''The Song Celestial: A Poetic Version of the Bhagavad Gita'' is a translation of the

Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita (; sa, श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता, lit=The Song by God, translit=śrīmadbhagavadgītā;), often referred to as the Gita (), is a 700- verse Hindu scripture that is part of the epic ''Mahabharata'' (c ...

(a part of the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

) from

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

into

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

by Sir Edwin Arnold, first published in 1885. The translation following ''

The Light of Asia ''The Light of Asia'', or ''The Great Renunciation'' (''Mahâbhinishkramana''), is a book by Sir Edwin Arnold. The first edition of the book was published in London in July 1879. In the form of a narrative poem, the book endeavours to describ ...

'', his narrative-poem of the

Lalitavistara Sūtra The ''Lalitavistara Sūtra'' is a Sanskrit Mahayana sutras, Mahayana Buddhist sutra that tells the story of Gautama Buddha from the time of his descent from Tushita until his first sermon in the Deer Park at Sarnath near Varanasi. The term ''La ...

. It is dedicated to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

with the following preface: In his autobiography,

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

recalled when two

theosophist Theosophy is a religion established in the United States during the late 19th century. It was founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and draws its teachings predominantly from Blavatsky's writings. Categorized by scholars of religion a ...

brothers gave him ''The Song Celestial'' during his studies in England. This was the first time Gandhi had ever read the

Gita The Bhagavad Gita (; sa, श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता, lit=The Song by God, translit=śrīmadbhagavadgītā;), often referred to as the Gita (), is a 700- verse Hindu scripture that is part of the epic ''Mahabharata'' ( ...

, as he had never read it in

nor in

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub ...

. Gandhi adored this version, stating: "I have read almost all English translations ..and I regard Sir Edwin Arnold's as the best." Gandhi also invited Edwin Arnold to be the vice-president of the

Vegetarian Society The Vegetarian Society of the United Kingdom is a British registered charity which was established on 30 September 1847 to promote vegetarianism. History In the 19th century a number of groups in Britain actively promoted and followed meat ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Summary

The book summarizes itself as the following:

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

, who is regarded as an incarnation of the

Divine Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine< ...

, then instructs

Arjuna Arjuna (Sanskrit: अर्जुन, ), also known as Partha and Dhananjaya, is a character in several ancient Hindu texts, and specifically one of the major characters of the Indian epic Mahabharata. In the epic, he is the third among Panda ...

on the way of

duty A duty (from "due" meaning "that which is owing"; fro, deu, did, past participle of ''devoir''; la, debere, debitum, whence "debt") is a commitment or expectation to perform some action in general or if certain circumstances arise. A duty may ...

and

liberation Liberation or liberate may refer to: Film and television * ''Liberation'' (film series), a 1970–1971 series about the Great Patriotic War * "Liberation" (''The Flash''), a TV episode * "Liberation" (''K-9''), an episode Gaming * '' Liberati ...

through right action. The message he enunciates is applicable to people of all Faiths and all ages, for the battle to be fought, not only by mankind as a whole but for each individual, is the eternal one between right and wrong, between wisdom and ignorance, between the

Self The self is an individual as the object of that individual’s own reflective consciousness. Since the ''self'' is a reference by a subject to the same subject, this reference is necessarily subjective. The sense of having a self—or ''selfhood ...

and not-Self.Arnold

Chapters

The chapters are listed as follows: #''The Distress of Arjuna'' #''The Book of Doctrines'' #''Virtue in Works'' #''The Religion of Knowledge'' #''Religion of Renouncing Works'' #''Religion of Self-Restraint'' #''Religion by Discernment'' #''Religion by Service of the Supreme'' #''Religion by the Kingly Knowledge and the Kingly Mystery'' #''Religion by the Heavenly Perfections'' #''The Manifesting of the One and Manifold'' #''Religion of Faith'' #''Religion of Separation of Matter and Spirit'' #''Religion of Separation of the Qualities'' #''Religion by Attaining the Supreme'' #''The Separateness of the Divine and Undivine'' #''Religion by the Threefold Faith'' #''Religion by Deliverance and Renunciation''

References

External links

The Song Celestial, 1885
{{DEFAULTSORT:Song Celestial Bhagavad Gita 1885 books Epic poems in English Mahabharata Kurukshetra Krishna Dialogues Translations into English

Summary

Chapters

See also

References

External links