ultimate state of liberation in Brahman.

_**Chapter 6**_

STANZA 44. _the Word-Brahman_ : At one level, the Word-Brahman ( _shabda-brahman_ ) is the Veda as revealed sound or word. At another, it is the absolute reality in the form of sound that becomes manifest in thought and speech.

_**Chapter 7**_

STANZA 4. _my material nature_ : Here Krishna is referring to the manifestations or evolutes of matter ( _prakriti_ ); in due order, the higher mind or intellect ( _buddhi_ ); the ego ( _ahamkara);_ the mind ( _manas_ ); and the five elements.

STANZA 5. _my other, / higher nature_ : Here Krishna refers to the evolutes of nature or matter ( _prakriti_ ) being of two kinds, the lower referring to the evolutes themselves, the higher to the souls who are bound within nature.

STANZA 8. _the_ Vedas' _sacred syllable_ : That is, the syllable om. This sound or mantra is regarded as the essence of the universe, the sonic form of God.

STANZA 12. _states of being_ : The different kinds of beings in the universe, and the various kinds of deity, humans, animals, and plants, are all governed by the three material natures, or _gunas_ : lightness or purity; passion; and darkness or inertia.

STANZA 25. _Hidden by my magic power_ : Magic power ( _maya_ ) can also mean "illusion" and is a term identified with ignorance in the Vedanta school of philosophy.

_**Chapter 8**_

STANZA 8. _the Supreme Person_ : That is, Krishna. Here God is conceived not as an impersonal absolute power (Brahman) but as a personal deity.

STANZA 9. The beginning of three stanzas in the _tristubh_ meter.

_One meditating on the ancient poet_ : "The poet ( _kavi_ )" seems to be a reference to the Supreme Person, although in the _Vedas_ "the poet" can be an epithet of Agni, the god of fire.

STANZA 17. _a Brahmanic day_ : Chapter 9, stanzas 7 and 8, expands on the nature of the _Kalpa,_ a period of 4.3 billion years, at the end of which, the world is annihilated.

STANZA 23. _where . . . / those departed yogis go_ : This refers to the doctrine of the afterlife found in the _Brihadaranyaka Upanishad_ (6.2:15–16) and the _Chandogya Upanishad_ (5.10: 1–2). Those texts say that at death the deceased travels by either two paths, one path leading to the gods and ending in Brahman, from which there is no return to this world, the other ending in the moon and followed by reincarnation in this world. The _Gita_ (8.24–26) refers to these as the northern and southern paths.

STANZA 28. Chapter 8 concludes with a stanza in the _tristubh_ meter.

_**Chapter 9**_

STANZA 16. _ghee_ : Clarified butter.

STANZA 17. _soma-strainer_ : A device for straining fruits. In Vedic sacrifice, it was used for straining the juices of the soma plant. Soma was a vision-producing substance of vegetable origin employed in Vedic sacrifices. Its source is unknown, though it has been identified with the stimulant ephedra by some and by others with _Amanita muscaria_ , a psychedelic mushroom.

_the three chief_ Vedas: The _Rig, Sama,_ and _Yajur Vedas._

STANZA 20. The next two stanzas are in the _tristubh_ meter.

_longed-for world of Indra_ : Indra is the main Vedic deity, a great warrior and drinker of soma.

STANZA 32. _out of evil wombs_ : Rebirths regarded as bad because traditionally thought to exclude the possibility of liberation.

_**Chapter 10**_

STANZA 6. _the seven great seers_ : Kashyapa, Atri, Vashishta, Vishvamitra, Gotama, Jamadagni, and Bhadradvaja. They are identified with the stars of Ursa minor.

_the four law-giving Manus_ : At the beginning of each of the four ages ( _yuga_ ) a Manu appears who gives the law.

STANZA 13. _the divine seer Narada_ : A sage, the composer of some Vedic hymns.

_Asita, Devala . . . Vyasa_ : The names of legendary sages. Vyasa was the legendary author of the _Mahabharata_ (and so also the _Bhagavad Gita_ ).

STANZA 17. _Yogin_ : The consonant stem of the word. In the nominative singular, it is yogī, which we have rendered as "yogi," in accordance with common practice.

STANZA 19. _my own / divine self-manifestations_ : These are the forms in which God or Krishna appears in the world.

STANZA 21. _Of the Adityas . . . Vishnu_ : The Adityas are celestial gods in the _Veda._

_of storm gods . . . Marici_ : Marici is the chief of the storm gods or Maruts.

STANZA 22. _Of_ Vedas, _the_ Sama Veda: The _Sama_ is one of the collections ( _samhita_ ) of hymns (much of which reproduces the _Rig Veda_ ) that contain instructions on chanting the verses. The text was recited during Vedic sacrifice.

_of the gods . . . Vasava_ : Another name for Indra, the most important Vedic deity.

STANZA 23. _Of the Rudras . . . Shiva_ : The Rudras are storm gods. Rudra is an early name for Shiva, who became one of the main three gods of medieval Hinduism along with Vishnu and the Goddess (Devi). In the mythology of Vishnu he is regarded as the destroyer of the universe, with Brahma as the creator and Vishnu as the preserver or maintainer.

_of Rakshasas, Kubera_ : The Rakshasas are a group of demons and Kubera is their leader, the Lord of Wealth associated with the north.

_I am Agni_ : The fire god or flame itself.

_I am Meru_ : Meru is a mythical mountain residing at the center of the universe and supporting the heavens. The gods dwell there.

STANZA 24. _the chief of household priests_ : The chief priest, or _hotri,_ would recite verses from the _Rig Veda_ during Vedic sacrifice.

_Skanda_ : Skanda is the god of war and son of Shiva. He is the chief general who leads the army of the gods against the demons.

STANZA 25. _Bhrigu_ : An ancient sage in the _Rig Veda._

STANZA 26. _the sacred fig_ : The fig tree is sacred in Hinduism. It is a symbol of the entire cosmos (as we will see in chapter 15, stanza 1).

_Narada_ : A famous sage who appears frequently in religious literature.

_of Gandharvas, Citraratha_ : Citraratha ("He whose chariot is Bright") is the king of the Gandharvas or heavenly musicians.

_Kapila_ : An ancient sage said to be the founder of the Samkhya school of philosophy.

STANZA 27. _the one Indra rides_ : Indra's horse came out of the nectar that was produced in the mythical churning of the ocean.

_of elephants, / Indra's lordly Airavata_ : The elephant that Indra rides.

STANZA 28. _Kandarpa, god of love_ : Also called Kama, Desire.

_Vasuki_ : The king of snakes.

STANZA 29. _Of Naga-snakes . . . Ananta_ : The Nagas are supernatural snake-beings whose king is Ananta. Ananta is also depicted in mythology as the snake whose coils encircle the earth and on whom Vishnu sleeps.

_of water-creatures . . . Varuna_ : Varuna is an ancient Vedic water god, king of aquatic animals.

_Aryaman_ : The king of the ancestors.

_Yama_ : The god of death.

STANZA 30. _Prahlada_ : The king of the demons or Daityas, who became a devotee of Vishnu.

_Vainateya_ : Garuda, the son of Vinata, the great bird on whom Vishnu rides.

STANZA 31. _Rama_ : The warrior who is the hero of the _Ramayana._

_Makara of the sea monsters_ : The greatest of sea monsters.

STANZA 34. _I am death, the all-destroying_ : This is the verse quoted by J. Robert Oppenheimer upon seeing the first successful detonation of an atomic bomb: "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds."

STANZA 35. _Of Saman-chants, Bhradsama_ : A type of Vedic meter in chanting the verses.

_of meters . . . Gayatri_ : A type of meter in the _Rig Veda._

STANZA 36. _I am the gambling of cheats_ : There is nowhere where Krishna is not, even in gambling.

STANZA 37. _Of the Vrishnis . . . Krishna_ : The Vrishnis are a clan from whom Krishna is descended.

_Vyasa_ : The legendary author of the _Mahabharata._

_Ushana_ : An ancient sage.

_**Chapter 11**_

STANZA 3. _I desire to behold your / lordly form_ : Here Arjuna asks to see Krishna's universal, majestic, or lordly form ( _aishvaram rupam_ ) in contrast to his human form.

STANZA 6. _the Adityas and Vasus, / the Rudras, Ashvins and Maruts_ : These are all different kinds of deity in the _Veda._ The Adityas are celestial deities; the Vasus are gods of the atmosphere ruled by Indra; the Rudras are storm gods associated with Rudra or Shiva; the Ashvins are divine twins who are physicians; and the Maruts are storm gods sometimes identified with the Rudras.

STANZA 9. _Vishnu_ : This is one of the three references to Vishnu in the _Gita_. The later religion of Vishnu identified Krishna as an incarnation ( _avatara_ ) of Vishnu, but the _Gita_ itself clearly presents Krishna as the supreme deity. In a sense Krishna is an incarnation of himself along with other manifestations or _vibhutis_ (listed in chapter 10). The term _avatara_ is not used in the text.

STANZA 15. An extended passage in the _tristubh_ meter commences here and continues until stanza 50.

STANZA 17. _armed with mace and discus_ : In plastic representations these are held by Krishna and/or Vishnu in his twoarmed form.

STANZA 22. _Rudras . . . the Perfected_ : A list of gods, ancestors, sages, and those who have attained perfection.

STANZA 33. _O Ambidextrous Archer_ : Arjuna is a skilled bowman.

STANZA 34. _Jayadratha, Karna_ : These are Kauravas, enemies of Arjuna but also belonging to his family.

STANZA 39. _Vayu, Yama, Varuna_ : Respectively, the god of winds, the god of death, and the god of water. _the Great-Grandfather_ : The primal ancestor.

STANZA 41. _Yadava_ : The name of the clan that Krishna belonged to.

STANZA 51. As Krishna resumes his mortal form, the poet returns to the _shloka_ meter, which continues to the end of this chapter.

_**Chapter 13**_

_O Handsome-Haired One_ : Chapter 13 begins with an unnumbered stanza, the only one in the _Gita_. If it were counted, the poem would number 701 stanzas rather than 700.

_of the field and of its knower_ : This chapter is an important discourse about the nature of the self. The field is life, the experience of the world, though the senses and the knower of the field is the self within the body that undergoes experience in the world through the senses.

STANZA 5. _The great elements . . . sense-action_ : This is a list of the Samkhya evolutes or _tattvas_ from matter ( _prakriti_ ).

STANZA 12. _the birthless, matchless Brahman, said / neither to be nor to be not_ : The object of knowledge here is Brahman, the absolute, which is beyond the duality of being and not-being, existence and non-existence. This is paradoxical in that Brahman cannot really be an object of knowledge in any conventional sense although the realization of Brahman is a liberating cognition.

STANZA 13. _Its hand and foot . . . its eye, head, face_ : The entire universe is the body of God.

STANZA 21. _good and bad wombs_ : Cf. the note at chapter 9, stanza 32.

STANZA 22. _The highest spirit_ : Here the "spirit" ( _purusha_ ) refers to the Self within the body, which is individual to some extent and distinct from God, although supported and sustained by God.

STANZA 24. _Samkhya yoga_ : On the discipline of Samkhya, see the note at chapter 2, stanza 39.

_**Chapter 14**_

STANZA 1. _the highest knowledge_ : That is, knowledge of Krishna as the absolute.

STANZA 5. _Purity, passion and darkness_ : The three qualities or _gunas._

_**Chapter 15**_

STANZA I. _an eternal fig tree_ : Literally, the tree "under which horses stand." The fig tree is a symbol of the entire cosmos. Here the image of the tree is inverted, with its roots in heaven and its branches on earth, the nourishment of the world in the form of the _Vedas_ coming from a higher world.

STANZA 2. Stanzas 2–5 are composed in the _tristubh_ meter.

STANZA 4. _And I take refuge_ : Krishna here is speaking from the perspective of a devotee.

STANZA 5. _that changeless realm_ : The true abode, the abode of Krishna.

STANZA 8. _When the Lord_ : Here the text refers to God incarnating in the world, but the idea that the Self takes certain attributes with it when it leaves this body for the next is pertinent to all beings.

STANZA 13. _juicy soma, Lord of Plants_ : See the note at chapter 9, stanza 17.

STANZA 14. _digestive fire_ : Digestion was considered to be a form of fire.

STANZA 15. A single stanza in the _tristubh_ meter.

_Vedanta_ : The end of the _Veda,_ referring to the _Upanishads_ and also to the system of philosophy grounded in the interpretation of the _Vedas_ and _Upanishads._

_**Chapter 16**_

STANZA 23. _The commands / of scripture_ : The _Vedas._

_**Chapter 17**_

STANZA 5. _Who suffer dread austerities_ : Krishna cautions against extreme asceticism, which does not free one from attachment.

STANZA 7. _Each of the three kinds_ : That is, the three qualities ( _guna_ ) of purity, passion, and darkness.

STANZA 23. _" OM THAT [IS] TRUTH"_: This is a Sanskrit mantra that is thought to contain the essence of Brahman.

_**Chapter 18**_

BEFORE STANZA 74. _Sanjaya spoke_ : We return to complete the frame of the _Bhagavad Gita_ , with a reminder that the entire work is the reportage of Sanjaya to the blind king, Dhritarashtra.
More praise for Gavin Flood and Charles Martin's

THE

  **BHAGAVAD GITA**

"This fresh translation of _The Bhagavad Gita_ is a rare event in world literature. It is a truly fruitful collaboration between a scholar and a poet that brings an ancient Sanskrit classic alive. Meticulous and imaginative at once, it will be savored by old and new readers everywhere."

—Vinay Dharwadker, University of Wisconsin–Madison

"The new translation by Gavin Flood, a scholar of Hinduism, and Charles Martin, a wonderful poet and translator, progresses in . . . elegant measures and has much else to recommend it, including its excellent notes. It should set a new standard for educators in particular."

—David Mason, _Hudson Review_

"I am grateful to Flood and Martin for bringing me back to the days when I was an aspiring yogi. The phase did not last long, but what remains with me is the sense of heightened consciousness inspired by incantatory poetry, and their translation masterfully brings that magic over into English."

—Adam Poochigian, _AbleMuse_

"A new translation of one of the fundamental poems and wisdom books in world literature by a poet and translator of Charles Martin's resources and a Hinduist of the eminence of Gavin Flood is a huge gift. _The Bhagavad Gita_ , the Song of the Lord, has burned itself into the world's brain for two millennia or more. This translation should rekindle that flame."

—Robert Haas, University of California, Berkeley

"Hindu professor Gavin Flood and poet, critic and translator Charles Martin's new translation balances the philosophical, spiritual, historic, poetic and narrative forces that together make the _Gita_ such a challenging and enthralling text."

—Ella Christoph, _Newcity Lit_
ALSO BY GAVIN FLOOD

_An Introduction to Hinduism_

_The Ascetic Self: Subjectivity, Memory, and Tradition_

_The Tantric Body: The Secret Tradition of Hindu Religion_

ALSO BY CHARLES MARTIN

_Signs & Wonders_

_Starting from Sleep: New and Selected Poems_

_Metamorphoses_ (translation)
Copyright © 2012 by Gavin Flood and Charles Martin

All rights reserved
First published as a Norton paperback 2013

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Book design by Brooke Koven
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Bhagavadgita. English.
The Bhagavad Gita : a new translation / Gavin Flood
and Charles Martin. — First edition.
pages cm
Translated from Sanskrit.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-0-393-08165-7 (hardcover)
I. Flood, Gavin D., 1954– translator. II. Martin, Charles, 1942– translator. III. Title.
BL1138.62.E5 2012
294.5'92404521—dc23

2011052336

ISBN 978-0-393-08385-9 (e-book)
ISBN 978-0-393-34513-1 pbk.

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