Academic literature on the topic 'Bhagavad gita commentaries'

Shrimad Bhagavad Gita is the glorious dialogue between Arjuna and Sri Krishna containing the essence of the Vedic philosophy in nutshell and in the most lucid form. There have been thousands of commentaries on Bhagavad Gita and many different interpretations are also available from ancient to the medieval period. Each scholar has interpreted it according to the main philosophical precept of his/her School of thought, while other interpretations were also possible. However the commentary in Marathi, the regional language by Sant Jnaneshwar is unique. He as a Yogi, a Poet, a Bhakta and a Jnani of the Nath Vaishnava tradition (Sampradaya), Varkari (Vithoba-Krishna) Bhakti movement tradition and disciple of his own elder brother and guru Nivvruttinath. Jnaneshwar gifted us a precious work which is the commentary on Shrimad Bhagawad Gita, titled Bhavarthdeepika in Marathi and also known as Jnaneshwari and Shri Dnyaneshwari. What is unique in Jnaneshwari is that it is written keeping in mind a common man and not an elite class of that time. That is the reason why it is written in Marathi, a regional language and filled with many examples and similes that a common would easily understand. Many people also believe that it was Lord Krishna Himself, who reincarnated to make the Gita available to everyone. This present study is a humble attempt to find and present all these similes and examples that are used allegorically by Jnaneshwar to simplify the message conveyed by lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita. The study is delimited to the Karmayoga only and hence, the researcher has compiled the verses dealing with the Karmayoga, particularly in third to sixth chapters

The Sarartha-varsini is an orthodox Guariya vaisnava commentary on the Bhagavad-gita. This research project aimed to use the text of the Sarartha-varsini as the starting point for an investigation into the Gauriya sect around the time of its composition. The project began by establishing a scholarly edition of the text with the aid of extant manuscripts and available printed editions. A critical edition and translation of the first three chapters are presented in the appendix. As the project progressed, interesting archival material surfaced, and the relationship of the sect with the state of Amber/Jaipur became the focus. The role of Gauriya religious dignitaries in religious debate in Jaipur was investigated, and the issue of sectarian affiliation emerged as an issue for which the text if the Sarartha-varsini was particularly illuminating. Joseph O’Connell and Klaus Klostermaier had done fine academic research on works by the same author and had even touched on this work. Nevertheless, a large amount of groundwork remained to be done to ascertain basic issues such as names, dates, claims of authorship, and other biographical details. Section One and Two of this dissertation review previous scholarship and tradition on these issues and provide new insights from textual analysis and archival investigation. With regard to the politico-religious milieu in Rajasthan, V.S. Bhatnagar, Monika Horstman and Irfan Habib had already performed significant archival research and published extremely useful findings. My study therefore greatly assisted in this area, and this dissertation was able to build on the very solid foundation established by these fine scholars. This study contains reference to many archival documents already published by them, and it introduces a good deal of previously unpublished archival records. Of particular interest are the new records regarding the influence of Visvanatha Cakravarti, Krnadeva Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya, and Baladeva Vidyabhusana. Section Three combines old and new material to create for the first time a ‘historical’ snapshot of these Gauriya dignitaries and the politico-religious issues of their times. The analysis of the sectarian influences on the text of the Sarartha-varsini (Section 4) brings together the historical issues of the era and the edited text. This section provides clear empirical analysis on the sectarian affiliation of the sect in matters of doctrine. The textual evidence clearly indicates that the Gauriya-Madhva affiliation was merely an ‘official’ stance. Evidence from the text points to a much stronger doctrinal allegiance to Sridhara Swami and the Bhagavata-purana. The Bhagavad-gita commentary has provided an invaluable common platform from which to compare the Gauriya sect with other established sects and important commentators.

The Bhagavad-Gita is Gandhi’s guide to daily living. Scholars and Hindu followers of the Gita have found Gandhi’s readings and commentaries of karma-yoga and especially of a nonviolent Gita surprising, inadequate, and a hermeneutical disaster. What distinguishes Gandhi’s interpretation of karma-yoga is his emphasis on the karmic world of relative truth. What is really remarkable is Gandhi’s interpretation of the central message of the Gita as a gospel of ahimsa. How can Gandhi justify such a seemingly bizarre claim? I examine usual interpretations of this claim that one must not take the Gita literally, but must instead read and interpret it as highly symbolic, mythic, allegorical text. More significantly, I attempt to analyze Gandhi’s approach and dramatic nonviolent interpretations by regarding the Gita as a dynamic open-ended text that is always contextualized and involves a key, creative, insightful hermeneutical move of greatest relevance today.