The Bhagavad Gita

 

What follows is the cast of characters in the poem, a summary of the important contents in each chapter, and the advantages of various translations.

In order of speaking:
Dhrita-rastra, father of the hundred Kaurava brothers, the villains of the poem.
Sanjaya, his servant, given clairaudience and clairvoyance, to report to him the events.
Arjuna, middle brother of the 5 Pandavas, whose cause is just; their military leader and, until now, hero of many battles.
Sri Krishna, Arjuna's charioteer, friend and guide, but actually the Divine Incarnation of the age.

Résumé:

 Chapter  
 I Setting of the battle; Arjuna's argument against fighting.
II Sri Krishna's reply. Centerpiece of the book. Qualities of the God-conscious person.
III Karma yoga; "better one's own duty, even ill-performed, than that of another well-performed."
IV The castes; "he who sees action in inaction..."; offerings and sacrifices of yogis.
V To act or not to act? Sri Krishna extols action; sannyasa-yoga.
VI Yogic meditation; "not for him who..." (golden mean)
VII The two prakritis of the Lord.
VIII The three kinds of adversities or dangers; unmanifest and manifest; bright and dark paths at death.
IX Om brahmarpanam..." illustrated, demonstrated; future of various kinds of devotees.
X The Divine Manifestations: "I am ..."
XI Vision of the Universal Form
XII Personal or Impersonal God? Personal is extolled.
XIII Ksetra and ksetrajna ; body and soul.
XIV The three gunas .
XV The giant fig tree; perishable and imperishable.
XVI Virtues listed; divine and demonic natures contrasted.
XVII The three kinds of faith ( sraddha) ; of foods, of sacrifices, of gifts; OM tat sat .
XVIII sannyasa and tyaga differentiated; how the gunas affect them; the threefold understanding; a summary.

 

A key to the English translations commonly available:

Swami Swarupananda's Sanskrit + literal translation+ a few notes. 
Swami Nikhilananda's Complete edition, no Sanskrit, elegant English, many notes following Sankara. Abridged edition, English without the notes.
Swami Paramananda's Good English, except all in the Biblical "thou and thee"; verses numbered.
Swami Prabhavananda and Isherwood's Poetic English, less literal. No verses numbered.
Swami Chidbhavananda's Sanskrit + acceptable English + good notes.
Swami Chinmayananda's Sanskrit + acceptable English + maybe the best notes. Expensive.



Aum | About | Calendar | Articles | Stories | On-line books
Bulletin board | Books & tapes | Links | Search | Contact