The Bhagavad-Gita Trn by Śri Purohit Swami.pdf

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The
Bhagavad
Gita
Translation by Shri Purohit Swami.
A NOTE ABOUT THE TRANSLATOR
Shri Purohit Swami was born into a religious and wealthy family in Badners, India, in
1882. He studied philosophy and law, received his LL.B. from Decan College, Poona,
married and had three children. However, he did not practice law, and instead spent
his entire life in spiritual devotion. He wrote in his native Marathi, in Hindi, Sanskrit
and English – poems, songs, a play, a novel, a commentary on The Bhagavad Gita and an
autobiography. He left India in 1930 at the suggestion of his Master to interpret the
religious life of India for the West, and made his new home in England. It was here that
he produced beautiful translations of The Bhagavad Gita , Patanjali’s Aphorisms of Yoga
and – in collaboration with his great friend, the Irish poet W.B. Yeats – The Ten Principal
Upanishads . He died in 1946.
CONTENTS
NINE: THE SCIENCE OF SCIENCES AND
PREFACE
The Bhagavad Gita , the greatest devotional book of Hinduism, has long been recognized
as one of the world’s spiritual classics and a guide to all on the path of Truth. It is
sometimes known as the Song of the Lord or the Gospel of the Lord Shri Krishna.
According to Western scholarship, it was composed later than the Vedas and the
Upanishads – probably between the fifth and second centuries before Christ. It is a
fragment, part of the sixth book of the epic poem The Mahabaratha .
The Mahabaratha tells of the Pandavas, Prince Arjuna and his four brothers, growing up
in north India at the court of their uncle, the blind King Dhritarashtra, after the death of
their father, the previous ruler. There is always great rivalry between the Pandavas or sons
of Pandu and the Kauravas, the one hundred sons of Dhritarashtra. Eventually the old
king gives his nephews some land of their own but his eldest son, Duryodhana, defeats
Yudhisthira, the eldest Pandava, by cheating at dice, and forces him and his brothers to
surrender their land and go into exile for thirteen years. On their return, the old king is
unable to persuade his son Duryodhana to restore their heritage and, in spite of efforts at
reconciliation by Sanjaya, Dhritarashtra’s charioteer; by Bheeshma, his wise counsellor;
and even by the Lord Krishna himself, war cannot be averted. The rival hosts face each
other on the field of Kurukshetra. It is at this point that The Bhagavad Gita begins.
When Prince Arjuna surveys the battlefield, he is overwhelmed with sorrow at the
futility of war. The teachings of The Bhagavad Gita are spoken by the divine Lord Krishna,
who is acting as the prince’s charioteer. They are overheard by Sanjaya and reported back
to King Dhritarashtra. When Krishna has finished speaking to Arjuna, the two armies
engage. The battle lasts eighteen days and by the end of it nearly all of the warriors on
both sides are dead save Krishna and the five sons of Pandu.
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ONE: THE DESPONDENCY OF ARJUNA
The King Dhritarashtra asked: “O Sanjaya! What happened on the sacred battlefield of
Kurukshetra, when my people gathered against the Pandavas?”
Sanjaya replied: “The Prince Duryodhana, when he saw the army of the Pandavas paraded,
approached his preceptor Guru Drona and spoke as follows:
Revered Father! Behold this mighty host of the Pandavas, paraded by the son of King
Drupada, thy wise disciple.
In it are heroes and great bowmen; the equals in battle of Arjuna and Bheema,
Yuyudhana, Virata and Drupada, great soldiers all;
Dhrishtaketu, Chekitan, the valiant King of Benares, Purujit, Kuntibhoja, Shaibya – a
master over many;
Yudhamanyu, Uttamouja, Soubhadra and the sons of Droupadi, famous men.
Further, take note of all those captains who have ranged themselves on our side, O best of
Spiritual Guides! The leaders of my army. I will name them for you.
You come first; then Bheeshma, Karna, Kripa, great soldiers; Ashwaththama, Vikarna and
the son of Somadhatta;
And many others, all ready to die for my sake; all armed, all skilled in war.
Yet our army seems the weaker, though commanded by Bheeshma; their army seems the
stronger, though commanded by Bheema.
Therefore in the rank and file, let stand firm in their posts, according to battalions; and all
you generals about Bheeshma.
Then to enliven his spirits, the brave Grandfather Bheeshma, eldest of the Kuru-clan, blew his
conch, till it sounded like a lion’s roar.
And immediately all the conches and drums, the trumpets and horns, blared forth in tumultuous
uproar.
Then seated in their spacious war chariot, yoked with white horses, Lord Shri Krishna and Arjuna
sounded their divine shells.
Lord Shri Krishna blew his Panchajanya and Arjuna his Devadatta, brave Bheema his renowned
shell, Poundra.
The King Dharmaraja, the son of Kunti, blew the Anantavijaya, Nakalu and Sahadeo, the Sugosh
and Manipushpaka, respectively.
And the Maharaja of Benares, the great archer, Shikhandi, the great soldier, Dhrishtayumna, Virata
and Satyaki, the invincible,
And O King! Drupada, the sons of Droupadi and Soubhadra, the great soldier, blew their conches.
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