Srimad Bhagavadgita

Introduction

Bhagavadgita, the Song Celestial, is a nectarine poetical dialogue in which Bhagavan Sri Krishna, Jagadguru (the Universal Teacher), imparted knowledge of the Self and various other philosophical doctrines to Arjuna 5127 years ago as of today. Kurukshetra, the battlefield, is the setting and Bharat (India) is the platform for the universal message of this divine discourse of eternal relevance, handed down for the well-being of humanity—transcending nation, time, caste, age, gender, and social divisions, even before organized religions came into existence.

Bhagavadgita, the summarized essence of the Upanishads, is a thriving philosophical treatise of 700 verses systematically divided into 18 chapters, each one expounding one specific philosophical doctrine described as a YOGA. It is an integral part of the great epic Mahabharatha and is embedded in chapters 25–42 of Bhishmaparva as a compact, independent text — and that is how it became extremely popular and venerable.

In our relentless struggle for existence, even in critical and challenging situations, Bhagavadgita extends comfort and courage. It indicates the right path and makes us tread on it. The enormous influence it exercises on a human being transformed it into a great moral and ethical force.

To tell us to do our allotted duty without fear or favour and with purity of mind, speech and body and dedicate the fruits thereof to God is its message of imperishable significance. All human beings, without any distinction of age, gender and creed, can read Bhagavadgita and live it to attain fulfillment in life.