20 Bhagavadgita

N. Siva Senani

Introduction to Bhagavadgita

Bhagavadgita is the Gīta, song, of Bhagavān, i.e. sung by God himself. Since it is a message conveyed by God himself, it is revered across India and beyond by the believers. Unlike Vedas – which are revealed scripture and not authored by any man, according to tradition – Bhagavadgita is much accessible to all. To study the Veda requires training in the six Vedangas – Siksha, Vyakarana, Chandas, Nirukta, Jyotisha and Kalpa – and long years spent in learning the Veda and then Sastras like Mimamsa; only after such a study is it possible to determine the meaning correctly and access the teaching of Veda. With Bhagavadgita, on the other hand, even a lay person can start reading it and understand it in his own way. Thus it is no surprise that the Bhagavadgita is the most celebrated text of India.

The Sanskrit in which Bhagavadgita is couched is not very difficult to understand. Still with passing time, as people started speaking local languages exclusively and then foreign tongues like Parsi and English, a need arose to translate the Gita into Indian and foreign languages. This translation project was much aided by the spread of printed books. As such the Bhagavadgita itself has been much translated, analysed and commented upon. One can safely say that it is the most translated Indian text and the most influential Indian text.

Bhagavadgita occurs in the sixth parvan, the Bhishmanparvan. As the war is about to start, Arjuna looks at brothers, teachers, elders, relatives and friends in the opposing army and starts getting doubts about the war. Arjuna wonders if the kingdom that would be achieved is worth achieving, as it involves killing respected elders, relatives and friends, now fighting for the Kauravas. He further sees it as a sin to kill all the opposing warriors, even if they are wicked. Arjuna is also aware that much blood would have to be shed on the side of Pandavas and correctly anticipates that at the end of the war, there would be very few left alive, notwithstanding who the victor would finally emerge as. Since almost all the Kshatriyas – at any rate, the worthy ones – of those times joined the great war, the entire Kshatriya varna would get wiped out after the war. Thinking thus, Arjuna does not want to fight the war and expresses his feelings to his charioteer, Sri Krishna. Then on the battlefield, Krishna teaches Arjuna Bhagavadgita. While Krishna is teaching the Gita, due to the Māya of the Lord, time is suspended and rest of the warriors do not perceive what is going on. Sanjaya, who has been granted divine sight by Veda Vyasa in order to relate the events of Mahabharata to Dhritarashtra, can however perceive everything. In fact it is Sanjaya who reveals the contents of Bhagavadgita, after ten days of war to Dhritarashtra, and thereby to the world, for the first time. As a result, the birthday of Gita, called Gitajayanti, is celebrated on Mārgaśīrṣa śuddha ekādaśī (the eleventh day of the bright fortnight of the month Margasirsha), the day Sanjaya reveals it to Dhritarashtra and not on the day that Sri Krishna preaches it to Arjuna. Thus the context of the Gita is that a learned man Arjuna gets doubts about what to do in a particular situation and turns to the Jagadguru, teacher to the entire world, Sri Krishna for guidance. Krishna in the course of answering Arjuna’s questions touches upon various spiritual ways and shows that whichever way one chooses, the ultimate decision is to discharge one’s duty with diligence, i.e. fight. Having listened to Sri Krishna, and having cleared all his doubts, Arjuna decides to fight and the war commences.

Contents of Bhagavadgita

The Bhagavadgita is spread over eighteen chapters, called Adhyāyas and is about 700 Slokas long. To be sure, there are slightly differing versions of the text with differences in both readings and the number of verses. The differences are minor and do not alter the character of the work. We have given 700 Slokas as the length of the text, based on the text adopted by one of the earliest commentators, Sankaracharya. The eighteen chapters are divided into three groups of six each called the Karmaṣaṭkam, Bhaktiṣaṭkam and the Jñānaṣaṭkam. The first six chapters deal with Karma (works), the next six with Bhakti (devotion) and the last six with Jñāna (knowledge). A brief description of the contents of each of the eighteen chapters is given below.

The structure of the text is such that as Sri Krishna explains one point, Arjuna has more questions and the Lord then answers them which beget further questions.

3. Message of Bhagavadgita

Gita was required because Arjuna did not want to fight. The central message of Gita, then, is that Arjuna has to fight. In fact 2.18, Sri Krishna says as much: युद्धस्वभारत(O descendant of Bharata, fight!). When extrapolated to the ordinary man, the message is that each one has to discharge his duty, Svadharma. Having first established the need to always do one’s Svadharma, the Gita repeatedly states that this should be done without a sense of agency (Kartṛtva) and without any attachment to, or expectation of, result. Such actions are called Niṣkāmakarma – action without a desire [for the result]. Sri Krishna asks that agency be given up because Īśvara (God, overlord of all) is omnipotent, omnipresent and is the driving force; such being the case, assuming agency for any action is simply ignorance. Sri Krishna spells out this concept in so many words to Arjuna, telling him that he is merely a Nimitta (11.33), an apparent cause, when it comes to the death of Drona, Bhishma, Jayadratha, Karna etc. who all are already killed by Bhagavan (11.34). This false attachment as agent (Kartā) and experiencer (Bhoktā) is the reason one is in Saṃsāra (the cycle of birth and death). That being the case, detachment is the secret to Moksha, liberation. Sri Krishna advices Arjuna, and all of humanity, to cut the tree called Samsara through the weapon called non-attachment: असङ्गेनशस्त्रेणदृढेनछित्वा (15.3). Bhagavan makes it very clear that doing Karma without expectation of results is better than not doing Karma. Thus the central message of Bhagavadgita is that one should act, discharge one’s Svadharma, but without attachment to notions of agency or experiencership and without expecting any results.

Another important message of Bhagavadgita is the distinction between Svadharma and Paradharma. The call to action is only with reference to Svadharma, not Paradharma. Svadharma is one’s own duty, whereas Paradharma is the duty of others. In the case of Arjuna, a Kshatriya, his Svadharma is to fight the war to set right the wrong being perpetuated by Duryodhana. For somebody other than a Kshatriya, war with all the violence and bloodshed is not good, for Ahiṃsā (non-violence) is a very important Sādharaṇadharma. However Arjuna needs to realize that Ahiṃsā etc. are Paradharma to him. This inability to distinguish between Svadharma and Paradharma, or rather the inability to appreciate that one is beholden only to discharge Svadharma is the root cause of Arjuna’s confusion. Bhagavan clearly states that death while doing Svadharma is better than being alive discharging Paradharma (3.35).

The Bhagavadgita also makes another distinction in Dharma – Pravṛttidharma, Dharma at the worldly plan based on one’s position and nature, and Nivṛttidharma, Dharma pertaining to liberation. Both are important, the latter more so; but whichever way Arjuna chooses to approach the present situation, the correct way forward is to act, to fight. In fact Niṣkāmakarma is nothing but Nivṛttidharma – the moment one gives up attachment to results, Karma does not stick to one and having exhausted the momentum of the Karma one starts with, one attains Moksha, liberation.

4. Bhagavadgita and Different Schools of Philosophy

There are mainly six schools, called Darśanas, of orthodox Indian thought, i.e. which accept Veda as a Pramāṇa, namely Sāṃkhya, Yoga, Nyāya, Vaiśeṣika, Mimāṃsā and Vedānta. While there is mutual acceptance of certain common tenets, in the main, the discourse of each school is focussed on establishment of their own tenets and rejection of those of others. In the Bhagavadgita, elements of all Darsanas are found presented as a unitary whole. Thus Sāṃkhya figures prominently in Gita but in a form not opposed to Vedanta. Similarly Dhyana – meditation – a concept which is central in Yoga occupies a very important place in Gita, on par with other Karma. Even as the Absolute is stressed, there is nothing against performance of sacrifices – in fact, one is urged to perform Yajñas and other rites prescribed by Veda, which combines the elements of Mimamsa and Vedanta.

Within Vedanta, there are multiple branches. Each of these branches gives a central place to Bhagavadgita in their system as can be seen from the balance amongst three routes to liberation mentioned in the Gita: Karma-, Bhakti- and Jñāna- routes. As seen by the three-fold division of the text, broadly there are three paths to liberation taught – that of Karma, Bhakti and Jnana. These three paths are neither mutually different nor mutually opposed. A person who has Bhakti or Jnana would continue to do Karma – but without desiring the result of Karma; a person doing Karma or having Jnana, is not bereft of Bhakti; Similarly, Bhakti or Karma foster Jnana of the Ultimate entity. One school of thought is that each leads to the next culminating in liberation: performing Karmas cleanses the intellect (achieves Cittasuddhi), which can then perceive the greatness of Isvara and make Isvara the object of all actions, i.e. Bhakti (devotion) is achieved; focusing exclusively on Isvara, one then realizes that there is no second entity other than Paramatman, i.e. Jnana (knowledge of the Noumenon) dawns. For other schools, one of the three becomes primary and others aid it. As far as the Bhagavadgita is concerned, Isvara is attainable through any of the three paths. What is also common, whichever interpretation one takes, is that Karma should never be given up, only the desire for result should be given up. In fact Arjuna asks this question: “O Krishna, you praise both the route of Karma (Karmayoga) and giving up Karmas (Karmasannyāsayoga); please clarify as to which is better” (5.1). Sri Krishna’s answer is that they are both identical, because giving up Karma does not mean giving up action, but it only refers to giving up the result of Karma.

The differences between various interpretations of Bhagavadgita are beyond the present scope, but one note of caution needs to be added. Though the various branches of Vedanta differ from each other in their interpretation of Bhagavadgita, each of the interpretations by itself is complete and is not self-contradictory. This is called Ekavākyatā. Though every person reads Bhagavadgita and understands it in his own way, achieving Ekavākyatā is not easy. Most literal translations focussing on the individual verse, sentence or word, often fail to achieve this unity of meaning. It requires years of reflection and mastery of other texts like the Upanishads and Brahmasutras to achieve Ekavākyatā in the interpretation of Bhagavadgita. Therefore to truly understand the purport of Gita, it is best to follow an interpretation of any particular school to start with and avoid literal or “free” interpretations.

5. Importance of Bhagavadgita

In this section, we will examine the important aspects which make Bhagavadgita such an important text. These are that it is the essence of Upanishads; it is part of the three texts central to Vedanta school; and that it is the most influential text of Indian Philosophy.

Bhagavadgita is called the Upaniṣadsāra, as it contains the essence of Upanishads, which themselves are a sort of the essence of the Vedas regarding the Ultimate Entity, Brahman. There is a difference, though. Upanishads are abstract and suggestive; whereas the Gita is explicit about the omniscience, omnipotence and omnipresence of Isvara and portrays it with graphic detail. The abstractness of Upanishads is replaced by a firm relation to the present (the Kauravas and heroes on Pandavas’ side are seen by Arjuna as entering the Paramātman, like so moths falling into fire, and dying). In other words, the Nirgunabrahman is shown as the entire Universe. In an age where the Vedas were not easily accessible, the “secret” and essence of these was presented to the lay man in Bhagavadgita, which makes it very important. Even today, Bhagavadgita remains much more accessible than the Vedas, while retaining their essence.

As stated earlier, there are mainly six orthodox schools of Indian philosophy. Of these, Vedanta has attained an overwhelming prominence over the last millennium and half, if not earlier, while incorporating elements of other schools. This happened even as other schools continue their development – for instance, Nyāya and Vaiśeṣika merged to form Navyanyāya about eight hundred years back and continued to evolve till modern times. This supplied a new and precise terminology to conduct philosophical discussions, which has been fully utilized by Vedanta. Books of Vedanta written in the last five hundred years usually use the Navyanyaya language. Within Vedanta, many sub-schools flourished, some of them being closely aligned with other non-Vedantic schools (example: Dvaitavedānta has many similarities with Nyāya). What is common to most, if not all, schools of Vendanta is that three texts are accorded very high importance, collectively called Prasthānatraya. These are: Vedas, but mainly the Upanishads Vedantasutras and Bhagavadgita

Vedas (Upanishads) contain the base material, the basis on which Vedanta tenets stand. The Vedantasutras or Brahmasutras are a critical exegesis of the Upanishads with focus on about 2,000 sentences from the Upanishads. Bhagavadgita is the practical aspect – the application of all this knowledge in a real life situation. The dilemma / confusion of Arjuna is common to everybody at different times in life; all knowledge is supposed to suggest a course of action – this is what Gita provides. Thus in the most prominent school of Indian philosophy, Bhagavadgita occupies a central place.

Here a note on the order of study is relevant. Till about a century ago, amongst the scholars the order of studying the three texts was that Upanishads would be studied first; then the critical discussion of their meaning is grasped by studying the Brahmasutras; only then was the Bhagavadgita studied, as its full meaning could be grasped only by someone well-versed in the other two texts. The newer Institutions start teaching Vedanta using the Bhagavadgita, using it as a portal to introduce the other two texts and consider relevant extracts in great detail. This has made the Bhagavadgita even more important because for most people, a formal introduction to Vedanta through Bhagavadgita is now available.

Gita is given the highest status both by the learned scholar and the layman alike and is studied in earnest. At one level, it is a most accessible text, while revealing the essence of Upanishads and other schools when dug deep. This has led to a situation where all thought leaders – whether in the domain of Spirituality or everyday affairs – have tried to interpret the Gita. We see that on one hand, all Vedantic philosophers wrote a commentary on Gita to establish their school. On the other hand, most leaders of India studied Gita and many published their interpretation. Example: Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Gandhiji, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, and APJ Abdul Kalam. Many popular authors publish their own interpretations. Huge number of others merely read it, along with a commentary and translation for their own peace of mind. Thus, Gita continues to influence the development of Indian thought

Summary

To conclude, we may state that the Bhagavadgita, a sacred text directly taught by Lord Sri Krishna, is the most influential text of Indian thought. While it teaches broadly three ways to liberation, that of Karma, Bhakti and Jnana, which are mutually non-contradictory, it answers one question: What to do in a crisis? The answer is that one should discharge one’s Svadharma without an act of agency or expectation of result.

Web Links

• https://www.gitasupersite.iitk.ac.in/ contains the text of Bhagavadgita with a number of commentaries and translations in Sanskrit, Hindi and English along with audio recording of the Slokas of Bhagavadgita
• http://www.mahabharata-resources.org/ contains the various resources related to Mahabharata, including links to the text with Nilakantha’s commentary, the Kumbakonam edition, the Southern recension by PPS Sastri, the critical edition, English translation of the entire text by Kisari Mohan Ganguli, various summaries and links to annotated bibliographies on the Mahabharata.

Bibliography

• Bhagavadgita   with Eleven  Commentaries,2vols.,ShastriGajananaShambhuSadhale,  ed. Bombay: Gujarati Printing Press, 1935.
• Srimadbhagavadgita(with  eight  commentaries).  WasudevLaxmanShastriPansikar. Bombay:NirnaySagar Press, 1936.