‘A true votary of Gita does not know what disappointment is. He ever dwells in perennial joy and peace that passeth understanding.’—Mahatma Gandhi
The Bhagavad Gita, a scintillating jewel embedded in the great Sanskrit epic Mahabharata, is a dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna set against the background of war. At the beginning of the poem, we learn that there is going to be a great war for the rule of a kingdom. On the battlefield, with armies of the Kuru clan ranged against each other, Arjuna and Krishna explore the necessity of war and the nature of the human soul.
The eighteen chapters of the Bhagavad Gita encompass the whole spiritual struggle of a human soul, and the central themes of this immortal poem arise from the symphonic vision of God in all things and of all things in God.
Juan Mascaro’s illuminating translation conveys the essence of the original Sanskrit in pure, poetic English.