Srimad Bhagavad Geeta (Sanskrit Text with Transliteration and English Translation)

yadaa yadaa hi dharmasya glaanirbhavati bhaarata !

abhyutthaanamadharmasya tadaatmaanam srjaamyaham !!

The Lord declares that at every instance when there is a downfall of dharma (Righteousness) and a steep rise of adharma (Unrighteousness) in this world "I shall incarnate in an appropriate form and vanquish adharma and reinstate dharma."

The War between the Pandavas and the Kauravas fought in the Kurukshetra battlefield was one such occasion when the Lord incarnated in the form of krishna took the side of the righteous Pandavas to quish the evil and unrighteous Kauravas and to establish dharma.

Arjuna, the valiant Pandava, saw his Acharyas, grandfather, cousins and relatives on the opposite side whom he had to confront and fight a decisive war.

He became nervous, feeble minded and utterly confused at the very thought of fighting his own kith kin.

At this crucial juncture the merciful Lord Krishna imparted the Bhagavad Gita through which He explained how as a Kshatriya, Arjuna had to perform his swadharma and fight for the cause of Right and Justice.

Bhagavad Gita is the essence of the vedas. It is revered as the Upanishad of the fifth veda, the Mahabharata. The translation of Bhagavad Gita has been brought out in several languages and is widely read all over the world.

We ‘GIRl’ the pioneer in the field of publishing Spiritual Books for more than five decades have brought out this edition of Bhagavad Gita with the verses in original Sanskrit and with English transliteration as well as translation.

We are very thankful to Sri Ramachandrasekhar for scripting the English translation in the book.

We pray to Lord Almighty to shower his unlimited Blessings on the readers of this Book.

Translator’s Preface

Bhagavad Gita can be termed as the most beautiful and perhaps the only true philosophical poem that the whole range of literature has produced. It contains message for people from all walks of life, with divergent mental leanings and understanding. It advocates the four margas (pathways) to salvation called ‘yogas’ namely bhakti, karma, jnyana and raja Yoga. It prescribes the path of karma yoga (selfless action)for the benefit of men of action and provides them with the philosophical basis and outlook in their activity for attaining their goal.

To the people who by gradually renouncing desire after desire, wish to attain the Supreme state of brahmananda, it prescribes cultivation of the ten atma gunas and the other requisite virtues leading to renunciation through jnyana yoga.

At every age and era, Bhagavad Gita has provided succor to people. All eminent people have drawn inspiration from Bhagavad Gita, be it Vivekananda or Aurobindo of the East or Edwin Amold and A.W. Ryder of the West, countless are the men all over the world who owe their gratitude to the teachings of Bhagavad Gita.

The understanding of Gita is aided by the numerous commentaries written on it by eminent philosophers like Shankaracharya, Ramanuja, Madhvacharya, Bhaskara etc. or by its adaptation in vernaculars like Jnyaneshwari of Saint Jnyaneshwar.

The dialogue between the Blessed Lord, Yogeeshvara, Krishna and Arjuna inspired many other Gitas, found scattered in various other Puranas and ancillary texts such as Avadhuta Gita, Shiva Gita etc. which even inspired the followers of other religious orders too to write texts such as Dayuda Gita (Psalms of David) and Nanak Gita (Guru Nanak’s teachings) etc.

The necessity of Bhagavad Gita in modem world afflicted with conflicts arising due to trivial matters can be best appreciated if we observe the reconciliatory tone of the Lord who puts at rest all sectarian wrangling about various forms of divinity. The Lord says that every form is a part of His endless rich form, and in whatever form He is sought by a devotee, he comes to him in that form :

ye yatha maam prapadyante taan

tathaiva bhajaamyaham !!

It gives me immense pleasure to offer this humble offering, the translation of Bhagavad Gita which is praised as - "The essence of all shastras, an elixir to the ears, an antidote to the manifold maladies of samsara, the secret of success, the axe laid at the root of avidya, the seed of the spreading creeper of viveka, the very sound of the reading of which strikes terror in the heart of Yamabhatas, verily the embodiment of Lord Vishnu’s Chaitanya, indeed this Supreme Abode" in service of Humanity.