Table of Contents

Preface Notes on the Bibliography and Exegesis of The Gita PART I: THE BHAGAVAD GITA Notes to the Translation PART II: INTERPRETATION OF THE BHAGAVAD GITA First Part: Preliminary Chapters 1. Introductory 2. The Origins of Hindu Speculation 3. The Upanisads, and the Funddamental Doctrines of Later Hindu Thought 4. Prehistory of the God of the Bhagavad Gita Second Part: The Teachings of The Bhagavad Gita 5. Soul and Body 6. The Nature of God 7. Action and Rebirth 8. The Way of Knowledge and the Way of Disciplined Activity 9. The Way of Devotion to God 10. Attitude Towards Hindu Orthodoxy and Other Religious Beliefs 11. Practical Morality Third Part: Summary and Conclusion 12. Summary 13. Conclusion Index of Words and Subjects Index of Passages Quoted

Promotional Information

Professor Edgerton's name guarantees the scholarship of his translation...[His] interpretive essays...have an interest even wider than that which belongs to so great a classic of Indian religion, for they include observations on the mysticism shown in them, and these deserve the consideration of students of mysticism in general. -- Arthur Darby Nock, Harvard Divinity School Bulletin

Reviews

It is a real pleasure to read 'India's favorite Bible' in this beautiful and very convenient edition... Edgerton analyzes the doctrines of the Gita with clearness and acuteness, and his expose is full of well-chosen quotations and suggestive remarks. -- P.E. Dumont * Journal of the American Oriental Society *
Professor Edgerton's name guarantees the scholarship of his translation... [His] interpretive essays...have an interest even wider than that which belongs to so great a classic of Indian religion, for they include observations on the mysticism shown in them, and these deserve the consideration of students of mysticism in general. -- Arthur Darby Nock * Harvard Divinity School Bulletin *
As a revelation of divine incarnation and an attempt to harmonize the rival spiritual paths of action, knowledge and devotion, the Sanskrit poem Bhagavad Gita, 'Song of the Lord,' itself incarnates all that is typically Hindu. Probably the most revered scripture outside the sacred vedas themselves, and certainly more influential than the latter in popular Hindu piety, the Gita-a self-contained fraction of the vast epic Mahabharata-has been translated innumerable times into many languages east and west... Edgerton's translation remains a solid piece of scholarship which no serious student of the Gita can afford to ignore. The same can be said of his chapters analyzing the historical setting and doctrinal content of the poem, which still constitute one of the best overall studies of the Gita ever published. -- Peter Moore * Times Higher Education Supplement *
The Gita is one of the most precious fruits of India... Professor Edgerton has a deep familiarity with that sacred text-he has read it word by word with many generations of students. * Isis *