Although widely published and read by itself, Bhagavad-gita^[1] originally appears as an episode in the Mahabharata^[2], the epic Sanskrit^[3] history of the ancient world. The Mahabharata tells of events leading up to the present Age of Kali^[4]. It was at the beginning of this age, some fifty centuries ago, that Lord Krishna^[5] spoke Bhagavad-gita to His friend and devotee Arjuna^[6].

For those not familiar with this philosophical classic, please read on, so that you can get a good understand of “Setting the Scene” of the Bhagavad-gita As It Is.

Krishna’s and Arjuna’s discourse is one of the greatest philosophical, and religious dialogues known to man; it took place just before the onset of war, a great fratricidal conflict between the hundred sons of Dhåtarastra, and on the opposing side their cousins the Pandavas, or sons of Pandu.

5,000 years ago, Dhrtarastra and Pandu were brothers born in the Kuru dynasty, descending from King Bharata, a former ruler of the all of the Planet Earth which was known as Bharatavarsha (this kingdom of Bharata), from whom the name Mahabharata derives. Because Dhåtarastra, the elder brother, was born blind, the throne that otherwise would have been his, was passed down to the younger brother, Pandu. 

When Pandu died at an early age, his five children—Yudhisthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva—came under the care of Dhhtarastra, who in effect became, for the time being, the king. Thus, the sons of Dhåtarastra and those of Pandu grew up in the same royal household. Both were trained in the military arts by the expert Drona, and counselled by the revered “grandfather” of the clan, Bhisma. Yet the sons of Dhåtarastra, especially the eldest, Duryodhana, hated and envied the Pandavas. And the blind and weak-minded Dhåtarastra wanted his own sons, not those of Pandu, to inherit the kingdom.

Thus Duryodhana, with Dhåtarastra’s consent, plotted to kill the young sons of Pandu, and it was only by the careful protection of their uncle Vidura, and their cousin Lord Krishna, that the Pandavas escaped the many attempts against their lives.

Now, Lord Krishna was not an ordinary man, but the Supreme Godhead Himself, who had descended to this Planet Earth over 5,000 years ago, and was playing the role of a prince in a contemporary dynasty. In this role He was also the nephew of Pandu’s wife Kunti, or Påtha, the mother of the Pandavas. So, both as a relative, and as the eternal upholder of religion, Krishna favored the righteous sons of Pandu and protected them.

Ultimately, however, the clever Duryodhana challenged the Pandavas to a gambling match. In the course of that fateful tournament, Duryodhana and his brothers took possession of Draupadi, the chaste and devoted wife of the Pandavas, and insultingly tried to strip her naked before the entire assembly of princes and kings. Krishna’s divine intervention saved her, but the gambling, which was rigged, cheated the Pandavas of their kingdom and forced them into thirteen years of exile.

Upon returning from exile, the Pandavas rightfully requested their kingdom from Duryodhana, who bluntly refused to yield it. Dutybound as princes to serve in public administration, the five Pandavas reduced their request to a mere five villages. But Duryodhana arrogantly replied that he wouldn’t spare them enough land into which to drive a pin.

Throughout all this, the Pandavas had been consistently tolerant and forbearing. But now war seemed inevitable.

Nonetheless, as the princes of the world divided, some siding with the sons of Dhåtarastra, others with the Pandavas, Krishna Himself took the role of messenger for the sons of Pandu and went to the court of Dhåtarastra to plead for peace. When His pleas were refused, war was now certain.

The Pandavas, men of the highest moral stature, recognized Krishna to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whereas the impious sons of Dhåtarastra did not. Yet Krishna offered to enter the war according to the desire of the antagonists. As God, He would not personally fight; but whoever so desired might avail himself of Krishna’s army—and the other side could have Krishna Himself, as an advisor and helper. Duryodhana, the political genius, snatched at Krishna’s armed forces, while the Pandavas were equally eager to have Krishna Himself.

In this way, Krishna became the charioteer of Arjuna, taking it upon Himself to drive the fabled bowman’s chariot. This brings us to the point at which Bhagavad-gita begins, with the two armies arrayed, ready for combat, and Dhåtarastra anxiously inquiring of his secretary Saïjaya, “What did they do?”

The scene is set, with only the need for a brief note regarding this translation and commentary of the particular book.

Before Srila Prabhupada, the general pattern translators have followed in rendering Bhagavad-gita into English, has been to brush aside, the person Krishna, to make room for their own concepts and philosophies. The history of the Mahabharata is taken as quaint mythology, and Krishna becomes a poetic device, for presenting the ideas of some anonymous genius, or at best Krishna becomes a minor historical personage. But the person Krishna is both the goal and the substance of Bhagavad-gita, so far as the Gita speaks of itself.

This translation, then, and the commentary that accompanies it, propose to direct the reader to Krishna rather than away from Him. The Bhagavad-gita, thus becomes wholly consistent and comprehensible. Since Krishna is the speaker of the Gita, and its ultimate goal as well, the Bhagavad-gita As It Is, thus presents this great scripture in its true terms.  (Read the “Reviews” by modern scholars).

I, the compiler and writer of this book, “Bhagavad-gita As It Is, a Treatise on Human Psychology”, will use Srila Prabhupada’s English translation of all 800 verses of Bhagavad-gita As It Is.  Each verse will be following by my commentary on the verse drawing on Srila Prabhupada Purport and my understanding of the science of current Human Psychology that is known in this world today.  Thus, it is my attempt, in following Srila Prabhupada’s instructions, that Bhagavad-gita As It Is, be presented as nothing other, than pure Human Psychology; simply because I have faith and trust in his instruction, and I want to show to the rest humanity of this world, this it is true.

I will post this work on my website Saragrahi.Org, and anyone if free to comment in any way, that could enhance, or correct anything that I have written; because it is not hard to make changes to its website content, and this manuscript.  I will seek a publisher for this manuscript, and only history will show if this desire is fulfilled.

Foot Notes

[1] Bhagavad-gita—a seven-hundred verse record of a conversation between Lord Krishna and His disciple, Arjuna, from the Bhisma Parva of the Mahabharata of Vedavyasa. The conversation took place between two armies, minutes before the start of an immense fratricidal battle. Krishna teaches the science of the Absolute Truth and the importance of devotional service to the despondent Arjuna, and it contains the essence of all Vedic wisdom. Srila Prabhupada’s annotated English translation is called Bhagavad-gita As It Is; This most essential text of spiritual knowledge, The Song of the Lord, contains Krishna’s instructions to Arjuna at Kuruksetra. It is found in the Mahabharata. The Mahabharata is classified as smrti-sastra, a supplement of the sruti-sastra. Sruti, the core Vedic literature, includes the four Vedas (Åg, Sama, Yajur and Atharva) and the Upanisads. Sruti advances the understanding of the absolute. Bhagavad-gita is also known as Gitopanisad, or a sruti text spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. Therefore, Srila Pra-bhupada wrote in a letter, the Gita should be taken as sruti. But they take it as smrti because it is part of the smrti (Mahabharata). In one sense it is both sruti and smrti. In only 700 verses, the Bhagavad-gita summarizes all Vedic knowledge about the soul, God, sanatana-dharma, sacrifice, yoga, karma, reincarnation, the modes of material nature, Vedanta and pure devotion.

[2] Mahabharata—An important and famous itihasa (historical) scripture belonging to the smrti section of the Vedic scriptures. The Mahabharata narrates the history of the great Kuru dynasty of ksatriyas (warriors) that was annihilated by the Kuruksetra war. Contained within the Maha-bharata is the Bhagavad-gita. See Bhagavad-gita.

[3] Sanskrit—the oldest language in the world. The Vedas, or India’s holy scriptures, are written in Sanskrit; From sams (together) and krta (made), henc

[4] Kali-yuga—the “Age of Quarrel and Hypocrisy “ The fourth and last age in the cycle of a maha-yuga. This is the present age in which we are now living. It began 5,000 years ago and lasts for a total of 432,000 years. It is characterized by irreligious practice and stringent material miseries. In the Srimad-Bhagavatam the age is personified as an evil black man who tries to kill a helpless cow and bull. The four legs of the cow represent the four principles of religiosity-namely, truth, cleanliness, mercy and austerity. The bull represents religion itself; The most recommended process of spiritual upliftment in this age is samkirtana, the congregational glorification of the Lord through chanting His holy name.

[5] Krishna—the original, two-armed form of the Supreme Lord, who is the origin of all expansions.

[6] Arjuna—the third son of Pandu and intimate friend of Lord Krishna. After Pandu was cursed by a sage, Kunti used a special mantra to beget children and called for the demigod Indra. By the union of Indra and Kunti, Arjuna was born. In his previous life he was Nara, the eternal associate of Lord Narayana. Krishna became his chariot driver and spoke the Bhagavad-gita to him on the battlefield of Kuruksetra; An eternal associate of Krishna.