{ "meta": { "schema_version": "1.2", "endpoint": "/api/sources/bhagavad-gita/index.json" }, "work": { "slug": "bhagavad-gita", "name": "Bhagavad Gita", "stream": "indian", "epoch_reflected": "indian", "epoch_written": "greco-latin", "form": "scripture", "tradition": "Hindu (Vaishnava)", "author": null, "year_approx": -200, "note": "Sanskrit philosophical poem of 700 verses set in the Bhishma Parva of the Mahabharata, framed as Krishna's teaching to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Annie Besant's 1907 translation.", "books_slug": "besant--the-bhagavad-gita", "books_slugs": null, "has_project_translation": false, "steiner_loci": [ "GA 142: Bhagavad Gita and the Epistles of St Paul", "GA 146: The Bhagavad Gita and its Inner Significance" ] }, "parents": [], "translation": { "title": null, "author": null, "source": null }, "chapters": [ { "num": 1, "slug": "01-discourse-1-the-despondency-of-arjuna", "title": "Discourse 1: The Despondency of Arjuna", "words": 1058, "url": "/sources/bhagavad-gita/01-discourse-1-the-despondency-of-arjuna/", "api": "/api/sources/bhagavad-gita/01-discourse-1-the-despondency-of-arjuna.json", "project_translation": false, "subtitle": "Viṣāda-yoga — Arjuna's despondency on the field", "blurb": "Arjuna on the chariot between the two armies of his kinsmen. The despondency that becomes the occasion of the entire teaching: 'My limbs fail and my mouth is parched, my body quivers and my hair stands on end. The Gāṇḍīva bow slips from my hand.' The setting that frames everything to follow." }, { "num": 2, "slug": "02-discourse-2-the-yoga-of-knowledge-sankhya-yoga", "title": "Discourse 2: The Yoga of Knowledge (Sankhya Yoga)", "words": 1880, "url": "/sources/bhagavad-gita/02-discourse-2-the-yoga-of-knowledge-sankhya-yoga/", "api": "/api/sources/bhagavad-gita/02-discourse-2-the-yoga-of-knowledge-sankhya-yoga.json", "project_translation": false, "subtitle": "Sāṅkhya-yoga — the immortal Self; act without attachment", "blurb": "Kṛṣṇa's foundational answer. The doctrine of the immortal Self (ātman) that cannot be slain — 'weapons cleave it not, fire burns it not.' The first teaching of *niṣkāma-karma* — action performed without attachment to fruit. The famous *sthitaprajña* passage on the steady-minded sage." }, { "num": 3, "slug": "03-discourse-3-the-yoga-of-action-karma-yoga", "title": "Discourse 3: The Yoga of Action (Karma Yoga)", "words": 1167, "url": "/sources/bhagavad-gita/03-discourse-3-the-yoga-of-action-karma-yoga/", "api": "/api/sources/bhagavad-gita/03-discourse-3-the-yoga-of-action-karma-yoga.json", "project_translation": false, "subtitle": "Karma-yoga — yajña as the principle of action", "blurb": "On the necessity of action: 'no one can remain even for a moment without performing some action.' Action as *yajña* (sacrifice) — the unfractured wheel of cosmic reciprocity. The duty of leading by example; the *guṇas* as the proximate cause of action." }, { "num": 4, "slug": "04-discourse-4-the-yoga-of-wisdom", "title": "Discourse 4: The Yoga of Wisdom", "words": 1153, "url": "/sources/bhagavad-gita/04-discourse-4-the-yoga-of-wisdom/", "api": "/api/sources/bhagavad-gita/04-discourse-4-the-yoga-of-wisdom.json", "project_translation": false, "subtitle": "Jñāna-yoga — the lineage of teaching; Kṛṣṇa's incarnations", "blurb": "The transmission of the teaching: Kṛṣṇa first taught it to Vivasvant, who taught it to Manu, who taught it to Ikṣvāku. 'Whenever there is decay of righteousness, then I manifest myself' — the great avatāra-verse. Action burnt in the fire of knowledge; the many forms of sacrifice." }, { "num": 5, "slug": "05-discourse-5-the-yoga-of-the-renunciation-of-action", "title": "Discourse 5: The Yoga of the Renunciation of Action", "words": 780, "url": "/sources/bhagavad-gita/05-discourse-5-the-yoga-of-the-renunciation-of-action/", "api": "/api/sources/bhagavad-gita/05-discourse-5-the-yoga-of-the-renunciation-of-action.json", "project_translation": false, "subtitle": "Sannyāsa-yoga — renunciation and action are one", "blurb": "The synthesis of *karma-yoga* and *sannyāsa* (renunciation): they are not two but one. The yogi acts without attachment as effectively as the renouncer abstains; both reach the same goal. The sage who *sees the same* in the cow, the brahmin, the outcaste, the dog." }, { "num": 6, "slug": "06-discourse-6-the-yoga-of-meditation", "title": "Discourse 6: The Yoga of Meditation", "words": 1324, "url": "/sources/bhagavad-gita/06-discourse-6-the-yoga-of-meditation/", "api": "/api/sources/bhagavad-gita/06-discourse-6-the-yoga-of-meditation.json", "project_translation": false, "subtitle": "Dhyāna-yoga — the practice of meditation", "blurb": "The classic technique-chapter. The selection of a seat, the upright posture, the inward gaze, the steadied mind. 'The mind is restless, O Kṛṣṇa; it is impetuous, strong, obstinate; I think it as hard to control as the wind.' Kṛṣṇa's answer: 'It is doubtless restless, but by practice and dispassion it can be held.'" }, { "num": 7, "slug": "07-discourse-7-the-yoga-of-wisdom-and-discrimination", "title": "Discourse 7: The Yoga of Wisdom and Discrimination", "words": 784, "url": "/sources/bhagavad-gita/07-discourse-7-the-yoga-of-wisdom-and-discrimination/", "api": "/api/sources/bhagavad-gita/07-discourse-7-the-yoga-of-wisdom-and-discrimination.json", "project_translation": false, "subtitle": "Jñāna-vijñāna-yoga — Kṛṣṇa's higher and lower natures", "blurb": "Kṛṣṇa as the highest object of knowledge — and the great distinction between his *aparā prakṛti* (the eightfold lower nature: earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intellect, ego) and his *parā prakṛti* (the higher nature, the *jīvabhūta*). 'There is nothing higher than I; on me all is strung like jewels on a string.'" }, { "num": 8, "slug": "08-discourse-8-the-yoga-of-the-imperishable-brahman", "title": "Discourse 8: The Yoga of the Imperishable Brahman", "words": 797, "url": "/sources/bhagavad-gita/08-discourse-8-the-yoga-of-the-imperishable-brahman/", "api": "/api/sources/bhagavad-gita/08-discourse-8-the-yoga-of-the-imperishable-brahman.json", "project_translation": false, "subtitle": "Akṣara-brahma-yoga — the moment of death; the two paths", "blurb": "On the *akṣara* (imperishable) Brahman and on the practice that brings the soul to it at death. The two cosmic paths — the bright-half path (devayāna) of fire and day and the northward sun, the dark-half path (pitṛyāna) of smoke and night and the southward moon. The day and night of Brahmā." }, { "num": 9, "slug": "09-discourse-9-the-yoga-of-the-royal-science-and-the-royal-secr", "title": "Discourse 9: The Yoga of the Royal Science and the Royal Secret", "words": 884, "url": "/sources/bhagavad-gita/09-discourse-9-the-yoga-of-the-royal-science-and-the-royal-secr/", "api": "/api/sources/bhagavad-gita/09-discourse-9-the-yoga-of-the-royal-science-and-the-royal-secr.json", "project_translation": false, "subtitle": "Rāja-vidyā / Rāja-guhya — sovereign science and sovereign secret", "blurb": "The supreme teaching, royal in its sovereignty and royal in its secrecy. 'I am the same to all beings; none is hateful to me, nor dear; but those who worship me with devotion — they are in me, and I in them.' The merciful inclusivity: even the lowest-born, even women, even the wicked who turn — all reach the highest goal." }, { "num": 10, "slug": "10-discourse-10-the-yoga-of-the-divine-manifestations", "title": "Discourse 10: The Yoga of the Divine Manifestations", "words": 1044, "url": "/sources/bhagavad-gita/10-discourse-10-the-yoga-of-the-divine-manifestations/", "api": "/api/sources/bhagavad-gita/10-discourse-10-the-yoga-of-the-divine-manifestations.json", "project_translation": false, "subtitle": "Vibhūti-yoga — the divine glories enumerated", "blurb": "Kṛṣṇa enumerates his *vibhūtis* — his divine glories — answering Arjuna's request to be told 'by what aspects, O Yogin, must I think of you.' Among the Adityas Viṣṇu, among lights the radiant sun, among Maruts Marīci, among mountains Meru, among horses Uccaiḥśravas, among rivers Gaṅgā, among letters A, among meters Gāyatrī…" }, { "num": 11, "slug": "11-discourse-11-the-yoga-of-the-vision-of-the-universal-form", "title": "Discourse 11: The Yoga of the Vision of the Universal Form", "words": 1560, "url": "/sources/bhagavad-gita/11-discourse-11-the-yoga-of-the-vision-of-the-universal-form/", "api": "/api/sources/bhagavad-gita/11-discourse-11-the-yoga-of-the-vision-of-the-universal-form.json", "project_translation": false, "subtitle": "Viśva-rūpa-darśana — the cosmic vision", "blurb": "The climax of the Gītā. Kṛṣṇa grants Arjuna the divine eye and reveals his cosmic form — many-armed, many-faced, mouths blazing like the fire at the end of an age, devouring the warriors of both armies. 'I am Time grown mighty, here come to destroy the worlds.' Arjuna's terror; Kṛṣṇa returns to his ordinary human form to comfort him." }, { "num": 12, "slug": "12-discourse-12-the-yoga-of-devotion-bhakti-yoga", "title": "Discourse 12: The Yoga of Devotion (Bhakti Yoga)", "words": 507, "url": "/sources/bhagavad-gita/12-discourse-12-the-yoga-of-devotion-bhakti-yoga/", "api": "/api/sources/bhagavad-gita/12-discourse-12-the-yoga-of-devotion-bhakti-yoga.json", "project_translation": false, "subtitle": "Bhakti-yoga — the path of devotion", "blurb": "After the overwhelming vision, the gentlest chapter. The path of devotion (*bhakti*) commended above the path of the unmanifest, which is harder for embodied beings. The qualities of the true *bhakta*: one who hates none and is friendly to all, free from selfishness, equal-minded in pleasure and pain, content, restrained, devoted with mind and reason given to me." }, { "num": 13, "slug": "13-discourse-13-the-yoga-of-the-distinction-between-the-field-a", "title": "Discourse 13: The Yoga of the Distinction Between the Field and the Knower of the Field", "words": 877, "url": "/sources/bhagavad-gita/13-discourse-13-the-yoga-of-the-distinction-between-the-field-a/", "api": "/api/sources/bhagavad-gita/13-discourse-13-the-yoga-of-the-distinction-between-the-field-a.json", "project_translation": false, "subtitle": "Kṣetra-kṣetrajña-yoga — the field and the knower", "blurb": "The metaphysical centerpiece. The body as the *kṣetra* (field); the soul as the *kṣetrajña* (knower of the field). The twenty-four *tattvas* of Sāṅkhya enumerated; the marks of true knowledge (humility, sincerity, non-injury, patience, uprightness, service of the teacher); the relation of *puruṣa* and *prakṛti*." }, { "num": 14, "slug": "14-discourse-14-the-yoga-of-the-separation-from-the-three-quali", "title": "Discourse 14: The Yoga of the Separation from the Three Qualities (Gunas)", "words": 716, "url": "/sources/bhagavad-gita/14-discourse-14-the-yoga-of-the-separation-from-the-three-quali/", "api": "/api/sources/bhagavad-gita/14-discourse-14-the-yoga-of-the-separation-from-the-three-quali.json", "project_translation": false, "subtitle": "Guṇa-traya-vibhāga-yoga — the three guṇas", "blurb": "The three *guṇas* of *prakṛti* — *sattva* (luminosity), *rajas* (activity), *tamas* (inertia) — and how they bind even the deathless soul to the body. The marks of one who has transcended the three guṇas: equal to friend and foe, neither rejoicing nor hating, witness of the play of the qualities without identification." }, { "num": 15, "slug": "15-discourse-15-the-yoga-of-the-supreme-spirit", "title": "Discourse 15: The Yoga of the Supreme Spirit", "words": 579, "url": "/sources/bhagavad-gita/15-discourse-15-the-yoga-of-the-supreme-spirit/", "api": "/api/sources/bhagavad-gita/15-discourse-15-the-yoga-of-the-supreme-spirit.json", "project_translation": false, "subtitle": "Puruṣottama-yoga — the upside-down aśvattha tree", "blurb": "The famous opening image of the *aśvattha*-tree of cosmic existence — with its roots above and branches below, leaves the Vedic hymns. The chapter culminates in the doctrine of *puruṣottama*, the Supreme Person who transcends both the *kṣara* (perishable) and the *akṣara* (imperishable) — Kṛṣṇa's most explicit theistic self-revelation." }, { "num": 16, "slug": "16-discourse-16-the-yoga-of-discrimination-between-the-divine-a", "title": "Discourse 16: The Yoga of Discrimination Between the Divine and the Demoniacal", "words": 622, "url": "/sources/bhagavad-gita/16-discourse-16-the-yoga-of-discrimination-between-the-divine-a/", "api": "/api/sources/bhagavad-gita/16-discourse-16-the-yoga-of-discrimination-between-the-divine-a.json", "project_translation": false, "subtitle": "Daivāsura-sampad-vibhāga-yoga — divine and demoniacal natures", "blurb": "The contrast of *daivī sampad* (divine endowment — fearlessness, purity of heart, charity, self-restraint) with *āsurī sampad* (demoniacal endowment — ostentation, pride, anger, harshness, ignorance). The classic Indian moral psychology in twenty-four verses. The three gates of hell: lust, anger, greed." }, { "num": 17, "slug": "17-discourse-17-the-yoga-of-the-threefold-faith", "title": "Discourse 17: The Yoga of the Threefold Faith", "words": 734, "url": "/sources/bhagavad-gita/17-discourse-17-the-yoga-of-the-threefold-faith/", "api": "/api/sources/bhagavad-gita/17-discourse-17-the-yoga-of-the-threefold-faith.json", "project_translation": false, "subtitle": "Śraddhā-traya-vibhāga-yoga — the threefold faith", "blurb": "Faith as itself threefold according to the dominant *guṇa* — *sāttvika*, *rājasika*, *tāmasika* — and how each *śraddhā* expresses itself in food, sacrifice, austerity, and gift. The famous closing: 'oṃ tat sat' as the threefold designation of Brahman — *oṃ* at the opening, *tat* at the offering, *sat* at the consummation." }, { "num": 18, "slug": "18-discourse-18-the-yoga-of-liberation-by-renunciation", "title": "Discourse 18: The Yoga of Liberation by Renunciation", "words": 2035, "url": "/sources/bhagavad-gita/18-discourse-18-the-yoga-of-liberation-by-renunciation/", "api": "/api/sources/bhagavad-gita/18-discourse-18-the-yoga-of-liberation-by-renunciation.json", "project_translation": false, "subtitle": "Mokṣa-sannyāsa-yoga — liberation by renunciation", "blurb": "The closing teaching. The distinction of *tyāga* (relinquishment of the fruit) from *sannyāsa* (renunciation of action itself); the *guṇa*-classification of all human types — knowledge, action, actor, intellect, firmness, happiness — each in three forms; the great closing exhortation: 'Abandoning all duties, take refuge in me alone; I shall liberate you from all sins; do not grieve.'" } ] }