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Studies in the Epics and Puranas c13.s2: 2. The Bhagavadgītā

Studies in the Epics and Purāṇas c13.s2

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2. The Bhagavadgītā

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The Bhagavadgītā has been accepted by the Hindus as the integral part of the Mbh, and some European scholars also endorse the view. The most important and significant events in connection with the Bhg studies during the last thirty-seven years have been, in a chronological order, the publication of the Kashmirian recension of the Bhg, of the "original" Gītā and the Critical Edition of the Bhg. It is indeed curious how the Bhg presents such a relatively fixed consistent text without any noteworthy variation for the last 1200 years. The current text contains 700 stanzas, there being two other texts with 714 and 745 stanzas. The additional stanzas effect no material addition; nor do they create any difference in the teaching or add any new topic or argument.

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F. Otto Schrader first brought to light the Kashmirian recension of the Bhg,²³³ which he maintains to be intrinsically superior to the Śaṃkara text, with its two commentaries dating from the tenth century. The Kashmiri-an recension differs from the vulgate text of the *Bhg* not only in giving "fourteen complete and four half stanzas" not found in the current version, but also in presenting over 250 variant readings. Schrader also contributed papers on the subject, showing that the India Office MS of the *Mbh*, though from Kashmir, no doubt, contained the vulgate text of the *Bhg*, but was not free from traces of Kashmiri-an recension; that Rāma-kaṇṭha and Abhinavagupta were ignorant of the vulgate text; and that Śaṃkara's works and the vulgate *Bhg* came to Kashmir after the eleventh century during the reign of the Kashmiri-an king Harṣa.²³⁴ He also points to a *Bhg* "riddle" which requires the assumption of the existence of a form of the *Bhg*, wherein Arjuna spoke only 57 (instead of 84) stanzas, and hence 27 of the present Arjuna stanzas are proposed to be excluded as later additions.²³⁵

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²³³ Stuttgart, 1930.

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²³⁴ "On the Form of the *Bhg* contained in the Kashmiri-an *Mbh*", *JRAS*. 1935, pp. 146-149; "Rezensionen der Bhagavad-gītā", *Fest. Winternitz*, pp. 41-50.

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²³⁵ "An Implication of the *Bhg* Riddle", *NIA*, I, pp. 62-68

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Since long, Belvalkar has made the *Bhg* study his own, and has to his credit many valuable contributions on the subject. The undertaking of the critical edition of the *Bhīṣmaparvan* has given him a thorough command of the MS material of the *Bhg*, so that he can authoritatively pronounce about the text problems. Belvalkar has, during the period under review, expressed his views exhaustively both in connection with the Kashmiri-an recension of the *Bhg* and the original *Gītā*. He proposes to solve Schrader's riddle by including the *Gītāsāra* stanzas in the *Bhg* proper, treating *Gītāsāra* as the *khila* of the *Bhg*. and by excluding certain stanzas from Arjuna and assigning these and some additional stanzas to Sañjaya, thus conforming to the *Gītāmāna* enumeration.²³⁶ Belvalkar has examined the Kashmirian recension of the *Bhg* in his new edition of the text²³⁷, and he states that the comparison of this recension with the Śāṃkara text shows that in a number of passages the Kashmirian reading seeks (i) to regularise the grammar, (ii) to improve the syntax, and (iii) to improve the sense. According to the accepted canons of textual criticism the grammatically irregular readings preserved in the Śāṃkara text are likely to be the authentic ones and the Kashmirian text cannot claim to be intrinsically superior. Belvalkar also points out that there is no basis for the current view that Abul Fazl's Persian translation of the *Bhg* contained 745 stanzas. According to Belvalkar it is legitimate to speak of a Kashmirian recension of the *Bhg* as it is legitimate in a smaller measure, to speak of a Rāmānujiya recension of the poem.²³⁸ The Kashmirian recension was not current prior to the eighth century A.D. and not more authentic "except for about a dozen minor variants. The form of the *Bhg* as preserved in the Bhāṣya of Śaṅkarācārya is still the earliest and the most authentic form of the Poem that we can reach on the basis of the available manuscript evidence." In a paper entitled "The Rāmānujiya text of the Bhagavadgītā,"²³⁹ Belvalkar has compared the Śāṃkara Gītāpāṭha with that followed by Rāmānuja on the evidence of the *Tātparyacandrikā*. He mentions thirty cases of differences of reading, of which only four being important are commented on by him. The only place where Belvalkar thinks Rāmānuja's reading to be definitely superior and authenticated by majority of reliable MSS is III. 2, where Rāmānuja reads vyāmiśreṇa-eva for vyāmiśreṇa-iva of Śaṅkara.

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²³⁶ "Bhg riddle unriddled", ABORI, XIX, pp. 335-348.

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²³⁷ *Bhagavadgītā* with the comm. of Ānandavardhana. Poona, 1941; cf. also "The So-called Kashmir Recension of the *Bhg*", NIA, II, pp. 211-251.

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²³⁸ *Bhagavadgītā*, Intr.

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²³⁹ ASVOI, I, pp. 7-15.

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While dealing with the Critical Edition of the Bhīṣmaparvan earlier, no reference was made to the Critical Edition of the Bhg.²⁴⁰ In addition to the critical apparatus of the Bhīṣmaparvan, the Bhg utilises six Śāradā MSS, one each of Kashmir and Nepāl, twelve commentaries and three northern MSS of Gītāsāra. In the case of the Bhg., the Editor had to give up the accepted principle of giving preference to variants of Śāradā and Kashmir versions, which have been treated here as late and secondary. Śaṅkarācārya's testimony for the text of the Bhg is earlier than that of any other MS or commentator. Except the first 57 stanzas, he offers a word for word explanation for the whole Bhg, which enables us to determine exactly what text he had before him. Practically all versions except ŚK and a few composite MSS of the D group have, in the main, accepted the Śaṅkara text of the Bhg. The constituted text of the Bhg has turned out to be very similar to that commented on by Śaṅkara, which disposes of Schrader's claim that the Kashmir recension of the Bhg is superior to the commonly accepted one. Belvalkar has further shown that all the important variants, on the basis of which Schrader tries to establish the superiority of the Kashmir recension, can be explained away.

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²⁴⁰ Reprint, Poona, 1945; Bhīṣmaparvan (Critical Edition), Poona, 1945-47.

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The point whether the Bhg formed an integral part of the Mbh or was a later addition to it remains still an open question. For, as admitted by Belvalkar, the very old MSS K₄ and Da₂ omit entirely the Bhg and even its existence was not recognised by Devabodha, though it is likely that Devabodha's commentary on the Gītā portion has not so far come to light.

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*Śrīmad Bhagavadgītā*²⁴¹ by Swami Vireswarananda contains the text of the *Bhg* with the gloss of Śrīdhara and the translation of the *Bhg* and Śrīdhara's gloss, which latter was not hitherto available to the English reader.

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²⁴¹ Madras, 1949.

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Coming to the other text-editions of the *Bhg* published during the period under review, we may mention that besides Schrader's edition, three other editions of the Kashmiri an version have been published. Tadpatrikar brought out, in 1934, *Śrīmad Bhagavadgītā* with numerous variants from old Kashmiri an MSS, an exhaustive introduction and critical notes, which has been published in the Pratinidhi Series (No. 1), under the patronage of the Raja Saheb of Aundh. The Anandasrama published, in 1939, *Śrīmad Bhagavadgītā* with the commentary of Rājānaka Rāmakavi called Sarvatobhadra, also edited by Tadpatrikar. Four MSS from the B. O. R. I. were utilised for this edition, and it is found that Rāmakavi comments on a text of the *Bhg* which follows Kashmiri an reading. The same text as edited by T. R. Chintamani was published by the University of Madras in 1941. This is based on five MSS, four from the B. O. R. I., and one from the India Office, three being in Nāgarī and two in Śāradā. There is also a scholarly introduction pointing out textual differences from the vulgate text noticed in the Kashmiri an recension after comparing the texts adopted by different Kashmiri an commentators. Schrader's views have been effectively refuted by appropriate extracts showing that Rāmakaṇṭha and Abhinavagupta knew the vulgate text as well as the Gītā-Bhāṣya by Śaṃkara. Chintamani regards Belvalkar's falling in line with the Otto-Garbe-Schrader suggestion about the interpolations in the *Bng* as "unhappy" and shows that the so-called interpolated verses have been accepted as genuine by Sankara, Rāmakaṇṭha and others.²⁴²

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²⁴² Bhagavadgītā, Ed. by Chintamani, intr.

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Jivarama Kalidas Sastri of Gondal published in 1935 the text of the *Bhg* purporting to be based on a MS dated Saṃvat 1235 (=1179 A.D.), containing 21 additional stanzas and 250 variants. The Suddhadharma Office, Madras, published in 1935, the text of the *Bhg*, having 745 stanzas divided into 26 chapters, with *pāda* index. English translation of the text has been published by T. M. Janardanam, and the editor believes that the *Bhg* contains an exposition of 24 Dharmas such as Nārāyaṇadharma, Avatāradharma, etc.; thus Chs. 2-25 deal with 24 Dharmas in 4 *ṣaṭkas*. The Suddhadharma text has been condemned by Schrader and others as "an artificial fabrication". The first Adhyāya of the Gītā with the commentary was published in 1924 and the second Adhyāya with the commentary appeared in 1953. The English introduction by Janardana discusses the text-problem, conveys the message of the Gītā, and gives the summary of the Sanskrit Commentary on the second Adhyāya. The introduction makes certain astounding revelations, hitherto unknown to any one outside the initiates of the Suddha Dharma Maṇḍala, regarding the compilation of the *Mbh*. It is stated that Yoga Vyāsa, known as Uśanākavi, was the author of twenty-four Bhārata sūtras, which served as the background for the Bhārata-saṃhitā of 24000 ślokas by Bhārgava Vyāsa; the Gītā version in this Saṃhitā had only 144 ślokas in six chapters; it was Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana Vyāsa who prepared his Mahā Bhārata of a lakh of ślokas; the Brāhmaṇas of Jambukhaṇḍa, overcome by malice and prejudice, invaded the cave-āśrama of Vyāsa, and seizing the MSS, threw them out to the winds; the thrown-out MS-copies were collected by Vaiśampāyana, the sage's disciple, who restored them to order; it is this version that went into preservation in the archives of the Suddha Dharma Maṇḍala as a precaution against future acts of vandalism; the Brāhmaṇas of Jambukhaṇḍa, however, realised their folly after the Bhārata war and collected whatever versions they could get out of the previously thrown out MSS; after giving some shape to it they broadcast it as the Mbh; this accounts for the different versions we come across these days, but the *real* work is hidden with the Suddha Dharma Maṇḍala, which has released only the Bhagavadgītā of 745 ślokas to the general public by permission of the chiefs of the Maṇḍala!

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The text of the Bhg with Bhagavadgītārthaprakāśikā of Śrī Upaniṣadbrahma was published from Adyar in 1941, edited by the Pundits of the Adyar Library. There is no reference to the MSS material utilised for the text. In his introduction, Kunhan Raja discusses the problem of the extent and nature of the text of the Gītā, which according to him is "an indivisible whole, a unit." Jivarama Kalidasa Sastri has recently published yet another text of the Bhg answering the Gītāmāna description of 745 stanzas. He describes the MS to be palm-leaf dating from 1665 Saṃvat. The introduction deals exhaustively with the text-problem of the Bhg. Belvalkar very much doubts the genuineness of this "Bhojapatra Gītā", which he believes to have been manufactured quite recently to conform to the Gītāmāna description in every particular.²⁴³ Belvalkar has published an "authorised version" of the Bhg, with complete pāda index, in which he gives only the Śāṅkara text.²⁴⁴ He has brought out another edition of the *Bhg* (already referred to) with the *Jñānakarmasamuccayaṭīkā* of Ānandavardhana, with an introduction and two appendices. The introduction deals with the problem of the Kashmiri recension, to which we have already referred. Ānandavardhana belongs to 1080 A.D. Schrader's views have been refuted, and Belvalkar justifies his "mathematical operation" to which Chintamani objected. Appendix I gives a list of the names of works and authors cited by Ānandavardhana in his commentary, and Appendix II gives the variants in the two recensions in parallel columns.

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²⁴³ Sahyādri (Marathi monthly), 1942; also JGJRI, I, pp. 21-31.

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²⁴⁴ Poona, 1941.

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Among translations of the *Bhg*, reference may be made to those by Edgerton and Hill. "Song of the Blessed One" by Edgerton contains a clear and able analysis of the contents of the *Bhg*.²⁴⁵ According to Edgerton, "There is absolutely no documentary evidence that any other form of the *Gītā* than that we have was ever known in India". Hill's translation contains the vulgate text, an index, an argument and a commentary.²⁴⁶ The introduction deals with the cult of Kṛṣṇa Vāsudeva, composition and age of the *Bhg* (second century B.C. according to Hill), and the doctrine of the *Bhg*. There are bibliographical notes, Sanskrit Index and Subject Index to the *Bhg*.

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²⁴⁵ Chicago, 1925.

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²⁴⁶ Oxford, 1928.

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Belvalkar has published an English translation of the *Bhagavadgītā*,²⁴⁷ with an Introduction and an Index of proper names. Entitled "Critical Exposition of the Argument" the Introduction deals, among other things, with the following:—the problem mooted; genesis of Arjuna's dolour; truer explanations of *Sāṃkhye Buddhiḥ* and *Yoge Buddhiḥ*; exposition of the "Yoga" in the *Bhg*; inner significance and basic foundation of the "Yajñacakrapravartana"; the problem of human freedom and of evil; nature of God's Māyā; *Bhg* cosmology; macrocosm and microcosm; "triune-unities" of the *Bhg*; besides there are Exegetic Riddles Nos. 1 to 5. He has tried to indicate in his Exposition that "the Triune-unity of Karman, Jñāna and Bhakti as set forth by the Poem (i.e. the *Bhg*) demanded on the part of its Author a good deal of special pleading with a view to constitute an alliance between an orthodox Mīmāṃsist with his old-world Yajña as the be-all and end-all of existence, the post-Upaniṣad Sāṃkhya with its dominating passion for Saṃnyāsa, pre-Pātañjala Yoga with its mystic discipline of self-culture tempered by a Deistic Cosmology and an Intellectualistic Ethics, and the various Bhakti Cults of the day with their special notions of the Deity and special modes and methods of its worship." The *Bhg* being pre-Buddhistic according to Belvalkar, the reason for its "Philosophical Compromise" is found in the danger from radical "Heretics" to everything sacred. The *Bhg* is "an effort on a great scale put forth by the older Śrauta religion, with its institutions of Yajña and Varṇāśrama, to hold its own and to stem the gathering tide of heretic and agnostic speculations."

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²⁴⁷ Poona, 1943.

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The *Bhagavadgītā* by S. Radhakrishnan contains the text in Roman script, an introductory essay, English translation and notes. According to the learned author "the *Bhg* is a valuable aid for the understanding of the supreme ends of life." The importance and value of the Introductory Essay will be apparent from a bare mention of the topics dealt with: (1) Importance of the work, (2) Date and text, (3) Chief commentators, (4) Ultimate Reality, (5) Kṛṣṇa, the teacher, (6) The Status of the World and the Concept of Māyā, (7) The Individual Self, (8) Yoga-śāstra, (9) Jñāna or Saving Wisdom, (10) The Way of Knowledge: Jñāna-mārga, (11) The Way of Devotion: Bhakti-mārga, (12)

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The Way of Action: Karma-mārga, and (13) The Goal.²⁴⁸

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²⁴⁸ London, 1948.

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Among other translations of the *Bhagavadgītā*, may be included the metrical translation by A. W. Ryder,²⁴⁹ "Song of the Lord" with introduction and notes by E. J. Thomas,²⁵⁰ "The Gospel of the Lord Śrīkṛṣṇa"²⁵¹ by Purohit Swami, and "The Message of the Gītā as interpreted by Śrī Aurobindo"²⁵² by Anil Baran Roy, which besides the text and translation, gives copious notes, appendices, glossary and index. *Bhagavadgītā*, the Song of God is an English translation in prose and verse, which is not literal but interpretative, by Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood with an introduction by Aldous Huxley. All classical commentators have been taken into account.²⁵³ Bengali Baba has brought out the text and English translation of the *Bhg* with an introduction under the sub-title the *Solution of Life Problems*.²⁵⁴ There is a chart of terminology of the *Yogasūtra* showing the significance of the terms and establishing their identity with those of the Sāṅkhya, Brahmasūtra, *Bhg* and the Nyāyavaiśeṣika.

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²⁴⁹ Chicago, 1930.

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²⁵⁰ London, 1931.

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²⁵¹ London, 1935.

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²⁵² Bombay, 1938.

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²⁵³ Madras, 1945.

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²⁵⁴ Kapurthala, 1944.

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In his "*Bhagavadgītā*—A Fresh Study",²⁵⁵ D. D. Vadekar makes a plea for the historical study and interpretation of the Gītā. He criticises both Śaṃkara and Tilak. According to the author, the Gītā is a synthesis of Rāmānuja's Qualified Monism and Tilak's Activism. In continuation of his particular theories about Vedic gods, etc., V. G. Rele²⁵⁶ expounds the Gītā on the basis of psycho-philosophy and psycho-analysis. Aurobindo Ghose's "Essays on the Gita"²⁵⁷ present a new approach to the Gītā; the Gītā is interpreted not as a philosophical doctrine but as a practical guide to life, to the highest spiritual life—which is not a turning away from the world and its actualities, nor a pursuit of mere ethical or mentally motivated activities—which is rather a life here below of Actionless Action, of action held in God-consciousness. The distinguished author approaches the Gītā for help and light, and his aim is to distinguish its essential and living message which humanity requires for its perfection and highest spiritual welfare. The book will be of practical help on the spiritual path. Want of index is a serious desideratum in this valuable book. *Śrīmad-Bhagavadgītā*²⁵⁸ by Anil Baran Roy (in Bengali) is based on Aurobindo's philosophy and faithfully follows Aurobindo's thought. The introduction deals with the interpretation of classical commentators like Śaṃkara and Rāmānuja, and thinkers like Rāmakṛṣṇa and Tilak, and tries to show that the new standpoint is the best as it avoids their demerits and preserves all that is best in them. *Introduction to the Study of the Bhg*²⁵⁹ by R. Vasudeva Row considers, with pertinent passages about each topic in the text and translation, the following topics: Jagat, Vyavasāya, Upāsyavastu, Upāsanā, Upāsaka, Bhagavadgītāsvarūpa and Conclusion.

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²⁵⁵ Poona, 1928.

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²⁵⁶ *Bhagavadgītā*, Bombay, 1930.

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²⁵⁷ Calcutta. First Series, 1st Ed., 1922; 2nd Ed., 1926; 3rd Ed., 1937; Second Series, 1st Ed., 1928; 2nd Ed., 1942.

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²⁵⁸ Calcutta, 1941.

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²⁵⁹ Madras, 1946.

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Rudolf Otto published in 1934-35, three books on the Gītā dealing with the "Original Gītā."²⁶⁰ The main purpose of these books is to propound a theory of the composition of the Gītā, according to which, hardly any of it belongs to the primitive text, and the contents consist mainly of tracts emanating from writers of different schools and foisted on to the original work. The scheme is elaborated with much ingenuity. Otto finds three distinct strata in the Bhg, one in the original poem consisting of 133 verses, another in the doctrinal tracts, and a third in the additions and glosses that came to be inserted later on. Belvalkar has opposed Otto's contention, and has examined it critically, publishing the text as required by Otto's theory; his conclusion is that the Gītā in its present form, though not a unitary poem, has been transformed into a philosophical synthesis and does not, therefore, admit of any stratification now.²⁶¹ M. N. Sircar begins his Mysticism in Bhagavad Gītā²⁶² by stating that contrary to the divergence between knowledge and faith felt in Europe which is now melting away, thought, knowledge and faith are not in conflict in India, mysticism has its rightful place, and science has not been divorced from it. The central teaching of the Gītā, like that of the Upaniṣads, is confined to the Brahman, the Being, the conception of the transcendence and immanence. The teachings of the Gītā have been discussed under (1) the philosophic tendencies, (2) the descent of the soul, (3) the ascent of the soul, and (4) the spiritual fulfilment. The mystic ideal of the Gītā is stated to be the realisation of the Divine in its immanence and transcendence, the Divine in man and nature, and the Divine beyond and above them. There is no index to the book. Ethical Philosophy of the Gītā²⁶³ by P. N. Srinivasachari expounds the ethical aspect of the Bhg in the light of Viśiṣṭādvaita by adopting Western methods of critical enquiry. The ethical standpoint of the various schools of Indian thought has been examined in the light of western thought and a true valuation of the position of the Gītā has been made out. Diwan Chand's *Short Studies in Bhg*²⁶⁴ is a learned analysis and exposition of the work by a life-long student of Indian philosophy. In his *Bhg and Hindu Dharma* M. P. Chitale tries to explain the principles of Hindu religion and the essentials of religious practice and conduct as taught by the *Bhg*. The book is divided into two parts dealing respectively with the principles and practice of the Hindu religion.²⁶⁵ P. D. Gune's *Articles on Bhagavadgītā* deal with the message of the Gītā, the idea of personal god in the Gītā, the test as a protest against ritualism.²⁶⁶

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²⁶⁰ *Bhagavadgītā: Der Sang der Her-habenen* Stuttgart, 1935; *Die Urgestalt der Bhagavadgītā*. Tübingen, 1934; *Die Lehre-traktate der Bhagavadgītā*. Tübingen, 1935. English translation — *Original Bhagavadgītā — The Song of the Exalted One* — by J. E. Turner. London, 1939.

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²⁶¹ "Miscarriage of Attempted Stratification of the Bhg", JUB, V. pp. 63-133.

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²⁶² Calcutta, Madras, Bombay, 1929.

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²⁶³ Madras.

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²⁶⁴ Bombay, 1951.

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²⁶⁵ Poona, 1953.

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²⁶⁶ Poona, 1952. Gune's articles have been published in book form here.

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Turning now to the articles dealing with textual and interpretative aspects of the Gītā, we find that Charpentier's "Some Remarks on the Bhagavadgītā"²⁶⁷ consider the views of different scholars about the original shape of the *Bhg*; give three stanzas from ch. ii, which appear old and original to the author, with English translation; and place the earlier Gītā (ii-xi) somewhere about 200 B.C., and later (xii-xviii) after an interval of several centuries. Schrader thinks that *Bhg*. iii. 15 does not belong to the original Gītā, but is an interpolation.²⁶⁸ The idea of 'Yajña-cakra' being older than the *Bhg*, he tries to explain it on the supposition that it is genuine. In "Some Aspects of the *Bhg*.", S. K. De briefly discusses two points in relation to the *Bhg*, viz. its date, and the process of remodelling the work. As to the date, De admits the work as the earliest of all the existing works of devotional character, as it furnishes one of the earliest landmarks in the history of the Indian doctrine of religious devotion. As to the process of the remodelling of the work, De is of opinion that the Gītā suffered from occasional interpretation or that it existed in different recensions; but to maintain that the work is a poor patch-work or to deny that it is a powerful synthetic expression of a particular trend of religious thought is to miss the essential significance of the poem, as well as to go directly against the testimony of Indian tradition which has always attempted, even from different points of view, a synthetic interpretation of the poem as a whole.268a In "The Bhāgavata Purāṇa and the Bhagavadgītā,"269 Raghavan investigates the question whether the author of the Bhāgavata-P. knew the Kashmiri-an recension of the Bhg. and concludes that he knew only the vulgate text of the Bhg. From the parallelisms in words and ideas culled from the Bhg. and the Yogavāsiṣṭha, Raghavan proves that the Yogavāsiṣṭha used a text of the Bhg which was a mix up of the Kashmiri-an recension and the vulgate.²⁷⁰ According to H. G. Narahari, 271 the Samādhilakṣaṇa forming part of the Sūtasamhitā of the Skanda Purāṇa is indebted to the Bhg for its contents, and many verses are obviously imitations of the statements contained in the Bhg. B. N. Krishnamurti Sarma has criticised Rajavade's article on the "Grammar of the Gītā" according to which the Gītā cannot be regarded as one of the best poems of the world.²⁷² Gode has cited quotations from the Bhg in pre-Śaṅkara Jaina sources²⁷³ like the Padmapurāṇa, Śāstravārtāsamuccaya and Lokatattvanirṇaya, in the hope that they may be helpful in clarification of the problem whether there existed different recensions of the Gītā before Śaṅkara. Other articles by Gode on the Gītā include "Comparisons in the Bhg,"273a "Psychology of emotions as represented in Bhg,"273b and "the Bhakti-sūtras of Nārada and Bhg"273c which is a study in parallelism of thought and expression. In "Bhg and Jain Literature", Raghavan cites examples of the influence of the Gītā on Jain literature, in the writings of Amaracandra, Umāsvāti, Śubhacandra, Kundakunda and Yogindu.273d

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²⁶⁷ IA, 1930, pp. 46-50; 77-80; 101-105; 121-126.

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²⁶⁸ IHQ, V, pp. 173-181; 790-791.

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268a IC, IX, pp. 31-35.

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²⁶⁹ JOR, XII, pp. 71-72.

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²⁷⁰ Ibid, pp. 73-82; 161-163.

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²⁷¹ ABORI, XXI, pp. 100-105.

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²⁷² ABORI, XI, pp. 284-299; cf. also Rajawade, "Grammar of the Gītā", Bhandarkar Comm. Vol., pp. 325-38.

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²⁷³ ABORI, XX, pp. 188-194.

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273a ABORI, II, pp. 135-142.

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273b QJMS, 1924.

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273c ABORI, IV, pp. 63-95.

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273d BV, X, pp. 80-87.

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Articles by Schrader and B. N. K. Sarma on ancient Gītā commentaries²⁷⁴ refer to one Bhāskara mentioned by Abhinavagupta, whom Sarma equates with a Vedāntin Bhāskara, a contemporary of Śaṅkara, and Schrader with Bhāskara Bhaṭṭa, author of Śaivasūtravārttika, a Kashmirian Śaivite contemporary of Abhinavagupta.

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²⁷⁴ IHQ, IX, pp. 663-677; X, pp. 348-357; XI, pp. 188-196.

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In his "Sādhanā of the Bhagavadgītā",²⁷⁵ S. K. Maitra gives a compendious analysis of the Bhg viewed as a practical scripture illuminating the paths of spiritual realization. Matilal Das deals with the psychological and ethical techings of the Gītā.²⁷⁶ D. S. Sarma points out, by quotations and comparisons, resemblances in ideas and expression between Upaniṣadic verses and the Bhg; and this is already recorded in sarvopaniṣado gāvo indicating Upaniṣads as "one of the sources of the Bhg".²⁷⁷ A. N. Ray shows that Kṛṣṇa was the great religious teacher who brought about a Sāṃkhya-Yoga-Vedānta synthesis, the harmonising of non-Brahmanical and Brahmanical philosophies.²⁷⁸

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²⁷⁵ VK, XXVII, pp. 164-172; 220-229.

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²⁷⁶ CR, 82, pp. 246 ff.

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²⁷⁷ JOR, III, i.

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²⁷⁸ "Śrīkṛṣṇa and the Source of the Bhagavadgītā", IHQ, IX, pp. 188-196.

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T. M. P. Mahadevan has tried to interpret the teaching of the Gītā consistently with the doctrine of non-violence in his "Is Gītā a Gospel of War?"²⁷⁹ The same author in his *Two-fold Path in the Gītā*²⁸⁰ gives an elucidation of the main theme of Śaṅkara's view-point that the Gītā teaches two separate paths to two separate kinds of persons and does not advocate the combination of Jñāna and Karma simultaneously in one and the same person. *Musings on the Bhagavadgītā*²⁸¹ by Nehal Chand Vaish gives an exposition of the Gītā according to the author's own experience in life; the reader is asked to appreciate the teaching of the Gītā according to his own experience in life. V. G. Bhat's *The Bhagavadgītā: A Study*²⁸² deals with the Gītā in its relation to Hindu philosophy and religion, its position within the Mbh, etc., and tries to prove that it is mainly a harmonious work. Swami Suddhananda draws attention to worklessness through work, doctrine of Karma Yoga, divine incarnation, resignation to divine will, etc., as "The Teachings of the Bhagavadgītā."²⁸³ Reference is made to the conception of God in the Bhg and the method of His true worship which is said to be self-surrendering in the "Commonsense Religion in the Bhagavadgītā."²⁸⁴

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²⁷⁹ Phil. Qtly, XVII, July 1941.

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²⁸⁰ Madras, 1940.

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²⁸¹ Allahabad, 1931.

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²⁸² Dharwar, 1924.

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²⁸³ Cult. Her., I, pp. 118-125.

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²⁸⁴ Cult. Her., I, pp. 136-145.

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Munshiji's reverence and love for Śrī Kṛṣṇa and the Bhg are well known and he has been popularising the teachings of the Bhg and spreading Śrī Kṛṣṇa's message by various means. His "Experiential Approach to the Gītā" deals with many aspects of the message of the Gītā. Creative resistance, becoming, surrender to God, truth as *svadharma*, breaking the bonds, silence and solitude, are the various topics elaborately considered, well documented from the *Bhg* and the *Yogasūtras*.²⁸⁵ *Bhagavadgītā and Modern Life*²⁸⁶ consists of seven lectures which Munshiji delivered in the Gita Vidyalaya of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan during 1944-45 and 1945-46. The following are the topics discussed: (1) Place and meaning of the Gītā, (2) Therefore do thou resist, O! Arjuna, (3) The Unity which is Yoga, (4) Svabhāva — the Basis of Perfection, (5) Cāturvarṇya — its Ideal and Practice, (6) Yoga is Perfection in Action, and (7) Brahmacarya—Sublimation of the Sex Urge. Munshiji rightly points out that the Gītā, the pre-eminent scripture, being a universal gospel, is an intensely human document, a guide for every human situation. That knowledge, action and devotion are not alternative pathways, but have to be fused into a dynamic unity has been best illustrated by the lives of Śaṅkara and Kant, Calvin and Dayānanda, and Caitanya and St. Augustine, in whom predominated respectively knowledge, action and devotion. In Marcus Aurelius, a European Janaka Videhi, were beautifully mixed all the three elements. Bacon, Napoleon and Hitler are instances of lives wasted for lack of such fusion. Ananta Kṛṣṇa Śāstrī in his Sanskrit work shows how each of the Darśanas finds its doctrines advocated by the Gītā.²⁸⁷ In the *Art of Life in the Bhagavadgītā*,²⁸⁸ H. V. Divatia has described in ten chapters the psychology, epistemology, cosmology, metaphysics and ethics of the Gītā, and discussed in the concluding chapter how far modern science confirms the teachings of the philosophy of life behind the Gītā.

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²⁸⁵ BV, III, pp. 1-20.

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²⁸⁶ Bombay, 1947.

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²⁸⁷ Bombay, 1944.

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²⁸⁸ Bombay, 1951.

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D. S. Sarma has made an intensive study of the *Bhg* and its philosophy, and has striven hard to make the Gītā popular among the younger generation. He propounds that eternal truth postulates immeasurable love and that truth is founded on the throne of love. Sarma's expositions in his *Lectures on the Bhagavadgītā*,²⁸⁹ which contain six lectures, an English translation and three appendices, are not only scholarly, but also lucid and simple. He has also brought out a Students' Edition of the *Bhagavadgītā*.²⁹⁰ Sri Krishna Prem in his "*Yoga of Bhagavadgītā*,"²⁹¹ gives a practical insight into the perfect yoga of the *Gītā* which, according to the author, is not an intellectual formation, but the mighty synthesis of the partial spheres of the different yogas integrating every aspect of the divine nature of all beings. P. Narasimham²⁹² makes the *Gītā* present his own philosophy of Brahman in which the life we owe to Brahman will not be something that needs escape and in which Mukti will not be for a select few only, but for the whole universe; besides, he deals with interpolations, characters in the epic, form of the epic, etc. Thadani has followed his *Mystery of the Mahābhārata by the Bhagavadgītā*²⁹³ in which he holds that the *Gītā* is a logical step showing a progression of ideas from Sāṃkhya to Vedānta through Nyāya, Vaiśeṣika and Yoga, thus trying to correlate the different systems of philosophy and place them in a logical order. M. G. Mainkar's *Gītā-Bhāṣya-Prakāśa*²⁹⁴ is a critical study of the Śaṅkara Bhāṣya on the *Bhg* and examines Śaṅkara's comments on important doctrinal passages of the *Gītā* from a comparative view of other important commentaries.

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²⁸⁹ Rajahmundry, 1937.

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²⁹⁰ Madras, 1930.

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²⁹¹ London, 1938.

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²⁹² *Gītā: A Critique*, Madras, 1939.

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²⁹³ Karachi, 1936.

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²⁹⁴ Sangli, 1951.

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Kirfel's *Verse Index to the Bhagavadgītā*²⁹⁵ is an alphabetical pāda index of the *Gītā* based on the vulgate text noting also the variations of the Ānandā- śrama edition and Schrader. Fifty-four pādas appear twice or repeatedly; according to Kirfel, "the majority of these repetitions is certainly without importance, but some seem to be the last traces of former joints of text". P. C. Divanji has divided his Critical Word-Index to the Bhg²⁹⁶ into three parts, viz. (1) Primary word-units, (2) Secondary word-units, and (3) Consolidated Index of Primary and Subsidiary word-units or Common Basic forms. Each part is further sub-divided into sections and sub-sections. Thus, Section A of Part 1 contains vulgate with variants numbering 3865 entries; section B is Kashmir recension numbering 426; and Section C is List of New words in Section B. Besides, there are three Appendices dealing with Critical Apparatus of Sections A and B, and Addenda to Section B. Section A of Part II has two sub-sections, (a) Vulgate with variants recording 1102 entries, and (b) Kashmir recension, 2037 entries; Section B, Tertiary word-units has 296 entries for section (a) and 62 for sub-section (b); while Section C, Quarternary Word-units has 196 for (a) vulgate, and 24 for (b) Kashmir. Part 3 has also Sections A and B with the usual sub-sections, the entries being respectively 1443 and 238. In Śrīmad-Bhagavadgītā Laghukoṣa²⁹⁷ (A Concise Dictionary of the Bhg) L. R. Gokhale first reproduces the text with padaccheda of each Śloka and then comes the dictionary. The dictionary gives the grammatical characteristics of each word, cross-reference to connected words, its explanations by Śaṅkara and his followers in the commentaries, its occurrence in different places in the text, and its meaning in Marāṭhī, English and Hindi. In the proposed Bṛhat-koṣa, an encyclopaedia and concordance of the Gītā, the same author intended to bring in commentaries of all schools of thought and to explain different shades of meanings by comparison of pre-Gītā, contemporary and post-Gītā literature. The invaluable help rendered by such tools to scholars and research workers can never be overestimated.

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²⁹⁵ Leipzig, 1938.

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²⁹⁶ Bombay, 1947.

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²⁹⁷ Poona, 1944.

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An ambitious work dealing with the interpretations of the Bhagavadgītā, in several volumes, has been projected by S. C. Roy, of which Book I: The Bhagavadgītā and Modern Scholarship was published, from London, in 1941. This is the first attempt at a comprehensive and systematic review of the result of researches on the Gītā and the Epic Mbh, made during the last three quarters of a century by such competent scholars of the West as Max Müller, Hopkins, Barth, Wilhelm von Humboldt, Weber, Holtzmann, Dahlmann, Schröder, Deussen, Garbe, Winternitz, Macnicol and others as well as by eminent Indian scholars like Bhandarkar, Bankimchandra, Telang, Tilak, Subba Rao, Vaidya and others. According to the author, from the dispassionate and disinterested point of view the Gītā may be really regarded as the gospel of love and peace and good will among the nations and races of mankind, as the one scripture of the union of the East and the West, as the cementing bond or the golden link, that holds together and synthesizes the finest and noblest elements of Indo-British culture and Euro-Asian civilization, a consummation towards which the whole creation seems to be moving. The author's main conclusions are: (i) The text of the Gītā has remained substantially unaltered in spite of numberless interpolations that have taken place in other portions of the Great Epic; (ii) the Gītā is naturally linked both by language and by thought with the thoughts of the Upaniṣads and has always been associated by the Indian tradition more with the Vedānta philosophy than with the Sāṅkhya-Yoga; (iii) Garbe's theory of interpolation in the Gītā is entirely without foundation; (iv) the Kṛṣṇa of the Gītā is not the same historical or mythical person who is deified in the Vaiṣṇava scriptures like the *Harivaṃśa*, the *Bhāgavata Purāṇa* and the *Viṣṇu Purāṇa*; nor are the teachings of the *Gītā* the same as those of the Nārāyaṇīya section of the Mokṣadharma of the Great Epic; (v) the *Gītā* was not written by a sectarian poet for a particular sect, but is meant to be and has always been a sacred code of devotion, philosophical insight, and moral and religious culture, universally accepted by all seekers after God, irrespective of caste, creed and colour; (vi) a few verses here and there betray a foreign origin and may have been added by interested sectarian writers and these seem to have found entrance into this popular scripture along with other interpolations; (vii) the *Gītā*, in its original form, was an Upaniṣadic treatise, independent of the Epic *Mbh*, and was later on incorporated into the Epic along with other didactic episodes; (viii) the object of the poet of the *Gītā* was to teach humanity the sublime art of self-control and self-conquest in the midst of trials and temptations of the world, and to encourage the human soul in fighting its battles in spiritual life; (ix) Kṛṣṇa is not the central figure of the *Mbh* in its extant form, nor was he the inspiring deity for the author of the original *Bhārata*. The Epic, as well as the *Gītā* in its original form, was neither Kṛṣṇaite nor Viṣṇuite; (x) the *Gītā* was a much earlier work than the *Bhāgavata* episode in the Mokṣadharma, and also much older than the *Anugītā*; (xi) the *Gītā* was composed by a Ṛṣi of the Upaniṣadic age, a poet-philosopher who was a Reformer of the religious and social life of the contemporary Vedic Aryan as well as non-Vedic and non-Aryan people.297a

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297a The *Bhg* and its Background. Part I: The Poet of the Gītā and his environments by S. C. Roy was published in 1944.

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In "the Original Gītā,"²⁹⁸ T. M. P. Mahadevan examines several attempts at stratification of the *Bhg* including Otto's *Original Gītā*, and correctly states that unless clear and unmistakable evidences are forthcoming, there is no justification for regarding any verse of the *Gītā* as an interpolation. After considering the views of foreign scholars as to the homogeneity of the *Gītā*, P. C. Divanji in his paper entitled "Was there an original shorter *Gītā*?" concludes that the *Gītā* in its present form is a planned work of one author.²⁹⁹ In another article P. C. Divanji states that the *Bhg* was composed by Vyāsa (or Veda Vyāsa) in its original form and gives 1150 B.C. as his date.³⁰⁰ Belvalkar explains the exact import of *Cāturvarṇya*³⁰¹ in *Bhg*, IV. 13, and the position and purpose of *Bhg*, VII. 7-11 in "Two Mishandled Passages from the *Bhg*". He further shows that there is no trichotomy (karma, bhakti and jñāna) of the pathways to salvation, but only a triune-unity of them in a paper "*Bhg*: Trichotomy versus Triune-Unity".³⁰² "*Abhijñānaśākuntala* and the *Bhg*"³⁰³ by Belvalkar considers whether Kālidāsa knew the *Bhg* and was influenced by its teaching. It is found that in *Ṛtusaṃhāra* and *Meghadūta* there is no indication that Kālidāsa studied the *Bhg*, and one is not certain about *Mālavikāgnimitra* and *Vikramorvaśīya*. Parallel passages are, however, seen in the *Kumārasambhava*, *Raghuvaṃśa* and *Abhijñānaśākuntala*. After dealing with the central ethical lesson of the *Śākuntala*, it is stated in conclusion that the *Abhijñānaśākuntala* can be fittingly described as the dramatisation of the central teaching of the *Bhg*. P. M. Modi has discussed the central teaching of the *Bhg* and the mutual relation of its different adhyāyas in "*Bhg*: Its teaching and the harmony of its adhyāyas."304 He believes that the central teaching of the Gītā is its teaching about the Yoga, i.e. "Disinterested Action" (*yogaḥ karmasu kauśalam*) or in other words "Equanimity" (*Samatvam yoga ucyate*). In commenting on "Bhg XVI.8"305 R. D. Karmarkar tries to show that the views disapprovingly referred to in *asatyamapratiṣṭhaṃ te* etc. point to the Buddhist doctrines. "Gītā as a Poem" by D. T. Tatacharya contains discussion on the grammatical significance of particular expressions in the first chapter of the Bhg.³⁰⁶ According to S. K. Dikshit the non-mention of the doctrine of karmayoga in the available works of Megasthenes does not preclude the probability of his being aware of the Gītā and its tenets.³⁰⁷

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²⁹⁸ Hiriyanna Comm. Vol., pp. 101-108.

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²⁹⁹ Potdar Comm. Vol., pp. 127-153.

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³⁰⁰ "Authorship and Date of the *Bhg*", Siddha Bhārati, II, pp. 151-156.

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³⁰¹ Hiriyanna Comm. Vol., pp. 1-11.

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³⁰² Karmarkar Comm. Vol., pp. 1-6.

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³⁰³ Raja Comm. Vol., pp. 48-54.

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³⁰⁶ JSVOI, XI, i.

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³⁰⁷ "Was the Bhg Known to Megasthenes?", ABORI, XXX, pp. 298-315.

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Swami Nikhilananda has written on the "Practical Teaching of the Bhg",³⁰⁸ while Subodh Chandra Mukherjee deals with the "Message of the Gītā."309 B. S. Agnihotri tries to show that the Bhg mainly aims at the exposition of Buddhiyoga.³¹⁰ "The Nature of Yoga in the Bhg and Pātañjala Yoga Sūtras" by S. N. L. Srivastava concludes that apart from the question of the author of the Bhg knowing or not knowing the system of Patañjali, there is an essential similarity between the Yoga of Bhg and the Yoga of Yogasūtras so far as their methods and aims are concerned.³¹¹ K. V. Nilameghacharya seeks to prove that the Nārāyaṇīya section is not an interpolation in the Mbh. It agrees with the tenets, and supports the authority, of the Pāñcarātras.³¹²

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³⁰⁴ Dhruva Comm. Vol., III, pp. 51-56.

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³⁰⁵ ABORI, XXXI, pp. 132-137.

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³⁰⁸ PB, July 1952.

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³⁰⁹ JBHU, VIII, Nos. 2-3.

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³¹⁰ JUB, XX, ii, Sept. 1951.

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³¹¹ PB, XLIV, pp. 503-507.

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³¹² JSVOI, IV, i.

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Belvalkar gives a fresh interpretation of Yajña-cakra mentioned in *Bhg*, III.14-15.³¹³ "Evolution of the Monotheistic Conception in the *Bhg*" by M. Yamunacharya quotes verses in the Gītā to show how the one-God idea has developed in the work by gradually assimilating into it the polytheism and animistic tendencies that were in circulation.³¹⁴ S. K. Maitra's "Idea of Conflict in the *Bhg*" states that every chapter of the Gītā presents us with a problem of Conflict. It is shown how the idea of conflict, which is a germinal idea in the *Bhg*, develops and what different forms it assumes as we proceed from one chapter to another.³¹⁵ In "Cosmic Significance of Karma in the *Bhg*"316 Maitra further points out that the object of the *Bhg* is to show that ethical questions cannot be solved without reference to the metaphysical question relating to the ultimate nature of God and His relation to the Universe. His "Conception of Freedom in the *Bhg*"317 ascertains what human freedom means and enquires what its place is in the *Bhg*. G. V. Devasthali has contributed a few important and interesting papers on the *Bhg*. In "Karma in the *Bhg*",³¹⁸ he sets forth the views of *Bhg* on Karma in the words of the *Bhg* as far as possible. The conclusion is that while recognising the due importance of the Vedas, the *Bhg* would assert that they fall short of the final goal or the *summum bonum* which can be attained by reaching a level above them and attaining Yoga or Jñāna or Bhakti;

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while its teaching on Karma can be very well summarised in one of its own verses *Karmaṇyevādhikāraste*. In "*Summum Bonum* in the *Bhg*,³¹⁹ Devasthali states that the *Bhg* idea of *Svarga* is widely different from the *Upaniṣadic* conception of *Svarga*. The *Bhg* deals with the *summum bonum* positively as well as negatively. Negatively it consists in the removal or destruction of sin, bondage of *Karma*, old age and death, transmigration. In both its aspects of abstract and concrete on the positive side it consists of being one with the ultimate unity behind the diversity. This unity abstractly conceived is *brahman*, while in its concrete aspect it is *para* or *parama puruṣa*, sometimes identified with Lord Kṛṣṇa. The ultimate result in either case is eternal happiness untouched by *mātrās*, cessation of transmigration and attainment of an unfluttering steadiness, equanimity and quietude of mind and *buddhi*. It can be attained by several means such as *karma*, *jñāna*, *yoga*, *bhakti*, etc., though the last is often declared to be the best as being the easiest. "Perfect Man in the *Bhg*" (in Marathi)³²⁰ by Devasthali deals with the characteristics of *sthitaprajña*, *yogārūḍha*, *bhakta*, *guṇātīta* and *siddha* or *siddhiṃ prāptaḥ* as given in the *Bhg* as also according to western philosophers.

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In "Renunciation in the *Bhg*" Devasthali concludes that *saṃnyāsa*, according to the *Bhg*, "is the abandonment, not of activity, but of *rāga*, *dveṣa*, and *karma-phalāsaṅga*. . . . And it is through this *Saṃnyāsa* that one attains the perfection of *naiṣkarmya* and also the final beatitude or *mokṣa* or union with God."³²¹ In yet another article on "Bhakti in the *Bhg*" Devasthali states that the soft corner of the author of the *Bhg* for *Bhaktimārga* suggests that in his view the best way to attain perfection is to begin not along the lines of *jñāna* or *karman* but along that of bhakti by resigning every act to the Lord.³²² "Ethics of the *Bhg*" is dealt with by Ratna Shivaram.³²³ C. Kunhan Raja's "*Bhg* and the Mīmāṃsā" shows that the Gītā truly reflects the view of Karma as held by the Mīmāṃsā school of thinkers and there is no doctrinal conflict between the two views.³²⁴ While dealing with "Karmayoga Tradition",³²⁵ P. C. Divanji states that the tradition of the origin and transmission of the Karmayoga doctrine amongst the Kṣatriyas as referred to in the *Bhg* has the corroboration from Purāṇic and Vedic literature. The tradition had become interrupted some time before 1500 B.C. Some Kṣatriya princes, therefore, had to take instructions from Brāhmaṇa sages in later ages. Another article by Divanji deals with "*Bhg* and Sāṅkhya Philosophy."³²⁶ B. N. K.

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Sarma has discussed in detail the "Trend of the *Bhg*",³²⁷ the paper being concerned with the exposition of one aspect of its philosophy in relation to its metaphysical theory of God and the world of matter and souls. With regard to "Śaṅkara and the Mokṣa Passages in the *Bhg*", M. G. Mainkar³²⁸ shows that Śaṅkara interprets devotion which *Bhg* considers as a means to liberation as knowledge; as regards the nature of the release and the means to it, Śaṅkara takes ample liberties with the text; he reads his doctrine in a plain text, whereas Rāmānuja is more faithful to the text.

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³¹³ "Yajñacakrapravartanam", Dhruva Comm. Vol., III, pp. 45-50.

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³¹⁴ QJMS, XXXV, No. 3, Jan. 1945.

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³¹⁵ Ranganwami Comm. Vol., pp. 517-538.

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³¹⁶ PB, XLIV, pp. 60-71.

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³¹⁷ Ibid, pp. 430-439.

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³¹⁸ Potdar Comm. Vol., pp. 243-252.

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³¹⁹ BV, XIV, pp. 10-19.

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³²⁰ Kevalānanda Abhinandana Grantha, pp. 57-69.

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³²¹ BV, XII, pp. 144-48.

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³²² Siddha-Bhāratī, II, pp. 29-35. "Sāṅkhya in the *Bhg*" by Devasthali is to appear in the forthcoming number of the Poona University Journal.

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³²³ Brahmavidyā, X, i.

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³²⁴ Ibid.

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³²⁵ JOI, I, pp. 329-337.

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³²⁶ JGJRI, VIII, Nos. 2-4.

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³²⁷ Karmarkar Comm. Vol., pp. 179-195.

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³²⁸ Ibid, pp. 101-105.

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While considering the "Philosophy of the Gītā—Does it make a Darśana?", P. M. Modi states that no system of philosophy has been taught in the Gītā, though philosophical doctrines are sometimes referred to in the Gītā in support of its main teaching of Yoga or "disinterested action."³²⁹ In another article, P. M. Modi shows that each adhyāya of the Bhg is a unit by itself.³³⁰ Mohan Singh has written a series of articles on the Brahman in the Bhg.³³¹ The question why a man resorts to the wrong path even though he knows the right one is discussed in the light of the teachings of the Bhg by Jaidev Singh in the "problem of Incontinence in the Bhg."³³² D. S. Sarma traces "the path of Yoga in the Gītā" from its beginning in the awakening of Buddhi to its culmination in Jñāna.³³³ In "The Role of the Gītā in Life, or Doctrines of the Gītā as Basis of Social Reconstruction", K. R. Potdar states that the Gītā takes a rationalistic view of all problems and also lays stress on the philosophical and devotional aspects of human life. It lays down a very rational and hence a very sensible basis for the division of society, and its criterion of individual ability has certainly an instructive lesson for the world-society of our times with its artificial division of classes based on material prosperity. Finally it is observed that socialization and spiritualization of the conception of sacrifice especially in view of the dynamic aspect of life the Gītā visualises; its rational explanation of the theory of four castes with an attempt to equalise the importance of the different individuals in society in view of their duties, its conception of a hierarchy of intellectuals in society especially for the purpose of the guidance of the common people in society; and on the whole the fire-test of intellectual examination of all the doctrines of individual as well as social importance: these are the principles that deserve to become the basis of social reconstruction of any period.333a

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³²⁹ JUB, XIX, September 1950.

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³³⁰ BV, XI, pp. 85-94.

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³³¹ VK, Jan. Feb. Mar. 1952.

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³³² JGJRI, VIII, Nos. 2-4.

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³³³ Cult. Her. Second Ed., III, pp. 400-423.

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333a BV, X, pp. 347-382.

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V. B. Athavale has traced the sources of certain verses and ideals as also names of prominent personages found in the *Bhg* to the Ṛgvedic texts.³³⁴ In the "*Bhg* and the Upaniṣads",³³⁵ Devasthali ascertains the nature of the close relation between *Bhg* and the Upaniṣads from a consideration of parallel passages, parallelism of ideas such as *aśvattha*, two paths, creation and absorption of beings, the importance attached to *yajña*, *tapas* and *dāna*, restrictions on the imparting of occult knowledge, etc. The conclusion is that the *Bhg* does not merely borrow its ideas from the Upaniṣads, but utilises them for the purposes of its own teaching marking a distinct advance over the Upaniṣads in several cases. *Bhg* also gives new ideas hardly found in the Upaniṣads. P. V. Bapat has shown that Dhammapāla in Ch. 17 (p. 693, Bur. Ed. of Muṇḍayana Press) echoes *Bhg*, II. 2 without mentioning it.³³⁶ In "*Bhg* and Aṣṭādhyāyī" P. C. Divanji states that the Aṣṭādhyāyī furnishes proof of Pāṇini's acquaintance with the original *Mbh* of Veda Vyāsa with the *Bhg* forming its part.³³⁷ K. C. Varadachari has written on the "*Bhg* and the Kaṭhopaniṣad",³³⁸ and Akshaya Kumar Banerjee on "Gītā and Yoga-Vāsiṣṭha".³³⁹ G. H. Bhatt takes a survey of the "Literature on the Gītā in the Śuddhādvaita School".³⁴⁰ I. J. S. Taraporewala has written on "*Bhg* and the Gāthās of Zarathustra."³⁴¹

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