What is the Bhagavad Gītā?

A conversation between Arjuna and Kṛṣṇa on the field of Kurukṣetra, spoken with the armies drawn up and the fighting about to begin. It sits inside the Mahābhārata, in the Bhīṣma-parva, and concerns duty, action, knowledge and devotion — how to act when you cannot see what is right.

Why does this edition have 701 verses and not 700?

Seven hundred is the traditional count. This edition numbers 701 because it keeps one verse — the opening verse of chapter 13 — that some recensions leave outside the tally.

The svastika: an ancient Indian mark of auspiciousness, drawn right-facing and upright. It is far older than, and unrelated to, the twentieth-century emblem it is often mistaken for.

Start here

Q: What is a bhāṣya?

A formal commentary: a teacher going through the text phrase by phrase, saying what each word does, and arguing against the readings he rejects. It is not a paraphrase and not a footnote — for these three teachers it is where an entire philosophy is set out.

Q: Who were Śaṅkara, Rāmānuja and Madhva?

Three ācāryas — master teachers — who each wrote a bhāṣya on the Gītā and reached different conclusions about what is finally real: Advaita (non-dualism), Viśiṣṭādvaita (qualified non-dualism) and Dvaita (dualism).

What the Gītā is, what the commentaries are, and how to work this reader. About ninety seconds.

What the Bhagavad Gītā is

The Bhagavad Gītā is a conversation between Arjuna and Kṛṣṇa, spoken on the field of Kurukṣetra with the two armies drawn up and the fighting about to begin. Arjuna, who is to lead one of them, looks across at his own teachers and cousins and puts down his bow. What follows is Kṛṣṇa's answer, and it is not about the battle: it is about duty, action, knowledge and devotion — about how to act when you cannot see what is right.

It sits inside the Mahābhārata, in the book called the Bhīṣma-parva, and the whole of it reaches us at second hand: Sañjaya, granted sight of the field, reporting the dialogue aloud to a blind king waiting for news. Seven hundred verses by the traditional count; 701 in the numbering used here, which keeps one verse that some recensions leave outside the tally.

What one verse page looks like

Everything in this edition hangs off one page: a single verse, with its apparatus underneath. Below is a real one — Gītā 2.47, the most quoted verse in the book. The controls work. Nothing you press here is remembered, so try them.

Chapter 2 · Verse 47

Sāṅkhya-yogaḥ · सांख्ययोगः

① 2.47 means chapter 2, verse 47. Every verse in this edition is addressed that way.

Scroll ↓

② Full shows everything below. Bhāṣya — Sanskrit for commentary — strips the page back to the verse and one commentary for close reading; the word meanings and translation go away until you switch back. Scroll ↓ leaves the page and runs the whole chapter together. The second control chooses the language; संस्कृतम् is Sanskrit and shows the originals only.

कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन। मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि⁠।।⁠2.47⁠।।

③ The verse itself, in Devanagari — the script Sanskrit is written in, not a language. The strokes at the end, ।।2.47।।, are Sanskrit's full stop with the verse's address inside. On verses that open a speech you will also see a short line ending उवाच, "said", naming who is speaking.

karmaṇyevādhikāraste mā phaleṣu kadācana mā karmaphalaheturbhūrmā te saṅgo'stvakarmaṇi

④ The same sounds in Roman letters. This is IAST — the International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration — and the marks are not decoration: ā is a long a, ś and ṣ are two different sh sounds, ḥ is a soft outbreath. The button hides this line if you would rather read the Devanagari alone.

Word by word

karmaṇi: in prescribed duties
eva: only
adhikāraḥ: right
te: your
mā: not
phaleṣu: in the fruits
kadācana: at any time
mā: never
karma-phala: results of the activities
hetuḥ: cause
bhūḥ: be
mā: not
te: your
saṅgaḥ: attachment
astu: must be
akarmaṇi: in inaction

⑤ Every word of the verse, in order, with its own meaning. If you read only one thing on this page, read this: it is the fastest way to feel how the Sanskrit is put together.

Translation

Your right is only to work, but not to its results; do not let the results of action be your motive, nor let your attachment be to inaction.

— Swami Sivananda

कर्तव्य-कर्म करनेमें ही तेरा अधिकार है, फलोंमें कभी नहीं। अतः तू कर्मफलका हेतु भी मत बन और तेरी अकर्मण्यतामें भी आसक्ति न हो।

— Swami Ramsukhdas (Gita Press)

⑥ One continuous rendering into English — here Swami Sivananda's. The name beneath the passage is the translator's, not the speaker's. Translations of this vintage say thou for you, andO Arjuna where Kṛṣṇa turns to address him directly. A few words stay in Sanskrit — Self, Brahman, yoga, guṇa — because no single English word carries them.

The Three Darśanas

Three classical readings of this śloka

Advaita — ŚaṅkaraŚaṅkara Bhāṣya

The Śaṅkara Bhāṣya is here in its original Sanskrit — choose संस्कृतम् above. An English rendering is being prepared.

कर्मण्येव अधिकारः न ज्ञाननिष्ठायां ते तव। तत्र च कर्म कुर्वतः मा फलेषु अधिकारः अस्तु कर्मफलतृष्णा मा भूत् कदाचन कस्याञ्चिदप्यवस्थायामित्यर्थः। यदा कर्मफले तृष्णा ते स्यात् तदा कर्मफलप्राप्तेः हेतुः स्याः एवं मा कर्मफलहेतुः भूः। यदा हि कर्मफलतृष्णाप्रयुक्तः कर्मणि प्रवर्तते तदा कर्मफलस्यैव जन्मनो हेतुर्भवेत्। यदि कर्मफलं नेष्यते किं कर्मणा दुःखरूपेण इति मा ते तव सङ्गः अस्तु अकर्मणि अकरणे प्रीतिर्मा भूत्।।यदि कर्मफलप्रयुक्तेन न कर्तव्यं कर्म कथं तर्हि कर्तव्यमिति उच्यते

— Śaṅkarācārya

मूलम् / Sanskrit

— Śaṅkarācārya

Viśiṣṭādvaita — RāmānujaRāmānuja Bhāṣya

The Rāmānuja Bhāṣya is here in its original Sanskrit — choose संस्कृतम् above. An English rendering is being prepared.

नित्ये नैमित्तिके काम्ये च केनचित् फलविशेषेण संबन्धितया श्रूयमाणे कर्मणि नित्यसत्त्वस्थस्य मुमुक्षोः ते कर्ममात्रे अधिकारः। तत्संबन्धितया अवगतेषु फलेषु न कदाचिद् अपि अधिकारः। सफलस्य बन्धरूपत्वात् फलरहितस्य केवलस्य मदाराधनरूपस्य मोक्षहेतुत्वाच्च। मा च कर्मफलयोः हेतुः भूः। त्वया अनुष्ठीयमाने अपि कर्मणि नित्यसत्त्वस्थस्य मुमुक्षोः तवाकर्तृत्वम् अपि अनुसन्धेयम्। फलस्य अपि क्षुन्निवृत्त्यादेः न त्वं हेतुः इति अनुसन्धेयम्। तद् उभयं गुणेषु वा सर्वेश्वरे मयि वा अनुसन्धेयम् इति उत्तरत्र वक्ष्यते। एवम् अनुसन्धाय कर्म कुरु। अकर्मणि अननुष्ठाने न योत्स्यामि इति यत् त्वया अभिहितं न तत्र ते सङ्गः अस्तु। उक्तेन प्रकारेण युद्धादिकर्मणि एव सङ्गः अस्तु इत्यर्थः।एतद् एव स्पष्टीकरोति

— Rāmānujācārya

मूलम् / Sanskrit

— Rāmānujācārya

Dvaita — MadhvaMadhva Bhāṣya

The Madhva Bhāṣya is here in its original Sanskrit — choose संस्कृतम् above. An English rendering is being prepared.

कामात्मनां निन्दा कृता। कथं एषां स्वर्गकामो यजेत आप.श्रौ.10।1।2।1 इत्यादौ कामस्यापि विहितत्वात् इत्यत आह कर्मण्येवेति। त इत्युपलक्षणार्थम्। तव ज्ञानिनोऽपि न फलकामकर्तव्यता किम्वन्येषाम्। नत्वस्ति केषाञ्चिन्न तेऽस्तीति। स हि ज्ञानी नरांश इन्द्रश्च मोहादिस्त्वभिभवादेः। यदि तेषां शुद्धसत्त्वानां न स्याज्ज्ञानं कान्येषाम्। उपदेशादेश्च सिद्धं ज्ञानं तेषाम्।पार्थार्ष्टिषेणेत्यादिज्ञानिगणनाच्च कामनिषेध एवात्र। फलानि ह्यस्वातन्त्र्येण भवन्ति। नहि कर्मफलानि कर्माभावे यत्नतो भवन्ति। भवन्ति च काम्यकर्मिणो विपर्ययप्रयत्नेऽप्यविरोधे। अतः कर्माकरण एव प्रत्यवायः न तु ज्ञानादिना वाऽकामनया फलाप्राप्तौ अतः कर्मण्येवाधिकारः। अतस्तदेव कार्यम्। न तु कामेन ज्ञानादिनिषेधेन वा फलप्राप्तिः।कामवचनानां तु तात्पर्यं भगवतैवोक्तम् रोचनार्थं फलश्रुतिः।यथा भैषज्यरोचनम् इति भागवते। 11।21।23 अत एव कामी यजेतेत्यर्थः। न तु कामी भूत्वेत्यर्थः।निष्कामं ज्ञानपूर्वं च इति वचनात् वक्ष्यमाणेभ्यश्च। वसन्ते वसन्ते ज्योतिषा यजेत इत्यादिभ्यश्च। अतो मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूः। कर्मफलं तत्कृतौ हेतुर्यस्य स कर्मफलहेतुः स मा भूः।तर्हि न करोमीत्यत आह मा त इति। कर्माकरणे स्नेहो मास्त्वित्यर्थः। अन्यथा फलाभावेऽपि मत्प्रसादाख्यफलभावात्। इच्छा च तस्य युक्तावृणीमहे ते परितोषणाय इति महदाचारात्। अनिन्दनाद्विशेषत इतरनिन्दनाच्च। सामान्यं विशेषो बाधत इति च प्रसिद्धम्सर्घानानय नैकं मैत्रम् इत्यादौ। अतोनैकात्मतां मे स्पृद्दयन्ति केचित् भाग.3।25।34 भक्तिमन्विच्छन्तः।ब्रह्मजिज्ञासा ब्र.सू.1।1।1 विज्ञाय प्रज्ञां द्रष्टव्यः बृ.उ.2।4।5।5।6 इत्यादिववनेभ्यः। स्वार्थसेवकं प्रति न तथा स्नेहः। किं ददामीत्युक्ते सेवादि याचकंप्रति बहुतरस्नेह इति लोकप्रसिद्धन्यायाच्च भक्तिज्ञानादिकामना कार्येति सिद्धम्।

— Madhvācārya

मूलम् / Sanskrit

— Madhvācārya

⑦ Three classical commentaries on this same line, each in its own panel — open one now. At present they appear in their original Sanskrit, because the English and Hindi renderings are still being prepared. मूलम् means "root text". Who these three teachers are, and why they disagree, is the next section.

The three commentaries

What a bhāṣya is. A bhāṣya is a formal commentary: a teacher going through the text phrase by phrase, saying what each word does, and arguing against the readings he rejects. It is not a paraphrase and it is not a footnote. For these three teachers, the bhāṣya on the Gītā is where an entire philosophy is set out.

Three ācāryas — master teachers — read the same ślokas and reached three different conclusions about what is finally real. Each was studied within its own lineage, under its own school; here they sit side by side, which is the point of this edition. Where they disagree, you are watching the argument that has shaped Indian philosophy for more than a thousand years. The verse page calls them the three darśanas: a darśana is a school of philosophy — literally, a way of seeing.

Advaita — Śaṅkara· traditionally 8th century
Non-dualism. Brahman alone is finally real, and your own self is not other than Brahman; the difference you see is not ultimate. Action and devotion purify the mind, but it is knowledge that liberates. In his reading the highest Brahman is nirguṇa — without attributes.
Viśiṣṭādvaita — Rāmānuja· traditionally 11th–12th century
Qualified non-dualism. Brahman is one, but qualified: souls and the world are entirely real and form his body — you are part of him, never identical with him. Devotion, which is itself a way of knowing, liberates. In his reading Brahman is Nārāyaṇa.
Dvaita — Madhva· traditionally 13th–14th century
Dualism. Brahman, souls and the world are eternally distinct and eternally real; no soul ever becomes God. Direct knowledge, arising through devotion and God’s grace, liberates. In his reading Brahman is Viṣṇu.

Three is this edition's choice, not a closed list — Bhāskara, Abhinavagupta, Śrīdhara Svāmī, Madhusūdana Sarasvatī, Jñāneśvara and others all wrote on the Gītā. These three are here because their disagreement is the one the tradition kept arguing about.

Two ways to read

One verse at a time. The page above. Everything about a single śloka in one place — the word meanings, the translation, and all three commentaries. Read 2.47 →

A whole chapter, straight through. Every verse of a chapter on one scrolling page, with a single switch: Ślokashows the Sanskrit alone, Meaning shows the sense of it in the language and commentary you choose. Tap any verse number there to come back to the full page. Read Chapter 2 straight through →

If you would rather be pointed somewhere

Reading paths are short sequences — five to seven verses in an order that matters — for particular situations: when you cannot act, when the mind will not stop, a first week with the book. They are reading suggestions rather than a course, and each says plainly what it is not.

What is here, and what is not yet

Here now, for all 701 verses: the Sanskrit in Devanagari, the IAST spelling, the word-by-word meanings, an English translation (Swami Sivananda), a Hindi translation (Swami Ramsukhdas, Gita Press), and the three bhāṣyas in their original Sanskrit.

Not here yet: English and Hindi renderings of the three commentaries. Those are being prepared. Until they are published, opening a commentary in English or Hindi shows you the Sanskrit original and a short note saying so. Nothing is broken — that text simply is not on this site yet.

Where to begin

Three doors, rather than eighteen.

Or simply begin at 1.1, where Arjuna's despair begins.

A few words you will meet

śloka: A verse of Sanskrit. This site also calls them verses; the Saved page spells it shloka, without the accents. It is all one thing.
2.47: Chapter, then verse. That is how every verse in this edition is addressed.
bhāṣya: A formal commentary on a text, taken phrase by phrase.
darśana: A school of philosophy; literally, a way of seeing.
ācārya: A master teacher. Śaṅkara is often called Śaṅkarācārya.
mūlam: “Root text.” On the verse page it opens a commentary’s own untranslated Sanskrit wording.
Devanagari: The script Sanskrit and Hindi are written in. A script, not a language.
IAST: The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration: Roman letters plus marks that spell Sanskrit sounds exactly. ā is a long a; ś and ṣ are two different sh sounds; ḥ is a soft outbreath. They are not typos.
yoga, -yogaḥ: A disciplined path or method. It ends all eighteen chapter titles and has nothing to do with exercise classes.
uvāca: “Said.” A short line naming who speaks the verse that follows.
।।2.47।।: Sanskrit’s full stop, with the verse’s address inside it.
Bhagavad Gītā: “The song of the Blessed One.”
Anandoham: From the Sanskrit ānando’ham, “I am bliss” — the name of the practice that publishes this reader.

Who made this

Built by Devdarshan Bastola, GMBPsS — a counselling psychologist and the founder of Anandoham Health, an online therapy practice working between Western clinical psychology and Bhāratīya (Indian) philosophy. GMBPsS is a membership grade of the British Psychological Society. His patients use this edition for prescribed reading; everyone else is welcome to read it freely. The source editions and translators are listed on About this edition.