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Bhagavad Gita
Translated by Alladi Mahadeva Sastry
Published by Samata Books, Chennai [with commentary of Adi Shankara in English]

I. THE DESPONDENCY OF ARJUNA

DHRITARASHTRA SAID:
1. What did Pandu's sons and mine do when they assembled together on the sacred plain of Kurukshetra, eager for battle, O Samjaya?

SAMJAYA SAID:
2. Having seen the army of the Pandavas drawn up in battle-array, prince Duryodhana then approached his teacher and spoke (these) words:

3. O teacher, look at this grand army of the sons of Pandu, marshaled by thy talented pupil, the son of Drupada.

4. Here are heroes, mighty archers, equal in battle to Bhima and Arjuna; Yuyudhana Virata, and Drupada, the master of a great car (maharatha).

5. Dhrishtaketu, Chekitana, and the valiant king of Kasi, Purujit and Kunti Bhoja, and that eminent man Saibya;

6. The heroic Yudhamanyu and the brave Uttamaujas; the son of Subhadraand the sons of Draupadi, all masters of great cars (maharathas).

7. But know, O best of the twice-born, who are the most distinguished among us, the leaders of my army; these I name to thee by way of example.

8. Thyself and Bhishma, and Karna, and also Kripa, the victor in war, Asvathaman and Vikarna, and also Jayadratha, the son of Samadatta.

9. And many other heroes who have given up their lives for my sake, fighting with various weapons, all well-skilled in battle.

10. This army of ours protected by Bhisma is inadequate, whereas that army of theirs which is under the protection of Bhima is adequate.

11. And therefore do ye all, occupying your respective positions in the several divisions of the army, support Bhisma only.

12. His mighty grandsire, (Bhisma), the oldest of the Kauravas, in order to cheer him, sounded on high a lion's roar and blew his conch.

13. Then, all at once, conches and kettle-drums, cymbals, drums and horns were played upon, and the sound was a tumultuous uproar.

14. Then, too, Madhava and the son of Pandu, seated in a grand chariot yoked to white horses, blew their celestial conches.

15. Hrishikesa blew the Panchajanya; and Arjuna blew the Devadatta. Bhima, (the doer) of terrible deeds, blew his great conch Paundra.

16. Prince Yudhishthira, the son of Kunti, blew the Anantavijaya, while Nakula and Sahadeva blew the Sughosha and the Manipushpaka.

17. The King of Kasi, an excellent archer, Sikhandin, the master of a great car, Dhrishtadyumna and Virata, and the unconquered Satyaki;

18. Drupada and the sons of Draupadi, O Lord of earth, and the son of Subhadra, of mighty arms, all together blew their respective conches.

19. That tumultuous sound rent the hearts of (the people) of Dhritarashtra's party, making both heaven and earth resound.

20-22. Then seeing the people of Dhritarashtra's party regularly marshaled, while the discharge of weapons began, Arjuna, the son of Pandu, whose ensign was a monkey, O King of earth, took up his bow and said thus to Krishna:
O Achyuta (Immortal), place my chariot between the two armies that I may just see those who stand here desirous to fight, and know with whom I must fight in this strife of battle.

23. I will observe those who are assembled here and are about to engage in battle desirous to do service in war to the evil-minded son of Dhritarashtra.

SAMJAYA SAID:
24-25. O descendant of Bharata, Hrishikesa (Krishna) thus addressed by Gudakesa (Arjuna) stationed that excellent car between the two armies in front of Bhisma and Drona and all the rulers of earth, and said: O son of Pritha, look at these assembled Kauravas.

26-27. Then the son of Pritha saw arrayed there in both the armies fathers and grandfathers, teachers, maternal uncles, brothers, sons, grandsons and comrades, father-in-law and friends.

27-28. When the son of Kunti saw all the kinsmen standing, he was overcome with deepest pity and said thus in sorrow:

ARJUNA SAID:
28-29. Seeing these kinsmen, O Krishna, arrayed and desirous to fight, my limbs droop down, and my mouth is dried up. A tremor comes on my body and my hairs stand on end.

30. The Gandiva slips from my hand and my skin is intensely burning. I am also unable to stand and my mind is whirling round, as it were.

31. And, O Kesava, I see omens foreboding evil. Nor do I see any good from killing my kinsmen in battle.

32. I desire not victory, O Krishna, nor kingdom, nor pleasures. Of what avail is dominion to us, O Govinda? Of what avail are pleasures and even life?

33-34. They for whose sake dominion, enjoyments and pleasures are sought by us are here standing, having staked their life and wealth; teachers, fathers, sons as well as grandfathers; maternal uncles, father-in-law grandsons, brothers-in-law as also (other) relatives.

35. These, O slayer of Madhu, I do not wish to kill, though they kill me, even for the sake of dominion over the three worlds; how much less, for the sake of the earth!

36. O Janardana, what delight shall be ours after killing the sons of Dhritarashtra? On killing these felons, sin only will take hold of us.

37. We had then better not slay our own kinsmen, the sons of Dhritarashtra; for, how can we be happy, O Madhava, after slaying our own people?

38-39. Though these, whose intelligence is stricken by greed, perceive no evil in the extinction of families and no sin in treachery to friends, yet, O Janardana, should not we, who clearly see evil in the extinction of a family, learn to refrain from this sinful deed?

40. On the extinction of a family, the immemorial dharmas of that family disappear. When the dharmas disappear, impiety (adharma) overtakes the whole family.

41. By the prevalence of impiety, O Krishna, the women of the family become corrupt. Women corrupted, there will be intermingling of castes (varna-samkara), O descendent of Vrishnis.

42. Confusion of castes leads the family of these destroyers of families also to hell; for, their forefathers fall (down to hell), deprived of the offerings of pinda (rice-ball) and water.

43. By these evil deeds of the destroyers of families, which cause the intermingling of castes, the eternal dharmas of castes and families are subverted.

44. We have heard, O Janardana, that necessary is the dwelling in hell of the men whose family dharmas are subverted.

45. Alas! We have resolved to commit a great sin, in as much as we are endeavoring to slay our kinsmen out of a craving for the pleasures of dominion.

46. It would be better for me, if the sons of Dhritarashtra, with arms in hand, should slay me unarmed and unresisting in the battle.

SAMJAYA SAID:
47. Having said thus, Arjuna, sorrow-stricken in mind, cast aside his bow and arrows in the midst of the battle and sat down in the chariot.

II. SANKHYA YOGA

SAMJAYA SAID:
1. To him who was thus overcome with pity and afflicted and whose eyes were full of tears and agitated, the destroyer of Madhu spoke as follows:

THE LORD SAID:
2. Whence in (this) perilous strait has come upon thee this weakness cherished by the unworthy, debarring from heaven and causing disgrace, O Arjuna?

3. Yield not to unmanliness, O son of Pritha. It does not become thee. Cast off this base weakness of heart and arise, O tormentor of foes.

ARJUNA SAID:
4. O slayer of Madhu, how shall I assail in battle with arrows Bhishma and Drona, who are worthy of worship, O slayer of enemies.

5. Better indeed in this world to live even upon alms than to slay the teachers of high honor. But, were I to slay these teachers, I should only in this world enjoy the pleasures of wealth, delights stained with blood.

6. And we know not which is the better alternative for us; nor do we know whether we shall conquer them or they will conquer us. Even the sons of Dhritarashtra, after killing whom we do not wish to live, stand arrayed against us.

7. My heart contaminated by the taint of helplessness, my mind confounded about Dharma, I ask Thee: tell me what is absolutely good. I am Thy pupil. Instruct me, who have sought Thy grace.

8. I do not indeed see what can dispel the grief which burns up my senses, even after attaining unrivalled and prosperous dominion on earth or even lordship over gods.

SAMJAYA SAID:
9. Having spoken thus to Hrishikesa, Gudakesa, the tormenter of foes, said to Govinda, 'I will not fight' and verily remained silent

10. To him who was grieving in the midst of the two armies, O descendant of Bharata, Hrishikesa as if smiling, spoke these words:

THE LORD SAID:
11. For those who deserve no grief thou hast grieved and words of wisdom thou speak. For the living and for the dead the wise grieve not.

12. Never did I not exist, nor thou, nor these rulers of men; and no one of us will ever hereafter cease to exist.

13. Just as in this body the embodied (Self) passes into childhood and youth and old age, so does He pass into another body. There the wise man is not distressed.

14. The sense-contacts it is, O son of Kunti, which causes heat and cold; pleasure and pain; they come and go, they are impermanent. Endure them bravely, O descendant of Bharata.

15. That wise man whom, verily, these afflict not, O chief of men, to whom pleasure and pain are same, he for immortality is fit.

16. Of the unreal no being there is; there is no non-being of the real. Of both these is the truth seen by the seers of the Essence.

17. But know that to be imperishable by which all this is pervaded. None can cause the destruction of That, the Inexhaustible.

18. These bodies of the embodied (Self) who is eternal, indestructible and unknowable are said to have an end. Do fight, therefore, O descendant of Bharata.

19. Whoever looks upon Him as the slayer and whoever looks upon Him as the slain, both these know not a right. He slays not, nor is He slain.

20. He is not born, nor does He ever die; after having been, He again ceases not to be; nor the reverse. Unborn, eternal, unchangeable and primeval, He is not slain when the body is slain.

21. Whoso knows Him as indestructible, eternal, unborn and inexhaustible - How, O son of Pritha, and whom does such a man cause to slay and whom does he slay?

22. Just as a man casts off worn-out clothes and puts on others which are new, so the embodied (self) casts off worn-out bodies and enters others which are new.

23. Him weapons cut not, Him fire burns not and Him water wets not; Him wind dries not.

24. He cannot be cut, nor burnt, nor wetted, nor dried up. He is everlasting, all-pervading stable, firm and eternal.

25. He, it is said, is un-manifest, unthinkable and unchangeable. Wherefore, knowing Him to be such, thou hast better grieve not.

26. But even if thou thinks of Him as ever being born and ever dying, even then, O mighty-armed, thou ought not to grieve thus.

27. To that which is born, death is indeed certain; and to that which is dead, birth is certain. Therefore, about the unavoidable thing, thou ought not to grieve.

28. Beings have their beginning unseen, their middle seen, and their end unseen again. Why any lamentation regarding them?

29. One sees Him as a wonder; and so also another speaks of Him as a wonder; and as a wonder another hears of Him; and though hearing, none understands Him at all.

30. He, the embodied (Self) in every one's body, can never be killed, O descendant of Bharata. Wherefore thou ought not to grieve about any creature.

31. Having regard to thy own duty also, thou ought not to waver. For, to a Kshatriya, there is nothing more wholesome than a lawful battle.

32. Happy Kshatriya, O son of Pritha, find such a battle as this, come of itself, an open door to heaven.

33. Now if thou wouldst not fight this lawful battle, then having abandoned thy own duty and fame, thou shall incur sin.

34. People, too, will recount thy everlasting infamy; and to one who has been esteemed, infamy is more than death.

35. The great car-warriors will think thou hast withdrawn from the battle through fear; and having been hitherto highly esteemed by them, thou wilt incur their contempt.

36. Thy enemies, too, scorning thy power, will take many abusive words. What is more painful than that?

37. Killed, thou wilt reach heaven; victorious, thou wilt enjoy the earth. Wherefore, O son of Kunti, arise, resolved to fight.

38. Then, treating alike pleasure and pain, gain and loss, success and defeat, prepare for the battle and thus wilt thou not incur sin.

39. This, which has been taught to thee is wisdom concerning Sankhya. Now listen to wisdom concerning Yoga, which possessing thou shall cast off the bond of action.

40. There is no loss of effort here, there is no harm. Even a little of this devotion delivers one from great fear.

41. Here, O son of Kuru, there is one thought of a resolute nature. Many-branched and endless are the thoughts of the irresolute.

42-44. No conviction of a resolute nature is formed in the mind of those who are attached to pleasures and power and whose minds are drawn away by that flowery speech which the unwise - enamored of Vedic utterances, declaring there is nothing else, full of desire, having svarga as their goal - utter, (a speech) which promises birth as there ward of actions and which abounds in specific acts for the attainment of pleasure and power, O son of Pritha.

45. The Vedas treat of the triad of the gunas. Be, O Arjuna, free from the triad of the gunas, free from pairs, free from acquisition and preservation, ever remaining in the Sattva and self-possessed.

46. What utility there is in a reservoir by the side of an all-spreading flood of water, the same(utility) there is in all Vedas for an enlightened Brahmana.

47. Thy concern is with action alone, never with results. Let the fruit of action be not thy motive, nor let thy attachment be for inaction.

48. Steadfast in devotion do thy works, O Dhananjaya, casting off attachment, being the same in success and failure. Evenness is called Yoga.

49. Verily action is far inferior to devotion in wisdom (buddhi-yoga), O Dhananjaya. In wisdom (buddhi) seek thou shelter. Wretched are they whose motive is the fruit.

50. He who is endued with wisdom casts off here both good deeds and bad deeds. Wherefore apply thyself to devotion. In regard to actions devotion is a power.

51. For, men of wisdom cast off the fruit of action; possessed of knowledge (and) released from the bond of birth, they go to the place where there is no evil.

52. When thy mind shall cross beyond the mire of delusion, then wilt thou attain to a disgust of what is yet to be heard and what has been heard.

53. When thy mind, perplexed by what thou hast heard, shall stand firm and steady in the Self, then wilt thou attain Yoga.

ARJUNA SAID:
54. What, O Kesava! Is the description of one of steady knowledge, who is constant in contemplation? How does one of steady knowledge speak, how sit, how move?

THE LORD SAID:
55. The Lord said: When a man, satisfied in the Self alone by himself, completely casts off all the desires of the mind, then is he said to be one of steady knowledge.

56. He whose heart is not distressed in calamities, from whom all longing for pleasures has departed, who is free from attachment, fear and wrath, he is called a sage, a man of steady knowledge.

57. Whoso, without attachment anywhere, on meeting with anything good or bad, neither exults nor hates, his knowledge becomes steady.

58. When he completely withdraws the senses from sense-objects, as the tortoise (withdraws) its limbs from all sides, his knowledge is steady.

59. Objects withdraw from an abstinent man, but not the taste. On seeing the Supreme, his taste, too, ceases.

60. The dangerous senses, O son of Kunti, forcibly carry away the mind of a wise man, even while striving (to control them).

61. Restraining them all, a man should remain steadfast, intent on Me. His knowledge is steady whose senses are under control.

62. When a man thinks of objects, attachment for them arises. From attachment arises desire; from desire arises wrath.

63. From wrath arises delusion; from delusion, failure of memory; from failure of memory, loss of conscience; from loss of conscience he is utterly ruined.

64. He attains peace, who, self-controlled, approaches objects with the senses devoid of love and hatred and brought under his own-control.

65. In peace there is an end of all his miseries; for, the reason of the tranquil-minded soon becomes steady.

66. There is no wisdom to the unsteady, and no meditation to the unsteady, and to the un-meditative no peace; to the peace-less, how can there be happiness?

67. For, the mind which yields to the roving senses carries away his knowledge, as the wind (carries away) a ship on water.

68. Therefore, O mighty-armed, his knowledge is steady whose senses have been entirely restrained from sense-objects.

69. What is night to all beings, therein the self controlled one is awake. Where all beings are awake, that is the night of the sage who sees.

70. He attains peace, into whom all desires enter as waters enter the ocean, which, filled from all sides, remains unaltered; but not he who desires objects.

71. That man attains peace, who, abandoning all desires, moves about without attachment, without selfishness, without vanity.

72. This is the Brahmic state, O son of Pritha. Attaining to this, none is deluded. Remaining in this state even at the last period of life, one attains to the felicity of Brahman.

III. KARMA YOGA

ARJUNA SAID:
1. If it be thought by Thee that knowledge is superior to action, O Janardana, why then dost Thou, O Kesava, direct me to this terrible action?

2. With an apparently perplexing speech, Thou confuses as it were my understanding. Tell me with certainty that one (way) by which I may attain bliss.

THE BLESSED LORD SAID:
3. In this world a two fold path was taught by Me at first, O sinless one: that of Sankhyas by devotion to knowledge and that of Yogins by devotion to action.

4. Not by abstaining from action does man win action-less-ness, nor by mere renunciation does he attain perfection.

5. None, verily, even for an instant, ever remains doing no action; for every one is driven helpless to action by the energies born of Nature.

6. He who, restraining the organs of action, sits thinking in his mind of the objects of the senses, self-deluded, he is said to be one of false conduct.

7. But whoso, restraining the senses by mind O Arjuna, engages in Karma-Yoga, unattached, with organs of action, he is esteemed.

8. Do thou perform (thy) bounden duty; for action is superior to inaction. And even the maintenance of the body would not be possible for thee by inaction.

9. Except in the case of action for Sacrifice's sake, this world is action-bound. Action for the sake there of, do thou, O son of Kunti, perform, free from attachment.

10. Having first created mankind together with sacrifices, the Prajapati said, By this shall ye propagate; let this be to you the cow of plenty.

11. With this do ye nourish the Gods and the Gods shall nourish you; thus nourishing one another, ye shall attain the supreme good.

12. Nourished by the sacrifice, the Gods shall indeed bestow on you the enjoyments ye desire. Whoso enjoys - without offering to Them - Their gifts, he is verily a thief.

13. The righteous, who eat the remnant of the sacrifice, are freed from all sins; but sin do the impious eat who cook for their own sakes.

14. From food creatures come forth; the production of food is from rain; rain comes forth from sacrifice; sacrifice is born of action;

15. Know thou that action comes from Brahman and that Brahman comes from the Imperishable. Therefore, the all-pervading Brahman ever rests in sacrifice.

16. He who follows not here the wheel thus set in motion, who is of sinful life, indulging in senses, he lives in vain, O son of Pritha.

17. That man, verily, who rejoices only in the self, who is satisfied with the Self, who is content in the Self alone - for him there is nothing to do.

18. For him, there is here no interest what ever in what is done or what is not done. Nor is there in all beings any one he should resort to for any object.

19. Therefore, without attachment, constantly perform the action which should be done; for, performing action without attachment, man reaches the Supreme.

20. By action only, indeed, did Janaka and others try to attain perfection. Even with a view to the protection of the masses thou should perform (action).

21. Whatsoever a great man does, that alone the other men do; whatever he sets up as the standard, that the world follows.

22. I have nothing whatsoever to achieve in the three worlds, O son of Pritha, nor is there anything unattained that should be attained; yet I engage in action.

23. For, should I not ever engage in action, unwearied, men would in all matters follow My path, O son of Pritha.

24. These worlds would be ruined if I should not perform action; I should be the cause of confusion of castes and should destroy these creatures.

25. As ignorant men act attached to work, O Bharata, so should the wise man act, unattached from a wish to protect the masses.

26. Let no wise man cause unsettlement in the minds of the ignorant who are attached to action; he should make them do all actions, himself fulfilling them with devotion.

27. Actions are wrought in all cases by the energies of Nature. He whose mind is deluded by egoism thinks 'I am the doer'.

28. But he who knows the truth, O mighty-armed, about the divisions of the energies and (their) functions, is not attached, thinking that the energies act upon the energies.

29. Those deluded by the energies of Nature are attached to the functions of the energies. He who knows the All should not unsettle the unwise who know not the All.

30. Renouncing all action in Me, with thy thought resting on the Self, being free from hope, free from selfishness, devoid of fever, do thou fight.

31. Men who constantly practice this teaching of Mine with faith and without caviling, they too are liberated from actions.

32. But those who, carping at this, My teaching, practice it not - know them as deluded in all knowledge, as senseless men doomed to destruction.

33. Even the man of knowledge acts in conformity with his own nature; (all) beings follow (their) nature; what shall coercion avail?

34. Love and hate lie towards the object of each sense; let none become subject to these two; for, they are his enemies.

35. Better one's own duty, though devoid of merit, than the duty of another well discharged. Better is death in one's own duty; the duty of another is productive of danger.

ARJUNA SAID:
36. But by what dragged on, O Varshneya, does a man, though reluctant, commit sin, as if constrained by force?

THE BLESSED LORD SAID:
37. It is desire, it is wrath, born of the energy of Rajas, all-devouring, all sinful; that, know thou, is the foe here.

38. As fire is surrounded by smoke, as a mirror by rust, as the foetus is enclosed in the womb, so is this covered by it.

39. Covered, O son of Kunti, is wisdom by this constant enemy of the wise, in the form of desire, which is greedy and insatiable.

40. The senses, mind and reason are said to be its seat; veiling wisdom through these, it deludes the embodied.

41. Therefore, O lord of the Bharatas, restrain the senses first, do thou cast off this sinful thing which is destructive of knowledge and wisdom.

42. They say that the senses are superior; superior to the senses is mind; superior to mind is reason; one who is even superior to reason is He.

43. Then knowing Him who is superior to reason, subduing the self by the self, slay thou, O mighty-armed, the enemy in the form of desire, hard to conquer.

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