Bhagavad Gita (Arnold) · The Song Celestial, or Bhagavad-Gîtâ
Hinduism · Translated by Sir Edwin Arnold, 1885
The Song Celestial, or Bhagavad-Gîtâ
The Bhagavad Gita, the ‘Song of the Lord’, is a dialogue of some seven hundred Sanskrit verses set in the sixth book of the Mahabharata epic. On the field of Kurukshetra, as two related royal houses prepare for battle, the warrior Arjuna loses heart, and his charioteer Krishna, revealed as the supreme deity, instructs him in duty, knowledge, devotion and the disciplines of yoga. Probably composed between the second century BCE and the second century CE, it became one of the central scriptures of Hinduism, commented on by Shankara, Ramanuja and many later teachers. The poet and journalist Sir Edwin Arnold published this free English verse rendering, The Song Celestial, in 1885. He follows the eighteen chapters closely but leaves out a few verses he judged to be interpolations; his footnotes are not included here.
- 1. The Distress of Arjuna Arjun-Vishad8 v.
- 2. The Book of Doctrines Sankhya-Yog19 v.
- 3. Virtue in Work Karma-Yog6 v.
- 4. The Religion of Knowledge Jnana Yog5 v.
- 5. Religion of Renouncing Works Karmasanyasayog5 v.
- 6. Religion by Self-restraint Atmasanyamayog12 v.
- 7. Religion by Discernment Vijnanayog10 v.
- 8. Religion by Service of the Supreme Aksharaparabrahmayog11 v.
- 9. Religion by the Kingly Knowledge and the Kingly Mystery Rajavidyarajaguhyayog17 v.
- 10. Religion by the Heavenly Perfections Vibhuti Yog3 v.
- 11. The Manifesting of the One and Manifold Viswarupadarsanam49 v.
- 12. Religion of Faith Bhaktiyog4 v.
- 13. Religion by Separation of Matter and Spirit Kshetrakshetrajnavibhagayog11 v.
- 14. Religion by Separation from the Qualities Gunatrayavibhagayog11 v.
- 15. Religion by Attaining the Supreme Purushottamapraptiyog15 v.
- 16. The Separateness of the Divine and Undivine Daivasarasaupadwibhagayog7 v.
- 17. Religion by the Threefold Faith Sraddhatrayavibhagayog13 v.
- 18. Religion by Deliverance and Renunciation Mokshasanyasayog31 v.
Translated by Sir Edwin Arnold, 1885. Public domain (first published 1885; translator died 1904).