The Bhagavad Gītā — An Authoritative Overview
By Lokanath Mishra:
What it is (and where it sits)
• A 700-verse philosophical dialogue between Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna, set on the battlefield of Kurukṣetra just as the Mahābhārata war begins.
• Embedded in the Mahābhārata, Bhīṣma Parva (traditional vulgate: chs. 23–40).
• Framed by Arjuna’s moral crisis and Kṛṣṇa’s teaching that integrates karma (action), jñāna (knowledge), and bhakti (devotion) into a single path to liberation.
One-sentence thesis
Do your own duty (svadharma) as a sacred offering, with steady understanding and devotion to the Highest, relinquishing attachment to outcomes—this purifies the mind and culminates in liberation (mokṣa).
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Chapter-by-chapter précis (18 chapters)
1. Arjuna-viṣāda – Arjuna’s despair at fighting his kin; the ethical knot is posed.
2. Sāṅkhya/Yoga of Summary – Self (ātman) is unborn, undying; introduce sthita-prajña (steadfast sage) and niṣkāma-karma (desireless action).
3. Karma-yoga – Act without clinging to fruits; uphold loka-saṅgraha (welfare of the world).
4. Jñāna-karma-sannyāsa – Divine descents (4.7–8), the yajña vision of life, purifying knowledge.
5. Karma-sannyāsa – Renunciation as inner attitude; the calm of one who acts yet is untouched.
6. Dhyāna-yoga – Discipline of meditation; method, posture, diet, the restless mind, the yogin’s state.
7. Jñāna-vijñāna – God as the ground of all; devotion begins to take center stage.
8. Akṣara-Brahma – Dying with remembrance; the two paths (bright/dark).
9. Rāja-vidyā/Rāja-guhya – God immanent and transcendent; the heart of bhakti.
10. Vibhūti-yoga – Kṛṣṇa’s glories manifest in cosmos; devotion deepens through vision.
11. Viśvarūpa-darśana – The cosmic form; time as destroyer; Arjuna’s awe and surrender.
12. Bhakti-yoga – Qualities of the dearest devotee; personal devotion codified.
13. Kṣetra-Kṣetrajña – Field (body/nature) and knower of the field (Self/Lord).
14. Guṇa-traya-vibhāga – Sattva, rajas, tamas; how to transcend the guṇas.
15. Puruṣottama-yoga – The supreme person beyond perishable and imperishable.
16. Daivāsura-sampad – Divine vs demonic dispositions; ethical diagnostics.
17. Śraddhā-traya – Faith, food, worship, austerity in the three guṇas.
18. Mokṣa-sannyāsa – Final synthesis; true renunciation, duties by guṇa-karma, and the climactic call to surrender.
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Core doctrines (with anchor verses)
1) Nature of the Self (ātman)
• Unborn, undying, not slain when the body is slain (2.20); transmigration explained with the “changing clothes” image (2.22).
2) Niṣkāma-karma (disciplined action)
• “Your entitlement is to action alone, never to its fruits…” (2.47).
• Act for loka-saṅgraha—to keep the world in order (3.20–25).
• Sacrificial worldview (yajña): action offered up purifies (3.9).
3) God, avatāra, and grace
• Periodic divine descent to restore dharma (4.7–8).
• Entire cosmos pervaded and supported by the Lord (9.4–5).
• “I carry the yoga-kṣema (needs) of those who single-mindedly worship Me” (9.22).
4) Knowledge and meditation
• Twofold path: contemplative insight and selfless action (3.3; 5.4–5).
• Mind discipline; the median way in food, sleep, recreation (6.16–17).
• The realized see the Self in all (6.29–32).
5) Bhakti as the crown
• Viśvarūpa (cosmic form) reveals God as Time and Totality (ch. 11; 11.32).
• The dearest devotee’s qualities: non-hatred, kindness, forbearance… (12.13–20).
• A simple, exclusive devotion (ananya-bhakti) opens the highest gate (9, 12).
6) Kṣetra-Kṣetrajña (Metaphysics of nature & knower)
• Body-mind is kṣetra (field); the knower is ātman, ultimately Īśvara knows all fields (13.1–3).
• Guṇas (sattva/rajas/tamas) bind; devotion and knowledge free (14.5–27; esp. 14.26).
7) Puruṣottama (Supreme Person)
• Beyond perishable (kṣara) and imperishable (akṣara) stands the Puruṣottama—Supreme Lord (15.16–18).
• Each jīva is an eternal fragment (15.7).
8) Ethical upshot & liberation
• Do your fit duty (svadharma) even if imperfect, rather than another’s well (3.35; 18.47).
• Freedom comes by enlightened, devoted action culminating in surrender:
“Abandon all dharmas and take refuge in Me alone; I will free you from all sin—fear not.” (18.66)
• Yet, freedom and responsibility remain:
“Thus I’ve taught the deepest teaching; reflect fully, then act as you choose.” (18.63)
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The cosmic vision (Chapter 11) in brief
Arjuna beholds all beings, all gods, all time in Kṛṣṇa—creation and destruction at once; the Lord declares: “kālo ’smi” (I am Time, destroyer of worlds, 11.32). This is not “spectacle for its own sake,” but to anchor Arjuna’s duty in the reality of the divine order.
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How the Gītā synthesizes India’s philosophies
• Sāṅkhya analysis (Self vs nature), Yoga practice (meditation & restraint), and Vedānta (supreme Brahman/Īśvara) are braided, not opposed.
• Ultimate stance is integrative: action with knowledge and devotion. The Lord is both immanent (pervading the world) and transcendent (beyond it).
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Common misreadings (quick fixes)
• Not quietism: “Non-attachment” ≠ inaction. It is lucid, responsible action without ego-grasping.
• Not amorality: The Gītā defends duty within a dharmic order, emphasizing intention, clarity, and compassion.
• Not anti-reason: Repeated calls to discernment (buddhi) and to reflect and choose (18.63).
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A handful of key verses (IAST + plain sense)
• 2.47 karmaṇy-evādhikāras te mā phaleṣu kadācana… — Do your duty; don’t cling to fruits; don’t sink into inaction.
• 2.20 na jāyate mriyate vā kadācin… — The Self is never born, never dies.
• 4.7–8 yadā yadā hi dharmasya… — When dharma declines, I descend to protect the good and re-establish dharma.
• 7.14 daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā… — My guṇa-made māyā is hard to cross; refuge in Me crosses it.
• 9.22 ananyāś cintayanto mām… yoga-kṣemaṁ vahāmy aham — I personally secure what my single-minded devotees need.
• 11.32 kālo’smi loka-kṣaya-kṛt pravṛddho… — I am Time, mighty, world-destroying.
• 12.13–14 adveṣṭā sarva-bhūtānāṁ… — The dear devotee harms none, is friendly, compassionate, forgiving, self-controlled.
• 15.7 mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke… — Each living being is My eternal fragment.
• 18.66 sarva-dharmān parityajya… — Surrender to Me alone; I will liberate you—do not grieve.
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Commentarial tradition (why it matters)
• Ādi Śaṅkara (Gītā-bhāṣya): non-dual (advaita) reading; karma purifies, knowledge liberates; bhakti as steadfast knowledge-love of Brahman.
• Rāmānuja (Gītā-bhāṣya): qualified non-dualism (viśiṣṭādvaita); bhakti (and prapatti, surrender) as the royal road.
• Madhva: dualist (dvaita); eternal distinction between God and souls; devotion under grace.
• Also: Jñāneśvarī (Marathi, 13th c.), Nimbārka, Vallabha, Śrīdhara, later Vallabha/Chaitanya schools, Tilak’s Gītā-Rahasya, Aurobindo’s Essays, Gandhi’s Anāśakti-yoga—each preserves the Gītā’s integrative core while emphasizing a facet.
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Practical spine (how the Gītā “works” in life)
1. Clarity of role (svadharma) →
2. Right intention (offering to the Highest) →
3. Skill in action (competence, steadiness) →
4. Letting go of outcomes (inner freedom) →
5. Devotion & discernment (remembering, reflecting) →
6. Meditation & ethics (mind-training, virtues) →
7. Freedom while acting (jīvan-mukti trajectory).
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Source of collection
• Primary: Bhagavad Gītā (within Mahābhārata, Bhīṣma Parva; traditional vulgate 700 verses).
• Classical commentaries: Śaṅkara’s Gītā-bhāṣya, Rāmānuja’s Gītā-bhāṣya, Madhva’s Gītā-bhāṣya (for doctrinal nuance).
• Auxiliary framing: Harivaṁśa and Bhāgavata Purāṇa (for Kṛṣṇa’s life context referenced earlier).
The Life of Krishna Beyond Kansa