Bhagavadgita with an Introductory Essay, Sanskrit Text, English Translation and Notes

by Anonymous, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (translator/introduction)

The Bhagavadgita, or ‘Sacred Song’, holds an assured place among the world’s great scriptures. In fourteen hundred lines of verse, the relationship of man with God – and the intense joy of divine love – are celebrated, in a language that is precise and beautiful.
The Gita is a tale of action, taking the form of a dialogue between Arjuna and Krishna on the eve of a battle. Krishna teaches the fearful Arjuna the need for action and the requirement that he – like all mankind – take his place in the world in love and faith. Only through the search for God and the Absolute will the true self be discovered.
This edition of the Bhagavadgita offers the Sanskrit text as well as Radhakrishnan’s English translation and a commentary that has become a classic. His clear understanding of the profound wisdom contained within the Gita ensures an equally clear vision of its powerful and eternal message, one that cannot fail to touch the minds and spirits of all those who reach for it.

Genres: Philosophy, Religion

388 pages, Paperback

Published May 27, 1994

About the author

Books can be attributed to "Anonymous" for several reasons:

* They are officially published under that name
* They are traditional stories not attributed to a specific author
* They are religious texts not generally attributed to a specific author

Books whose authorship is merely uncertain should be attributed to Unknown.

See also: Anonymous

Reviews

[Casey]

What can be said about this marvelous book. Easier to read than the Torah or the Koran and the pictures are cooler.

[ba · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for a high school paper, and it's served me well as a (very) basic understanding of various flavors of Hinduism, although the edition I read was annotated specifically with an eye towards recruiting folks for Krishna appreciation. It's a bit difficult for me to get past the fact that Arjuna , the protagonist, spends the entire book being talked into participating in a battle he would rather avoid. However, the book does seem to contain a mostly self-consistent framework upon which to hang a religion, so who am I to judge? Worth checking out if you like religious scriptures, or even if you just wondered who all those blue people are in those old Bollywood films.

[B.S. Murthy]

This work exemplifies the conventional approach in interpreting the classic in vogue. However, one may like to take a look at Bhagvad-Gita: Treatise of Self-help, sans 110 inane interpolations, for a fresh perspective of the Gita's pristine philosophy, and here it is in goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

[Kishan Katira · Rating 4 out of 5]

The essay and notes were very helpful

[Elisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read it in college. had a great professor- so reading and talking about it led to a greater understanding. But i dont know if i would just read it on my own.

[Idleprimate · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is the best translation of this work, by an essential Indian scholar. it's very sad that it is out of print. i loaned my copy and it never came home.

[Rike Jokanan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love reading it. But I think I can't stop reading it once-sit. I'll consider reading it as leisure time activity.