भगवद्गीता

Bhagavad Gītā

"The Song of the Lord"

A dialogue of 700 verses between the warrior Arjuna and his charioteer Kṛṣṇa, manifestation of the divine. The most beloved text of Indian spirituality, where the battlefield becomes a metaphor for the inner struggles that every seeker faces.

The context

The scene takes place on the battlefield of Kurukṣetra, moments before a fratricidal war. Arjuna, the greatest archer of his time, looks at the enemy army and sees his own teachers, uncles, cousins. Paralyzed by the moral dilemma, he throws down his bow and refuses to fight.

Kṛṣṇa, acting as his charioteer, then begins a teaching that encompasses the nature of the Self, right action, and the paths to liberation. The Mahābhārata, the epic containing the Gītā, pauses: the armies wait while wisdom flows.

The three yogas

Kṛṣṇa expounds complementary paths, not mutually exclusive:

  • Karma Yoga — Selfless action, offering the fruits without attachment to results
  • Jñāna Yoga — Discriminative knowledge, discerning the real from the unreal
  • Bhakti Yoga — Loving devotion, surrender to the Lord as a direct path

Each temperament finds its way. The Gītā does not impose a single path: it offers an integral vision where action, knowledge, and devotion complement each other.

More about the text

The Mahābhārata

The Gītā is part of the Mahābhārata, the longest epic in world literature (100,000 verses, ten times the Iliad and Odyssey combined). It narrates the conflict between cousins — the Pāṇḍavas and the Kauravas — for the throne of Hastināpura.

Although war is the framework, the Mahābhārata is encyclopedic: it contains philosophy, mythology, ethics, politics. The Bhagavad Gītā (chapters 25-42 of book VI) is its philosophical jewel, so revered that it is studied independently.

Why we include it

Although not a Haṭha Yoga text, the Gītā establishes the philosophical framework where later practices find meaning. Concepts like sthira (stability), sama (equanimity), yoga as union and skill in action — resonate throughout the tradition.

Chapter 6 (Dhyāna Yoga) describes meditation with practical detail: posture, place, mental attitude. It is a bridge between the philosophy of Rāja Yoga and the practices that later texts would develop.

Dating and authorship

The Gītā was probably composed between the 5th century BCE and the 2nd century CE, reaching its current form around the Gupta period. Tradition attributes the Mahābhārata to Vyāsa, a mythical figure whose name means "compiler."

Recommended readings

  • The Bhagavad Gita — Eknath Easwaran (accessible translation)
  • The Bhagavad Gita — S. Radhakrishnan (bilingual academic edition)
  • God Talks with Arjuna — Paramahansa Yogananda (extensive commentary)
  • The Bhagavad Gita — Swami Sivananda (with traditional commentary)

This selection includes verses especially relevant to practice: equanimity, action without attachment, meditation, and the qualities of the yogi established in the Self.

Chapter 2 सांख्ययोग Sāṅkhya Yoga

The Yoga of Knowledge

Kṛṣṇa expounds the eternal nature of the Ātman, equanimity towards pairs of opposites, and establishes the foundations of Karma Yoga: acting without attachment to the fruits of action.

  1. 2.38 sukha-duḥkhe same kṛtvā lābhālābhau jayājayau | tato yuddhāya yujyasva naivaṃ pāpam avāpsyasi Treating pleasure and pain, gain and loss, victory and defeat alike, prepare for battle. Thus you wi...
  2. 2.47 karmaṇy evādhikāras te mā phaleṣu kadācana | mā karma-phala-hetur bhūr mā te saṅgo 'stv akarmaṇi Your right is to action alone, never to its fruits. Do not be the cause of the fruits of action, nor...
  3. 2.48 yoga-sthaḥ kuru karmāṇi saṅgaṃ tyaktvā dhanañjaya | siddhy-asiddhyoḥ samo bhūtvā samatvaṃ yoga ucyate Established in yoga, perform actions abandoning attachment, Dhanañjaya. Remaining equal in success a...
  4. 2.50 buddhi-yukto jahātīha ubhe sukṛta-duṣkṛte | tasmād yogāya yujyasva yogaḥ karmasu kauśalam Endowed with discernment, one abandons here both good and bad deeds. Therefore, devote yourself to y...
  5. 2.54 arjuna uvāca | sthita-prajñasya kā bhāṣā samādhi-sthasya keśava | sthita-dhīḥ kiṃ prabhāṣeta kim āsīta vrajeta kim Arjuna said: What are the signs of one established in wisdom, of one in samādhi, O Keśava? How does ...
  6. 2.55 śrī-bhagavān uvāca | prajahāti yadā kāmān sarvān pārtha mano-gatān | ātmany evātmanā tuṣṭaḥ sthita-prajñas tadocyate The Blessed Lord said: When one abandons all desires of the mind, O Pārtha, and is satisfied in the ...
  7. 2.56 duḥkheṣv anudvigna-manāḥ sukheṣu vigata-spṛhaḥ | vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhaḥ sthita-dhīr munir ucyate One whose mind is not disturbed in pain, who does not crave pleasure, free from attachment, fear and...
  8. 2.58 yadā saṃharate cāyaṃ kūrmo 'ṅgānīva sarvaśaḥ | indriyāṇīndriyārthebhyas tasya prajñā pratiṣṭhitā When one completely withdraws the senses from sense objects, as a tortoise draws in its limbs, then ...
  9. 2.59 viṣayā vinivartante nirāhārasya dehinaḥ | rasa-varjaṃ raso 'py asya paraṃ dṛṣṭvā nivartate The sense objects turn away from one who abstains, but the taste remains. Even this taste disappears...
  10. 2.62 dhyāyato viṣayān puṃsaḥ saṅgas teṣūpajāyate | saṅgāt sañjāyate kāmaḥ kāmāt krodho 'bhijāyate When one contemplates sense objects, attachment to them arises. From attachment, desire is born; fro...
  11. 2.63 krodhād bhavati saṃmohaḥ saṃmohāt smṛti-vibhramaḥ | smṛti-bhraṃśād buddhi-nāśo buddhi-nāśāt praṇaśyati From anger arises confusion; from confusion, loss of memory; from loss of memory, destruction of dis...
  12. 2.70 āpūryamāṇam acala-pratiṣṭhaṃ samudram āpaḥ praviśanti yadvat | tadvat kāmā yaṃ praviśanti sarve sa śāntim āpnoti na kāma-kāmī Just as waters enter the ocean, which though ever being filled remains still in its foundation, so t...

Chapter 3 कर्मयोग Karma Yoga

The Yoga of Action

Selfless action as a spiritual path. How to act in the world without generating karma, offering the fruits of all action as sacrifice.

  1. 3.4 na karmaṇām anārambhān naiṣkarmyaṃ puruṣo 'śnute | na ca saṃnyasanād eva siddhiṃ samadhigacchati Not by abstaining from action does one attain freedom from action, nor by renunciation alone does on...
  2. 3.5 na hi kaścit kṣaṇam api jātu tiṣṭhaty akarma-kṛt | kāryate hy avaśaḥ karma sarvaḥ prakṛti-jair guṇaiḥ No one can remain even for a moment without acting. Everyone is compelled to act by the qualities bo...
  3. 3.19 tasmād asaktaḥ satataṃ kāryaṃ karma samācara | asakto hy ācaran karma param āpnoti pūruṣaḥ Therefore, always perform the action that must be done, without attachment. For by acting without at...
  4. 3.27 prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ | ahaṃkāra-vimūḍhātmā kartāham iti manyate All actions are performed by the guṇas of nature, but one whose self is deluded by ego thinks: 'I am...
  5. 3.30 mayi sarvāṇi karmāṇi saṃnyasyādhyātma-cetasā | nirāśīr nirmamo bhūtvā yudhyasva vigata-jvaraḥ Renouncing all actions in Me, with mind focused on the Self, without expectations, without sense of ...

Chapter 6 ध्यानयोग Dhyāna Yoga

The Yoga of Meditation

Detailed instructions for the practice of meditation: posture, place, diet, mental attitude. The stabilization of the mind and the vision of the Ātman in all beings.

  1. 6.5 uddhared ātmanātmānaṃ nātmānam avasādayet | ātmaiva hy ātmano bandhur ātmaiva ripur ātmanaḥ Let one lift oneself by oneself; let one not degrade oneself. The self alone is the friend of the se...
  2. 6.6 bandhur ātmātmanas tasya yenātmaivātmanā jitaḥ | anātmanas tu śatrutve vartetātmaiva śatruvat For one who has conquered the self by the self, the self is a friend. But for one who has not conque...
  3. 6.10 yogī yuñjīta satatam ātmānaṃ rahasi sthitaḥ | ekākī yata-cittātmā nirāśīr aparigrahaḥ The yogī should constantly concentrate on the Self, remaining in solitude, with mind and body contro...
  4. 6.11 śucau deśe pratiṣṭhāpya sthiram āsanam ātmanaḥ | nāty-ucchritaṃ nāti-nīcaṃ cailājina-kuśottaram In a clean place, having established a firm seat for oneself, neither too high nor too low, covered ...
  5. 6.12 tatraikāgraṃ manaḥ kṛtvā yata-cittendriya-kriyaḥ | upaviśyāsane yuñjyād yogam ātma-viśuddhaye There, seated on the seat, making the mind one-pointed, with the activities of mind and senses contr...
  6. 6.13 samaṃ kāya-śiro-grīvaṃ dhārayann acalaṃ sthiraḥ | samprekṣya nāsikāgraṃ svaṃ diśaś cānavalokayan Holding the body, head and neck erect and aligned, motionless and steady, gazing at the tip of the n...
  7. 6.16 nāty-aśnatas tu yogo 'sti na caikāntam anaśnataḥ | na cāti-svapna-śīlasya jāgrato naiva cārjuna Yoga is not for one who eats too much nor for one who fasts excessively; nor for one who sleeps too ...
  8. 6.17 yuktāhāra-vihārasya yukta-ceṣṭasya karmasu | yukta-svapnāvabodhasya yogo bhavati duḥkhahā Yoga destroys suffering for one who is moderate in eating and recreation, balanced in actions, and r...
  9. 6.19 yathā dīpo nivāta-stho neṅgate sopamā smṛtā | yogino yata-cittasya yuñjato yogam ātmanaḥ As a lamp in a windless place does not flicker — such is the comparison for the yogī of controlled m...
  10. 6.25 śanaiḥ śanair uparamed buddhyā dhṛti-gṛhītayā | ātma-saṃsthaṃ manaḥ kṛtvā na kiñcid api cintayet Gradually, little by little, one should become quiet through the intellect held with firmness. Havin...
  11. 6.26 yato yato niścarati manaś cañcalam asthiram | tatas tato niyamyaitad ātmany eva vaśaṃ nayet Wherever the restless and unsteady mind wanders, one should bring it back and place it under the con...
  12. 6.35 asaṃśayaṃ mahā-bāho mano durnigrahaṃ calam | abhyāsena tu kaunteya vairāgyeṇa ca gṛhyate Without doubt, O mighty-armed one, the mind is restless and difficult to control. But it is mastered...

Chapter 12 भक्तियोग Bhakti Yoga

The Yoga of Devotion

The qualities of the devotee dear to the Lord. The path of love and surrender as a direct route to realization.

  1. 12.8 mayy eva mana ādhatsva mayi buddhiṃ niveśaya | nivasiṣyasi mayy eva ata ūrdhvaṃ na saṃśayaḥ Fix your mind on Me alone, establish your intellect in Me. Then you will live in Me, without doubt, ...
  2. 12.12 śreyo hi jñānam abhyāsāj jñānād dhyānaṃ viśiṣyate | dhyānāt karma-phala-tyāgas tyāgāc chāntir anantaram Better than mechanical practice is knowledge; better than knowledge is meditation; better than medit...
  3. 12.13 adveṣṭā sarva-bhūtānāṃ maitraḥ karuṇa eva ca | nirmamo nirahaṅkāraḥ sama-duḥkha-sukhaḥ kṣamī Without hatred toward any being, friendly and compassionate, without sense of possession or ego, equ...
  4. 12.14 santuṣṭaḥ satataṃ yogī yatātmā dṛḍha-niścayaḥ | mayy arpita-mano-buddhir yo mad-bhaktaḥ sa me priyaḥ Always satisfied, the self-controlled yogī of firm determination, with mind and intellect dedicated ...
  5. 12.15 yasmān nodvijate loko lokān nodvijate ca yaḥ | harṣāmarṣa-bhayodvegair mukto yaḥ sa ca me priyaḥ One by whom the world is not disturbed, and who is not disturbed by the world, free from excessive j...