A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion, Geography, History, and Literature c5.232

c5.232

BHAGAVAD-GĪTĀ. ‘The song of the Divine One.’ A celebrated episode of the Mahā-bhārata, in the form of a metrical dialogue, in which the divine Krishna is the chief speaker, and expounds to Arjuna his philosophical doctrines. The author of the work is unknown, but he “was probably a Brāhman, and nominally a Vaishnava, but really a philosopher and thinker, whose mind was cast in a broad mould.” This poem has been interpolated in the Mahā-bhārata, for it is of much later date than the body of that epic; it is later also than the six Darsanas or philosophical schools, for it has received inspiration from them all, especially from the Sānkhya, Yoga, and Vedānta. The second or third century A.D. has been proposed as the probable time of its appearance. Krishna, as a god, is a manifestation of Vishnu; but in this song, and in other places, he is held to be the supreme being. As man, he was related to both the Pāndavas and the Kauravas, and in the great war between these two families he refused to take up arms on either side. But he consented to act as the Pāndava Arjuna’s charioteer. When the opposing hosts were drawn up in array against each other, Arjuna, touched with compunction for the approaching slaughter of kindred and friends, appeals to *Krishna* for guidance. This gives the occasion for the philosophical teaching. “The poem is divided into three sections, each containing six chapters, the philosophical teaching in each being somewhat distinct,” but “undoubtedly the main design of the poem, the sentiments expressed in which have exerted a powerful influence throughout India for the last 1600 years, is to inculcate the doctrine of Bhakti (faith), and to exalt the duties of caste above all other obligations, including those of friendship and kindred.” So Arjuna is told to do his duty as a soldier without heeding the slaughter of friends. “In the second division of the poem the Pantheistic doctrines of the Vedānta are more directly inculcated than in the other sections. *Krishna* here, in the plainest language, claims adoration as one with the great universal spirit pervading and constituting the universe.” The language of this poem is exceedingly beautiful, and its tone and sentiment of a very lofty character, so that they have a striking effect even in the prose translation. It was one of the earliest Sanskrit works translated into English by Wilkins; but a much more perfect translation, with an excellent introduction, has since been published by Mr. J. Cockburn Thompson, from which much of the above has been borrowed. There are several other translations in French, German, &c.