The Bhagavad Gita

At last, an edition of the Bhagavad Gita that speaks with unprecedented fidelity and clarity, letting the profound beauty and depth of this classic shine through. It contains an unusually informative introduction, the Sanskrit text of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute’s critical edition, an accurate and accessible English translation, a comprehensive glossary of names and epithets and a thorough index. From the Introduction You are about to have the profound pleasure of reading one of the truly great books in the history of the world. Not only is it a spiritual monument—an essential scripture of Hinduism, recited daily for two millennia and to this very day, whose teachings have spread throughout Asia and around the globe—it is also a literary masterpiece, the linchpin of a great epic of war and peace, honor and disgrace, loyalty and betrayal. It is a book people everywhere in the world return to again and again throughout their lives for insight into the nature of reality. Excerpt If the light of a thousand suns had risen in the sky at the same time, that would have equaled the splendor of that great soul. There, in the body of the god of gods, the son of Pandu beheld the whole world, united in its infinite diversity. Dhananjaya, struck with amazement, his body hair bristling, bowed his head to the god and spoke with folded hands. Arjuna said, ‘I see all the gods in your body, Lord, with the different hosts of beings—the lord Brahma sitting on his lotus seat, all the sages, the divine serpents. I see you with countless arms, bellies, faces, and eyes, your form stretching endlessly in all directions. I see no end, no middle, nor beginning of you, lord of the universe with universal form. I see you with your crown, your mace, and your discus; a glowing mass shining in all directions with the splendor of blazing fire and the sun on all sides, difficult to behold, immeasurable. You are the immutable, the supreme, that which should be known. You are the ultimate repository of this universe. You are the immortal guardian of the eternal law. I know you as the everlasting spirit. Without a beginning, a middle, or an end, with endless power, countless arms, with the moon and the sun as your eyes, I see you with your mouth as a blazing fire, burning this universe with your fiery energy. For this space between heaven and earth and all four directions is pervaded by you alone. Seeing this wondrous and terrifying form of yours, the three worlds tremble, great soul!