The Bhagavad-Gita | Page 3

book or any other
medium if you either delete this "Small Print!" and all other references to Project
Gutenberg, or:
[1] Only give exact copies of it. Among other things, this requires that you do not remove,
alter or modify the etext or this "small print!" statement. You may however, if you wish,
distribute this etext in machine readable binary, compressed, mark-up, or proprietary
form, including any form resulting from conversion by word pro- cessing or hypertext
software, but only so long as *EITHER*:
[*] The etext, when displayed, is clearly readable, and does *not* contain characters
other than those intended by the author of the work, although tilde (~), asterisk (*) and
underline (_) characters may be used to convey punctuation intended by the author, and
additional characters may be used to indicate hypertext links; OR
[*] The etext may be readily converted by the reader at no expense into plain ASCII,
EBCDIC or equivalent form by the program that displays the etext (as is the case, for
instance, with most word processors); OR
[*] You provide, or agree to also provide on request at no additional cost, fee or expense,

a copy of the etext in its original plain ASCII form (or in EBCDIC or other equivalent
proprietary form).
[2] Honor the etext refund and replacement provisions of this "Small Print!" statement.
[3] Pay a trademark license fee to the Project of 20% of the net profits you derive
calculated using the method you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. If you
don't derive profits, no royalty is due. Royalties are payable to "Project Gutenberg
Association/Carnegie-Mellon University" within the 60 days following each date you
prepare (or were legally required to prepare) your annual (or equivalent periodic) tax
return.
WHAT IF YOU *WANT* TO SEND MONEY EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO?
The Project gratefully accepts contributions in money, time, scanning machines, OCR
software, public domain etexts, royalty free copyright licenses, and every other sort of
contribution you can think of. Money should be paid to "Project Gutenberg Association /
Carnegie-Mellon University".
*END*THE SMALL PRINT! FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END*

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. 67 Fifth Avenue 1900

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 primum, Vates sanctissime, Numinisque hypopheta! quisquis tandem
inter mortales dictus tu fueris, carminis bujus auctor,, cujus oraculis mens ad excelsa
quaeque,quaeque,, aeterna atque divina, cum inenarraoih quddam delectatione rapitur-te
primum, inquam, salvere jubeo, et vestigia tua semper adore." Lassen re-echoes this
splendid tribute; and indeed, so striking are some of the moralities here inculcated, and so
close the parallelism--ofttimes actually verbal-- between its teachings and those of the
New Testament, that a controversy has arisen between Pandits and Missionaries on the
point whether the author borrowed from Christian sources, or the Evangelists and
Apostles from him.
This raises the question of its date, which cannot be positively settled. It must have been
inlaid into the ancient epic at a period later than that of the original Mahabharata, but Mr
Kasinath Telang has offered some fair arguments to prove it anterior to the Christian era.
The weight of evidence, however, tends to place its composition at about the third
century after Christ; and perhaps there are really echoes in this Brahmanic poem of the
lessons of Galilee, and of the Syrian incarnation.
Its scene is the level country between the Jumna and the Sarsooti rivers-now Kurnul and
Jheend. Its simple plot consists of a dialogue held by Prince Arjuna, the brother of King
Yudhisthira, with Krishna, the Supreme Deity, wearing the disguise of a charioteer. A
great battle is impending between the armies of