The Bhagavadgita with the Sanatsujatiya and the Anugita
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THE SACRED BOOKS OFTHEEAST Volume 8 SACRED BOOKS OF THE EAST EDITOR: F. Max Muller These volumes of the Sacred Books of the East Series include translations of all the most important works of the seven non Christian religions. These have exercised a profound innuence on the civilizations of the continent of Asia. The Vedic Brahmanic System claims 21 volumes, Buddhism 10, and Jainism 2;8 volumes comprise Sacred Books of the Parsees; 2 volumes represent Islam; and 6 the two main indigenous systems of China. thus placing the historical and comparative study of religions on a solid foundation. VOLUMES 1,15. TilE UPANISADS: in 2 Vols. F. Max Muller 2,14. THE SACRED LAWS OF THE AR VAS: in 2 vols. Georg Buhler 3,16,27,28,39,40. THE SACRED BOOKS OF CHINA: In 6 Vols. James Legge 4,23,31. The ZEND-AVESTA: in 3 Vols. James Darmesleler & L.H. Mills 5, 18,24,37,47. PHALVI TEXTS: in 5 Vall. E. W. West 6,9. THE QUR' AN: in 2 Vols. E. H. Palmer 7. The INSTITUTES OF VISNU: J.Jolly R. THE BHAGA VADGITAwith lhe Sanalsujllliya and the Anugilii: K.T. Telang 10. THE DHAMMAPADA: F. Max Muller SUTTA-NIPATA: V. Fausbiill 1 I. BUDDHIST SUTTAS: T.W. Rhys Davids 12,26,41,43,44. VINAYA TEXTS: in 3 Vols. T.W. Rhys Davids & II. Oldenberg 19. THE FO·SHO-HING·TSANG·KING: Samuel Beal 21. THE SADDHARMA-PUM>ARlKA or TilE LOTUS OF THE TRUE LAWS: /I. Kern 22,45. lAINA SUTRAS: in 2 Vols. lIermannJacobi 25. MANU: Georg Buhler 29,30. THE GRlHYA-SlJTRAS: in 2 Vols. II. OIdenberg & F. Max Muller 32,46. VEDIC HYMNS: in 2 vols. F. Max Miiller & II. Oldenberg 33. THE MINOR LAW-BOOKS: J. Jolly 34,38. TilE VEDANTA SUmAS: in 2 Vols. with Sankariclirya's Comm.: G. Thibaut 35,36. THE QUESTIONS OF THE KING MIUNDA: in 2 Vois.: T.W. Rhys Davids 42. HYMNS OF TIlE ATHARVA-VEDA: M.81oomfleld 48. THE VEDANTA-SfJrRAS with Ramanuja's Snbh~ya: G.Thibaul 49. BUDDHIST MAHAYANA TEXTS: E.B. Cowell, F. Max Miiller & J. Takalcusu 50. INDEX: M. Win1erni/z THE BHAGAVADGITA Translated by KASHINATH TRIMBAK TELANG, M.A. WITH THE SANATSUJATIYA AND THE ANUGiTA I~ ~~o~1~~n~~:up LONDON AND NEW YORK First Published 1895-1910 by RoutledgeCurzon Published 2013 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. THE BHAGAVADGiTA Translated by Kashinath Trimbak Telang ISBN 07007 1547 9 The Sacred Books of the East in 50 vols ISBN 07007 0600 3 ISBN 978-0-700-71547-3 (hbk) CONTENTS. PACE DHAGAVAOOfTA :- Introduction 1 Translation 37 SANATSUGATfYA:-- Introduction 135 Translation 149 ArJUGtd:- Introduction 19' Translation 229 INDEx OF PRINCIPAL MATn:RS 395 SANSkRIT INDlf.X 439 Transliteration of Oriental Alphabets adopted for the Trang- lations of the Sacred Boaks of the East .... 3 This page intentionally left blank INTRODUCTION TO BHAGAVADGtTA. IT has become quite a literary commonplace, that-to borrow the words of Professor Max MUller in one of his recent lectures-history, in the ordinary sense of the word, is almost unknown in Indian literature 1. And it is certainly a remarkable irony of fate, that we should be obliged to make this remark on the very threshold of an introduction to the Bhagavadgttil; for according to the eminent French philosopher, Cousin 2, this great deficiency in Sanskrit litera ture is due, in no inconsiderable measure, to the doctrines propounded in the BhagavadgttA itself. But hgwever that may be, this much is certain, that the student of the Bha gavadgitA. must, for the present, go without that reliable historical information touching the author of the work, the time at which it was composed, and even the place it occupies in literature, which one naturally desires, when entering upon the study of any work. More especially in an attempt like the present, intended as it mainly is for students of the history of religion, I should have been better pleased, if I could, in this Introduction, have concentrated to a focus, as it were, only those well ascertained historical results, on which there is something like a consensus of opinion among persons qualified to judge. But there is no exaggeration in saying, that it is almost impossible to lay down even a single proposition respecting any important I Hibbert Lectures, p. 131. I Lectures 00 the History of Modem Philosophy (traDllated by O. W. Wight). vol. i, pp. 49, 50. At p. 433 seq. of the second volume. M. Coulin gives a general view of the doctrine of the Gill. See al80 Mr. Maurice'. and Ritter'. Histories of Philosopby. [8] B 2 BHAGAVADGhA. matter connected with the BhagavadgitA, about which any such consensus can be said to exist. The conclusions arrived at in this Introduction must, therefore, be distinctly understood to embody individual opinions only, and must be taken accordingly (or what they are worth. The full name of the work is BhagavadgltA. In -common parlance, we often abbreviate the name into GitA, and in Sanskrit nterature the name occurs in both (orms. I n the works of SaAkarUArya, quotations from the GitA are introduced, sometimes with the words • In the Glu,' or ' In the BhagavadgttA,' and sometimes with words which may be rendered • In the GttAs,' the plural form being used I. In the colophons to the MSS. of the work, the form current, apparently throughout India, is, 'In the Upanishads suog (Gltls) by the Deity.' SaI\karUArya, indeed, sometimes calls it the tsvara GltA', which, J believe, is the specific title of a different work altogether. The signification, however, of the two names is identical, namely, the song sung by the Deity, or, as Wilkins translates it, the Divine Lay. This Divthe Lay forms part o( the Bhtshma Parvan of the MahAbhArata-one of the two well-known national epics of India. The GilA gives its name to a subdivision of the Bhtshma Parvan, which is called the BhagavadgttA Parvan, and which includes, in addition to the eighteen chapters of which the GltA consists, twelve other chapters. Upon this the question has naturally arisen, Is the GltA a genuine portion of the MahAbhArata, or is it a later addition? The question is one of considerable difficulty. But I cannot help saying, that the manner in which it has been generally dealt with is not altogether satisfactory to my mind. Be fore going any further into that question, however, it is desirable to state some of the facts on which the decision must be based. It appears, then, that the royal Camily of HastinApura was divided into two branches; the one called the Kauravas, and the other the PAtuiavas. The I Ex. gr. Slrtnka Bbbhya, vol. II, p. 840. It I, allO often cited II a SlIIriti, ibid. vol. i, p. 152. t See Inter aUa Slrtnka Bhbhya, vol. I, p. 455,101. H, p. 687, and Cole brooke', EPay., 'fol.l, p. 355 (Madra.); Lusen', edition of the GttA, XXXV. INTRODUCTION. .1 former wished to keep the latter out of the share of the. kingdOtb claimed by them; and so, after many attempts at an amicable arrangement had proved fruitless, it was deter mined to decide the differences between the two parties by the arbitt'ament of arms. Each party accordingly collected its adherents, and the hostile armies met on the 'holy tield of Kurukshetra,' mentioned in the opening lines of our poem. At this juncture, Krishna DvaipAyana, alias VyAsa, It relative of both parties and endowed with more than human powers, presents himself before Dh,.itarAshtra, the father of the Kauravlls, who is stated to be altogether blind. Vyba asks Dh,itarAshtra whether it is his wish to look with his own eyes on the course of the battle; and on Dhritaf'Ash/ra's expressing his reluctance, VyAsa deputes one Sangaya to relate to DhritarAshtra all the events of the battle, giving to Satiga.ya, by means of his own super human powers, all necessary aids for performing the duty. Then the battle begins, and after a ten days' struggle, the. first great general of the Kauravas, namely Dhrshma, falls I. At this point Sangaya comes up to Dhritarashtra, and announces to him the sad result, which is of course a great blow to his party. DhritarAshtra then makes numerous enquiries of Sangaya regarding the course of the conflict. all of which SaRgaya duly answers. And among his earliest answers is the account of the conversation between K"ishffa and Arguna at the commencement of the battle, which constitutes the Bhagavadgit~. After relating to Dhyttarashtra that • wonderful and holy dialogue,' and after giving an account of what occurred in the intervals ofthe conversation, Sangaya proceeds to narrate the actual event. of the battle. With this rough outline of the framework of the .tory before us, we are now in a position to consider the opposing arguments on the point above noted. Mr. Talboys Wheeler wri~s on that point as follows:2: 'But there remains one I The whole stOTY is giyen in brief by the late Professor GoldstUcker in the Westminster Rniew. Aprlll868, p. 391 aeq.