Produced by J. C. Byers. HTML version by Al Haines.
The
Song Celestial.
or
Bhagavad-Gita
(From the Mahabharata)
Being a Discourse Between Arjuna,
Prince of India, and the Supreme Being
Under the Form of Krishna
Translated from the Sanskrit Text by
Sir Edwin Arnold,
M.A., K.C.I.E., C.S.I.
New York
Truslove, Hanson & Comba, Ltd.
Dedication
TO INDIA
So have I read this wonderful and spirit-thrilling speech,
By Krishna and Prince Arjun held, discoursing each with each;
So have I writ its wisdom here,--its hidden mystery,
For England; O our India! as dear to me as She!
EDWIN ARNOLD
PREFACE
This famous and marvellous Sanskrit poem occurs as an episode of the
Mahabharata, in the sixth--or "Bhishma"--Parva of the great Hindoo epic. It enjoys immense popularity and authority in India, where it is reckoned as one of the ``Five Jewels,"--pancharatnani--of Devanagiri literature. In plain but noble language it unfolds a philosophical system which remains to this day the prevailing Brahmanic belief, blending as it does the doctrines of Kapila, Patanjali, and the Vedas. So lofty are many of its declarations, so sublime its aspirations, so pure and tender its piety, that Schlegel, after his study of the poem, breaks forth into this outburst of delight and praise towards its unknown author:
"Magistrorum reverentia a Brachmanis inter sanctissima pietatis officia refertur. Ergo te primu…