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TRUBNER'S 
 ORIENTAL SERIES. 
 
THE BHAGAYAD GITA; 
 
 OR, 
 
 THE SACRED LAY. 
 
 A SANSKRIT PHILOSOPHICAL POEM. 
 
 TRANSLATED, WITH NOTES, 
 
 JOHN DA VIES, M.A. (Cantab.) 
 
 MEMBER OF THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY, OF THE CAMBRIDGE PHILOLOGICAL 
 SOCIETY, ETC., AND (SOMETIME) RECTOR OF WALSOKEN, NORFOLK. 
 
 THIRD EDITION. 
 
 Lo; 
 
 KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER, & CO. L^:^^ 
 
 PATERNOSTER HOUSE, CHARING CROSS ROAD. 
 1893. 
 
730 
 t>€dl 
 
 R -SE 
 
 n 
 
 The rights of translation and of reproduction are reserved. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 
 Introduction 
 Translation : — 
 
 READING 
 
 I. THE DESPONDENCY OF AR JUNA , 
 
 II. THE SANKHTA-YOGA (DOCTRINE) 
 
 III. DEVOTION BY WORK . 
 
 IV. THE DEVOTION OF KNOWLEDGE. 
 V. DEVOTION BY RENOUNCING WORKS 
 
 VL DEVOTION BY SELF-RESTRAINT . 
 VII. DEVOTION THROUGH SPIRITUAL DISCERNMENT 
 VIIT. DEVOTION TO THE SUPREME ETERNAL BRAHMA 
 
 IX. DEVOTION THROUGH THE ROYAL KNOWLEDGE AND 
 
 THE ROYAL MYSTERY 
 
 X. DEVOTION BY THE DIVINE PERFECTIONS . 
 
 XI. THE MANIFESTATION OF THE UNIVERSAL FORM 
 
 XIL THE DEVOTION OF WORSHIP .... 
 
 XIIL DEVOTION BY THE SEPARATION OF MATTER AND SPIRIT 
 
 XIV. DEVOTION BY SEPARATION FROM THE THREE MODES 
 
 XV. DEVOTION IN ATTAINING TO THE HIGHEST BEING . 
 
 PAGB 
 
 I 
 
 19 
 32 
 
 47 
 58 
 68 
 
 75 
 
 86 
 
 94 
 
 102 
 no 
 
 120 
 
 131 
 136 
 
 144 
 150 
 
 136154 
 
i CONTENTS, 
 
 BEADING PACK 
 
 XVI. DEVOTION WITH REGARD TO THE SEPARATE STATE OF 
 
 GODS AND ASURAS 155 
 
 XVII. DEVOTION BY THE THREEFOLD KINDS OF FAITH . l6l 
 
 XVIII. DEVOTION IN DELIVERANCE AND RENUNCIATION . 1 68 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 I. ON THE DATE AT WHICH THE BHAGAVAD GITA WAS PRO- 
 BABLY WRITTEN, AND ON THE THEORY THAT IT WAS 
 WRITTEN UNDER AN INFLUENCE DERIVED FROM A 
 KNOWLEDGE OF CHRISTIAN DOCTRINES . . . l8l 
 
 II. THE TRADITIONARY LINE OF DESCENT OF THE LUNAR 
 
 DYNASTY 202 
 
 III. COLLATipX OF TWO MSS. WITH THE BONN EDITION OF 
 THE BHAGAVAD GiTA, AND THE READINGS OF OTHER 
 EDITIONS AND MSS. . . .... 204 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The Bliagavad Gita is a poem, written in the usual verse- 
 form of the Hindu epic poems, and is an episode in the 
 sixth book, or Bhishma Parvan, of the Mahabharata, an 
 epic poem devoted mainly to the deeds of the rival princes, 
 who, though descended from a common ancestor, Kuru, 
 fought as Kauravas and Pandavas for the kingdom of 
 which Hastinapura was the capital. The facts which pre- 
 ceded the opening scene of the poem are briefly these : — 
 Dhritarashtra and Pandu, the sons of Vvasa, were broucjht 
 up, after the death of their father, by their uncle Bhishma, 
 who carried on, in their minority, the government of 
 Hastinapura. Dhritarashtra was the first-born, but being 
 blind, he renounced the kingdom in favour of Pandu. 
 The former married Gandhari, daughter of Subala, king 
 of Gandhara, and had one hundred sons, of whom Dur- 
 yodhana was the eldest. Pandu married Kunti, also called 
 Pritha, the daughter of a Yadava prince, Siira, who gave 
 her in charge to his childless cousin, Kuntibhoja. She 
 bore three sons, Yudishthira, Bhima, and Arjuna; the 
 eldest (Yudishthira), being born before Duryodliana, was 
 installed by Dhritarashtra as Yuvaraja, or heir-apparent,^ 
 
 1 Other traditions represent that a tarashtra, and to Yudhishthira was 
 compromise was subsequently made, given a territory of which Indra- 
 by which the kingdom of Hastinil- prastha, on the river Yamuna, was 
 pura was given to the sons of Dhri- the capital 
 
 A 
 
2 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 and soon distinguished himself by his warlike exploits, in 
 which his brothers assisted him. The renown which the 
 Pandu princes acquired excited in Dhritarashtra and his 
 son Duryodhana a jealous desire to supplant them. The 
 latter formed a plan to destroy them by setting fire to 
 their house, and to obtain the throne for himself. This 
 plan failed, and then he plotted with a skilful dice-player, 
 called Sakuni, to take advantage of Yudishthira's love of 
 gambling, and by leading him to stake his kingdom, to 
 win it from him. 
 
 Dhritarashtra was induced to call an assembly (sabha) 
 at Hastinapura, which the Pandavas were invited to attend. 
 They came, and Duryodhana persuaded Yudishthira to 
 play with Sakuni. He consented, and in the excitement 
 of the game he staked successively his kingdom, his 
 private possessions, and then his wife, Draupadl. He lost 
 them all, and Draupadl was seized, and treated with great 
 indignity as a slave. A compromise was, however, ma(^r 
 Duryodhana was to have the kingdom for twelve years, 
 and during this time the five Pandavas (including two 
 sons, Nakula and Sahadeva, whose mother was Madri) 
 were to live in exile. When the time of exile had expired, 
 they determined to regain their kingdom by force; for 
 Duryodhana, who is represented as being crafty and un- 
 principled, refused to restore it. Each party made prepa- 
 rations for the contest, and sought to gain allies among 
 the neighbouring kings. A large army was collected by 
 each, the army of Duryodhana being commanded by his 
 great-uncle Bhishma, and that of the Pandavas by Bhima, 
 the second son of Pandu and Kunti. The two armies met 
 on_the sacred plain, the plain of the Kurus, and were 
 drawn up in array against each other. 
 
^ 
 
 / 
 
 ''^ INTRODUCTION. 
 
 It is at this point that our poem begins. Arjuna 
 occupies his war-chariot as one of the leaders of the 
 Pandavan host, and Krishna, disguised in human form,_Js 
 his siita, or charioteer. Then, looking upon the two hosts, 
 in each of which he had many relatives, the fortitude of 
 Arjuna gave way. He directed his charioteer to drive 
 "between the two armies, that he might regard them more 
 closely. Krishna obeyed the command, and Arjuna, 
 overcome by pity and sorrow at the idea of killing his 
 kinsmen, let fall his bow and arrow, and refused to fight_^. 
 
 Here the first book closes, and Krishna, who makes 
 himself known at length as the Supreme Spirit {Paramdt- 
 man), meets the objections of Arjuna by unfolding a 
 philosophical system, which is a skilful union of the 
 systems of Kapila and Patanjali, with a large admixture 
 of the prevailing Brahmanic doctrines, 
 ^ts base is the theistic form of the Sankhya, as set forth 
 by Patanjali, and this treats mainly of the One Supreme 
 Being, eternal, infinite, the source and maintainer of all 
 things, in whom all things are from time to time absorbed 
 at the end of a Jcalpa, or period of creation ; and of man, 
 compounded of soul and body, whose highest state is a 
 profound abstraction from all external things and union 
 by meditation (i/oga) with the Supreme. This is com- 
 pleted for ever by nirvana, or absorption into the very 
 nature of Brahma, as a drop of water is absorbed or lost 
 in the sea. In the Bhagavad Gita the Supreme Being is 
 represented under five different forms or manifestations 
 of being: — (i.) As Adhydtman, or Supreme Si^irit: this 
 spiritual essence is his proper nature (swahJidva). In 
 his relation to gods and men he is (2.) the Supreme Deity 
 (Adhidaiva), as being both their origin and their ruler. 
 
4 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Of the existing kosmos, including men and mere forms of 
 matter, he is (3.) the Indivisible (AJcsJiara), the living 
 energy which animates all living things, in which form he 
 is sometimes called Jlvctbhuta, the Principle of Life ; and 
 (4.) the Divisible {Kshard), the limited and various forms 
 or individualities of men and things. Lastly, as the object 
 and cause of religion, he is called (5.) the Lord of Sacrifice 
 {Adhiyajna), and in this respect he is incarnated as 
 Krishna, since it is difficult for flesh-encumbered mortals 
 to rise to the conception and worship of a purely spiritual 
 being (viii. 3, 4). As the Supreme Deity, Adhidaiva, 
 he is also called Purusha, which means both soul and a 
 male being, for in this form he is the creator of gods and 
 men. 
 
 This is a wide departure from the system of Kapila, 
 who limited his speculations to the visible world, and 
 what might be inferred by human reason, or known by the 
 facts of consciousness. Like Fichte, he held apparently 
 that man can know nothing above himself by any mental 
 effort of his own, and can therefore have no direct know- 
 ledge of God. Sacrifice and religious worship found, 
 therefore, no place in his system, or if it was accepted for 
 some reason apart from his system, it was subordinate in 
 itself and its results to philosophical knowledge. The 
 author of the Gita takes a wholly different position on the 
 question of a Supreme Being, and approaches more nearly 
 the Vedantist system ; but yet he differs very widely from 
 the commonly received doctrines and ritual, (^n his view 
 the Supreme Being is One, without a rival, without such 
 attributes as were assigned to the gods in the popular 
 belief, and unstained by any of their passions or vices. 
 Trom whatever source his ideas were derived, whether 
 
INTRODUCTION. 5 
 
 from some knowledge which came from a system lying 
 wholly apart from the Hindu creed, or from tlie working 
 of his own mind, he rose here to a height of conception 
 far beyond the level of his age or his race. # The unity of 
 the divine nature was not wholly unknown to the Hindu 
 mind, but practically this idea was buried under a mass of 
 ritual, whose offices were assigned to many gods, of vary- 
 ing degrees of power and goodness. The One Supreme 
 Spirit appears, indeed, incarnate as Krishna, and here our 
 author's Brahmanic training appears ; but in his proper 
 spiritual nature he is " the supreme Brahma, the supreme 
 abode, the highest purification (the holiest of the holy, 
 Telang), the Eternal Creative Power (Purusha), Divine, the 
 Lord of Gods, Unborn, the mighty Lord (Vibhu)" (x. 12). 
 He is the source of all things, whether spirit or matter, 
 the efficient and material cause of the whole universe. 
 Here our author comes very near the pure Pantheism of 
 the common Hindi! creed. All souls are a part of Brahma's 
 spiritual ' nature, individuated by their connection with 
 bodily forms ; but yet, having issued from him, they re- 
 turn, at least in their highest state, to him, to be absorbed 
 in his infinite being. The existence and the immortality 
 of the soul are asserted as truths which could be denied 
 only by narrow-minded worldlings, in whom the pleasures 
 of the senses had dulled every nobler faculty. The soul 
 never began to be ; it can never die, nor can it ever grow 
 old (ii. 12, 13). At the death of the body, which is only 
 the soul's fleshly covering, it enters into a new body. 
 Taking with it the subtle body {lingo), a surrounding frame 
 composed of the subtler forms of matter, with this it 
 enters another womb, where only the coarser animal frame 
 is developed. This latter utterly perishes when the soul 
 
6 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 abandons it. The doctrine of metempsychosis, or trans- 
 migration of souls, is therefore distinctly taught. It is a 
 doctrine which, more than any other, has gained a general 
 acceptance in Eastern countries : it belongs equally to the 
 system of Kapila and the most advanced Vedantist school. 
 The Supreme Being is also the source of all material 
 existences (x. 2, xiv. 3). In his exposition of this doc- 
 trine our author differs widely from the Sankhya system, 
 and from the Mimansa or Yedantist view. Kapila taught 
 that Prakriti (Nature) was the material source of all 
 beings or corporeal forms; soul being entirely distinct 
 and eternal both as to the future and the past. In the 
 Vedantist school all bodily forms or material existences 
 are mere illusion (mdijd) ; a temporary appearance, like 
 an image of the moon in water, with which it has pleased 
 the One Sole Being to veil for a time his purely spiritual 
 nature. The watchword of this school is adwaita, or 
 " non-dualism." Its creed is simplicity itself. In the 
 Chhandogya Upanishad (iii. 14) it is thus exi:)ressed : " All 
 the universe is Brahma ; from him it proceeds ; into him 
 it is dissolved ; in him it breatlies." It is comprised in the 
 simple formula, Ekam evddiuitnjam, " One thing (essence) 
 only, without a second." There is therefore properly 
 neither cause nor effect. All that exists, or that seems 
 to exist, is only Brahma. The difficult, or rather the 
 impossible, problem of the origin of matter and of existing 
 forms is set aside by a mere negation of matter, the only 
 existence being the One Eternal Spirit. Here is a doc- 
 trine which lies in the absolutely opposite pole to that of 
 many modem scientists, who can see in the varied forms 
 of existence, and in the will, the intellect, and the affec- 
 tions of men, only different phases of matter. The system 
 
INTRODUCTION. 7 
 
 of our author, however, did not accord with any of these. 
 In his view, Prakriti, or material N'ature, was a part of the 
 Supreme Being, in whom there was a duality in this 
 respect, Prakriti being his lower nature. The term which 
 Kapila applied to primeval matter, the v\r] of the Greeks 
 — Avyalda, the Unmanifested or Undeveloped — is assigned 
 to this element of the divine nature (ix. 4) ; hence all 
 things are said to be from him (x. 8) ; all things are said 
 to be in him, but he is not in them, i.e., as a spiritual 
 being ; in that which gives him his peculiar name he is 
 not in them. 
 
 He is, however, in all as the Principle of Life (jlvabhuta), 
 the living energy by which all beings are animated (vii. 5); 
 the undivided spiritual force which corresponds to the ani- 
 ma mundi of Western philosophers. Hence there are said 
 to be two spiritual existences {'purusTia) in the world, the 
 Divided, or the individual soul in each body, and the 
 Undivided, the universal, vital principle referred to. 
 " But," it is added, " there is another Spirit (purusha), 
 the Highest, called the Supreme Soul " (paramdtman) ; 
 and Krishna, speaking as of this Supreme Being, con- 
 tinues : " Wherefore, since I surpass the Divided and am 
 above the Undivided, I am called in the world and in the 
 Vedasthe Highest Spirit" (jmrushoUama) (xv. 13, 17, 18). 
 The Yedantist, who admits only one existence, affirms that 
 the Jivabhiita, or Principle of Life, and the Paramatman, 
 or Supreme Spirit, are absolutely one and the same; for 
 the whole phenomenal world, and that which animates it, 
 are only manifestations, and, with regard to phenomena, 
 illusive manifestations, of the One Being. Tiie Yedantist 
 doctrine of illusion (mdya), which denies all true reality 
 to the phenomenal world, is of late introduction. The 
 
8 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 jlr 
 
 word appears in the Gita, but not in the Yedantist sense. 
 The outer world is an illusion, not because it has no real 
 existence, but because it veils the Spiritual Being who 
 pervades all things ; and men are thus deluded so far as 
 to maintain that nothing exists except that which meets 
 the senses. " I am not manifest to every one," Krishna 
 says, "being enveloped by my mystic illusion. This 
 deluded world does not recognise Me, the Unborn and 
 Eternal" (vii. 25). 
 
 This Supreme Spirit is, then, the source of all existences, 
 whether spiritual or material ; they are portions of him- 
 self, but they are separate existences for the present, 
 being divided by the limits of corporeal existence. All 
 souls are from him, and their highest happiness is to be 
 reabsorbed into his essence. How, then, can this great 
 blessing, this highest of all blessings, be obtained ? Here, 
 in: answering this question, the method of our author is, 
 in the main, that of Patanjali ; differing from Kapila, who 
 taught that the soul gained an eternal deliverance from 
 matter by gaining a knowledge of itself, in knowing both 
 soul and matter ; and from the common Vedantist view, 
 in giving an objective reality to material forms, and thus 
 making the separation of the imprisoned soul more dis- 
 tinctly expressed. The Yedantist, however, is compelled 
 to speak of bodily forms as if they were realities. In the 
 Atmabodha (Knowledge of the Soul), attributed to San- 
 kara, the soul is spoken of as being enveloped in five 
 investing sheaths, and as being divested of them "by 
 force of meditation."^ Here the writer seems to be in- 
 fluenced by the system of the Bhagavad Gita, and a 
 commentary on the book is ascribed to him; but the 
 
 ^ Indian Wisdom, p. 120. 
 
INTRODUCTION. g. 
 
 common Hindu idea of gaining any blessing is by sacri- 
 fice and ritual. Though Brahmans speak of deliverance 
 (moJcsha), it is difficult to give a consistent meaning to 
 the word, for the phenomenal world only exists in appear- 
 ance, and every soul is even now absolutely one with, or 
 part of, the One sole Existence. In the system of Patan- 
 jali, the union of the soul with the Supreme is the result 
 of long-continued pious meditation. An elaborate system 
 of rules is provided, by which the passions may be sub- 
 dued, the soul may be kept in a state of complete indif- 
 ference with regard to external things, and fixed in medi- 
 tation on the Supreme. A very exalted idea, but too 
 high for human nature to carry out to perfection. Yet 
 it was supposed that a state might be attained even here 
 in which the soul would rise above the control or the 
 limitations of the body, and become, in a certain sense, 
 incorporeal (videha). Our author had evidently been 
 trained in the school of Patanjali, or had studied his 
 system with admiration. His own views of the nature 
 and powers of the soul are very elevated, and are grandly 
 expressed (c. ii.) The soul is immortal ; it is capable of 
 rising to communion with God; its highest state is to 
 enjoy that communion ; its proper destiny is to return to 
 that eternal source from which it sprung and be lost in 
 Him. The man who leaves even his wife and children 
 and goes as a recluse (muni) to the recesses of a forest, 
 that in silence and solitude he may meditate on the 
 Supreme with unfailing devotion, has attained to the 
 highest state of man. But it is evident that this over- 
 strained ideality is not suited to the mass of mankind, 
 and that it is incompatible with the duties that our several 
 relationships bring upon us. It is an idea, an aspiration, 
 
lo INTRODUCTION. 
 
 that has fascinated many noble minds, without the pale of 
 the Christian Church as well as within it. But in India, 
 as in Europe, the attempt to rise above our human nature 
 / has resulted only in failure. The Yogin, or devotee, 
 ) became a mere hypocrite or charlatan, leading an idle life, 
 j and supporting himself by a useless show of religious 
 \ austerities or by more immoral devices. This result 
 seems to have been manifest in our author's time. The 
 true system of yoga had been lost, and must be revived. 
 But the disciple differed from his master in one im- 
 portant point. He saw that the pure abstraction of a 
 religious devotee was not possible for all men, and that 
 it was opposed to the just claims of family and caste. 
 He contended still that mental devotion (hvddhiyoga) was 
 the best, but that devotion by work (Jmrmayoga) might 
 also lead to the OTcat blessincr of nirvana. 
 
 But all work must be done without " attachment " (the 
 Sanskrit term sanga having the same double meaning as 
 this word), that is, it must be done simply as duty, with- 
 out any emotion, with indifference to all attendant cir- 
 cumstances, and especially without any desire for reward 
 {pTiala, fruit). To do even religious acts in the hope of 
 fjaininfT heaven,^ even the heaven of Indra, bound the soul 
 still to the prison of the body in successive births. Its 
 highest destiny, absorption into the Supreme Being, might 
 be gained, or at least promoted, by works, but the neces- 
 sary condition of such works was their absolute freedom 
 from all selfish hope of gain. If done in this spirit, then 
 action was even laudable, especially such action as was 
 
 ^ The ecclesiastic student will see Guyon, which taught that the incen- 
 
 a parallel to this doctrine in the tive to a godly life should not be the 
 
 teaching of the Quietist school, re- hope of heaven, but the pure love of 
 
 presented by Molinos and Madame God. 
 
INTRODUCTION. il 
 
 required by the particular caste to which a man might 
 belong. It was the duty, therefore, of his hero, Arjuna, 
 to fight, for he was of the Kshatriya or warrior caste, and 
 this duty is enforced by much ingenious casuistry, by 
 which renunciation (of works : sannydsa) is reconciled 
 with devotion by work (karmayoga), which is done by 
 renouncing all the " fruit " of works. This kind of renun- 
 ciation is called tydga (forsaking). Works done in this 
 spirit of absolute indifference to all external things might 
 lead to the great blessing of nirvana; but if done from 
 any desire of gain, they were imperfect, and could only 
 lead to a temporary abode in one of the heavens of the 
 gods, however good or useful they might be relatively. 
 But though works are so far admitted into his system, the 
 highest state below is that of perfect repose, with con- 
 stancy in meditating on the Supreme ; and his highest 
 type of man is the recluse (muni), taking up a solitary 
 resting-place far from the haunts of men, renouncing all 
 the blessings of this world, and even hope itself, holding 
 the mind in check until thought ceases, and thus waiting 
 in pious abstraction for the happy hour when he will be 
 absorbed into the infinite Brahma. 
 
 The material world was not, however, ignored by our 
 author as an object of speculation. In treating of physics 
 he adopts the system of Kapila, which has been generally 
 adopted or acquiesced in by Hindii writers, though of 
 different schools of thought in other respects. In the 
 Sankhya system,^ Prakriti, or primordial matter, is assumed 
 as the source of all material things : it is eternal, both as 
 
 ^ For a fuller account of this sj's- khya Karika, in this series of Orien- 
 tem I must refer n)y readers to a tal works, 
 translation, with notes, of the San- 
 
12 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 to the past and the future ; uncreated, and having in itself 
 a potentiality of issuing forth and forming all material 
 existences. It is acted upon unconsciously by a desire or 
 purpose to set soul free from all contact with matter, that 
 the former may know no longer the pains of this mortal life, 
 by regaiaing its primal state of unconscious repose. This 
 primal matter has three constituent elements, called gunas 
 or threads, which are (i.) Sattwa (goodness), which is of a 
 fine and elastic nature ; (2.) Eajas (passion), the element 
 of motion, active and restless, of w^iich things animate 
 (except the gods) are chiefly formed ; and (3.) Tanias (dark- 
 ness), the source of inanimate things and of stupidity and 
 delusion. Nature, when undeveloped, is called AvyaJda 
 (unmanifested), and Vyakta (manifested) when developed 
 in the manifold forms of the existing world. The nature 
 and excellence of these forms depend on the nature of the 
 guna that prevails in it, and the manner in which eacli 
 may be modified by the other. 
 
 The first production of ISTature is (i.) Biiddhi (intellect), 
 which is the first link in the chain of agencies by which 
 the soul becomes cognisant of the external world; (2.) 
 AhanJcdra (consciousness), the seat of our sense of being 
 or self-consciousness. From Ahankdra (which corre- 
 sponds to the "mind-stuff" of Professor Clifford) proceed 
 (3.) the five subtle elements {tanmdtra) , which underlie 
 (4.) the five gross elements (mahablmta). The former bear 
 the technical names of sound, tangiblenegs, odour, vlsible- 
 ness, and taste. The gross elements are ether {dkdsa), con- 
 nected with the subtle element called sound ; air (vdyu), 
 from the element tangibleness ; earth, from the element 
 called smell; light or fire, from the element visibility, 
 and water from that of taste. From Ahankdra proceed 
 
INTRODUCTION. 13- 
 
 the five senses (indriya — both the faculty and the bodily 
 organ), which are the senses of hearing, touching, smell- 
 ing, seeing, and tasting ; and the five organs of action, the 
 voice, the hands, the feet, and the organs of excretion and 
 generation. A third internal faculty, called manas, is 
 usually placed, in the order of enumeration, after the 
 senses and the bodily organs, from its connection with 
 them. It is the faculty by which the sensations are indi- 
 vidually received and formed into concepts of a primary 
 form : these are transmitted to consciousness (AhanJcdra), 
 by which they come into a clear, conscious state, as into 
 the light, and then they are borne to intellect (JBuddM), 
 by which they are formed into complete conceptions, 
 which the soul sees as in a mirror, and thus becomes cog- 
 nisant of an external world. The manas, as the seat of 
 sensibility, is supposed to be also the seat of our passions 
 or emotions ; for the soul never acts : it is a pure light, 
 existing in and for itself; it knows nothing of those 
 desires that men have for earthly enjoyments, for these 
 are as purely material as the objects of desire. 
 
 These twenty- three products are the wiiole of the 
 Vyakta, or matter in a manifest, developed form, and, 
 with the opposite natures of Prahriti (primal matter) 
 and Soul (Atman) form the twenty-live principles of the 
 Sankhya system. The physical theory of Kapila had an 
 extensive influence on Hindii modes of thought, being 
 found in such different works as the Institutes of Manu, 
 the Svetasvatara Upanishad, and the Puranas. Parts of it 
 were incorporated into other systems, in which Prakriti 
 (iSTature) occupies a subordinate position. 
 
 In the Sankhya system the soul is invested with a linga 
 
u 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 or subtle body,^ formed of the three internal organs, Intel- 
 lect (huddlii), Consciousness {ahan'kara), and the Manas or 
 receptive faculty and seat of desires, with the five subtle 
 elements. This is peculiar to each soul, and forms the 
 distinct disposition (hliava), the separate nature of each 
 individual. It accompanies the soul in its successive 
 transmigrations to other bodies until a final separation 
 from matter has been obtained ; (by knowledge, according 
 to Kapila ; by pious meditation, according to Patanjali) ; 
 and then the linga is absorbed for ever in the primal 
 matter (FraJcriti) from which it sprung ; 2 the only source 
 of existing things, according to the Sankhya school. 
 
 Another part, and one that is obscure, in this system, is 
 
 1 Sometimes this subtle body is 
 called the linga-sarira (linga-body), 
 and at other times the linga and 
 the linga-iarira are distinguished ; 
 but this, I think, is a late refine- 
 ment. In the Atma-bodha (soul- 
 knowledge) - the soul is said to be 
 invested in five cases or sheaths 
 {hoia). The three interior cases 
 which are (i.) Vijndna-maya (mere 
 Intellection), (2,) Mano-maya (mere 
 Manas), and (3.) Prdna-niaya (only 
 breath or the vital airs), form the 
 subtle body. 
 
 ^ The linga is referred to in c. 
 XV. 7, 8. That which the soul takes 
 with it on leaving a gross body is this 
 permanent subtle body ; not, as Mr. 
 Thomson asserts, by the soul's con- 
 necting the senses with itself, that it 
 may know: the reference is not to the 
 soul's knowledge of matter, but to its 
 fix^M" or vehicle. This idea of a sub- 
 tle body is not peculiar to Kapila. St. 
 Paul speaks of a "spiritual body," and 
 Sir H. Davy has a theory on this sub- 
 
 ject not unlike that of the Sankhya 
 school. "It does not appear im- 
 probable to me that some of the 
 more refined machinery of thought 
 may adhere, even in another state, 
 to the sentient principle ; for though 
 the organs of gross sensation, the 
 nerves and the brain, are destroyed 
 by death, yet something of the more 
 etherial nature, which I have sup- 
 posed, may be less destructible. 
 And, I sometimes imagine, that 
 many of those powers, which have 
 been called instinctive, belong to 
 the more refined clothing of the 
 spirit : conscience, indeed, seems to 
 have some undefined source, and 
 may bear relation to a former state 
 of being" (Last Days of a Philo- 
 sopher, p. 215). Here there is not 
 only the assumption of a linga, but 
 also a suggestion that it may be 
 affected by the events of a former 
 life, as Kapila taught. (See the 
 translation of the Sankhya Karika 
 in this series, p. 89.) 
 
INTRODUCTION. 15 
 
 the theory of vital airs, which are supposed to dwell in 
 the body, and to perform important functions there. These 
 are (i.) Prdna, ordinary breathing; (2.) Apdna, downward 
 breath, acting on the lower parts of the body ; (3.) Samana, 
 collective breath, forming the function of digestion and 
 the transmission of food through the body ; (4.) Uddna^ 
 ascending breath, the vital force which causes the flow 
 of blood upwards to the head; and (5.) Vydna, separate 
 breath, which is connected with the skin, and seems to 
 denote a kind of nerve-force by which sensations are 
 conveyed to the manas, or receptive and distinguishing 
 faculty. These inventions are not more crude than that 
 of the vital spirits, of which physicians and men of 
 science used to speak, even in the last century. They 
 denote that Kapila had a dim perception of the fact that 
 there are vital forces at work in the human system more 
 subtle than mere inanimate matter. 
 
 But all bodies, and all their separate faculties or endow- 
 ments, and the constituent elements or gunas of Nature 
 {Prahriti), which now are variously distributed in existing 
 things, shall finally cease to be in their separate or indi- 
 vidual forms. The gross body, formed in the womb of 
 the mother, perishes absolutely at the time of death, the 
 particles being absorbed again in Nature {Prahriti). When 
 the soul has gained complete deliverance from matter, 
 then the subtle body or linga will be absorbed for ever 
 in Prakriti. Finally, according to Kapila, all things will 
 be absorbed into it. Only soul and unformed matter will 
 exist. In the system of the Bhagavad Gita, all things will 
 be absorbed into Prakriti at the end of a kal^pa, or period 
 of creation, which is a day of Brahma, or 1000 mahayugas, 
 each of which contains 4,320,000 days ; then the sum of 
 
i6 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 all existences being absorbed in Prakriti, the latter, being 
 an inferior part of Brahma, will be also absorbed in him. 
 At the close of the same period of non-creation, a new- 
 day will open, and there will be another emanation (sarga) 
 of the material part of the Divine Being into the manifold 
 forms of individual life. 
 
 X 
 
 The metre used for the most part in the Bhagavad Gita 
 
 is the common heroic form, called ^loJca or Anushtuhh, 
 
 consisting of two lines of sixteen syllables each, with a 
 
 caesura at the end of the eighth foot. Its form is this — 
 
 \j \j \^ \^ \^ \^ \.^ \^ \^ ^ 
 
 each line being the same. 
 
 In the more lyrical parts another form is used, called 
 TrisMubh, containing eleven syllables in each half line or 
 pada. A common variety is of the following form — 
 
 a csesura being generally found at the fifth syllable 
 (Williams' Gram. p. 350). 
 
 In preparing this translation of the Bhagavad Gita, I 
 have had before me the Greek translation of Galanos, and 
 the Italian version of Stanislao Gatti, both supplied by 
 Dr. Reinhold Rost, the learned librarian of the India Office. 
 I have also consulted the French version of Burnouf, the 
 Latin version of Lassen, and the English versions of Mr. 
 Thomson 1 and K. T. Telang. The notes of Lassen have 
 
 1 Mr. Thomson's translation shows seem due to a careless revision of the 
 
 that a large advance had been made work as it went through the press. 
 
 in the knowledge of Sanskrit, in the I subjoin a few instances — 
 
 interval between the publishing of " My actions do not follow me " 
 
 Wilkins' translation in 1785, and (p. 31), for "My actions do not sz^ZZy 
 
 his own, published in 1855. But it me" : na limpanti, lit. do not smear ; 
 
 contains many errors, some of which " ne me souillent pas " (Burnouf). 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 17 
 
 given valuable aid, and I am indebted to a paper on the 
 Bhagavad Gita, read before the " Akademie der Wissen- 
 scbaften" of Berlin in 1826, by W. von Humboldt, for a 
 scholarly review of the doctrines contained in the poem. 
 I have also consulted a MS. copy of the Commentary on 
 the Bhagavad Gita, written by Sridhara, which is in my 
 possession, and by the kindness of Dr. Eost another com- 
 mentary, attributed to Sankara, but written by Sankara 
 Ananda SaraswatI (quot. as Ananda), and called Tatparya 
 Bodhinl. By the kindness of Dr. Eost, I have had from 
 the India Office a MS. copy of the commentary of An- 
 kara. This I have consulted also, and have referred to it. 
 The former commentary was supposed for a time to be 
 Sankara's, and extracts from it were assigned to him; 
 but I hope that in every such case the error has been 
 corrected. 
 
 "No actions bind the man who 
 trusts his actions to devotion" (p. 
 36), {yogasannyastakarmdnam . . . 
 na Tcarmdni nibadhnanti). The^ ver- 
 sion of Lassen is generally followed, 
 and his translation of this passage 
 is, "Qui in devotione opera sua depo- 
 suit" meaning "laid aside:" lit. 
 " works bind not him who has re- 
 nounced works in or by devotion." 
 "Celui qui par I'union divine s'est 
 detacM des ceuvres " (Burnouf). 
 "Acts shackle not him who by 
 devotion has all acts renounced " 
 (Telang). 
 
 " That devotee . . . attains to dis- 
 tinction in the Supreme Being" (j). 
 41) : sa yogi Brahmanirvdnam . . . 
 adhigachchlutti. "Is devotus ad ex- 
 tinctionem in numine . . . pervenit " 
 
 (Lassen) : lit. it nirvana, loss of pe 
 sonality by absorption into Brahma 
 " Va s'^teindre en Dieu " (Bur 
 nouf). In this sloka, the part " qui 
 intus delectatur, intus recreatur ' 
 (Lassen) is omitted. 
 
 In p. 49 the sentence, " Therefore 
 be thou a Yogin, Arjuna ! " is left 
 out. 
 
 "There is another eternal exist- 
 ence . . . Avhich does perish when 
 all things perish " (p. 60), for "does 
 not perish " {na vinasyati). 
 
 In p. 63 the nature of the Asuras 
 is said to be "deluded :" it ought to 
 be "deluding," prakritim mohinlm- 
 sritds. In p. 67 we have, "Wor- 
 ship me by obtaining this finite and 
 wretched world " for " having come 
 to {prdpya) this, &c., worship Me." 
 
HINDU PHILOSOPHY. 
 
 THE BHA6AVAD GlTA, 
 
 THE SACRED LAY. 
 
 READING THE FIRST {a). 
 
 Dhrttarashtka spoke.^ 
 
 When my forces and the Panda vas met together' on the 
 sacred plain,^ the Kurukshetra (plain of the Kurus), eager 
 for the fight, what did they, San jay a? 
 
 Sanjaya spoke. 
 When the king, Durodhana, saw the army of the Pan- 
 
 1 The italic letters (a), (6), &c., 
 refer to the Philological Notes at 
 the end of each reading. 
 
 2 Dhritarashtra, the king of a 
 large territory, of which the city 
 Hastina-pura, the modern Delhi, 
 was the capital. He is said to 
 have had one hundred sons, of 
 whom Duryodhana, the unscrupu- 
 lous foe of the sons of Pandu, was 
 the eldest. Being blind, he in- 
 trusted the administration of his 
 kingdom to Duryodhana. See In- 
 troduction, p. I. 
 
 3 The sacred plain {Dharmah- 
 
 shetra) was the flat country lying 
 between the rivers Yamuna (Jum- 
 na) and Sarasvati (Sursooty). In 
 the Institutes of Manu (ii. 19) the 
 territory, called Brahmarshi, is said 
 to have included the Kurukshetra 
 plain and the lands of the Matsyas, 
 Panchalas, and the Surasenakas. It 
 was called the Brahmarshi country 
 because it was the land of the an- 
 cient risMs, who were distinguished 
 in former times as wise and holy 
 men. This was the " Holy Land " 
 of India, probably because the Ar- 
 yan race had first permanently set- 
 
BHAGAVAD GIT A. 
 
 [chap. I. 
 
 davas drawn up (for battle), he drew near to Ids tutor,^ 
 and spoke these words : — 
 
 " See, Tutor ! this vast army of the sons of Pandu, 
 set in array by thy wise pupil, the son of Drupada.^ 
 
 Brave men are there, equal in battle to Bhima and 
 Arjuna ; Yuyudhana,^ Virata,* and Drupada of the great 
 car : ^ 
 5 Drishtaketu,^ Chekitana,^ and the brave king of 
 
 tied there, after it had taken its 
 southern course from the lands be- 
 yond the Himalayan range. Here, 
 too, the Brahmanic system seems 
 to have been first developed. This 
 view is supported by a passage in 
 the Satapatha Brahmana (xiv. I, 2). 
 " The gods Agni, Indra, Soma-, 
 Vishnu, Makha, and all the gods, 
 except the Aswins, were present at 
 a sacrifice. Kuru-kshetra was the 
 place of their divine worship. 
 Hence, they say, Kuru-kshetra is 
 the place, where the gods offer 
 sacrifice " (Muir, Sans. Texts, ii. 
 400, and iv. 125). 
 
 The SarasvatI, though an insigni- 
 ficant stream, is accounted one of 
 the sacred rivers of India. 
 
 The plain of Kuru is named from 
 Kuru, the heros eponymus of the 
 tribe. In the Bhagavad Gita, the 
 term Kurus is applied exclusively 
 to the party which supported Dur- 
 yodhana, though Kuru was the an- 
 cestor of both the hostile parties. 
 
 ^ The achar\'a, or instructor, of 
 the king, was Drona, son of the 
 rishi Bharadwaja. He was a Brah- 
 man by birth, but having been in- 
 structed in the art of war by Para- 
 shurama (Rama of the axe, the 
 sixth incarnation of Vishnu), he 
 had been a tutor in military science 
 
 to Duryodhana and other chiefs of 
 the race. He was slain by Dhris- 
 tadyumna, son of Drupada, in a 
 fight described in the seventh book 
 (Drona-parvan) of the Mahabha- 
 rata. 
 
 2 The son of Drupada, who was 
 king of the Panchalas, was Dhrish- 
 tadyumna, his eldest son, mentioned 
 above. 
 
 ^ Yuyudhana was also called 
 Satyaki, a patronymic from his 
 father, Satyaka. He was of the 
 Yadu tribe, whose territory lay to 
 the west of the Jumna. 
 
 ^ Virata was king of the Matsyas, 
 whose country formed part of the 
 sacred plain Dharmakshetra. See 
 Note 3. 
 
 ^ Drupada is called mahdrathas 
 (borne on a great car), to denote his 
 rank. The war- chariot was used 
 only by the leaders of the host, each 
 of whom was accompanied by his 
 charioteer {suta). 
 
 ^ Dhristaketu was king of the 
 Chedi tribe, whose chief town was 
 called S'ultimati, probably connected 
 with suJctimat, a name given formerly 
 to one of the seven mountain ranges 
 of India. 
 
 ^ Chekitana is only known as a 
 chieftain in alliance with the Pan- 
 davas. 
 
CHAP. I.] 
 
 BHAGAVAD GIT A. 
 
 21 
 
 Ka^i ; ^ Purujit and Kuntiblioja,^ and Saivya, chief of 
 men; 2 
 
 Yudhamanyu the bold, and the brave Uttamaujas ; * 
 the son of Subadra,^ and the sons of Drupadl,^ all borne 
 on great cars. 
 
 But know, best of Brahmans ! who are the most 
 distinguished among us, the leaders of my army ; these I 
 name to thee that thou mayest know them : 
 
 Thyself,^ and Bhlshma,^ and Karna,^ and Kripa,^^ vic- 
 torious in battle; A^watthaman,^^ Vikarna,i2 ^^^ ^X^q 
 Saumadatti,^^ 
 
 ^ Kasi is the modern Benares, 
 
 ^ Purujit and Kuntibhoja were 
 brothers. The latter, having no 
 children, adopted Kunti, called also 
 Pritha, eldest daughter of Sura and 
 Marisha. She became the wife of 
 Pandu, and had three sons, Yudish- 
 thira, Bhima, and Arjuna, who is 
 often therefore called Kaunteya or 
 Partha, that is, son of Kunti or 
 Pritha, 
 
 ^ Saivya was the king of the 
 Shivis, the Sibse of the Greeks 
 (Lassen). 
 
 * Yudhamanyu and Uttamaujas 
 are only known as chieftains in the 
 Pandu host, 
 
 ^ Saubhadra (a generic name) 
 was the son of Arjuna and Subha- 
 dra, the sister of Krishna, His 
 proper name was Abhimanyu, 
 
 ^ The sons of Drupadi or Krishna, 
 a daughter of Drupada, were Prati- 
 vindhya, Sutasoma, Srutakirti, Sata- 
 nlka and Srutasena, Each of the 
 five sons of Pandu was the father of 
 one of them, 
 
 ^ Duryodhana is here addressed as 
 hhavdn^ equivalent to " my Lord." 
 
 ^ Bhishma, the commander-in- 
 chief of the army of Duryodhana, 
 was a son of Santanu, a descendant 
 of Kuru by the goddess Ganga. 
 He was great-uncle to Duryodhana 
 and the sons of Pandu, On the 
 tenth day of the battle he was slain 
 by Arjuna. 
 
 ^ Karna was a leader in the army 
 of the Kurus. He was said to be 
 the son of Surya (the Sun) and 
 Kunti, before the marriage of the 
 latter with Pandu, He was king 
 of the Anga country, situated in 
 Bengal, and was slain in a subse- 
 quent fight by Arjuna (Mahabh. viii. 
 4798). 
 
 '** Kripa was a brother of Kripi, 
 the wife of Drona, and king of the 
 Panchalas. See Note 3. 
 
 ^^ Aswatthaman was a son of 
 Drona and Kripi, 
 
 ^^ Vikarna was the third of the 
 hundred sons of Dhritarashtra, and 
 was one of the Kuru party, 
 
 ^^ Saumadatti was a son of Soma- 
 datta, king of the Bahikas, who 
 occupied the country between the 
 Sutlej and the Indus. 
 
22 BHAGAVAD G'lTA. [chap. i. 
 
 And many others, who give up their lives for my sake, 
 armed with many kinds of weapons, and all well skilled 
 in war. 
 xo These forces of mine, which Bhishma commands, are 
 not sufficient (c), but their forces, commanded by Bhima, 
 suffice (for the contest). 
 
 Therefore do ye, even all of you, in all the lines as 
 placed in your divisions (d), give support to Bhish- 
 ma." 
 
 The aged Kuri; grandsire,^ the fiery-hearted, in order to 
 cheer him, blew his trumpet (conch-shell), blaring out on 
 high a lion's roar. 
 
 Then suddenly the trumpets and the kettledrums, the 
 cymbals, drums, and horns, were sounded : that sound was 
 an uproar. 
 
 Then standing in their great car, yoked to white horses, 
 the slayer of Madhu ^ and the son of Pandu ^ blew their 
 celestial trumpets. 
 1 5 Hriskikesa (e) blew the " Panchajanya," * Arjuna, the 
 
 ^ Bhishma, who sought to revive Krishna, though a god, and, in 
 
 the drooping courage of Duryod- fact, Vishnu himself, was in his 
 
 hana. human nature the &uta or charioteer 
 
 - Krishna was called Madhava, of Arjuna. 
 
 because (according to Lassen) he * So called from being formed 
 
 was a descendant of Madhu, one of from the bones of the giant Pan- 
 
 the tribe of the Yadavas, in which, chajana. When Krishna was under 
 
 in his human nature, Krishna was the tuition of Sandlpani, a son of 
 
 born ; but more probably because the latter was drowned in the sea 
 
 he slew a daitya (giant or demon) of Prabhasa, and was dragged to the 
 
 named Madhu. bottom by this giant or demon. 
 
 3 The son of Pandu is Arjuna, Krishna dived into the sea, slew the 
 
 the third of Pandu's five sons ; but giant, and restored the son to his 
 
 to give a divine origin to the hero, father. Of the giant's bones he 
 
 he was asserted to be the son of made a trumpet in the form of a 
 
 Indra, as Bhima, his brother, was conch-shell. 
 
 said to be the son of Vayu. 
 
CHAP. I.] BHAGAVAD GITA. 23 
 
 "God-bestowed;"^ the wolf-hearted, terrible in deeds,^ 
 blew his great trumpet, " Paundra." ^ 
 
 The king (raja) Yudishthira,^ son of KuntI, blew the 
 "Eternal Victory;" Nakula and Sahadeva,^ the "Sweet 
 in tone " and " Flowered with gems ; " 
 
 And Kasya, chief of archers, and Sikhandin^ of the 
 great car, Dhrishtadyumna and Virata and the uncon- 
 quered Satyaki, 
 
 Drupada and the sons of Drupadi, all together, king 
 of earth! with the large-armed sons of Subhadra, blew 
 severally their trumpets. 
 
 That noise rent the hearts of the Dhartarashtrans, for 
 the uproar made both earth and heaven resound. 
 20 Then he whose ensign is an ape,^ tlie son of Pandu, 
 seeing the Dhartarashtrans now drawn up (for battle), 
 and the flight of weapons begun, took up his bow. 
 
 And said thus, king of earth! to Hrishlkesa^ 
 
 1 The trumpet of Arjuna is called twin sons of Madri, the second wife 
 the " God-befetowed," because it was of Pandu, but fabled to be the sons 
 the gift of his father, Indra. of the two Aswins, supposed to be 
 
 2 Bliivialcarma, a doer of dread- the gods who usher in the morning 
 ful (bhima) deeds ; a play on his and evening twilight. 
 
 name. " Wolfish - hearted," lit. ^ Sikhandin, from sikhanda, a 
 
 " having the entrails of a wolf," circular arrangement of three or 
 
 either on account of his voracity, five locks of hair on each side of 
 
 which was said to be very great, or the head, sometimes adopted as a 
 
 of his ferocious nature. mark by the Kshatriya or military 
 
 ^ Paundra. Pundra means (l) a caste, 
 
 country lying in Bengal and Bihar, 7 The Indian warriors formerly 
 
 and (2) a sugar-bearing reed. Paun- bore their standards on their war- 
 
 dra is connected probably with the chariots. Arjuna received this name, 
 
 first meaning. Kapidhwaja (ape-bannered), because 
 
 ^ Yudishthira was the eldest of he bore this sign, 
 
 the three sons of KuntI. His father, 8 ^ name of Krishna. For an 
 
 according to the legend, was Dhar- explanation of this term and of 
 
 ma, the god of justice. Kesava, see Philological Notes. 
 
 ^ Nakula and Sahadeva were the 
 
24 BHAGAVAD GItA. [chap. i. 
 
 (Krishna), " Draw up my car, Immortal ! (/) between 
 the two armies. 
 
 While I behold (^) these men drawn up and eager for 
 battle, with whom I must contend in this strife of war. 
 
 I would look earnestly Qi) on those who are assembled 
 here, and are about to fight from a desire to do the plea- 
 sure, by war, of the evil-minded son of Dhritarashtra." ^ 
 
 Sanjaya s'pdke. 
 
 Hrishike^a (Krishna) being thus addressed by Guda- 
 kesa {%) (Arjuna), stopped that best of cars, son of 
 Bharata ! between the two armies, 
 25 In the presence of Bhishma, Drona, and all the earth- 
 rulers, and said, " See, son of Pritha ! these assembled 
 Kurus." 
 
 Then the son of Pritha saw there arrayed fathers and 
 grandsires, tutors, maternal uncles, brothers, sons, grand- 
 sons, and comrades, 
 
 Fathers-in-law and friends too in both the hosts. Then 
 when Kaunteya^ had looked upon all these kinsmen 
 drawn up (for battle), being overcome by deepest pity, 
 he spoke thus in sadness. 
 
 Arjuna s'po'ke. 
 
 Having seen, Krishna ! this kindred host drawn up 
 and eager to fight, my limbs give way and my mouth is 
 dried up. 
 
 My body trembles, and my hair stands up on end. 
 
 1 Duryodhana, whose injustice to ^ A name of Arjuna, as a son of 
 the sons of Pandu was the cause of Kunti. 
 the war. 
 
CHAP. I.] 
 
 BHAGAVAD GIT A. 
 
 Gandiva^ falls from my hand, and my skin is burning. I 
 am not able to stand upright and my mind is whirling round. 
 30 I see, too, unfavourable omens (/), Kesava ! nor do I 
 foresee any good from slaying my kinsmen in the fight. 
 
 I desire not victory, Krishna ! nor dominion, nor de- 
 lights. Of what avail can dominion be to us, Govinda,^ 
 or delights, or even life ? 
 
 They for whose sake dominion, wealth, and pleasures 
 are desired by us are here arrayed in battle, giving up 
 their lives and wealth. 
 
 Tutors, fathers, sons, and even grandsires, uncles, fathers- 
 in-law, grandsons, brothers-in-law, and allies too ; 
 
 These I do not wish to kill, slayer of Madhu ! though 
 (otherwise) I should myself be slain, even for the sake 
 of dominion over the three worlds ; ^ how much less for 
 that of earth ? 
 35 If we slay these Dhartarashtrans, what joy can then be 
 ours, Janardana Qi) ? Sin even will cleave to us if we slay 
 these men, (though) felons (Q. 
 
 It is not meet then for us to slay these Dhartarashtrans, 
 our kinsmen ; for how can we prosper if we slay our kin, 
 slayer of Madhu ? 
 
 ^ The name of the bow which he 
 had received from his father Indra. 
 It was supposed to have miraculous 
 powers. 
 
 2 A name of Krishna, who was 
 said to have been brought up in the 
 household of a cowherd, Nanda ; 
 hence his name Govinda (cowherd 
 or cow-owner). 
 
 ^ The three worlds are heaven, 
 earth, and hell. Sometimes they are 
 explained as earth, the intermediate 
 space, and heaven. According to 
 
 mythological fable, the three king- 
 doms had become the possession of 
 a demon, Bali. Vishnu, desiring to 
 repossess them, appeared before Bali 
 in the form of a dwarf, and asked 
 for as much land as he could step 
 over in three steps. Bali granted the 
 request with laughter, and Vishnu, 
 rising continuously, stepped over the 
 three worlds, but gave an abode in 
 Patala or hell to Bali (Ramayana 
 i. 32). Probably a tradition of a 
 war of races and religions. 
 
 OF THF 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
26 
 
 BHAGAVAD GIT A. 
 
 [chap. I. 
 
 Even if they whose minds are stricken by greed see no 
 evil in the destruction of a tribe or in the oppression of 
 friends, 
 
 Should not we resolve to turn away from this sinful 
 * deed, we who look on the destruction of a tribe as a sin, 
 Janardana ? 
 
 By the slaughter of a tribe the tribal rites, eternal (in 
 
 obligation) are destroyed ; by the destruction of rites the 
 
 tribe becomes impious ; 
 
 40 By the prevalence of impiety, Krishna ! the women of 
 
 the tribe become corrupt, and when the women are corrupt, 
 
 — . confusion of castes arises, Yarshneya ! ^ 
 
 This confusion 2 brings the tribe-destroyers and the 
 tribe down to hell, for their forefathers, deprived of liba- 
 tions and pindas, fall (from heaven).^ 
 
 1 A name of Krishna, from 
 Vrishni, one of his ancestors. 
 
 ^ By the destruction of the males 
 the rites ojE both tribe and family 
 would cease, because women were 
 not allowed to perform them ; and 
 confusion of castes would arise, for 
 the women would marry men of 
 another caste. Such marriages were 
 considered impure (Manu x. 1-40). 
 Such marriages produced else- 
 where a confusion of classes. Livy 
 tells us that the Roman patri- 
 cians, at the instance of Canuleius, 
 complained of the intermarriages 
 of the plebeian class with their own, 
 affirming that " omnia divina huma- 
 naque turbari, ut qui natus sit, 
 ignoret, cujus sanguinis, quorum 
 sacrorum sit " (iv. c. I and 2). 
 
 3 This refers to the neglect of the 
 S'rdddha, a religious rite on behalf 
 of a deceased father, grandfather, 
 and great-grandfather, and some- 
 
 times to ancestors in general, in 
 which libations of water and pindas, 
 or balls of rice-meal, &c., mixed with 
 clarified butter, were offered to the 
 manes of deceased ancestors, with 
 many pious ceremonies. We are in- 
 formed in tho Institutes of Manu 
 (iii. 189) that the spirits of deceased 
 ancestors are present at these rites, 
 hovering round the offerers and the 
 attendant Brahmans, and sitting by 
 them when they are seated. The 
 food offered is supposed to give a 
 real nourishment to these manes, 
 who are dismissed at the end of the 
 rite with the following prayer : — 
 " Fathers, to whom food belongs, 
 guard our food and the other things 
 offered by us, venerable and immortal 
 as ye are and conversant with holy 
 truths. Quaff the sweet essence (of 
 the food) ; be cheerful and depart 
 contented along the path wherein 
 the gods travel " (Colebrooke, Asiat. 
 
CHAP. I.] BHAGAVAD GITA, 27 
 
 By these caste-confusing sins of the destroyers of a 
 tribe the eternal rites of tribe and family {m) are 
 lost. 
 
 The dwelling of the men who destroy family rites, 
 
 — Janardana ! is eternally in hell : thus we have heard from 
 sacred books. 
 
 Alas ! we have resolved to commit a great sin, who are 
 striving to slay our kindred from the lust of dominion 
 and pleasures. 
 45 It were better for me if the Dhartarashtrans, with arms 
 
 - in hand, should slay me, unresisting and unarmed, in the 
 fight. 
 
 Sanjaya spoke. 
 
 Having spoken thus in the (midst of the) fight, Arjuna 
 sat down upon his car-bench, letting fall his bow and 
 arrow, being overwhelmed in heart by grief. 
 
 Soc. Res, vii. 269). This path is rites should be withheld ; but it is 
 
 supposed to be the Via Lactea or believed that the}^ will fall, on this 
 
 Milky Way. It is not explained by account, even to the lower regions. 
 
 Hindu writers why deceased an- The heaven of the ancient fathers 
 
 cestors should fall from the heaven {Pitris) was in the moon (Asiat. 
 
 to which they have ascended if these Res. vii. 267). 
 
 ^ Thus the sacred Bhagavad Gita, among the Upani- 
 shads, in the science of Brahma, in the book of devotion, 
 in the discourse of Krishna and Arjuna, Eeadingthe First, 
 whose title is 
 
 " The Despondexcy of Aejuna." 
 
 ^ The title at the end of each I have subjoined. Sometimes a 
 reading or chapter varies in different shorter form is used, but in all cases 
 MSS. The usual form is that which it is a modern addition. 
 
28 BHAGAVAD GlTA. [chap. i. 
 
 PHILOLOGICAL NOTES. 
 
 {a) Adhydya (reading) is used in books such as the Insti- 
 tutes of Manu, &c., in which formal instruction is given, or 
 in the Sacred Books. The minor divisions, says Lassen, of 
 the epic poems are called sargas (emanations, creations). The 
 latter term is not used, however, in the Mahabharata. 
 
 (h) OM. This mystic monosyllable, formed by the union 
 of the letters a, u, m, is supposed to represent the Hindu triad, 
 Brahma, Vishnu, and S'iva; probably it represented in an 
 earlier age the triad of Agni (fire), Yaruna (watery atmos- 
 phere or investing sky), and Marut (wind). It is prefixed 
 to works of a religious kind only ; and sometimes from a 
 feeling of awe, such as that with which the Jews regarded 
 the name Jehovah, it was not spoken, or only in a low tone. 
 Sometimes it is omitted, as in the Paris codd. A. and D. and a 
 MS. in my possession. The constant use of it is, however, 
 enjoined. *' Let the Brahman always perform prariava (lit. 
 praise, ij., pronounce the syllable OM) at the beginning and 
 end (of a reading). If the OM be omitted at the beginning, 
 (his learning) flows away ; if at the end, it is broken in pieces 
 (Manu ii. 74). 
 
 The poem is generally preceded in Hindu MSS. by a rather 
 long introduction, formed partly of verses taken from the 
 poem, and partly of a dhyana, or pious meditation. As it is 
 not a part of the poem itself, it is here omitted. 
 
 (c) Aparydptam^ " impar certamini " (Lasse^i) ; " not suffi- 
 cient " (Thomson) ; " unhinreichend " (Lorinser) ; " innume- 
 rable " (Burnouf and Telang). In the Peters. Diet, parydpta 
 is translated by *' erfiillt," " hinreichend," " genugend." The 
 literal translation is " inadequate," " unmeet ; " but the unfit- 
 ness may be either in the want of preparation or of numbers. 
 
CHAP. I.] BHAGAVAD GITA. 29 
 
 Paryaptabhoga (Manu iii. 40), having ample enjoyments, is 
 in favour of the meaning " insufficient in numbers ; " but 
 S'lidhara and other commentators explain the word as *' vast," 
 " unlimited." 
 
 (d) Ayaneshu dm sarveshu yatlid hhdgam avasthitds. The 
 translation in the Petersburg Diet, is " per tramites aciei 
 cunctos secundum ordines collocati." 
 
 (e) Hrisklkesa, a word variously explained. Hindu com- 
 mentators derive it from hrishlka (a sense) and Isha (a lord), 
 making Krishna, of whom it is an epithet, *' Lord of the 
 senses," as identical with the supreme Brahma. But hrishiJca 
 is a doubtful word, and the meaning assigned to the term is 
 not especially applicable to Krishna or Brahma. More pro- 
 bably from hrish, to become strong or stiff, and Jcesa, hair of 
 the head (csesaries). (See Peters. Diet. s. v.) Krishna is 
 represented as having strong curly hair, and we may compare 
 this epithet with auricomus, applied to Apollo. 
 
 (/) Achyuta. "0 Dive" (Lassen); "0 Immortal One" 
 (Thomson) ; " nie Fehlender " (Lorinser). Telang translates 
 it, " undegraded one," but this is, 1 think, incorrect. It 
 is compounded of the neg. a and chyuta, p.p. of chyu, to fall, 
 drop off, perish. It is found in the Eig-Yeda (i. 52. 2), 
 where a mountain is said to be achyu!a, unshaken or unmoved 
 by the torrents. Mr. Muir (Sans. Texts, iv. 168) quotes a 
 passage in the Eamayana where it is applied to Madhustidana 
 (Vishnu), and he translates it by "unfailing." In the Pali 
 Dathavansa (i. 3), achchuta is applied to the state of nihhdna 
 (nirvdna). The Peters. Diet, expresses the exact meaning in 
 translating it by " feststehend," " unverganglich." 
 
 (g) Nirlkshe, and (h) avehshe. The root iksh, when com- 
 pounded with nis (nir), means to look at ; when comp. with 
 «m, to regard, to consider, to look at earnestly or with 
 ^olicitude. 
 
30 BHAGAVAD GlTA. [chap. i. 
 
 {%) Gudalceia^ a name of Arjuna. Derived by the Hindu 
 grammarians from gudaka (sleep), and Isha (lord) ; but more 
 probably, as by Lassen and in the Peters. Diet., from guda^ a 
 round mass, a ball, and hesa, hair of the head : " cujus capilli 
 globulorum instar intorti sunt " (Lassen). It is similar in 
 meaning to Hrishikesa (1. 29). 
 
 (j) NimiUani. Nimitta has the double meaning of " cause " 
 and " sign " or " omen." It is not certain whether Arjuna is 
 speaking of some omens then present before him, or of the 
 causes of evil that seemed to lie in the condition of affairs. 
 The Hindus were wont, as the Latins and other races, to 
 divine by birds and other animals, or by natural appearances. 
 "Vulgatam fuisse inter Indos auguriorum superstitionem e 
 Kameide discimus (i. c. 74). Describitur congressus mirabilis 
 Eama Jamadegneii cum Rama Dasarathida, quern prsenun- 
 tiant Dasarathae volucres horrendce undique vocibus obstrepentes. 
 Quo facto, Vasishthas, fatorum gnarus, declarat eminere jperi- 
 culum horrendum, e divinarum volucrum ore emissum " (Lassen). 
 See S'akuntala, p. 20, Prof. "Williams's ed. Kesava (having a 
 large bush of hair), an epithet of Krishna. 
 
 (k) Jandrdanaj a name of Krishna. Schlegel translates the 
 epithet by " mortalium votis expetite ! " following the 
 Hindu scholiasts. The Peters. Diet, more correctly by " die 
 Menschen aufregend, bedrangend," from jana (a man) and ard 
 (to vex, to wound). Schlegel would connect the two mean- 
 ings by saying that perhaps we ought to understand the word 
 as applied to Krishna, "ut sit, qui desiderio sui corda 
 hominum vexat." The forced explanation of the scholiasts 
 probably arose from a desire to soften down what seemed a 
 hard expression. " Vexer of his foes " seems to be the correct 
 interpretation. " Because he made the Dasyus tremble, he is 
 Jandrdana" (Mahabh. v. 2565). 
 
 (l) Atatdyinas, lit. bearing an outstretched bow, and hence 
 
CHAP. I.] BHAGAVAD GItA, 31 
 
 threatening the lives of men ; robbers, murderers. S'ridhara, 
 a scholiast, says that the term included incendiaries, poisoners, 
 assassins, thieves, robbers of land and of other people's wives, 
 and that the Kurus had acted all these parts against the sons 
 of Pandu. 
 
 (m) Jdtidharma, Tculadharma; jdti = varna (caste), kula=s 
 family or tribe, say the Hindu coramentator.5. 
 
( 32 ) 
 
 EEADraa THE SECOIN-D. 
 
 Sanjaya spohe. 
 
 To him, thus deeply affected by pity, with his troubled 
 eyes filled with tears and desponding, the slayer of Madhu 
 addressed these words : — 
 
 " Whence, Arjuna ! has come to thee in a difficulty (a) 
 this vile depression, unmeet for one of noble race, debar- 
 ring from heaven ^ and causing disgrace ? 
 
 "Yield not to unmanliness, son of Pritha ! it becomes 
 thee not. Cast off this base faint-heartedness and arise, 
 destroyer of foes ! " 
 
 Arjuna spoke. 
 
 slayer of Madhu ! how shall I assail with my arrows 
 in the "battle Bhishma and Drona, who are worthy of 
 honour, slayer of foes ? 
 
 2 For it were better to feed on the food even of beggary 
 for life than to slay these much-honoured teachers (gurus); 
 yea, if I were to slay these teachers, though greedy of 
 wealth, I should eat of viands stained with blood. 
 
 We know not which would be the better lot for us, that 
 we should conquer them or they should conquer us. If 
 we should slay these Dhartarashtrans, here drawn up in 
 array before us, we should not wish to live. 
 
 1 Warriors dying bravely in battle 2 jjere the metre is changed to one 
 were supposed to go to the heaven of called Trishtubh. (See Introd. p. 
 Indra, as the Scandinavian heroes to 16.) 
 the Valhalla of Odin (Vishnu P. L 
 6. 33). 
 
CHAP. II.] . BHAGAVAD GITA. 33 
 
 I, who am stricken in soul by pity and (the sense of) 
 guilt (&), and confused in mind about duty, pray thee to 
 tell me certainly what is the better (course). Declare this 
 to me : I am thy disciple ; ^ teach me now prostrate before 
 thee. 
 
 For I see not what can avail to drive away this grief 
 that dries up my senses, though I should attain on earth 
 to a vast, unrivalled dominion, and even to the supreme 
 rule of the gods {suras). 
 
 Sanjaya spoke. 
 
 Gudahe^a (Arjuna), having spoken thus to Hrishikesa 
 (Krishna), destroyer of foes ! said to Govinda, " I will 
 not fight," and became silent. 
 10 Then Hrishikesa, gently smiling, son of Bharata! 
 addressed him, thus desponding, with these words, between 
 the two armies. 
 
 The Holy One spolce. 
 
 Thou grievest for those who need no grief,^ but thou 
 
 speakest words of wisdom. The wise grieve not for the 
 dead or the living. 
 
 ^ Arjuna was not, in a strict sense, be divided into three parts, each 
 the disciple of Krishna, but he puts containing six chapters or readings, 
 himself in the position of one, that The first treats mainly of the Yoga 
 he might be guided in his present system ; the second, of the Supreme 
 perplexed and troubled state. The Being ; the third, of the Sankhya 
 honour claimed for the Guru, or system of philosophy. The author, 
 spiritual guide, was excessive. In however, regards all these subjects 
 the Bhagavata Purana he is put on a from his own standpoint as an in- 
 level with Deity itself. dependent thinker, and his system 
 
 2 Here the poem begins as an is therefore eclectic, 
 exposition of philosophy. It may 
 
34 
 
 BHAGAVAD GITA. 
 
 [chap. II. 
 
 i; 
 
 But I was never non-existent,''- nor thou, nor these 
 rulers of men, nor shall any of us hereafter cease to he. 
 
 As in this (present) hody, childhood, youth, and old age 
 appertain to the embodied (soul), so also it obtains another 
 body.2 The wise man is not troubled thereat. 
 
 But the contacts (c) of matter,^ son of KuntI I 
 causing cold and heat, pain and pleasure, come and go, 
 being only temporary : these bear with firmness, son of 
 Bharata ! 
 
 Tor the man whom these things afflict not,* chief of 
 men ! who is steadfast, the same in pain and pleasure, is 
 formed for immortality (d). 
 
 That which is unreal has no (proper) existence, and that 
 which is real never ceases to be : ^ but the limit {e) of both 
 is seen by those who know the truth. 
 
 ^ The first doctrine of the poem 
 is the immortality of the soul, which 
 Kapila affirmed to be eternal, both 
 e parte <fnte and e parte post. 
 
 2 The second doctrine is the 
 transmigration of the soul to dif- 
 ferent bodies. The body formed in 
 the womb is absolutely dissolved 
 into its primary elements after 
 death ; but the linga, or " spiritual 
 body," formed of the finer elements 
 of matter, accompanies the soul in 
 all its migrations, until the latter 
 has attained to nirvana, or absorp- 
 tion into the supreme Brahma. The 
 linga is then dissolved into the 
 primary material essence, called 
 Pralcriti or Nature (Introduction, 
 p. 12). The literal translation of 
 these lines is : "As childhood, youth 
 (or prime), and age in this (the 
 present) body are (the accidents) of 
 the embodied soul," &c. The sou 
 has in reality no change, and there 
 
 fore remains the same in the suc- 
 cessive changes of the (gross) body, 
 and in migrating to another body. 
 
 2 "Matter-contacts," the contacts 
 of the soul with matter by means of 
 the organs of sense. The Sanskrit 
 mdtra (Lat. materia), from md, to 
 measure, denotes the measurable or 
 finite, in opposition to the infinite 
 Brahma. 
 
 * Here the result of the yoga, 
 or devotional system of Patanjali, 
 is expressed. The soul, being ab- 
 sorbed in meditation on the Supr 
 reme, becomes indifferent to all 
 earthly things. 
 
 ^ This accords in part with the 
 systems of Kapila and Patanjali. 
 According to the former, Pralcriti 
 or primeval matter is eternal and 
 indestructible. The various forms 
 of matter have only a conditional, 
 not an absolute or real, existence. 
 In the Theistic form of his system, 
 
CHAP. II.] BHAGAVAD GITA. 35 
 
 Know also that He (That) which spread out^ this All 
 can never perish. No one is able to cause the destruction 
 of this Eternal.^ 
 
 These (bodies) are called the mortal bodies(/) of tlie 
 eternal, imperishable, infinite, embodied (soul) : wherefore 
 figh tj^O son of Eharu tarj'"^ 
 
 He who deems this to be a slayer, and he who thinks 
 that it can be slain, are both undiscerning : it slays not, 
 and it is not slain. 
 20 It is never born, and it never dies : it has never been 
 brought into being, nor shall it ever be brought hereafter. 
 Unborn, undying, eternal, primeval (^), this is not slain 
 when the body is slain. ] 
 
 How can that man, son of Pritha ! who know^s it to 
 be indestructible, eternal, unborn, and undying, cause any 
 one to be slain, and how can he slay ? 
 
 As a man, having cast pff his old garments, takes 
 others that are new, so the embodied (soul), having 
 cast off the old bodies, enters into others that are 
 new. 
 
 matter is only an inferior part of the objectivity of matter, but it is 
 the dual nature of the Godhead as nothing in comparison with the 
 (see c. vii. 5). In the existent forms soul. Compare the language of 
 of things it is only temporary, and Bossuet (Serm. sur la Mort) : " Tout 
 will be absorbed again in the Divine etre qui se mesure n'est rien, par- 
 nature from which it issued. In ceque ce qui se mesure a son terme, 
 the popular Vedantist doctrine it et lorsqu'on est venu a ce terme un 
 has no real existence. The Sup- dernier point detruit tout, comme 
 reme Spirit includes in itself all si jamais il n'avait ete." 
 being. There is no duality. Matter 1 Cf. Ps. civ. 2: ** Who stretch - 
 is only the illusive form {mdyd) in est out the heavens like a curtain." 
 which he has veiled his real nature - The Supreme Brahma. The 
 for a time, but it will disappear at gods are not eternal. They issued 
 last. It is only as the reflection of from Brahma. " The Supreme Lord 
 the moon in water. Our author, of life caused to issue the creation 
 however, does not expressly deny of gods " (Manu i. 22). 
 
SU 
 
 V 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^. 
 
 36 BHAGAVAD GITA. [chap. 11. 
 
 Weapons cleave it not, nor does the fire burn it ; the 
 waters wet it not, nor do the winds dry it up. 
 
 This is impenetrable, incombustible, incapable of being 
 moistened or dried up : it is undying, all-pervading, con- 
 stant, immovable, and eternal. 
 25 This is declared to be invisible, incomprehensible, im- 
 mutable : wherefore knowing it to be such, thou oughtest 
 )t to grieve for it. 
 
 And if thou thinkest it to be ever born and ever dying 
 v*-' (with the body), even then it is not meet for thee to grieve 
 ^: for it, mighty-armed ! 
 
 ^, Tor the death of what is born is certain, and certain 
 s^ 3 (too) the birth of what has died ; therefore it is not meet 
 for thee to mourn over that which none can prevent. 
 In the primal state all things are unseen ; in the middle 
 -y state they are seen, son of Bharata ! they become un- 
 seen again in the state of death. What cause of grief is 
 ^ there ih this ? 
 
 One man looks on it (the soul) as a marvel; another 
 
 speaks of it as a marvel, and another hears of it as a 
 
 l; marvel, but there is not one w^io, by hearing of it, 
 
 understands it. 
 30 This embodied (soul) in the body of every one, son of 
 Bharata ! is ever indestructible, wherefore thou oughtest 
 not to mourn for any living thing. 
 
 Eegarding, too, thy proper duty, thou oughtest not to 
 falter, for to a Kshatriya (warrior) nothing is better than 
 a lawful fight. 
 
 Happy are the Kshatriyas, son of Pritha ! who ob- 
 tain such a fight as this, offered freely to them as an open 
 door _to heaven . 
 
 But if thou wilt not undertake this lawful fight, then, 
 
CHAP. II.] BHAGAVAD GITA. 37 
 
 by abandoning thy proper duty and tliy honour, thou wilt 
 be gnilty of a crime. 
 
 Then men will proclaim thy eternal disgrace, and to 
 a w^ell-borii man Qi) disgrace is worse than death. 
 35 The car-borne men (the chiefs) will think that thou 
 hast withdrawn from the battle through fear, and thou, 
 who wast highly thought of by them, will be lightly 
 esteemed. 
 
 Thy enemies will utter many disgraceful w^ords (lit. 
 that ought not to be said), deriding thy capacity (as a 
 warrior) : what can be more grievous than this ? 
 
 If slain, thou wilt attain to heaven, or thou wilt possess 
 the earth if a conqueror : wherefore arise, son of KuntI ! 
 resolved upon the fight. 
 
 Accounting pain and pleasure, gain and loss, victory 
 and defeat as equal, gird thyself for the battle : thus thou 
 wilt not bring sin upon thee. 
 
 This doctrine has been declared to thee according to 
 ^ the Sankhya (system) ; hear now the Yoga (teaching). 
 When thou, by means of this teaching, hast become 
 devout {yuhta), thou wilt cast off the bonds of works.^ 
 
 1 This expression, " bonds of ac- of such gain or loss : the aim of the 
 
 tion" (or "bonds of works "), often true Yogin is to rise above all such 
 
 recurs in the poem, and must be vicissitudes and to gain by a mystic 
 
 well understood in order to gain a union {yoga) with the supreme 
 
 correct knowledge of the nature and Brahma in devout meditation a 
 
 aims of this s^'stem of philosophy, final absorption [nirvana) into his 
 
 Every action that is wrought for essence. The Yogin is then born 
 
 some purpose connected with self, no more, and is for ever emancipated 
 
 though it be the hope of gaining from any contact with matter, which 
 
 heaven, is followed by the necessary is the source of all evil and of all 
 
 result of a good or evil state in an- pain. Hence arises the opposition 
 
 other body. This result is called in the spiritualist Yogin to all out- 
 
 the bond of action, or that to which ward forms, even such as are ex- 
 
 the work necessarily binds the doer, pressed or enjoined in the Vedas. 
 
 All works are exposed to the danger He becomes superior to them all ia 
 
33 BHAGAVAD GItA, [chap. ii. 
 
 40 In this (system) there is no waste of effort, in it no loss^ 
 is found. Even a little of this pious exercise delivers 
 from great fear. 
 
 This doctrine (^), which is of a constant, nature, is one, 
 son of Kuru ! but many-branched and endless are the 
 doctrines of the inconstant. 
 
 A flowery kind of language is spohen by the unwise, 
 who delight in Yeda-words,^ son of Pritha! saying, 
 " There is nothing but this ! " 
 
 Whose souls are full of lust, who regard heaven as the 
 highest good, offering birth as the fruit of works, and 
 practising many varied rites for the attaining of plea- 
 sures and power. 
 
 The doctrine of these men who are devoted to pleasures 
 find power, and whose minds are carried away by these 
 (words), having effort as its essence, is not formed for 
 meditation. 
 45 The Vedas have the three gunas ^ as their object. Be 
 thou free from the three gunas, Arjuna ! be free from the 
 
 his mature state ; they are then com- *^ An attack on the prevailing 
 
 pletely useless to him, though they Vedantist ritual, which the Vedas 
 
 may be of some use to those who underlay. This offered one of the 
 
 are in a lower condition (vi. 3, 12 ; heavens of the gods as a reward ; 
 
 ii. 46). Like the Quietists in the the reward of pure devotion (yoga) 
 
 Church of Rome, he is above the is absorption into the supreme 
 
 hope of reward, though it should be Brahma. 
 
 that of the highest heaven. This 3 The three Modes, or Qualities, 
 reward, too, would be only tempo- as they are usually called, are the 
 rary, for all the seven heavens, and constituent elements of Prakriti or 
 the gods who inhabit and rule over primal matter. From them all the 
 them, will pass away at the end of labours, the pleasures and pains of 
 a halpa, to be produced again when our present life are produced (see 
 another kalpa begins (viii. 37). Introd. p. 12). The meaning of the 
 1 In worldly pursuits there may passage is, that Arjuna should be 
 be failure in attempting to gain free from all the influences of matter, 
 what we desire, and if gained it whether good or evil, for the best 
 may be lost, but there is neither results that come from it are corn- 
 failure nor loss in devotion. paratively evil. 
 
 'I 
 
CHAP. II.] BHAGAVAD GITA. 39 
 
 pairs of opposites/ ever fixed on truth, without anxious 
 care (/) and self-possessed. 
 
 As many as are the uses of a reservoir, whose waters 
 flow in on every side, so many are there in all the Yedas 
 for a discerning Brahman.^ 
 
 Let the work itself be thy charge, but never the fruit 
 (of works) ; let not the fruit of works be thy motive, yet 
 be not inclined to inaction. 
 
 Do thy works, steadfast in devotion, renouncing attach- 
 ment (Z;), subduer of wealth ! be still the same in suc- 
 cess and failure. Evenness of mind is called devotion 
 {yoga). 
 
 For work is far inferior to mental devotion, sub- 
 duer of wealth ! Seek for refuge in the mind. Miserable 
 are they whose motive is the fruit (of works). 
 50 He who has become mentally devout abandons both 
 good and evil deeds : therefore apply thyself to devotion 
 {yoga). Yoga is success in works (the work in which 
 there is always success). 
 
 For the wise, devout in mind, renouncing the fruit that 
 is born of works, freed from the bondage of birth, go to 
 the seat where disease ^ is not. 
 
 When thy mind shall pass over the tangled path of 
 
 ^ Lit. " not affected by pairs " would shock too much the feelings 
 
 {dwandwds), i.e., by opposites, such of his fellow-Brahmans if the poet 
 
 as pleasure and pain, health and were to deny that there was any use 
 
 sickness, &c. Cf. Vishnu Purana in the Vedas and other sacred books, 
 
 I, 6, 18 : " As sin increased, these but their use was far inferior to that 
 
 creatures (mankind) were afflicted of yoga (mental devotion), 
 with suffering arising out of the pairs ^ " The seat where there is no 
 
 (of susceptibilities to pleasure and disease " is the Supreme BrahmJl. 
 
 pain)." (S. T. i. 62.) The expression seems to indicate 
 
 ^ A reservation, probably from that the Hindus were then com- 
 
 the spirit of compromise which is paratively a feeble race, subject to 
 
 evident throughout the poem. It many kinds of disease. 
 
 9 ^ 
 
40 
 
 BHAGAVAD GIT A. 
 
 [chap. II. 
 
 delusion, thou wilt attain to a disdain of what has been 
 revealed, or shall be revealed hereafter.^ 
 
 When thy mind, distracted (aforetime) by sriiti (the 
 Vedas), shall stand unshaken, in meditation fixed, thou 
 wilt then attain to yoga. 
 
 V 
 
 Aejuna spoke. 
 
 What is the mark (Q, Ke^ava! of one who is fixed in 
 knowledge,^ and who is constant in meditation? How 
 may he speak who is steadfast in thought, how may he 
 
 rest or move ? 
 
 / 
 
 The Holy Oi>^e spohe. 
 
 c^ When one casts off all desires whose seat is in the 
 heart, son of Pritha ! content with himself in himself, 
 he is said to be steadfast in knowledge. 
 
 He whose heart is not distressed in adversity, in whom 
 
 ^ A bold defiance of the estab- 
 lished religion, i.e., the religion of 
 the Vedas. S'ruti, lit. " hearing," 
 is the name of all books given by 
 divine revelation, and these are the 
 mantras and the hrdhmanas (hymns 
 and expositions) of the four Vedas. 
 Smriti (recollection or memory) is 
 the name given to those ancient 
 writings from which duty, divine 
 and social, might be learned. In 
 the Institutes of Manu we are told 
 that "sruti is the Veda, and smriti 
 the book of duty or law [dharvia- 
 sdstra) ; these in all cases are not to 
 be qiiestioned, for from these duty 
 has been made manifest " (ii. lo). 
 It is stated, however, expressly, that 
 they are not of equal authority, for 
 it is added : "To those who are 
 
 seeking a knowledge of duty, h-uti 
 is the supreme authority" (ii. 13). 
 S'ruti therefore answers to " revela- 
 tion," and smriti to "tradition," in 
 the language of Western nations. 
 The Hindu commentators ignore 
 this allu.'iion to sruti as " revela- 
 tion," and interpret it in the primi- 
 tive sense of " hearing," i.e., of 
 means of obtaining the objects of 
 the senses " (Sankara). Srldhara 
 says, " Hearing what is not according 
 to the Vedas." 
 
 2 By knowledge is meant spiri- 
 tual knowledge, the knowledge of 
 the supreme Brahma, and of union 
 with him {yoga) by meditation. 
 The word sthitaprajna means one 
 who is both steadfast and wise in 
 divine things. 
 
CHAP. II.] BHAGAVAD GIT A. 41 
 
 all joy in prosperity is lost, from whom passion, fear, and 
 wrath have passed away, is called a muni ^ (recluse), fixed 
 in meditation. 
 
 He who is without affection on every side, who has 
 neither delight nor aversion in good or evil fortune of any 
 kind, of this man the knowledge is fixed. 
 
 When one withdraws his senses from sense-objects, as 
 a tortoise draws in its limbs in every part, the knowledge 
 of this man is fixed. 
 
 Sensuous objects withdraw from an abstinent man : ^ 
 even savour withdraws when it beholds his complete 
 abandonment of savour. 
 ^ Yet the tumultuous senses of a wise man, even 
 though he resists, son of Kunti ! bear away the heart 
 by force. 
 
 When he has subdued them all, he may rest in devo- 
 tion, intent on Me, for the knowledge of him whose 
 senses are under control is fixed. 
 
 . When a man meditates on the objects of sense, then 
 I ,attachment to them arises : desire springs from attach- 
 jment ; from desire wrath (vehement emotion) proceeds. 
 
 From wrath comes confusion ; from confusion, wan- 
 derinsj of memorv ; ^ from this wanderincf comes destruc- 
 tioii of the intellect, and by this destruction the man is 
 Tost. 
 jlf I3ut he who meets sense-objects w*ith senses free from 
 
 ^ An anchoret devoted to the ^ The loss of memory implies for- 
 
 practice of yoga (mystic devotion). getfulness of right and wrong ; from 
 
 - From the habit of self-control, this comes folly or delusion, by 
 
 even desire will cease at last ; figu- which the man acts with an evil 
 
 ratively expressed by the retreat of waywardness, and incurs thereby 
 
 a sensible object, as if practically it future punishment in Naraka (hell). 
 was no longer present. 
 
 ■I 
 J 
 
42 ■ BHA GA VAD GIT A. [chap. it. 
 
 desire or aversion and is self-controlled, he, being well- 
 ordered in soul, attains to peace.i 
 5q In (the possession of) peace, then freedom from all 
 distress is produced in him ; for the mind of him whose 
 thoughts are peaceful soon becomes steadfast. 
 
 Neither intelligence nor right condition (m) belongs to 
 the undevout man ; there is no tranquillity for him who 
 is not well-conditioned (or well-ordered,) and how can 
 there be happiness for him who is not tranquil ? 
 
 Tor the heart of the man who obeys the roving senses 
 carries away his knowledge as the wind (drives) ships at 
 sea. 
 
 Wherefore, mighty-armed ! the knowledge of the man 
 whose senses are wholly withheld from the objects of 
 sense is confirmed. 
 
 That which is the night of all (other) beings is the 
 time when the self-restrained man.^ is awake, and when 
 other bo'ings are awake, that is the night of a discerning 
 recluse {muni). 
 70 He attains to peace into whom all desires enter as 
 rivers enter into the ocean, which is ever filled, and (yet) 
 remains within its bounds; not the man who cherishes 
 desires. 
 
 ^Cf.Platointhe*'Ph8edo"(sec.75): follows reason as her guide, and is 
 
 •' The soul of a real lover of wisdom employed in the contemplation of 
 
 would not reason as they (mankind what is true and divine." 
 
 in general) do ; would not think - The self-restrained, possessing 
 
 that philosophy must set him free, spiritual knowledge, see clearly 
 
 and that when he has done this, where worldly men are in darkness : 
 
 he may again give himself over to worldly desires and interests are 
 
 pleasures and pains, and thus undo foreign to him : they are covered 
 
 what she has done, weaving her with the darkness of night to him, 
 
 web to unravel it again, after the but to the worldly these are things 
 
 fashion of Penelope. His soul at- that are seen as in the light of 
 
 tains a calm repose from passion, day. 
 
CHAP. II.] 
 
 BHAGAVAD GIT A. 
 
 43 
 
 The man who, having abandoned all desires, goes 
 onward without attachments, free from selfishness and 
 vanity, attains to peace. 
 
 This is the Brahma state,^ son of Pritha ! he who 
 has obtained it is troubled no more. He who retains it 
 till the hour of death passes on to nirvana (absorption) 
 in Brahma.2 
 
 ^ The state or condition of the 
 knowledge of Brahma, according to 
 Sridhara. Sankara's gloss is "dwell- 
 ing in the form of Brahma," i.e., his 
 being or nature. 
 
 2 Cf. the "Phffido" (sec. 68) : " If it 
 (the soul) take its departure in a 
 state of purity, not carrying with it 
 any clinging impurities of the body ; 
 impurities which during life it never 
 willingly shared in, but always 
 avoided ; gathering itself into itself, 
 and making this separation from 
 the body its aim and study, . . . 
 well then, so prepared, the soul de- 
 parts to that invisible region which 
 
 is, of its own nature, the region of 
 the Divine, the Immortal, and the 
 Wise." 
 
 Nirvana, lit. "blown out;" the 
 complete absorption of the soul in 
 the Supreme Spirit, of which it is 
 a part, according to the Vedantist 
 school. It is thus explained in the 
 Brihadaranyaka (Sans. Lit., p. 24). 
 '* It is with us, when we enter into 
 the Divine Spirit, as if a lump of 
 salt was thrown into the sea ; it 
 becomes dissolved into the water 
 (from which it was produced), and 
 is not to be taken out again." 
 
 Thus the Bhagavad Gita, Eeading the Second, whose 
 title is 
 
 " The Sankhya-Yoga (Doctrine)." 
 
 > M- 
 
 '^^ y-^ xT "^^ 
 
 r 
 
44 BHAGAVAD CITA. [chap. ii. 
 
 PHILOLOGICAL NOTES. 
 
 (a) Visliame. " In rerum discrimine " (Lassen) ; " in matters 
 of difficulty " (Thomson) ; " dans la bataille " (Burnouf) ; " in 
 this fearful place " (Telang). Fisharna, from vi, a prefix of 
 negation, and sama, equal, means (i) inequality or unevenness 
 of ground ; (2) difficulty, trouble. The locative case of the 
 noun gives some support to Telang's version, but the reference 
 is not to the place itself, but to the circumstances connected 
 with it. We may translate the word, " in this difficult state 
 of affairs" or "emergency." S'ridhara explains vlshame by 
 sangrdme sankate (in the closed battle). 
 
 {h) Kdrpanyadoshopahataswahhdvas. " Miseratione et formi- 
 dine culpse fracta indole" (Lassen, followed by Thomson and 
 others). Telang's version is, " My heart too, by the taint of 
 helplessness tarnished," taking the compound a^ a tat-purusha 
 form. I^ut upahata means " wounded " or " destroyed," not 
 "tarnished," and Icdrpanya is poverty or misery. Helpless- 
 ness implies no guilt (^dosha), but Arjuna's grief might be 
 wrong, as he was of the warrior {Kshatriya) caste. On 
 the other hand, nothing is said of the fear of wrong, but of 
 wrong simply. The very nature (swabhdva) of Arjuna was 
 wounded by pity for his relatives and the sin of this fratri- 
 cidal war. 
 
 (c) Mdtrdsparsas. " Elementorum contactus " (Lassen) ; 
 " contacts of the senses " (Telang and the Hindu scholiasts). 
 Mdtra (matter) is the object of the senses, not the senses 
 themselves. 
 
 (d) Kalpate, "doth merit (immortality)" (Telang). The 
 word means "is fitted for." S'ridhara interprets it by yotjryo- 
 hhavati (is fitted or suitable for). Lassen excellently, "ad 
 immortalitatem conformatur." 
 
CHAP. II.] BHAGAVAD GITA. 45 
 
 {e) Antas, end, limit. Lassen translates it by " discrimen;" 
 Thomson by *' true end ; " Burnouf by " en connaissent la 
 limite." The authors of the Peters. Diet, refer to this pas- 
 sage, and translate the word by "ende," "ausgang." Telang 
 interprets the word as meaning "settled truth." Lassen's 
 version gives an intelligible meaning, but it has not been 
 shown that anta (end, limit) has the meaning of " difference." 
 The meaning of the passage is that only the soul has a real 
 existence, or at least that the forms and conditions of matter 
 have only a conditional existence. The dividing line of the 
 two is clearly seen by the wise. S'ridhara defines asat (unreal) 
 as that which has not the nature of the soul and religious duty 
 (dharma). In the philosophy of Kapila, sat means formal ex- 
 istence, and asat the formless, unmanifested Prakriti (primal 
 matter). 
 
 (/) Lassen supposes that sanrinds is connected with a 
 second dehds (bodies), and suggests that the latter word 
 means "miasmata." He would translate the passage thus: 
 "Mortalia hsec corpora nihil aliud sunt quam ^/ac^aara spiritus 
 cum iilis conjuncti." A fanciful interpretation, which cannot 
 be maintained. Possession is often indicated by the genitive 
 case, without a verb or noun intervening (Williams' Grammar, 
 sec. 816). Burnouf 's version is also untenable : " Ces corps qui 
 procedent d'une ame," &c. The subject here is not the creation 
 of the body, but its use by the soul as a dwelling-place. 
 
 {g) Sdswato' yam purdno. Sdswata, eternal as to the future ; 
 purdna, eternal as to the past. 
 
 (h) Samhhdvitasya. " Pour un homme de sens " (Burnouf) ; 
 but Lassen's version, " viri generosi," is, I think, better. The 
 Hindu commentators explain the word as meaning "hon- 
 oured ; " but samhlidva means birth, origin, and the appeal is 
 to Arjuna's pride of birth. Gatti has " generoso." 
 
 {i) Buddhi (intellect), but used here, it seems, as in dist. 
 39, for "doctrine." 
 
46 ' BHAGAVAD GITA. [chap. ir. 
 
 (j) YogahsJiema, primarily a law-term for an insurance or 
 guarantee of property. The practice of insurance is of very 
 ancient date, for in the laws of Manu we are told that a kinsr 
 should levy taxes on traders only after a due consideration of 
 the rates of purchase and sale . . . and " the charges of securing 
 (insuring?) the goods carried" (vii. 127). A secondary mean- 
 ing is care or anxiety. 
 
 Qc) Sanga, attachment or desire. This is an important 
 word in the Yoga system. It is formed from sanj, to hold or 
 adhere to, and corresponds to the Fr. attachemeiit. It means 
 any affection or desire by which the mind is bound to the 
 object of desire, and is thus prevented from gaining that per- 
 fect equanimity and absence of passion which it is the object 
 of the Yoga discipline to form. Thomson translates the word 
 by " covetousness," but this, in its restricted modern sense, 
 is much too limited. Schlegel and Lassen have " ambitione 
 seposit^ ; " but sanga is not ambition merely ; it is more than 
 this; including it, but taking a wider range. Burnouf trans- 
 lates it by desir, but this is too wide. It is not every kind of 
 desire that is forbidden, for some kinds are unavoidable, and 
 some are of an indifferent quality, but such desire as binds 
 and entangles the soul by connecting it mediately with sCne 
 form of matter, and producing an inward commotion or bias. 
 
 (l) BMshd, a sign, means primarily speech or language. 
 It is used to denote the distinguishing mark or sign of a 
 person, for " his speech bewrayeth him." 
 
 (m) Bhdvana. " Sui conscientia " (Lassen) ; " reflexion " 
 (Thomson); "sammlung des Geist's" (Lorinser, who adds, 
 " am meisten diirfte im Deutschen hier der Ausdruck ' Bei- 
 sich sein ' entsprechen "). S'ridhara interprets it by dliydna, 
 meditation. OT. sabdabhavana vidhiriti, the right condition 
 of speech is due order (Madhus. in Pet. Diet.) 
 
( 47 ) 
 
 HEADING THE THIED. 
 
 Arjuna spoke. 
 
 If knowledge is deemed by thee to be better than action, 
 O destroyer of foes I why dost thou engage me to this 
 dreadful deed, Kesava ? 
 
 Thou bewilderest my mind by these ambiguous words : 
 tell me distinctly what is the one certain (course) by 
 which I may attain to the better state. 
 
 The Holy Oke spoke. 
 
 There is in this world a twofold rule of life (a), as I said 
 before/ sinless one ! — that of the Sankhyans,^ by devo- 
 tion of knowledge, and that of the Yogins, by devotion of 
 work. 
 
 A man w^ho does not undertake works attains not to 
 freedom ffeiHr^w^rk, nor does he obtain the perfect state 
 by mere renouncement.^ 
 
 1 See c. ii. p. 37. spiritual Supreme Essence, at whose 
 
 2 The Sankhya school is that of command all existing things come 
 Kapila ; the Yoga that of Patanjali. into being. Kapila taught that final 
 In their physical theories they gene- emancipation from matter can only 
 rally coincide, and in the questions be obtained by knowledge, meaning 
 relating to the soul. They differed, by knowledge his own philosophy 
 however, in two very important chiefly. Patanjali taught that it is 
 points. Kapila did not recognise a gained chiefly by pious meditation, 
 personal Supreme Deity, but only whereby the soul is joined in thought 
 primordial matter, emanating into to the Great Supreme, and is finally 
 distinct forms by a kind of blind absorbed in him. 
 
 instinct. Patanjali exalted philo- ^ The nature of a true renuncia- 
 sophy into religion by setting forth a tion is taught in c. v. The proper 
 
48 BHAGAVAD GiTA. [chap. iii. 
 
 5 For no man ever continues to cease from action, even 
 for a short time, since every one is compelled by the 
 Modes {gunas) ^ of nature to act, even against his will. 
 
 He who, restraining the organs of action,^ remains in- 
 active, but yet remembers in his heart the objects of sense, 
 he, confused in soul, is called a '•' false devotee." 
 
 But he who, having subdued the senses by the heart 
 (manas), Arjuna ! undertakes the devotion of w^ork by the 
 organs of action, without attachment, is highly esteemed. 
 
 Do thou every appointed w^ork, for action is better than 
 inaction, and even the means of subsistence for the body 
 cannot be gained by thee if inactive. 
 
 "" This world is bound by the bonds of action,^ except in 
 work done on account of sacrifice.'* Apply thyself to 
 work for this purpose, son of KuntI ! but without 
 attachment. 
 
 10 > When the Lord of all beings ^ (h) had created mankind 
 
 Yoga system, in its highest form, ex- hearing, sight, smelling, taste, and 
 
 eluded all voluntary work ; but the the action of the skin, 
 enlightened mind of our author led ^ For the meaning of the term 
 
 him to a modification of this extreme " bonds of action " see c. ii. p. 37. 
 view. ^rldhara says that works ^ Sankara refers yajna, sacrifice, 
 
 connected with caste must be done, to Vishnu, as the Ishwara or Lord. 
 
 He also explains "freedom from Ananda has the same explanation, 
 
 work" [naislilcaryam) by "spiritual and both refer to sruti, revelation, 
 
 knowledge" {jndna), for in the i.e., the Yedas and other works of the 
 
 Yoga system this was equivalent to same authority. 
 the mind being fixed on Brahma in ^ The lord of all beings, the su- 
 
 the exercise of devotion. Sankara preme Brahma, in his form of Brah- 
 
 explains "the perfect state" as ma, ordained the sacrifice by fire. 
 
 " divine knowledge." " He, the Supreme Kuler, created 
 
 1 Tor the nature of these con- the eternal sacrifice " (Manu, i. 22). 
 stituents of Prakriti see Introd. p. 12. The gods were supposed to partake 
 
 2 The organs of action are five — ©f the sacrifices through Agni. 
 the bands, the feet, the mouth, and " Nourished by sacrifices, the gods 
 the organs of excretion and genera- nourish mankind by sending forth 
 tion. The five senses are those of rain " (Vishnu Purana, i. 6). 
 
Of 
 
 ,£ALiF^ 
 
 ^^l 
 
 CHAP. III.] 
 
 BHAGAVAD GItA. 
 
 of old, together with sacrifice, he said, " By this shall off- 
 spring be obtained : be this your cow of plenty^ (c) for 
 (the attainment of) your desires. 
 
 E'ourish ye the gods by this, and let the gods also 
 nourish you. Thus, nourishing each other, ye shall ob- 
 tain the highest good ; 
 
 For the gods, nourished by sacrifice, shall give to you 
 the desired foods. He who eats the things which are given 
 by them without offering to them (in return) is a thief. 
 
 Good men, who eat the remains of sacrifices, are freed 
 from all their sins, but the evil, who cook only for them- 
 selves, eat sill. 2 
 
 All creatures live by food ; food is produced by rain ; 
 rain is (caused) by sacrifice; sacrifice is wrought by 
 action. -> 
 
 15 Know that action springs from Brahma;^ Brahma pro- 
 
 ^ Kdmaduk, from hdma (love, de- 
 sire) and duh (to milk), the sym- 
 bolical cow of Indra, from which 
 every desired good could be obtained. 
 Probably at first a personification 
 of the earth as the giver of food, &c. 
 
 - Cf. Manu iii. 118: "He who 
 eats what has been dressed for him- 
 self only, eats nothing but sin ; a 
 feast on that which remains after 
 the oflfering is called the banquet of 
 the good," 
 
 3 Brahma, as the Creator, is the 
 author of action, and he issued from 
 the Undivided, the Supreme Brahma 
 or Brahman. Lassen translates the 
 passage, "Numen e simplici et in- 
 dividuo ortum," Mr. Thomson's 
 version is, "The Supreme Spirit is 
 co-existent with the Indivisible," 
 and he adds in a note, " Three cate- 
 gories of spirit are here marked out. 
 
 The lowest is the soul of man, called 
 I'shara, divisible ; the next is akshara, 
 indivisible, explained by the word 
 lutastha, pervading all things ; the 
 third is the Supreme Being in his 
 own individual personality." But 
 Tcshara means the whole of finite 
 created forms, the existing creatijn 
 in its manifold parts (see c. viii. n. 
 i). The creative principle, in itself 
 undivided, came forth from Brahma, 
 and is the material source of a ma- 
 terial creation. " Being formed by 
 that First Cause ('That which is,' 
 Sir W. Jones), undiscernible, eter- 
 nal, which is both existent (in mate- 
 rial forms) and non-existent, that 
 Male {Purusha) is celebrated in the 
 world as Brahma." He is the 
 Supreme in his creative energy, ex- 
 isting in the varied forms of the 
 world. Brahma dwelt in the egg in 
 D 
 
50 BHAGAVAD GITA. [chap. in. 
 
 ceeds from the Indivisible One. Wherefore Brahma, the 
 all-pervading, is ever present in sacrifice. 
 
 He who causes not this appointed cycle to revolve here 
 below, he, living in sin and gratifying the senses, lives in 
 vain, O son of Pritha ! 
 
 But the man who can be happy in himself, pleased 
 ^ with himself, and contented with himself alone, for him 
 nothinsj remains to be doue.^ 
 
 For this man has no interest whatever in what is done 
 or left undone here below, nor for him is there any occa- 
 sion whatever of seeking for succour {d) from any living 
 thing. 
 
 Wherefore apply thyself to work that ought to be done, 
 I but always without attachment (e), for the man who 
 ' applies himself to work without attachment attains to 
 
 the Supreme (/). 
 ?o For Janaka^ and others have attained to perfection 
 
 which the Supreme had placed him such a man is exalted above all 
 
 for a (divine) year, and then dividing action and all duty. Lassen, more 
 
 it, " he formed the heavens and the correctly, " Omni negotio vacat." 
 
 earth" (Manu i. ii, 13). Sankara Literally it is, "Necessary work 
 
 and other Hindu scholiasts explain (what is to be done) of this man 
 
 Brahma to mean the Vedas, and exists not." Telang translates it, 
 
 the Vedas are present, says Sankara, " Has naught to do." Cf. c. v. 24. 
 
 because " the rites of sacrifice are Ananda says that he attains to this 
 
 their main object." This is as un- state by his complete knowledge, 
 
 satisfactory as other explanations of Sridhara, in commenting on the 
 
 obscure passages by Hindu commen- next distich, says it is by his having 
 
 tators. It is never thus used by surmounted all regard for self {ahan- 
 
 the author of the Bhagavad Gita, hdra). 
 
 who had not as much reverence for ^ Janaka, a king of Mithila or 
 the Vedas as i^ankara and other Videha, was reckoned among the 
 scholiasts. great Rishis on account of his piety 
 ^ Mr. Thomson translates the and wisdom. He is often mentioned 
 latter clause, "Has no selfish interest in the Mahabharata. It is there 
 in action," asserting that he who stated that he was constantly en- 
 "is all in all to himself performs gaged in thinking on matters con- 
 actions as a duty." On the contrary, nected with a future life, and that 
 
^ 
 
 CHAP. III.] BHAGAVAD GiTA. 51 
 
 even by work. Thou oughtest to work, also, from regard 
 to the masses of mankind {g). 
 
 Whatever is done by one who is high in position, that 
 other men do, whatever it may be. Whatever example 
 he offers, the people follow it. 
 
 jSTothinir whatever, son of Pritha! must needs be 
 done by me in the three worlds, nor is anything to be 
 attained that is unattained, yet I am occupied in 
 work.^ 
 
 For if I should not be ever at work, unwearied (and 
 men follow my path, son of Pritha! from every 
 part). 
 
 These worlds would sink in ruin. If I should not 
 work, I should be the author of confusion,^ and I should 
 destroy this race of men. 
 25 As ignorant men do works with attachment, son of 
 Bharata! so the wise man should work without attach- 
 ment, desiring to promote the general good. 
 
 he had a hundred religious teachers He is the undeveloped Prakriti 
 (Sans. T. i. 429). His other name (primal matter), and the Eternal 
 was Siradhwaja (he whose sign or Maker. Intellect {huddhi), mind 
 banner is a plough), from which we (?«anas), and the Great One {mahat = 
 may infer that he was famed for buddhi in the system of Kapila, here 
 having introduced improvements in perhaps the soul), air, fire, water, sky, 
 agriculture. earth, whatever fourfold being exists 
 ^ Krishna, in his divine nature, is established (pratishthitam) in 
 had no earthly object to gain. The Krishna " (Sans. T. iv. 209. I have 
 work to which he alludes is not, as slightly altered the translation). 
 Mr. Thomson supposes, the work of a The whole passage shows a reac- 
 Kshatriya (the warrior caste), but his tion in the mind of our author against 
 labour in maintaining and directing the excesses of the Yoga system, 
 all things. Cf. the Mahabharata 2 Confusion of the castes, accord- 
 (Sabha - parvan, 1390-95). "It is ing to the Hindu scholiasts, but pro- 
 Krishna who is the origin and the de- bably more was implied than this, 
 struction of the worlds : all this uni- though confusion of castes is, to a 
 verse, movable and immovable, has Brahman, the direst of evils. Seft 
 come into being through Krishna. Manu iii. 17, 18, 19. 
 
52 
 
 BHAGAVAD GItA. 
 
 [chap. III. 
 
 Let him not cause distraction of mind in ignorant men 
 who are attached to works : let the wise and devout man 
 promote Qi) every kind of work, co-working therein. 
 >( Works are done entirely by the modes of Nature {Pra- 
 hriti)} He whose soul is bewildered by vanity (*) thinks, 
 " I am the doer ; " 
 
 But he who knows the truth of the separate parts 
 of modes and works,^ mighty-armed! thinking thus, 
 "Modes are occupied with (or in) modes," {j) is not 
 bound. 
 
 They who are confused by the modes of iSTature {Pra- 
 
 hriti) are bound by the works of the modes. Let not him 
 
 who knows the whole (truth) cause dull men, who know 
 
 not the whole, to falter (in action). 
 
 ) Eenouncing all works in Me,^ fixed in thought on the 
 
 1 The soul, which is the true self, 
 never aots. Its proper state is one 
 of absolute isolation and repose. 
 All action is due to the modes of 
 nature {Pral'riti). These, as they 
 are variously compounded, produce 
 actions which are relatively good or 
 bad, but all action is inferior to re- 
 pose. Man is represented as having 
 a dual nature, consisting of the soul, 
 which is passive, and its material 
 envelopments, in which the modes 
 are continually acting. The wise, 
 knowing this, allow the action of 
 the modes to go on, but are not con- 
 cerned by it. The ignorant, who 
 think that the soul acts, look for 
 reward (as of heaven, for instance), 
 not for absolute freedom from all 
 contacts with matter in nirvana. " I 
 have not the nature of the Modes ; 
 works are not mine " (Sridhara, re- 
 ferring to the soul as the real self). 
 
 ^ The point in question here is 
 not, as Lassen and Thomson have 
 supposed, the difference between ac- 
 tions and the modes, but the parts 
 which they severally play, Vibhaga 
 means part, share, allotment, and 
 expresses here the assigned share or 
 allotment of each in their separate 
 but mutually dependent existence. 
 All action is due to the modes, 
 and the modes are affected in their 
 subsequent distribution and arrange- 
 ment by the actions of each suc- 
 cessive life, and form a higher or 
 lower condition. 
 
 3 "Give up all works by means 
 of thought on the Suprerue Spirit" 
 (Sridhara). The verb used by Srid- 
 hara means to consign, intrust, de- 
 liver ; but here, I think, to give up, 
 "iibergeben," "iibertrageu" (Peters. 
 Diet.) 
 
CHAP. III.] 
 
 BHAGAVAD GITA. 
 
 53 
 
 Supreme Spirit (IS), free from hope and selfislmess, put 
 away thy sorrow and fight ! 
 
 The men who ever follow this my doctrine,^ full of faith 
 and unreviling, are set free even by works : ^ 
 
 But know that they who follow not my doctrine, reviling 
 it, these, senseless and confused in every (kind of) know- 
 ledge, are wholly lost. 
 
 Even the wise man tends to that which is conformed to 
 his own nature; all beings follow (their) nature; what 
 then will opposition effect ? 
 
 4 Love and hatred are seated in the objects ^ of the senses. 
 Let none come under the power of these two (affections), 
 for they are his foes. 
 j^ i Better is one's own duty,* though faulty (in the work) (I), 
 than another's thou^rh well done. Better is death in one's 
 
 U 
 
 1 Krishna calls the doctrine his, 
 because he was considered to be the 
 lord of devotion, and is sometimes so 
 called (c. xviii.) Those who reviled 
 the doctrine were the Vedantists, 
 and especially the Saivyas, who iden- 
 tified their own especial deity, Siva, 
 with the Supreme God, Brahma. 
 
 ^ This is not completely in ac- 
 cordance with either the Sankhya 
 or the Yoga system. The first ad- 
 mitted only knowledge as the means 
 of final emancipation ; the second, 
 only mystic devotion. Our author 
 admits the necessity, and even the 
 advantage, of action, if done with- 
 out "attachment." 
 
 2 Mr. Thomson's version is, "Love 
 or hatred exists towards the objects 
 of each sense." Lassen's is more 
 correct: "Rebus sensui cuilibet sub- 
 jectis propensio et aversatio neces- 
 sario inhserent." So also Burnouf : 
 •'II faut bien que les objets des sens 
 
 fassent naitre le desir et I'aversion." 
 The soul is passive. All emotion, 
 of whatever kind, springs from the 
 mode of Nature, called rajas (pas- 
 sion ; sometimes translated " foul- 
 ness," for the two ideas are closely 
 connected in the Hindu mind), and 
 must be subdued. Sankara says 
 that Nature can only work by means 
 of these affections, and if one with- 
 stands their force, he is then at 
 liberty to follow the Sastras (sacred 
 books). This is in answer to the 
 question, How can the Sastras be 
 followed if Nature be so powerful ? 
 (Telang). But the perfect Yogin, 
 in the judgment of our author, was 
 above all Sastras. 
 
 * By duty (dharma) is here meant 
 the fulfilling of the caste-obligations, 
 as that of a Kshatriya to fight ; the 
 influence of the writer's position as 
 a Brahman modifying the pure Yoga 
 sj'stem. 
 
54 BHAGAVAD GITA. [chap. iir. 
 
 own duty : another's duty is full of danger (lit. fraught 
 with fear). 
 
 V^ Aejuna sipdke. 
 
 But by what is a man impelled, Varshneya ! when he 
 commits sin even against his will, as if compelled by force ? 
 
 V The Holy One s/jo/je. 
 
 It is lust : it is wrath, born from the " passion "-mode : 
 know that this, all- devouring, all-defiling, is here our foe. 
 
 As a flame is covered by smoke and a mirror by rust ; 
 as a foetus is enveloped by the womb, so the world is 
 enveloped by this. 
 
 Knowledge is enveloped by this, which is the eternal 
 foe of the wise man ; which takes forms at will, son of 
 KuntI ! and is an insatiable flame. 
 40 Its seat is declared to be in the senses, heart, and mind ; 
 by these it bewilders the embodied (soul),^ casting a veil 
 over knowledge. 
 
 Wherefore restrain from the beginning the senses, O 
 chief of Bharatas ! and then cast off this sinful thing that 
 destroys both divine and human knowledge (m). 
 
 Men say that the senses are great ; the heart {manas) is 
 greater than the senses ; the mind (buddhi) is greater than 
 the heart, but this is greater than the mind. 
 
 Knowing, then, that this is greater than the mind, 
 strengthen thyself by thyself, large-armed one \ and slay 
 this foe, which takes forms at will and is hard to meet (n). 
 
 1 The manas may give distorted passion. Hence the soul, whicli is 
 sensations, and may be excited by a spectator only, may be bewildered. 
 
 Thus the Bhagavad Gita, Eeading the Third, whose 
 
 title is 
 
 "Devotion by Work." 
 
CHAP. III.] BHAGAVAD GITA. 55 
 
 PHILOLOGICAL NOTES. 
 
 (a) Nishthd. Telang translates it by "path." S'ankara's 
 gloss is " two kinds of fixed rule." Lassen's version is " vitse 
 institutum." 
 
 (6) Prajdpatij Lord of creatures, a title of Brahma as the 
 creative power; comparatively of late introduction. It is 
 found only once in the Kig-Veda, but often in later works. 
 "This adorable and gracious God, Lord of all creatures, is 
 known as Brahma, S'iva, Rudra, Varuna, Agni, Prajapati" 
 (Mahabh. Anus. -parvan, 41 12). "Prajapati created living 
 beings. From his upper vital airs he created the gods ; from 
 his lower vital airs, mortal creatures. Afterwards he created 
 death, the destroyer of creatures " (S'at. Brah. x. i ; Sans. T. 
 
 iv- 55)- 
 
 (c) Kdmaduh. Compounds of which the last member is 
 
 the root of a verb have always an active force (Lassen). It 
 means " that which causes (the object of) desire to issue." 
 
 {d) Vyajmsraya, lit. the act of taking refuge. "Auxilii ullius 
 expectatio " (Lassen) ; " object of use " (Thomson) ; " son. 
 secours " (Burnouf). The meaning is, that he need not seek 
 for refuge or help among any of mankind, because he is inde- 
 pendent of all human aid. The Peters. Diet, renders it by 
 " zuflucht," " zufluchtsstatte." 
 
 (e) AsaJcta, "unattached," i.e.y free from the entanglements 
 of sensuous things, and therefore unconcerned whatever may 
 befall him, or in any course of action. 
 
 (/) Param. "Summum bonum" (Lassen); "the highest 
 region " (Thomson). It means absorption into the divine 
 nature by nirvana. 
 
 (g) Lokasangraha, from lolca, world, and sangraha (from 
 grah, to hold), which here means assemblage. "Genus hu- 
 
56 BHAGAVAD GITA, [chap. in. 
 
 nianuin" (Lassen) ; "Tensemble des clioses humaines " (Bur- 
 nouf) ; but the reference is more to men than to things. 
 
 {]i) Joshayet, a causative form of jitsh, to receive or regard 
 with favour. Lassen and Thomson translate the passage, 
 "Tlie wise man should fulfil all actions;" but this does nob 
 express the causative action implied in the verb. Burnouf, 
 more correctly, renders it thus : " II leur fasse aimer leur 
 travail." Telang has "Should set them to action." 
 
 {i) Ahankara, self-consciousness, that which forms the ego; 
 hence vanity or self-exaltation. 
 
 (y) Giina, guneshu vartanta. This passage has been variously 
 interpreted. " Qualitates in qualitatibus versantur " (Lassen); 
 "les attributs (de I'ame) se rapportent aux attributs (de la 
 nature" (Burnouf j. This is certainly incorrect. "He who 
 knows the truth of the difference between the qualities and 
 actions, believing that they revolve in the qualities " (Thom- 
 son). Dr. Lorinser has accurately rendered it by "krafte in 
 kratten wirken nur;" the krafte (gunds) being the modes or 
 constituent elements of Prakriti (Nature). All action is con- 
 fined within them. The soul stands apart, and is not affected 
 by them. S'ridhara explains the word "modes" {gunds) by 
 the senses and the outward objects to which they are related 
 and with which they act. Both the senses and their objects 
 are formed from the modes or constituent elements of Nature 
 (Prakriti). S'ankara's gloss is, " The modes which have the 
 nature of an organ deal with modes that have the nature of 
 objects of sense." 
 
 (Jc) Adydtman, the Supreme Soul, Brahma. Lassen's version 
 is, " Cogitatione in intimam conscientiam conversa," but this 
 seems to be an error. "Der hochste Geist" (Peters. Diet); 
 "TAme Supreme" (Burnouf). 
 
 {T) Viguna, lit. wanting in (good) qualities, weak and erring. 
 "Etsi deficientibus viribus" (Lassen); "devoid of excellence " 
 
CHAP. III.] BHAGAVAD GITA. 57 
 
 (Thomson). S'ankara's gloss is that it is a work in which 
 qualities are lost or absent {vigata). 
 
 (m) Jnana, spiritual knowledge; vijndna, separate or 
 worldly knowledge. "Spiritual knowledge" and "spiritual 
 discernment " (Thomson). " Knowledge is that learned from 
 books or teachers ; experience {vijndna) is that which is ac- 
 quired by personal perception and so forth " (Telang). 
 
 {n) Durdsadam, difficult of approach, and therefore difficult 
 to aflfect or control. " Intractable " (Lassen and Thomson) ; 
 "a I'abord difficile" (Burnouf ) ; "hard to tame" (Telang); 
 *' dem schwer zu nahen, dem zu nahe zu kommen Gefahr 
 bringt" (Peters. Diet.) 
 
( 58 ) 
 
 EEADING THE FOURTH. 
 
 The Holy One spoke. 
 
 This eternal (doctrine of) yoga I taught of old to Vi- 
 vaswat;^ Yivaswat taught it to Manu; Manu told it to 
 Ikshwaku. 
 
 This, being handed down from one to another, the royal 
 sages (Rajarshis) knew. This yoga (doctrine) was lost in 
 this world by length of time, destroyer of foes ! 
 
 This same ancient doctrine is now declared to thee by 
 me, who have said, " Thou art my worshipper and friend," 
 for it is a supreme mystery. 
 
 -T Arjuna spoke. 
 
 The birth of my Lord was later ; ^ the birth of Yivaswat 
 
 1 The author of the Bhagavad 
 Gita, m order to give a divine sanc- 
 tion to the Yoga system, ascribes it 
 in the first place to Krishna, as a 
 personification of Vishnu. He taught 
 it to Vivaswat — that is, according 
 to Madhusudana, "to Aditya (the 
 Sun), who was the source of the 
 whole Kshatriya race." Manu, the 
 son of Vivaswat, is the last of the 
 seven Manus of Hindu mythology 
 which have already appeared. He 
 presides over the present manwan- 
 iara (age of a Manu = 4,320,000 
 years), and is presumed to be the 
 author of the Institutes of Law 
 which bears his name. Ikshwaku, 
 his son, was the first king of the 
 
 Solar dynasty, and one of the Rajar- 
 shis, or royal saints. 
 
 - Krishna, in his present incarnate 
 form, was born after Vivaswat, but 
 as a form of Vishnu he had had 
 many previous incarnations or ava- 
 tdras. They are generally reckoned 
 as ten in number, but sometimes as 
 twenty-two, and even as numberless, 
 because all things spring from him. 
 The first was in the form of a fish, 
 which grew to a vast extent, by 
 which he saved Manu, one of the 
 progenitors of mankind, from an 
 universal deluge, bidding him to 
 build for himself and the seven Rishis 
 an ark, which was fastened to the 
 horn of the fish, and finally brought 
 
CHAP. IV.] 
 
 BHAGAVAD GIT A. 
 
 59 
 
 was prior (to thine). How then may I understand this 
 saying of thine, " I taught it in the beginning ? " 
 
 The Holy One s'jgdke. 
 
 Many have been in past time the births of me and of 
 thee also/ Arjuna ! All these I know, but thou knowest 
 them not, slayer of foes ! 
 
 Though I am unborn, and my nature is eternal, and I 
 am the Lord also of all creatures, yet taking control of my 
 Nature-form {Prdkriti) (a), I am born by my illusive power 
 (jndya).^ ■ 
 
 Eor whenever piety decays, son of Bharata ! and 
 impiety is in the ascendant, then I produce myself. 
 
 Tor the protection of good men, for the destruction of 
 evil-doers, for the re-establishment of piety, I am born 
 
 from age to age.^ 
 
 by it to a peak of Himavat (Sans. 
 T. i. 183, 200). The last, in the 
 person of Kalkin, has yet to be 
 made. He will appear at the end 
 of the present age {Kali-yuga) seated 
 on a white horse, with a drawn sword 
 blazing like a comet, to destroy the 
 wicked and to form a righteous age. 
 
 1 By transmigration in the case 
 of Arjuna. 
 
 2 By mystic power {mdyd, illu- 
 sion). There is here a trace of the 
 later Mimansa or Vedantist doc- 
 trine. It is the mysterious power 
 by which Brahma caused a seeming 
 world to issue from himself. The 
 world has no real existence, accord- 
 ing to the Vedantists, for the onlj' 
 real existence is the One Universal 
 Soul. Kapila taught that the ex- 
 ternal world was as real and as self- 
 existent as soul, and Patanjali that 
 
 the world of existing things (sat) is 
 an emanation from Prakriti or pri- 
 mal matter, which is an inferior 
 part of the dual nature of the One 
 Supreme Being. It is not certain, 
 however, that the word is used here 
 in its full Vedantist sense. In one 
 of the Upanishads, the Svetasvatara 
 (iv. 10^, Prakriti (Nature) is called 
 vidyd, and the Great Lord, the illu- 
 sionist ; but the explanation of Mad- 
 hava is that illusion is a creative 
 force in him, as heat is in fire 
 (Miiller's Sans. Lit, p. 321). 
 
 3 The first four avatdras (incar- 
 nations) are said to have been in 
 the first yuga, or age of the world 
 (Krita), the three following in the 
 second (Treta), the eighth in the 
 third (Dwapara), the ninth in the 
 present (Kali) age. The tenth has 
 yet to come. 
 
6o BHAGAVAD GiTA. [chap. iv. 
 
 He who truly knows my birth and this divine work of 
 mine, comes nevermore to birth again when he quits the 
 body : he comes to Me, Arjuna ! 
 10 Freed from passion, fear, and wrath, thinking on Me 
 and finding refuge in Me, many, purified by the ascetic 
 rite (h) of knowledge,^ enter into my being. 
 
 As men devote themselves to Me, even so do I honour 
 them. Men follow my path, son of Pritha ! from every 
 side. 
 
 They who desire success in works offer sacrifice here to 
 the gods,2 for soon in this world of mortals success is 
 gained by works. 
 
 The four castes were created by me,^ according to the ap- 
 portionment of qualities (or modes) and works. Know that 
 I, the uncreatinfT and unchanorinf?, am the creator of them.* 
 
 Works defile me not ; in me there is no desire for the 
 fruit of works. He who comprehends me thus is not 
 bound by works.^ 
 
 ^ Knowledge is called tapas (re- Kshatriya, the Vaishya, and the 
 
 ligious austerity) from its purifying Sudra to issue from his mouth, his 
 
 influence. So in Manu (xii. loi) it arms, his thighs, and his feet." This 
 
 is said that "knowledge of the Veda is, however, a late invention. The 
 
 burns out the sin of the soul, born of castes were not definitely fixed in 
 
 work, as fire burns even moist wood." the Vedic age, and the institution 
 
 2 This is an accommodation of the seems to have been developed gra- 
 
 Yoga system to the popular faith dually. (See Prof. Roth on the Lit. 
 
 and practice. The gods are recog- and Hist, of the Vedas.) 
 
 nised, and offerings made to them * This apparent contradiction is 
 
 may have some efficacy, but they usually explained by the dogma that 
 
 cannot procure the final bliss of he who works without "attachment" 
 
 nirvana. does not really work (cf. v. 20 infra). 
 
 2 The four castes are the Brahman, We may, however, interpret the pas- 
 
 the Kshatriya, the Vaishya, and the sage thus : "As Vishnu (or Brahma) 
 
 Sudra. Cf. the account given by I am the author of the castes, but not 
 
 Manu i. 31: "That the human in my supreme form as Brahma." 
 
 race might be multiplied, the Su- ^ His actions are not attended by 
 
 preme caused the Brahman, the such results as the gaining of heaven 
 
CHAP. IV.] BHAGAVAD GItA. 6l 
 
 15 Knowing this, works were wrought by men of old, 
 who sought for (final) deliverance.^ Wherefore do thou 
 engage in w^ork as it was done aforetime by the men of 
 old.2 
 
 Even the wise (c) are troubled if one should ask, "Wliat J 
 is action and what is inaction ? " I will teach thee the 
 kind of action by the knowledge of which thou w41t be 
 free from evil. 
 
 For action must be well understood, and forbidden 
 action, and also inaction : tangled is the path of works.^ 
 
 He who can see inaction in action, and also action in 
 inaction, he among men is wise; he is devout, and has v^ 
 fulfilled every work [d). 
 
 He whose every effort is free from the impulse of 
 desire, whose work has been burnt up by the fire of know- 
 ledge,* is called by the wise a learned man {pandita). 
 20 Eenounciiig all attachment to the fruit of works, ever 
 contented, self-reliant (e), this man, though engaged in 
 work, yet works not at all. 
 
 Void of hope, self-restrained in thought, and rejecting 
 all surroundings, performing merely bodily work, he con- 
 tracts no guilt. 
 
 or birth in another body ; he is ab- Telang translates gati (way, path) 
 
 sorbed into the divine nature. San- by " essence." The Hindu commen- 
 
 kara says that for him there are no tators explain it as "truth" {tattwa), 
 
 works requiring effort in another but it means rather the discussion of 
 
 body. action, the laying down of its limits, 
 
 ^ An absolute union with the than its essence, 
 
 divine essence in nirvana. ■* Since action arises from the 
 
 2 Fight as thy forefathers, who modes of Nature, not from the soul, 
 
 were of the Kshatri3^a (warrior) caste, it follows that the soul has no neces- 
 
 2 The question of works is difficult sary connection with it. Action is 
 
 and obscure, like a path in a tangled due to the conditions of our physical 
 
 forest. Ananda says that gahana state, as some of our Western scieu- 
 
 (hard to penetrate) means " under- tlsts teach, 
 stood or discerned with difficultv." 
 
62 BHAGAVAD GITA. [chap. iv. 
 
 Contented with whatever he may receive, unaffected by 
 pairs of opposites (pleasure and pain, &c.), free from envy, 
 the same in good and evil fortune, he, though he works, is 
 not bound. 
 
 The work of one in whom attachment is dead, who is 
 freed (from things of sense) (/), whose mind is stayed on 
 knowledge, wholly dissolves away, though he engage in 
 sacrifice {(j). 
 
 Brahma is the oblation ; Brahma is the sacrificial 
 butter ;i -Brahma is in the fire; the burnt-offering is by 
 Brahma. Into Brahma will he enter who meditates on 
 Brahma in his work. 
 25 Some devotees attend sacrifices offered to the gods; 
 others offer sacrifice by sacrificing only in the fire of 
 Brahma -.^ 
 
 Others sacrifice hearing and the other senses in the fire 
 of self-restraint ; others sacrifice the objects of the senses, 
 sound and the rest, in the fire of the senses. 
 
 Others, too, sacrifice all the functions of the senses and 
 of life in the mystic fire of self-restraint, kindled by 
 knowledge. 
 
 Others also, subdued in mind and bound by vows 
 austere, offer the sacrifice of wealth or penance or de- 
 
 ^ Eavis, clarified butter, which is oblations perforin not always exter- 
 poured on the sacrificial fire ; also nally the great oblations, but sacri- 
 other offerings cast into the fire, as fice continually in their sense- 
 grain, &c. organs ; some constantly sacrifice 
 
 2 The fire is the flame of devotion, their breath in speech and their 
 
 created by Brahma himself. Com- speech in breath, perceiving in their 
 
 pare a similar statement in Manu : speech and breath an ever-accom- 
 
 " Others continually perform sacri- plished sacrifice" (iv. 24, 23, 22). 
 
 fice by knowledge only." Other Sankara says that the knowledge of 
 
 forms of devotion noted in this pas- the Supreme Spirit is the austere 
 
 sage are mentioned by him : "Some rite or penance {tapas) by which men 
 
 who know the ordinances for these are purified. 
 
CHAP. IV.] BHAGAVAD GItA. 63 
 
 votion {yoga), or the sacrifice of silent reading and know- 
 ledge.^ 
 
 So also others sacrifice the inward breath in the out- 
 ward, and the outward breath in the inward, obstructing 
 the channels of inspiration and expiration, intent on the 
 restraint of breath.^ 
 30 Others, who practise abstinence, sacrifice their life in 
 life Qi). All these are skilled in sacrifice, and by sacrifice 
 their sins are destroyed. 
 
 They who feed on the ambrosial remains of sacrifices ^ 
 go to the Eternal Brahma. This world is not for him who 
 ofi'ers no sacrifice ; how then the other, best of Kurus ? 
 
 Thus many kinds of sacrifice are offered in the presence 
 of Brahma (^). Know that all these proceed from action : 
 knowing this, thou wilt be free. 
 
 The sacrifice of knowledge is better than the sacrifice 
 of wealth,^ slayer of foes ! Every work, in its com- 
 pleteness, is contained in knowledge. 
 
 Learn this (knowledge) by doing reverence,^ by ques- 
 tions, and "by service. The wise, who see the truth, will 
 teach thee knowledge. 
 35 "When thou hast known it, thou wilt not come again to 
 this trouble (of mind), son of Pandu ! for thou wilt see 
 
 ^ The Hindu commentators show who is able continually feed on the 
 
 their Vedantist bias by asserting residue of a sacrifice to the gods, 
 
 that this means knowledge of the which is amrita " (immortal food). 
 
 Sastras or sacred books generally "* Here the influence of the San- 
 
 (Sankara), or of the Vedas (^rid- kyha system is evident. Cf. Plato 
 
 hara). The knowledge of the Su- (Phaedo, sec. 71): " None can attain 
 
 preme Brahma is, however, here to the rank of the gods but those 
 
 meant. who pursue philosophy and depart 
 
 ^ Restraint of breath (prdndyama) from the body pure ; none but the 
 
 is breathing through one nostril only, lovers of true knowledge." 
 
 by closing the other, 5 gy becoming the disciples and 
 
 ^ Cf. Manu iii. 285 : " Let him ministers of religious teachers. 
 
^/ 
 
 64 BHAGAVAD GIT A, [chap. iv. 
 
 all things, without exception, in thyself and then in 
 Me.i 
 
 ^ Even if thou art the most sinful of all sinful men, thou 
 / wilt pass over all transgression by the bark of knowledge.^ 
 / As the kindled fire reduces all fuel to ashes, Arjuna! 
 \ so the fire of knowledsje reduces all works to ashes. 
 
 For no purifier is found on earth equal to knowledge. 
 One who is perfect in devotion finds it in course of time 
 in himself. 
 
 This knowledge is obtained by the believer,^ who is 
 devoted to it and has subdued the senses : when he has 
 obtained it, he reaches without delay the supreme repose 
 {nirvanob). 
 
 The ignorant man and the unbeliever, and he whose 
 soul is .full of doubt, are lost. He whose soul is full of 
 doubt has neither this world, nor the next, nor (final) 
 blessedness.* 
 
 Works do not bind the man who is master of himself, 
 who has abandoned work in devotion {yoga), and in whom 
 doubt is destroyed by knowledge, subduer of wealth ! 
 
 Wherefore slay this doubt, which is born of ignorance, 
 and is seated in the heart, by the sword of knowledge ; 
 give thyself to devotion, and arise, son of Bharata! 
 
 1 Because all things have ema- (faith) as a proof of Christian influ- 
 nated from the One Supreme Being, ence. The argument is not without 
 
 2 He will gain remission of all force, but is not perfectly conclu- 
 past sins : they will bring on him sive, for all religions require faith, 
 no evil consequences, because sacred ^ Neither the blessing of a higher 
 knowledge destroys sin. birth, or that of heaven, or of final 
 
 ^ Dr. Lorinser refers to iraddhd nirvana. 
 
 i 
 
 Thus the Bhagavad Gita, Eeading the Fourth, whose 
 
 title is 
 
 "The Devotion of Knowledge." 
 
CHAP. IV.] BHAGAVAD GIT A. 65 
 
 PHILOLOGICAL KOTES. 
 
 (a) Prahritif from pra (forth) and Tcri (to make), the pri- 
 mordial matter out of which all things have sprung. 
 
 {h) Taims, from tap (to burn), means (i) heat, (2) pain, 
 and (3) religious austerity of any kind. It is not always 
 penance, but is often undertaken for the purpose of obtaining 
 great merit or supernatural power. 
 
 The comp. jnana-tapas (knowledge -tapas) is sometimes 
 explained by Hindu Yedantist scholiasts as a dwandwa com 
 pound, meaning knowledge and austerity ; but in this case, as 
 Lassen has shown, the word would have a dual ending. It 
 is an ordinary or tat-purusha compound, answering to our 
 English form sea-shore = shore of the sea. The attainment of 
 knowledge is viewed by a Yogin as a religious act. 
 
 (c) Kavayas, wise men j lit. poets ; a record of a time when 
 all knowledge was commonly expressed in song. 
 
 {d) Sa yuktas hritsndkarmalrit. *' Is devotus cunctis operi- 
 bus peragendis aptus est " (Lassen) ; *' He is devout, and 
 performs all his duty " (Thomson) ; " II est en 6tat d' union, 
 quelqu'oeuvre qu'il fasse " (Burnouf). The idea appears to 
 be, however, that he who can act without any mental dis- 
 turbance, or who perceives that pious meditation (yoga) is 
 the highest form of action, is a devotee who has completed 
 his task ; his work is done, and he needs to act no more. 
 Ananda seems to refer to the future state of the devotee. He 
 becomes free from birth, occupation, or reward of works, and 
 is (finally) set free (muJcta). 
 
 (e) Nirdsrayas* self-reliant ; lit. not requiring, or not seek- 
 ing, refuge or shelter. Such a worker is independent of 
 others, but he is constrained by a kind of fatalism, arising 
 
 E 
 
66 BHAGAVAD GITA. [chap. iv. 
 
 from the action of the modes. The soul, which is the real 
 self, does not act. 
 
 (/) MuTctasya, lit. of one who is free. Mr. Thomson would 
 read yuTctasya (of one who is devout). But all the MSS. (in- 
 cluding two in my possession) read muktasya. The argument 
 that mukta means a man who has final deliverance only, is 
 not sound. It is often used in the Nala and elsewhere with 
 a lower meaning. Here it seems to be = nirdsrayas m v. 20, 
 and to mean one who is free from the bondage of earthly 
 desires or earthly conditions. Cf. muktalca, which, in the 
 Peters. Diet., is translated " fiir sich bestehend," " selbstan- 
 dig." S'ridhara's gloss is *' freed from passion (^dga) and the 
 rest." 
 
 {g) Yajndya dcharatas, lit. one who has gone to a sacrifice. 
 " Who acts for the sake of sacrifice, i.e., instigated only by the 
 spirit of devotion " (Thomson) ; " sacrificii gratis sese accin- 
 gentis " (Lassen) ; " that sacrifice may be done " (S'ankara), 
 i.e., not looking for reward after it. The sacrifice may be 
 really offered, but being ofi'ered without "attachment," it 
 may not prevent, it may even conduce to, nirvdna. It is no 
 longer a work to which only heaven belongs as a reward. 
 S'ridhara's gloss is that he goes to sacrifice for the knowledge 
 of the Supreme Lord. 
 
 Qi) Prdndn. In the plural the word means the five vital 
 airs, and is = life. The devotee, by excessive abstinence, may 
 ofi'er life itself as a sacrifice. Sdnkara, however, refers it to 
 the restraint of breath. 
 
 (^) Vitatd Brahmano muhhe. *' Propagata sunt e numinis 
 ore" (Lassen); so also Burnouf : "Institu^s de la bouche de 
 Brahma." Vitata means spread out, and is usually connected 
 with the sacrificial offerings. Muhhe being in the locative case, 
 cannot have the sense of *' out of," and commonly means " in 
 the presence of;" lit. "in the face of." Mr. Thomson seems 
 
CHAP. IV.] BHAGAVAD GITA, 67 
 
 to have offered the true version, " Are performed in the pre- 
 sence of the Supreme Spirit." The Hindu commentators, 
 whom K. T. Telang follows, explain the passage as meaning 
 that these sacrifices come from the Vedas, or are ordained by 
 them. But this version is from a purely Vedantist view, and 
 is not in accordance with the opinions of the author of the 
 Bhagavad Gita, 
 
( 68 ) 
 
 EEADING THE FIFTH. 
 
 Arjuna spoke. 
 
 Thou praisest the renunciation of works, Krishna! 
 and on the other hand devotion.^ Of these two which is 
 the better one ? Tell me that certainly. 
 
 The Holy Oxe spoke. 
 
 Eenunciation (of works) and devotion by works both 
 procure supreme blessedness (a) ; but of these devotion by 
 works is more esteemed than renunciation. 
 
 He must be regarded as a steadfast renouncer who neither 
 hates nor desires; for he whom opposites^ affect not, large- 
 armed one ! is freed from the bonds (of action) with ease. 
 
 Young men speak of the Sankhya and Yoga (doctrines) 
 as being diverse, but not the learned. He who devotes 
 himself to one only obtains the fruit of both. 
 
 That seat which the Sankhyans obtain is entered into 
 by Yogins also.^ He who sees that the Sankhya and the 
 Yoga are one sees indeed. 
 
 1 Having spoken of the nature ^ Such as pleasure and pain, heat 
 
 and effects of spiritual knowledge, and cold, &c. 
 
 the writer goes on to reconcile the ^ j^ jg assumed that the Sankhyans 
 
 Sankhya and the Yoga systems, by may gain the seat here mentioned, 
 
 explaining that the Yoga system, in i.e., the divine nature of Brahmii ; 
 
 prescribing that all actions be done but Kapila did not teach this doc- 
 
 without "attachment," enforces a trine. The soul, as he taught, when 
 
 real renunciation, and is based on finally emancipated from matter, 
 
 true knowledge. remains in a state of unconscious 
 
 repose, but in its own individuality. 
 
CHAP, v.] BHAGAVAD GITA. 69 
 
 But renunciation (of works) is hard to gain, large- 
 armed one! without devotion. The recluse {muni) who 
 is fixed in devotion goes to Brahma without delay. 
 
 He who is fixed in devotion, pure in soul, who is master 
 of himself and subdues the senses, who identifies himself 
 with everything that exists,^ is not defiled even though 
 he work. 
 
 " I do not work at all ;" thus the devotee who knows 
 the truth may think,^ in seeing, hearing, touching, smell- 
 ing, eating, walking, sleeping, and breathing ; 
 
 In talking, in letting go, or holding, in opening or closing 
 his eyes, affirming thus : " The senses are occupied with 
 the objects of sense." 
 10 He who works, having given up attachment, fulfilling 
 (all) works in Brahma, is not defiled by sin, like a lotus- 
 leaf in water.^ 
 
 By the body, by the heart (manas), by the mind Qmddhi), 
 even by the senses (h) alone, Yogins, giving up attachment, 
 do their work for the purifying of themselves. 
 
 The devout man, when he has renounced the fruit of 
 works, obtains eternal peace. The undevout, attached to 
 the fruit (of works) by the impulse of desire, is bound. 
 
 The embodied (soul), renouncing all works by the heart 
 
 ^ Mr. Thomson explains this to the Buddhists call hilesanihbdnam, 
 
 mean, " who considers all beings to or extinction of human passion, as 
 
 be the same as himself, and feels distinct from hhandhanibbdnan'i, or 
 
 towards them accordingly ; " but the extinction of being, but leading to 
 
 perfect Yogin attains to an absolute it. (Childers, Pali Diet., s. v. nib- 
 
 indifference to all persons and things bdnam.) 
 
 (c. vi. 4). The meaning seems to be, 2 g^e c. iii. 
 
 that such a person, even before ^ The lotus-leaf is said to be un- 
 
 attaining to nirvana, loses all sense injured by a long immersion in 
 
 of individuality, and is merged in water ; so he that acts without 
 
 the universal life of the world, as an "attachment" is not soiled by acts 
 
 emanation of Brahma. It is what of any kind. 
 
 \ 
 
76 BHAGA VAD GIT A. [chap. v. 
 
 (manas) (c), and self-controlled, dwells at ease in the city 
 of nine gates,^ neither working nor causing to work. 
 
 The Lord of the world creates neither the faculty of 
 working nor works, nor the connection of works and fruit, 
 but the proper nature (d) of each (herein) is in action.^ 
 1 5 The Lord takes not upon himself (e) the sin, nor even the 
 well-doing of any.^ Knowledge is veiled by ignorance, 
 and hereby men are bewildered. 
 
 But for those in whom this ignorance of the soul is 
 destroyed by knowledge, the Supreme is revealed by 
 knowledge, which is (resplendent) as a sun. 
 
 Thinking on Him (lit. That), one in soul with Him, 
 stayed on Him, intent on Him (as the final goal), they go 
 to that from which there is no return,* their sins being 
 taken away by knowledge. 
 
 In a learned and modest Brahman, in a cow,^ in an 
 elephant, even in a dog and a Swapaka,^ they who have 
 knowledge see the same (thing). 
 
 Even here below the world ^ is conquered by those who 
 
 ^ This means the body, which has ^ The cow was^ and is still, vene- 
 
 nine gates to the outer world — the rated by the Hindus. The dog is 
 
 eyes, ears, nostrils, mouth, and the the lowest of animals in their es- 
 
 organs of excretion and generation, teem. 
 
 The soul does not act ; it sits, like ^ The Swapaka, the Cagot of India, 
 
 an Eastern monarch, in isolated is the most degraded of all men. He 
 
 grandeur. is condemned to the lowest offices, 
 
 2 Sankara connects this with Pra- such as carrying out dead unclaimed 
 kriti (Nature), i.e., with material ele- bodies. He was formerly obliged 
 ments only. to dwell outside the city gates, and 
 
 3 Brahma, like the human soul, could possess no other animals than 
 dwells in an absolute isolation, which asses and dogs. (See Manu x. 5 1 ) 
 the actions of men cannot affect. ^ Sarga, lit. emanation, is inter- 
 
 ^ They do not return to the world preted by Sankara as janma (birth), 
 in any state whatever, for they and by Sridhara as samara (the 
 have gained eternal absorption into concourse of men, the world of man- 
 Brahma, kind). 
 
CHAP, v.] BHAGAVAD GITA. 71 
 
 are ever equable in heart; for the sinless Brahma is 
 r equable, therefore they abide in Brahma. 
 20 Let no man rejoice in attaining what is pleasant, nor 
 grieve in attaining what is unpleasant, being fixed in mind, 
 untroubled, knowing Brahma and abiding in Brahma. 
 
 He whose soul is unattached to outward contacts (im- 
 pressions from material things) finds happiness in him- 
 self; his soul, joined by devotion (jjoga) to Brahma, enjoys 
 eternal blessedness ; 
 
 For the pleasures that are born of (these) contacts ^ are 
 the wombs of pain : they begin and end, son of Kunti ! 
 not in them the wise man delights. 
 
 He who even here, ere he is freed from the body, can 
 resist the impulse born of lust and wrath, he is devout 
 {yulda) ; he is blessed. 
 
 He who is happy in himself, pleased with himself, who 
 finds also light in himself, this Yogin, one with Brahma, 
 finds nirvana in Him. 
 2t The Eishis,^ whose sins are destroyed, whose doubts are 
 removed, who are self-restrained and pleased with the 
 well-being of all that live, obtain nirvana in Brahma. 
 y^ They who are freed from lust and wrath, who are sub- 
 dued in nature and in thought, and who know the soul, 
 are near to nirvana in Brahma. 
 
 When the muni has made external contacts (purely) 
 external, and looks between his eyebrows; has made his 
 inward and outward breath equal, directing it through the 
 nostrils ; 
 
 ^ The pleasures bom from the ^ Meaning here only "wise and 
 
 contact of the soul with outward holy men." In the older Hindu 
 
 things, mediately through the 6 udd/ti mythology its meaning is more 
 
 (intellect) and the manas. limited. 
 
72 
 
 BHAGAVAD GITA. 
 
 [chap. v. 
 
 Then with senses, heart, and mind subdued, intent on 
 final deliverance, having put away desire, fear, and wrath, 
 he is for ever free.^ 
 
 He who knows Me as the enjoyer of sacrifice and austere 
 rites,2 as the mighty lord of all the worlds ^ and the friend 
 of every living thing, he attains to peace. 
 
 ^ He is virtually one with the 
 Supreme Brahma, and is for ever 
 free from the evil influence of matter. 
 In the Katha Upanishad there is 
 an expression of the same idea. 
 " When all the desires cease which 
 were cherished in his heart, then the 
 mortal becomes immortal ; even here 
 he attains to Brahma." 
 
 ^ This is not in accordance with 
 the common Hindu idea of Brahma, 
 either as the Supreme Spirit (Brah- 
 mS,), or as the Creator (Brahma), for 
 he is supposed to dwell in a state of 
 absolute repose and isolation. (See 
 
 dist. 15, supra.) He is rarely an 
 object of worship in India. It is 
 only as represented by Vishnu or 
 Krishna that he can be pleased by 
 sacrifice and austere practices. 
 
 * These worlds are eight in number, 
 rising from the worlds of giants and 
 demons, Pisachas, Yakshas, and 
 Rakshasas, to the Gandharva loTca 
 (world of the heavenly musicians), 
 the heaven of Indra, of the Moon, 
 of the Pitris (first fathers of man- 
 kind), up to that of Brahma, the 
 highest. 
 
 Thus the Bhagavad Gita, Eeading the Fifth, whose 
 title is 
 
 Devotion by Eenouncing Woeks." 
 
CHAP, v.] BHAGAVAD GITA. jz 
 
 PHILOLOGICAL NOTES. 
 
 (a) iV*.-sVg?/asa, *' final bliss." *'Id, quo melius quidquam 
 excluditur : ea hominis conditio qua melior fingi nequit, i.e,, 
 finis bonorum " (Lassen) ; " Kein besseres iiber sich habend," 
 ''jemandes bestes, heil, erlosung" (Peters. Diet.) 
 
 (h) Kei'alair indriyair a^i, " even by the mere senses." 
 Schlegel translated the passage by ** cunctisque sensibus 
 etiam," but Lassen altered the version to " mero sensuum 
 ministerio etiam," which Mr. Thomson adopted. Kevala 
 means (i) alone, not in company with others; (2) what is 
 included in itself, abstract, absolute. Hence, kaivalya, the 
 abstract state of a complete Yogin. Even devotees work by 
 material faculties, for huddhi (intellect) and manas (the 
 inner receptive faculty) are produced from Prakriti (primal 
 matter), and these faculties were produced that the soul 
 might know itself, as distinct from matter, which is the source 
 of pain and impurity. Ananda says that the work referred to 
 in this passage means a Yedic work done with self-restraint. 
 S'ridhara, that the work done by the senses is that of hearing 
 or reciting the praise of the Supreme. 
 
 (c) Sarvaharmdni manasd sannyasya. " Cunctis operibus ex 
 animo sepositis " (Lassen) ; ** Le mortel qui par la force de 
 son esprit, pratique I'abnegation dans tous les actes" (Bur- 
 nouf). The manas seems to represent here all the inward 
 faculties, and the meaning will be, " He that has renounced 
 all works by mental abstraction or devotion dwells at ease," 
 &c. S'ankara explains the passage as meaning that this is 
 done by the mind becoming separate (from worldly things). 
 According to S'ridhara, this renunciation of work is by the 
 manas being distinctively devout (vivehmjukta). 
 
74 BHAGAVAD GITA. [chap. v. 
 
 (d) Swahhdva, the union or assemblage of qualities which 
 form the individuality of a person. This means the arrange- 
 ment and proportion of the three Modes, or constituents of 
 Prakriti (Nature) in each individual. According to these, a 
 man works, but the soul, like the Supreme Brahma, takes, no 
 account of the actions which result from them. Ananda 
 glosses the word by praJcriti (Nature). 
 
 (e) Adatte. "Accipit" (Lassen); *'se charge" (Burnouf); 
 " nimmt auf sich " (Lorinser). The verb da with a, means 
 to take to one's self, to appropriate : " nehmen, sich zueignen, 
 an sich ziehen" (Peters. Diet.) The meaning is, that the 
 Supreme Brahma takes not either good or evil deeds as his 
 own. He has not produced them, and no part of their merit 
 or demerit belongs to him. They are due solely to the 
 material elements in each individual nature. S'ankara ex- 
 plains the word by grihndti, from grah, to take, to take to 
 one's self, to invest one's self with. 
 
( 75 ) 
 
 EEADING THE SIXTH. 
 
 The Holy One spoke. 
 
 He who does a work that ought to be done,^ without 
 seeking the fruit of works, he is a renouncer, he is a 
 devotee {yogin), not the man who uses not the (sacrificial) 
 fire, nor he who does no (pious) work.^ 
 
 Know, son of Pandu ! that what men call renuncia- 
 tion, that is devotion {yoga)^ for he who renounces not all 
 projects (a) (of action) is not a Yogin. 
 
 Work is said to be the means for a recluse {muni) who 
 desires to attain to yoga, but for him who has attained to 
 it, repose is said to be the means.* 
 
 For he who renounces all projects, and is not attached 
 to the objects of the senses or to works, is called a perfect 
 Yogin. 
 
 I Each one ought to raise himself by himself (&), and not 
 to debase himself, for he himself is the friend of himself,^ 
 and also his foe. 
 
 ^ Such duties as are enjoined by abstraction, leading to the mystical 
 
 religion or caste. union with BrahmS. which is called 
 
 2 Lit. " not the man without fire yoga. 
 
 and work," i.e., sacrificial fire and ^ For the full attainment of the 
 
 work. Yogin' s aim — absorption into the 
 
 ^ Here the union of the essential divine essence, 
 
 principles of the Sankhya and Yoga ® This passage is obscure, for at- 
 
 systems is again attempted. Both man has the double sense of "soul" 
 
 lead to a renunciation of works, and "self." In the original there 
 
 even works of devotion ; but Kapila is a play on this double sense. Mr. 
 
 sought to obtain it by philosophical Thomson translates the last clause, 
 
 knowledge and Patanjali by mental " But by the enmity of what is not 
 
s/ 
 
 76 BHAGAVAD GITA. [chap. vi. 
 
 He is a friend to himself wlio by himself has conquered 
 self, and self too may become as a foe by the hatred of 
 that which is not self. 
 
 The sovereign spirit of him who is self-conquered and 
 placid is self-contained (c) in cold and heat, in pain and 
 pleasure, and also in honour and dishonour. 
 
 The Yogin whose soul is content with divine and human 
 knowledge,^ who dwells on high(6Z), whose senses are 
 subdued, and who accounts a clod, a stone, or gold alike, 
 is called a perfect devotee {yulda).'^ 
 
 He is esteemed (e) who is equal-minded to companions, 
 friends, enemies, strangers, neutrals, to aliens ^ and kin- 
 dred, yea, to good and to evil men. 
 10 Let the Yogin constantly practise devotion, fixed in a 
 secluded spot, alone, having thought and self subdued, 
 renouncing hope and all surroundings (/). 
 
 Having placed himself in a permanent seat, in a cleanly 
 spot, neither high nor low, and furnished with a cloth, a 
 deerskin, and kusha grass : * 
 
 spiritual {andtman) his self might from them by knowledge or by pious 
 
 be an enemy, as it were, to his own meditation. The soul, thus debarred 
 
 soul." The question is, whether we from its final blessedness, may take 
 
 are to understand, that by the soul's up the position of an enemy to the 
 
 repulsion to what is not soul it may whole self ; and thus, by losing its 
 
 become an open foe, or that by the perfect repose, it may itself retard 
 
 enmity of what is not soul it may the attainment of its full deliverance, 
 
 be stirred up to enmity in return, When this has been attained, then 
 
 and war may arise between them, the soul dwells in unconscious repose, 
 
 Lassen's translation is : " Propter according to Kapila ; it is lost in the 
 
 inimicitiam autem erga id quod non divine natiire, according to Patan jali. 
 
 spiritale est, spiritus inimici more se ^ Jndna and vijndna. For an ex- 
 
 gerere potest." I understand the planation of these terms see p. 57. 
 
 passage to mean that the sensuous ^ Yukta, lit.* "joined," i.e., to the 
 
 part of man's dual nature may be- Divine Being in pious meditation, 
 
 come an enemy to the soul, by link- ^ Dweshya, hateful ; a term applied 
 
 ing it still to bodily conditions ; its to foreigners, 
 
 proper aim being to free the soul ^ Kusa, a kind of grass {poa cyno- 
 
CHAP. VI.] BHAGAVAD GITA. 77 
 
 There, having fixed his heart on the One, all the work- 
 ings of the senses and of thought restrained, resting in his 
 seat, let him practise devotion {yoga) for the purifying of 
 the soul. 
 
 Holding his body, head, and neck constantly unmoved, 
 gazing steadfastly on the tip of his nose, and looking not 
 around ; 
 
 Tranquil in soul, exempt from fear, steadfast in the 
 vow of a Brahmacharin,! restraining his heart, let him sit 
 in devotion, thinking on Me, intent on Me. 
 
 The Yogin, thus constantly devout in soul, with heart 
 subdued, attains to peace, the supreme nirvana that is in 
 Me. 
 
 But devotion is not for him who eats too much, or for 
 liini who fasts excessively; not for him who is disposed to 
 sleep too much, or for him who is ever wakeful, Arjuna ! 
 
 The devotion which destroys all trouble is for the man 
 who is moderate in food and in recreation, who uses 
 moderate effort in his actions, is moderate in sleep and 
 in waking. 
 
 When he fixes his well- controlled thoughts on himself 
 alone, and is indifferent to every object of desire, then he 
 is called "devoted" {jjulda). 
 
 suvoides) often used in the religious l:usa grass and with the rays of the 
 
 rites of the Hindus. It is sup- sun" (Rel. Cer. of the Hindus, 
 
 posed to have a purifying influence. Colebrooke, Asiat. Res. v. 354, 361). 
 
 Among the daily prayers of the In the Institutes of Manu (ii. 75), a 
 
 Brahinans are these: "As a tired Brahman, before he reads a Veda, 
 
 man leaves drops of sweat at the must sit on kusa grass and purify 
 
 foot of a tree ; as he who bathes is both his hands by rubbing them 
 
 cleansed from all foulness; as an with the " holy grass." 
 
 oblation is sanctified by holy grass ; ^ A Brahmacharin is a young Hin- 
 
 80 may this water purify me from du under instruction, and bound by 
 
 sin." " May the Lord of thought vows of chastity and obedience, 
 purify me with an uncut blade of 
 
78 BHAGAVAD GITA. [chap. vi. 
 
 "As a lamp sheltered from the wind does not flicker," 
 this is the wonted simile of the Yogin who is subdued in 
 thought, and is engaged in the devotion of the soul. 
 20 When thought is wholly at rest, restrained by the prac- 
 tice of devotion (^), and when, contemplating himself in 
 himself, he is satisfied in himself ; 
 
 When he knows the boundless joy which is beyond 
 the senses, which (only) the mind apprehends, and fixed 
 therein never wavers from the truth ; 
 
 When, having obtained it, he thinks that no other 
 acquisition is superior to this ; when abiding therein he is 
 not moved even by a heavy affliction ; 
 
 Let him know that this severance from all contact with 
 trouble is called yoga. This yoga must be practised through 
 the means of a determined repression of the mind Qi), 
 
 Eenouncing absolutely all desires produced by projects 
 (of ambition or gain), restraining the whole group of the 
 senses in every part by the heart, 
 25 Step by step he may gain repose by. the mind being 
 firmly restrained {%) \ having caused the heart to remain 
 within itself, let him wholly cease to think. 
 
 Whenever the wavering and unsteadfast heart wanders 
 away, then so often let him subdue it and bring it back 
 to the control of the soul ; 
 
 Tor supreme happiness comes to the Yogin whose heart 
 is at rest, in whom passion is tranquillised, who is one 
 with Brahma,-^ and free from sin. 
 
 The Yogin ever thus uniting his soul (to Brahma), who 
 has ceased from sin, enjoys easily the boundless happiness 
 of union (lit. contact) with Brahma. 
 
 1 The universal soul which pervades and comprehends all created 
 things. 
 
CHAP. VI.] BHAGAVAD GITA, 79 
 
 He whose soul is united by devotion (to Brahma), seeing 
 the same in all around, sees the soul in everything, and 
 everything in the soul. 
 3(d He who sees Me^ everywhere and everything in Me, 
 him I forsake not, and he forsakes not Me. 
 
 The Yogin \vho worships Me as dwelling in every 
 creature, being intent on oneness, dwells in Me, whatever 
 may be his course of life.^ 
 
 He who sees the same (essence) in everything, Arjuna ! 
 whether it be pleasant or grievous, from the self-resem- 
 blance (there),^ is deemed to be a most excellent Yogin. 
 
 Aejuna spoke. 
 
 I see not the firm continuance, slayer of Madhu! of 
 this devotion which thou hast said to be through equa- 
 nimity (y), because of the unsteadfastness (of the heart). 
 
 For the heart (manas) is fickle, Krishna ! it is turbu- 
 lent, strong, and obstinate. Its restraint seems to me as 
 difficult as that of the wind. 
 
 The Holy One spoke. 
 
 35 Doubtless, large-armed one! the heart is hard to 
 restrain, and it is fickle; but it is restrained, son of 
 KuntI ! by practice and by indifierence (to worldly gain).* 
 
 ^ The One Supreme, BrahmS,, here equally emanations from the one 
 
 represented by Krishna. source of life. "He who sees equally 
 
 ^ Whether living a contemplative all beings in soul (or self) and soul 
 
 or an active life, say some scholiasts, in all beings, he, the sacrificer of 
 
 Raghavendra says, whether living self, goes to the Lord Ruler (Is- 
 
 righteously or unrighteously, for wara) " (Manu xii. 91). 
 knowledge, though connected with * Lit. " by the absence of passion " 
 
 an impure life, leads to final eman- {vairdgyena). Lassen and Thomson 
 
 cipation (Telang). translate it by "temperance," Telang 
 
 3 Who identifies ail things, of by "unconcern." 
 whatever kind, with himself, as 
 
 / 
 
 1^ 
 
8o BHAGAVAD GiTA. [chap. vi. 
 
 Devotion, as I judge, is hard to be obtained by the man 
 who is not self-controlled, but he who is master of him- 
 self may obtain it, if he strive thereat. 
 
 Arjuna spohe. 
 
 In what way does he go, Krishna! who is endowed' 
 with faith but is not self-restrained, whose heart wavers 
 in devotion, and who attains not to perfection therein ? 
 
 Does he not perish like a riven cloud, repulsed from 
 both/ being unsteadfast, and confused in the way of 
 Brahma,^ mighty-armed ? 
 
 It is meet for thee, Krishna ! to destroy completely 
 this doubt of mine, for no destroyer of this doubt exists 
 . ( except thyself. 
 
 / "' The Holy One spoke. 
 
 ] 
 AQ He does not perish, son of Pritha ! in this world or 
 
 in the next, for no one who acts uprightly, friend ! goes 
 
 the evil way.^ 
 
 He who wavered in devotion, after he has attained to 
 the regions of the just* and has dwelt there for unnumbered 
 years, is born again in a house of the good and great.^ 
 
 Or he is born in a family of wise devotees (yogins) ; 
 but a birth like this is hard to be obtained in this world. 
 
 ^ That is, Does not the man who . ^ Failing in his attempts to fix 
 
 forsakes ceremonial observances for his thought on Brahma, 
 
 the higher service of mental devo- ^ The descending path leads to 
 
 tion, and fails in the latter, lose births in an inferior condition, or 
 
 both heaven, the reward of the first, even to Naraka (hell), 
 
 and absorption into the divine nature, * One of the five heavens of the 
 
 the consequence of the latter ? Dr. higher kind, chiefly that of India 
 
 Lorinser thinks that failure in this (c. ix. 21). 
 
 world and the next is meant and ^ S'rimat (prosperous, happy), here 
 
 refers to v. 40 infra. glossed by Sankara as vibhutlmat 
 
 (eminent, powerful). 
 
CHAP. VI.] BHAGAVAD GITA. 8i 
 
 There he receives the entire mental form (Jc) which he had 
 in a former body,^ and thus he strives again for perfection, 
 son of Kuru ! 
 
 For by that former habit he is led on, even without his 
 will. He who only desires to know yoga goes beyond 
 the Brahman doctrine (/) (lit. word) ; 
 45 But the Yogin who strives with energy, who is purified 
 from sin, and perfected by many births, goes at length on 
 the highest way. 
 
 The Yogin is superior to the ascetics ; he is deemed to be 
 superior even to the men of knowledge ;2 he is also superior 
 to the doers of works. Be thou then a Yogin, Arjuna! 
 
 But of all Yogins even, he who worships Me^ with 
 faith, his inmost soul being stayed in Me, him I judge 
 to be the most devout. 
 
 ^ Compare the language of Plato the highest place to the man wJio 
 
 in the " Phsedo : " "And thus they had a knowledge of philosophy. So, 
 
 [the souls of bad men] wander, until in part, Plato taught : *' None can 
 
 by the longing which they feel for the attain to the rank of gods but those 
 
 corporeal element which thus cleaves who pursue philosophy and depart 
 
 to tliem, they are again enclosed in from the body pure ; none but lovers 
 
 a body. And they are enclosed in of true knowledge " (Phaedo, sec. 71). 
 a body, as may be supposed, corre- ^ There is here probably an em- 
 
 sponding in its habits with the phasis on the pronoun, as referring 
 
 habits which they had in their to Vishnu or Krishna, assumed to be 
 
 former lives " (sec. 70). the true representative of Brahmft, 
 
 2 This is in accordance with the in opposition to the sect which made 
 
 school of Patanjali. Kapila gave Siva his highest representative. 
 
 Thus the Bha^avad Gita, Eeadinj:^ the Sixth, whose 
 title is 
 
 "Devotion by Self-Eestkaint." 
 
82 BHAGAVAD GlTA. [chap. vi. 
 
 PHILOLOGICAL NOTES. 
 
 (a) Asannyastasanhalpa. Lassen's version is, "Abdicate sui 
 studio;" Burnoufs, "Lerenoncementdesoi-meme." Thomson 
 gives, "And has not renounced all (earthly) plans of interest." 
 "Unless he renounces all fancies" (Telang). S'ankara explains 
 the word sanhalpa as meaning "objects of sense causing 
 desire ; " S'ridhara as denoting all " projects of gain (or re- 
 ward)." We may interpret the passage thus : " One who has 
 not renounced all worldly schemes." The word is compounded 
 of sam, denoting union or completeness, and kalpa, form. It 
 means both plan and resolve. " The determination of the 
 will which gives to the thoughts for the present a determinate 
 aim" (Peters. Diet.); also as "verlangen," "vorsatz." 
 
 (6) Uddhared dtmandtmdnam. "Extricet semet sui ipsius 
 ope " (Lassen) ; " Let him raise his soul by his own means " 
 (Thomson). Burnouf has merely ''qu'il se leve," but this 
 leaves out the word on which the emphasis lies. I would 
 translate the passage, '-'Let a man raise his soul (above sen- 
 suous things) by the soul itself." Compare Byron's similar 
 expression, "And strengthen man by his own mind." Dr. 
 Lorinser's translation, " Er ziehe sich selbst aus sich heraus " 
 is certainly wrong. 
 
 (c) Paramdtmd samdhitah. Lassen's translation is, "S^Diritus 
 summum locum obtinens in se recolligitur ; " Burnoufs, 
 "L'Ame Supreme demeure recueillde;" Thomson's, "is intent 
 on the Supreme Being." S'ridhara interprets samdhitah by 
 dtmanishta (fixed in itself), and this appears to be the meaning 
 of the word in this passage. Gatti's Italian translation has 
 caught, I think, the true meaning : — 
 
 •* L'anima, poi die il primo posto ha preso, 
 in s5 tutta e raccolta." 
 
CHAP. VI.] BHAGAVAD GiTA. 83 
 
 (c?) Kutasthay a compound of kuta, an apex, a summit, and 
 sthdj to stand. Lassen translates the word literally, "In 
 fastigio stans;" Thomson's version is, "Who stands above 
 all." S'ridhara explains the word by nirvlkdra, one who changes 
 not. The epithet seems to denote one who stands apart 
 from men and human interests in a lofty isolation through 
 yoga. S'ankara's gloss is, " He is free from agitation." 
 
 (e) Visishyate, " is distinguished." Mr. Thomson mentions 
 another reading, vimuchyate^ "is delivered (from matter)." 
 Lassen says that Madhusudana mentions the latter reading, 
 but he adds, " prsestat vulgata." Three MSS. in my possession 
 have vUishyate. 
 
 (/) Parigrahay a man's surroundings, such as family, 
 retinue, possessions. "Sine comitatu" (Lassen); "without 
 possessions" (Thomson); Telang, "without belongings.'' 
 S'ridhara's gloss is sunya^ "void," "desert." 
 
 (g) Yogasevayd. "Devotionis cultu" (Lassen); "by worship 
 in devotion" (Thomson); Telang, more correctly, "by the 
 practice of devotion." 
 
 {h) Nirvinnachetasd. One of the MSS. in my possession 
 has the reading nirvinTmcJietasah, and if this be the correct 
 reading, the translation of the passage will be, " This devotion 
 must be practised with the constancy of a mind in which 
 thought has ceased." The common reading is, however, 
 the instrumental case of the noun. Lassen's translation is, 
 " Quo mens (rerum inde alienarum) immemor fiat," and that 
 of Thomson, who generally follows Lassen, "By which thought 
 becomes indifferent to every worldly object." Burnouf has, 
 " Au point que la pensee s'abime." S'ridhara's interpretation 
 is that " being free from self-disparagement or despondency " 
 is meant, and Telang follows it by translating the compound 
 by " undespairing heart." The authors of the Peters. Diet, 
 explain nirvinna by iiberdrussig. It means, primarily, being 
 
84 BHAGAVAD GITA. [chap. vr. 
 
 weary of a subject, not wishing to know more of it. The 
 meaning seems to be that devotion {yoga) must be practised 
 by a constancy that subdues thought, or by which the practice 
 of thought is worn out. 
 
 {%) Buddhyd dhritigrihitayd. *'Mente perseverantiam am- 
 plexa" (Lassen) ; "by his mind's acquiring firmness" (Thom- 
 son). Telang, as usual, translates huddhi (intellect) by 
 "resolve;" "with a firm resolve coupled with courage." 
 Dhriti seems here to be used adverbially, and I would trans- 
 late the passage thus: "Step by step repose may be gained 
 by the intellect being firmly held (in quietude)." S'ridhara 
 interprets the passage as meaning that the mind must be 
 made subject by being held wiih firmness or constancy. 
 S'ankara says, " by being constantly united to Brahma." 
 
 {j) Sdmyena. "Par I'identit^" (Burnouf), i.e., by identity 
 with Bl"ahma in meditation ; Lassen, more correctly, has 
 " equabilitate." S'ankara glosses the word by samatwa, 
 equality (of soul). 
 
 (k) Buddhisamyogam. "Mental application" (Thomson 
 and Lassen) ; " le pieux exercice " (Burnouf). Telang inter- 
 prets it as "contact with that knowledge" (of Brahma) which 
 he had in a former life. Gatti's translation is, " The same 
 disposition of mind," and this is, I think, a correct version. 
 He regains his former mental state, with opportunities of 
 rising to complete devotion. S'ridhara refers the words to 
 the man's former nature (bhdva). 
 
 (I) SaMahrahma ativartate. " He only surmounts the verbal 
 deity" (Thomson), explaining this to mean that he only 
 acquires a mental knowledge of Brahma by teachers or philo- 
 sophy, but does not approach him spiritually. This is sub- 
 stantially the same as Lassen's "theologiam meris verbis 
 circumscriptam prsevertit." Burnouf explains sahddbrahma as 
 "la doctrine Brahmanique." S'ankara and S'ridhara would 
 
CHAP. VI.] BHAGAVAD GlTA. 85 
 
 limit the acquirement to rising above the desire of the fruit 
 of actions prescribed by the Vedas. Telang translates sabda- 
 hrahma by "the word divine." There is no doubt that here 
 the Vedas are meant. The Yogin by devotion rises above 
 all the Vedic rites and doctrines. 
 
 The same expression (sahdahrahman) occurs in the Bhaga- 
 vata Purana (iv. 29), where the reference is certainly to the 
 Vedas: — "Wandering in the vast field of the Brahmanic 
 word {sahdahrahmani), which it is difiicult to traverse, men do 
 not recognise the Supreme, worshipping him as he is separately 
 divided by the attributes {linga, mark or sign) in the hymns. 
 When the Divine Being regards any man with favour, he, 
 having become spiritualised (a^?7ia6/iaW^a), abandons all thought 
 which is set on the world and on the Veda." This may, 
 liowever, be contrasted with the opposite opinion of Manu : — 
 " The priest who may retain in his memory the whole of the 
 Eig-Veda would incur no guilt if he should slay the three 
 worlds and take food from any quarter whatever. By repeat- 
 ing thrice the mantras (hymns) and brdkmanas (commentaries) 
 of the Rig-, Sama-, and Yajur-Veda, with the Upanishads 
 (pious treatises), he is freed from all sin" (xi. 262, 263). 
 
( 86 ) 
 
 EEADIISTG THE SEYENTH.i 
 The Holy One spoke. 
 
 Hear now, sou of Pritha ! how, if thy heart be fixed 
 in Me, if thou continuest in devotion and findest refuge 
 in Me, thou shalt, without doubt, know Me fully. 
 
 I will declare to thee completely the knowledge, divine 
 and human, which, when thou hast known, nothingp else 
 here remains to be known. 
 
 Among the thousands of mankind, only one perchance 
 / strives -for perfection, and even of those who strive for 
 and obtain it, only some one knows Me in truth. 
 
 Earth,^ water, fire, air, ether, the heart (manas), and also 
 the mind (buddhi), and egoism {ahanhdrd), these (form) 
 the eightfold division of my material nature (FraJcriti). 
 5 This is the lower (nature), but know now my other 
 higher nature,^ the living principle, large- armed one ! by 
 which the universe is sustained. 
 
 Understand that these* are the womb of all existing 
 
 ^ Here a separate division of the In the system of Patanjali this is 
 Bhagavad Gita begins. The first regarded as only an inferior part of 
 six chapters are devoted mainly to Brahma ; there is a higher spiritual 
 the Yoga system of Patanjali. The essence, which is the animating prin- 
 gix following treat of the Supreme ciple of all things. Sankara says that 
 BrahmH, who is the source both of its designation is Ishetrajna, matter- 
 gods and men, the only self-existent knowing, and that it maintains life, 
 and eternal being. ■* I think the Hindu commen- 
 
 2 See Hindu Philosophy, San- tators are right in referring etad 
 
 khya Karika, p, 20. (this) to the composite nature of the 
 
 ^ In the Sankhya system, Prakriti Supreme, and not, as Mr. Thomson, 
 
 (primal matter) is alone recognised, to the " latter nature." 
 
CHAP. VII.] BHAGAVAD GITA. 87 
 
 tilings. I am the source of all the universe and its dis- 
 solution also. 
 
 There is nothing whatever that is superior to Me, 
 subduer of wealth ! this All is strung together in Me, as 
 a row of pearls upon a string.^ 
 
 I am savour ^ in the waters, son of Kunti ! I am 
 the light in the moon and the sun ; the word of praise 
 (OM) (a.) in all the Vedas; sound ^ in ether and virile 
 force in men : 
 
 I am the pure odour in the earth and the briglitness in 
 the fire ; the vital principle in all beings and the austerity 
 {tapas) of ascetics. 
 10 Know, son of Pritha! that I am the eternal seed of / 
 all thincjs that exist. I am the intellect of the intelli<]rent 
 and the splendour (b) of the splendid. 
 
 I am also the strength of the strong, free from desire 
 and passion* (emotion). I am desire in living things, not 
 forbidden by holy laws, prince of Bharatas ! 
 
 Know also that the natures formed by (the mode called) 
 " goodness," and those also which are " passion-born " and 
 " dark " are from Me ; but they are in Me, not I in them. 
 
 Bewildered by these natures formed by the three modes^ 
 
 ^ Cf. Mahabh. (Santi - parvan, tain what has been gained ; passion, 
 
 1609). "In whom (Krishna), the (roy'as) the wish to obtain something 
 
 Lord of beings, all beings formed of not yet possessed. But this is 
 
 the modes (of Nature) are seated doubtful. Kama means desire, love, 
 
 and dwell, as rows of pearls are and also the object of desire ; rajas 
 
 (strung) upon a thread" (Sans. T. is passion merely. "Not forbidden 
 
 iv. 265). by holy law," i.e., by the holy books 
 
 ^ This is supposed to be the dis- (sastras), as Sankara interprets the 
 
 tinguishing property of water. word dharma. 
 
 ^ Sound is the peculiar property ^ These are the modes or con- 
 
 of the ether. stituent parts of Prakriti (Nature), 
 
 ^ Desire {hdma) is said by Hindu which by their different combina- 
 
 scholiasts to mean the wish to re- tions form the distinctive naturea 
 
88 BHAGAVAD GiTA. [chap. vii. 
 
 (gunas) (c), the whole world knows not Me, who am above 
 these (modes) and eternal ; 
 
 For this divine illusion of mine formed by the modes 
 is hard to surmount: they pass over this illusion who 
 "^ worship Me alone. 
 
 15 The evil-doers and the foolish do not worship Me, nor 
 the base, whose knowledge is taken away by illusion, who 
 have entered into (d) (partake of) the nature of Asuras.^ 
 
 Tour classes of righteous men worship Me, Arjuna ! the 
 distressed, he who desires knowledge, he who seeks for 
 gain, and the wise man, chief of Bharatas ! 
 
 Of these, the wise man,^ ever devout, who worships 
 the One, is the most excellent ; for I am dear above all 
 things (e) to the wise man, and he is dear to Me. 
 
 AIL these are good, but the wise man I deem to be even 
 myself (f) ; for he, devout in soul, is stayed on Me, the 
 supreme way (or goal). 
 
 At the end of many births the wise man comes (g) to 
 Me. The high-souled man, who says, "Vasudeva is the 
 All," 3 is hard to find. 
 
 of individuals. The Supreme Spirit they were the gods of the aborigines, 
 animates all the material world and the wars related in the Matsya 
 (Nature) : it is therefore in Nature, Purana, in which sometimes the 
 but Nature is not in it. Men gene- Asuraswere victorious but were even- 
 rally see only the lower part of the tually conquered, express a legendary 
 Divine dual nature, which veils the tradition of a war of races and reli- 
 higher spiritual part. The material gions. 
 
 world is called mdyd (illusion), not ^ That is, who knows Brahma 
 
 perhaps in the Vedantist sense, as and the soul. It is spiritual wisdom 
 
 mere illusion, but because it de- that is here assumed, as in Pro v. 
 
 ludes men into supposing that there ix. lo : " The fear of the Lord is 
 
 is nothing else. the beginning of wisdom." 
 
 1 Asuras, the name of a class of ^ Vasudeva, a name of Krishna, 
 
 demons, inferior, and sometimes It is often found in the Mahabharata. 
 
 hostile, to the Aryan gods. (See "Ke.sava (Krishna) is immeasur- 
 
 Sans. T. iv. 151, 154.) Probably able. He is to be known as Vasu- 
 
CHAP. VII.] BHAGAVAD GiTA. 89 
 
 2^ They whose knowledge has been carried away by. lusts 
 of any kind go to other gods, using divers rites, constrained 
 by their own nature. 
 
 Whosoever desires to worship any one form (h) (of these) 
 in faith, it is I who impart the steadfast faith of this 
 man {%), ^ 
 
 He, being devoted (^uhtd), seeks by that faith the favour 
 of the god (/), and thus obtains the blessings which he 
 covets', yet these are apportioned by Me alone. 
 
 But the gain of these men of narrow minds comes to an 
 end.^ They who sacrifice to gods go to the gods ; they 
 who worship Me come to Me. 
 
 The foolish think that I, the Unmanifested, am endowed 
 with a manifest form ,2 not knowing my higher nature, 
 which is imperishable and supreme. 
 25 Veiled by my mystic illusion (Jc), I am not manifest to 
 all. This deluded world knows not Me, the Unborn and 
 Eternal. 
 ^ I know all beings, past and present, Arjuna! and 
 
 deva from his dwelling (vasandt) in over which they preside, will be 
 all beings" (Udyoga-parvan, v. 2561; destroyed at the end of a kalpa. 
 Sans. T. iv. 218). In the Vishnu 2 -^j, Thomson explains this to 
 Purana he is identified with the mean that they " believe some one 
 Supreme Brahma. "Worshipping of the gods, as Brahma, Vishnu, or 
 thee, the Supreme Brahma, men de- Siva, to be the Supreme Spirit ; " and 
 sirous of final liberation have at- adds, " Our philosopher would seem 
 tained their object. Who shall to be cutting his own throat on this 
 obtain liberation without worship- ground." This seems to be a mis- 
 ping Vasudeva ? " (Sans. T. iv. 38). take. Brahma had many represen- 
 The Bhaktas (men who practise tatives, and these are sometimes 
 hhahti, faith with adoration), a said to be one with him, and to have 
 branch of the Vaishnavas, worship been incarnated in divers forms ; 
 Vishnu as Vasudeva and wear no but they were, as incarnations, a 
 marks. lower form of Brahma. In his 
 1 Because the gods are only created proper nature, swarupa, as Sankaia 
 beings, and they, with the worlds describes it, he is spirit only. 
 
90 BHAGAVAD GITA. [chap. vii. 
 
 that shall be hereafter, but not one ^ of them knows 
 Me. 
 
 All beings, son of Bharata ! are bewildered in this 
 world through the delusion of the pairs of opposites ^ that 
 arise from love and hatred, destroyer of foes ! 
 \ But the men w^ho are pure in their deeds, in whom sin 
 is dead, these, freed from the delusion of opposites and 
 steadfast in their vows, w^orship Me. 
 
 They who find refuge in Me and strive for deliverance 
 from old age (Q and death know the whole Brahma, the 
 Supreme Spirit and the complete Work. 
 30 The men, devout in mind, who know Me as Adhibhiita 
 (Lord of beings), as Adhidaiva (Lord of gods), and as 
 Adhiyajna (Lord of sacrifice), know Me indeed in the time 
 of their decease. 
 
 1 The pairs of opposites in this They are deceived. These things 
 
 present life, such as joy, pain, gain, ought to be regarded with indififer- 
 
 and loss, make men unduly sensible ence. The soul is not of them, and 
 
 of material things, and hence they must find its propei: condition by 
 
 suppose that such things ought to attaining to a complete absorption 
 
 be objects of liking or disliking, into the Supreme Brahma. 
 
 Thus the Bhagavad Gita, Eeading the Seventh, whose 
 title is 
 
 " Devotion through Spiritual DiscerisTment." 
 
CHAP. VII.] BHACAVAD CItA, 91 
 
 PHILOLOGICAL NOTES. 
 
 (a) Pranava, lit. praise, a common expression for the 
 mystic syllable OM. 
 
 (6) Tejas. " Fortitudo " (Lassen) ; '" strength " (Thomson) ; 
 " the glory (of the glorious) " (Telang). It has the various 
 meanings of sharpness, light, splendour, and vigour. S'ankara 
 glosses, it by prdgalhhya, rank, dignity. 
 
 (c) GuTiamayair hhdvair. " By dispositions composed of the 
 three qualities" (Thomson). Lassen translates bhdva by 
 *' affectus ; " Burnouf, by " propri^t^." Bhdva means exist- 
 ence, manner of being, and the phrase denotes the separate 
 natures of individuals formed by the various combinations of 
 the modes of Frdkriti (Nature). S'ankara's interpretation is, 
 *' By objects formed by modifications of the modes." 
 
 {d) Asritds, lit. having gone to or entered. "Sectantes" 
 (Lassen). The gloss of S'lidliara is, " Having obtained the 
 very nature of Asuras." The word often means "having 
 recourse to," "taking refuge with." 
 
 (e) Atyartham^ supremely. "Above possessions" is the 
 translation of Mr. Thomson, who supports his version by 
 referring to the objects (arthds) which men seek to gain by 
 offering sacrifice to gods. To the spiritually wise, the Supreme 
 Brahma is the only object of desire. Atyartham is, however, 
 used in the sense of extremely, without reference to posses- 
 sions. In the Nalopakhyanam (Story of Nala xi. 20), it is 
 said that a serpent seized Nala as she was wandering in a 
 forest lamenting excessively (Jcrandamdndm atyartham) for 
 the loss of her husband. A hunter, who had heard her loud 
 wailing, came near and slew the serpent. 
 
 (/) Atmd + eva, "verily myself." Mr. Thomson would 
 prefer an unsupported reading, atma + iva^ as or like myself. 
 
92 BHAGAVAD GItA. [chap. vit. 
 
 Lassen's rendering is, " Mei ipsius instar ; " Burnouf s, more 
 correctly, is, " Le sage, c'est moi-meme." The scholiast Mad- 
 husudana explains the passage na matto bhinnak, is not sepa- 
 rated from me. 
 
 (g) Prapadyate, falls down before, turns toward or ap- 
 proaches. S'ridhara glosses it by bhajati, worships ; S'ankara 
 by pratipadyatCy returns. The latter seems the better inter- 
 pretation. 
 
 (A) Tanu, body, and also skin, from tan, to spread out. 
 Lassen translates it by " effigies ; " Thomson by *' personage.'* 
 The word is used slightingly to denote that the gods are 
 only material beings. 
 
 {i) Achaldm sraddhdm tdm eva vidadhdmi. " Unicuique 
 horum secundum fidem istam constantem ego (sortem suam) 
 dispertio" (Lassen). Mr. Thomson calls this an *' arbitrary 
 and incomprehensible " translation. It is certainly arbitrary, 
 because there is nothing answerable to secundum in the 
 original, but it is not incomprehensible. Dr. Lorinser 
 assumes that the verb, vidadhdmi, is equivalent to "ich 
 vergelte," and his translation (I recompense the m^an who is 
 always steadfast in this faith) nearly coincides with Lassen's. 
 But this meaning does not belong to the verb. Mr. Thom- 
 son's version is, "I make that faith of his constant." The 
 literal rendering is, " I impart even this unwavering faith." 
 
 (j) I'asydrddhanam, for tasydh, &c., referring to tanu, a 
 feminine noun (Lassen). "This one" is a contemptuous 
 reference to the gods of the Hindii Pantheon. The more 
 common arrangement is tasya drddhana, the favour of this 
 one ; but S'ridhara has tasydh, of this (form). Examples of 
 such a compound are rare, but Lassen has given one from the 
 Tiamayana (i. 45, 9). 
 
 {k) YogamdydsamdvritaJi. " Surrounded by my magic illu- 
 sion" (Lassen and Thomson) ; *' Enveloppe que je suis dans la 
 
CHAP. VII.] BHAGAVAD GIJA. 93 
 
 magie que runion spirituelle {yoga) dissipe" (Burnouf). The 
 latter version is quite untenable. Yoga means here the 
 supernatural power which a perfect Yogin was supposed to 
 obtain. The creative power of the gods was connected with 
 yoga as meditation. *' Then Vishnu, sprung from Brahma, 
 removed from the sphere of sense, absorbed in meditation 
 (Yogatnia), became the Prajapati Daksha, and formed 
 numerous creatures" (Mahab. Harivansa, Sans. T. i. 152). 
 In the same book Vishnu is called the great Yogin (or Medi- 
 tator). S'ankara, however, connects yoga (union) with the 
 modes or constituent elements of Nature. 
 
 (l) Jard^ old age. ]\Ir. Thomson proposes to read janma, 
 birth, but all the MSS., including three in my possession, 
 read jara. Janma would not be contrary to the metre, as 
 K. T. Telang states, for the second syllable may be either 
 long or short. 
 
( 94 ) 
 
 EEADING THE EIGHTH. 
 
 Arjuna spoke. 
 
 What is that Brahma? what Adhyatman ? what is 
 Karma (Work), best of beings ? What is that thou 
 callest Adhibhiita ? and that called Adhidaiva ? 
 
 How is Adhiyajna here in this body, slayer of 
 Madhu? and how do self- restrained men know thee at 
 the time of their decease ? 
 
 The Holy One spoTce. 
 
 Brahma is the Indestructible and Supreme One ; ^ his 
 proper nature {a) is called Adhyatman. The emanation 
 that causes the birth of all living things is called Karma 
 (Work). 
 
 ^ The Supreme Indestructible One 
 is Brahma. He is called Adhyatman 
 (Supreme Spirit) because he is, in 
 his purely spiritual form, the highest 
 being. When he becomes the source 
 of life, he is then considered as 
 having another form, and has a new 
 designation, Brahma. The creation 
 [visarga, sending forth) of all sepa- 
 rate life is called emphatically Work. 
 Ananda, however, glosses the word 
 visarga by " offerings such as are di- 
 rected by iruti (revelation) and smriti 
 (tradition), for they are the causes 
 of life ; " but the work here referred 
 to is the especial work of Brahma. 
 Sankara also gives the sense of 
 "offering" to visarga, a meaning 
 
 which it sometimes bears, or rather 
 gift, donation in general ; but I can- 
 not think that it expresses the 
 meaning of our author. He is Lord 
 of beings, Adhibhuta, because he is 
 their cause, both the efficient and 
 the material cause. In the system 
 of Patanjali, the Nature-form (Pra- 
 kriti) of the Supreme is that from 
 which all beings have sprung. This 
 is termed by some Hindu writers as 
 his sakti or energy, represented as 
 being of a feminine kind. So also 
 as creative force he is Adhidaiva, 
 Lord of gods, and hence he is named 
 Purusha (lit, Male), since " he is the 
 cause of all life " (Sankara). The 
 gods are only created beings. Cf. 
 
CHAP. viii.J BHAGAVAD GItA. 95 
 
 Adhibhuta is (my) divisible nature (6), and Adhidaiva 
 is the masculine (creative) principle {purusha). I myself, 
 here present in the body, am Adhiyajna^ (c), best of 
 j^ men! 
 5 And he who departs, thinking on Me alone, enters, 
 after quitting the body, into my being : of this there is no 
 doubt. 
 
 Or if he, at the end (of life), quits the body while 
 V thinking on any other (god), he goes to that, whatever it 
 may be, son of Kunti ! being ever conformed to it in 
 nature.2 
 
 Wherefore think on Me at all times and fight. When 
 thou art fixed in heart and mind on Me, thou wilt with- 
 out doubt come to Me. 
 
 He who meditates, with a mind engaged constantly in 
 devotion, which never worships another god, on the 
 Supreme Divine Being, goes to Him, son of Pritha ! 
 
 He who muses on the ancient Sage,^ the Euler(<^), 
 
 subtler than an atom, the All-sustainer, incomprehensible 
 
 in form, shining like the sun above the darkness, 
 
 10 And in the hour of death is engaged in devotion with 
 
 an unwavering heart, and also by the force of devotion 
 
 Rig- Veda x. 90 : " Purusha has a and as being an object of worship 
 
 thousand heads, a thousand eyes, suited to the limited capacities of 
 
 . . . All earthly things are a quarter men by becoming incarnate, 
 
 of him, and three-fourths of him are ^ jf j^g desires heaven only, not 
 
 that which is immortal in the sky." nirvana, he will think, for instance, 
 
 Compare also Manu i. I : " Pro- on Indra in his dying moments, and 
 
 duced from the cause which is im- will therefore rise to the heaven of 
 
 perceptible, eternal, existent and Indra. 
 
 non-existent, that Male (Purusha) is ^ Brahma is the "ancient (purana) 
 
 celebrated in the world as Brahma." Sage " because he is without begin- 
 
 1 Adhiyajna, Lord of sacrifice, a ning ; purana being used here, as 
 
 name which Krishna gives to him- elsewhere, for " eternal as to the 
 
 self as the representative of Brahma, past." 
 
96 BHAGAVAD GiTA. [chap. viir. 
 
 draws his breath together between his eyebrows,^ that 
 man goes to this Supreme Divine Being. 
 
 That way I will briefly describe to thee which they 
 who know the Vedas call the Imperishable,^ upon which 
 enter the self- restrained and passion-free, which they who 
 desire adopt a Brahmacharin's life. 
 
 He who has closed all the gates ^ (of the senses), con- 
 fined his heart (manas) inwardly (e), placed the vital 
 breath in the head,* constant in devotion ; 
 
 Who continues to utter OM,^ (the sign of) the One 
 Imperishable Brahma, thinking upon Me; he who thus 
 departs goes, when he quits the body, to the highest 
 way.^ 
 
 If one thinks ever on Me, never directing his thoughts 
 to another (god), I am easily obtained by this constantly 
 devout Yosfin. 
 15 Having attained to Me, these great-souled men come 
 not to life again, which is the seat of pain and is not 
 eternal ; they attain to the supreme blessedness. 
 
 The worlds, even to that of Brahma, return (/) again,'' 
 
 1 Cf. c. V. 27. the Divine Brahma, the Supreme 
 
 *^ The Supreme Being, called be- Spirit." 
 
 low (v. 21) "the highest way or ^ Or "highest place," i.e., Brahma, 
 
 seat." ^ All the eight worlds will be 
 
 3 The organs of sense. So Srid- absorbed in Brahma at the end 
 
 hara and other commentators explain of a kalpa or periodic time, and 
 
 the word. then come forth again, at his direc- 
 
 ^ Holding the breath as much as tion, when another kalpa begins, 
 
 possible inwardly. The day of Brahma is explained in 
 
 ^ Cf . the Bhagavata Purana xii. the Vishnu Parana (i. 3, vi. i , with 
 
 6 : " From this sound {sphota, repre- Prof. Wilson's note). One year of 
 
 sented as coming from Brahma's mortals is = one day of the gods, 
 
 heart) sprang the syllable OM, com- There are four yugas or ages, which 
 
 posed of three elements (A. U. M.j, are thus determined: — (i.) The 
 
 self - resplendent, of unmanifested Krita Yuga = 4800 divine years ; 
 
 origin, that which is the emblem of (2.) The Treta Yuga := 3600 divine 
 
CHAP. VIII.] BHAGAVAD GiTA. 97 
 
 Arjana ! but he who attains to Me knows birth no more, 
 son of Kunti ! 
 
 The men who know the day of Brahma, which passes 
 away after a thousand ages, and the night which ends in 
 a thousand ages, know both day and night. 
 
 At the approach of day all the visible (manifested) 
 universe issues from the Unmanifested ; ^ it dissolves in 
 Him :who is called the Unmanifested at the approach of 
 night. 
 
 All this mass of beings produced again and again dis- 
 solves at the approach of night, son of Pfitha ! and 
 comes forth, not by its own power (^), at the approach of 
 day. 
 20 But above this visible nature there exists another, un- 
 seen and eternal, which, when all created things perish, 
 does not perish. 
 
 This is called the Unmanifested, the Imperishable; this 
 men speak of as the highest way: they who attain it 
 never return. This is my supreme abode. 
 
 This Supreme Being, in whom all things dwell, and by 
 whom all this (universe) has been spread out, may be 
 attained to, son of Pritha ! by an exclusive devotion. 
 
 [I will declare to thee, chief of Bharatas ! the time in 
 
 years ; (3.) The Dwapara Yuga — denotes Prakriti, or primordial mat- 
 
 2400 divine years ; (4. ) The Kali ter in its primal, undeveloped, or 
 
 Yuga = 1 2CO divine years ; making unmanifested state. Avyakta jneawfi 
 
 in all 12,000 divine years, and these "not manifest." Lassen translates 
 
 are = 4,320,000 common years. One it by " Invisible," Telang by " the 
 
 thousand of these periods form a day Unperceived." Sankara says the 
 
 of Brahma. This day of Brahma is Avyakta is the state of sleep of 
 
 called a hoLpa ; 360 kalpas form his Prajapati, i.e., Brahma as the lord 
 
 year, and a hundred such years form of beings. Sridhara explains it as 
 
 his lifetime, called Para. the unseen form which is the cause 
 
 ^ The "Non-developed," as Mr, of what is made. (See Sankhya 
 
 Thomson translates the word. It Karika, pp. 35-45.) 
 
 G 
 
98 BHAGAVAD GITA. [chap, viii, 
 
 which devotees, when they die, go forth either not to 
 return or to return (to life). 
 
 Fire, light, the daytime, the time of the waxing moon, 
 the six months of the northern solstice, they who die in 
 these, knowing Brahma, go to Brahma. 
 2C Smoke, the night, the time of the waning moon, 
 the six months of the southern solstice, in these the 
 devotee attains (only) to the lunar light and then 
 returns.^ 
 
 \, For these two ways of light and darkness Qi) are deemed 
 to be the eternal ways of the world : by the one, men go 
 on the way in which there is no return ; by the other, 
 they return again (to life). 
 
 The devotee (Yogin), knowing these two ways, son 
 of Pritiia ! is in no wise troubled thereat. Therefore be 
 engaged at all times in devotion, Arjima !] 
 
 The devotee who has this knowledge overpasses all the 
 sacred fruit (reward) offered by Yedas, by sacrifices, by 
 
 ^ These strange conditions, if the it may reach the highest heaven, 
 
 parts enclosed are genuine, seem due that of Brahma ; but if otherwise, it 
 
 to a Vedantist training of our author, may wander in the darkness, and 
 
 Kapila had taught — and this part cannot rise beyond the heaven of 
 
 of his system seems to have been the Moon. The Hindu commen- 
 
 very generally received — that the tators attempt to make this doctrine 
 
 soul is accompanied, in all its migra- a little more reasonable by assuming 
 
 tions, until finally emancipated from that the light does not represent a 
 
 all contact with matter, by a body material element, but Agni, the god 
 
 formed of the most subtle elements of fire. The passage is a curious 
 
 of matter, called lingo. The soul, instance of the grotesque folly which 
 
 with the linga, passes through the so frequently attends Hindu specu- 
 
 great coronal artery to the crown of lations, even of the highest kind, 
 
 the head at the time of death ; and It is so much opposed, however, to 
 
 then, as Hindu theologians teach, the spirit which pervades the Bha- 
 
 since the Linga requires a light to gavad Gita, that I cannot but judge 
 
 guide it, if a ray of light rests on it to be a late addition by some Ve- 
 
 the crown of the head at that time, dantist writer. 
 
CHAP, viii] BHAGAVAD GITA. 99 
 
 austerities also and almsgiving, and he attains to the 
 supreme primeval seat. 
 
 Thus the Bhagavad Gita, Reading the Eighth, whose 
 title is 
 
 "Devotion to the Supreme Eternal Brahma." 
 
 PHILOLOGICAL NOTES. 
 
 (a) Swahhava, translated by Telang as ''change;" by Thom- 
 son, "his own nature;" "la substance intime" (Burnouf). 
 Ananda interprets it by swarupa (my proper form) and 
 swayam (myself), and with this interpretation S'ridhara 
 agrees. 
 
 (b) Kshara, explained by S'ridhara and S'ankara as " perish- 
 able." Lassen has "dividua;" Burnouf, "divisible;" Thom- 
 son, " indivisible " by mistake. 
 
 (c) AdhiT/ajna, lord of oflferings or worship. " Auctor reli- 
 gionum " (Lassen). Dr. Lorinser questions this translation on 
 the ground that Krishna could not be so called, but that he 
 might be in some manner the highest offering in his human 
 form. The authors of the Peters. Diet, also translate the 
 word by '* das hochste Opfer," and Burnouf by " le premier 
 sacrifice." It does not appear, however, that Krishna was 
 regarded as a sacrifice of any kind, and adhi, as a prefix, often 
 denotes a presiding or directing person. Adhikarmahrit means 
 one who presides over workmen. Adhiyajna means, I think, 
 one who presides over sacrifices. 
 
 (d) Anusdsitdram. " Moderatorem" (Lassen) ; "regulator" 
 (Thomson). The root is ias, to order, to govern. This is 
 the nearest approach to a Divine Providence that Hindu 
 theology has ever made. It is not quite in accordance with 
 
loo BHAGAVAD GItA. [chap, viir. 
 
 the teaching of chap. v. 15, or with the common Hindu idea 
 of Brahma. 
 
 (e) Mano hridi nirudhya. Manas is the sentient faculty, 
 Jirid is the bodily organ ; or, as Mr. Thomson expresses it, 
 *^ Manas is the heart that desires and hrid that which heats." 
 The meaning is, Keep the affections in their own seat, i.e., the 
 breast. 
 
 (/) Avartino. "Remeabiles" (Lassen). Avai'ta means a 
 winding round; dvartin, winding round or revolving. The 
 meaning is not that they may return, or, as Mr. Thomson 
 renders it, " subject to return," but that they revolve from 
 being to not-being, ie.j from visible being to absorption into 
 Brahma, and vice versa, at stated periods. The reference is 
 not to the soul, "which is liable to return, after a certain 
 sojourn, from any of the eight worlds," as Mr. Thomson 
 assertSj'^but to these worlds themselves, which come and go 
 in a certain revolving order. S'ankara says, from their being 
 defined by time. See chap. ix. 7. 
 
 (g) Avasah, not by will of their own, t>., at the command 
 of Brahma. Mr. Thomson translates it by " spontaneously," 
 adding in a note, " Avdsa cannot have its more usual signifi- 
 cation of ' against their will,' since matter, being irrational, 
 could have no will of its own, but rather 'without any will 
 of their own,' i.e., in agreement with the laws of necessity." 
 But if so, it cannot emanate spontaneously. The constraining 
 power is not a law of necessity, but a command from Brahma. 
 Lassen has " ultro," probably by mistake ; Telang, " devoid of 
 power." Ananda explains the word by asivatantra, not inde- 
 pendently, by their own act. Tantra means a thread, the art 
 of weaving, and hence formation, cause. S'ridhara's gloss is 
 paratantra, dependent on another. 
 
 (/i) SuMakrishne gati, " these two ways of black and white." 
 /S^<Ha means also the increasing half of the moon's course, and 
 
CHAP. VIII.] BHAGAVAD GiTA. loi 
 
 Icrishtia the waning half. Light and darkness are common 
 symbols of happiness and the reverse. The grotesque imagi- 
 nation of the Hindu has made the symbol to be a controlling 
 cause; but it is strange that the soul, which is immaterial, 
 and is often described or symbolised as "pure light," 
 should depend on a material element for its guidance. 
 S'ridhara says that the devotee is not bewildered, because he 
 does not desire heaven and the rest as a means of happiness, 
 but has his abode in the Supreme Lord. But this does 
 not explain how, if he dies when the moon is waning, he 
 must return to earth again. I cannot believe that the 
 enlightened author of the Bhagavad Gita wrote these 
 verses. 
 
( 102 ) 
 
 EEADING THE NINTH. 
 
 The Holy One spohe. 
 
 Now will I declare to thee, who dost not cavil, that 
 most mysterious knowledge, divine and human, which 
 when thou knowest, thou wilt be free from evil. 
 
 Eoyal knowledge ! ^ royal mystery ! the supreme purifi- 
 cation this, comprehensible at sight, holy,^ easy to practise, 
 and eternal. 
 
 The men who receive not by faith this holy doctrine 
 attain not to Me, destroyer of foes ! but return to the 
 ways of this world of death. 
 
 All this universe has been spread out by Me, by my 
 unmanifested material nature {Prahriti)} All things 
 dwell in Me ; I do not dwell in them ; 
 
 And yet these things dwell not in Me.* See my royal 
 mystery ! (a). My spirit, which is the source of all, sup- 
 ports all things but dwells not in them. 
 
 As the mighty wind moves everywhere, but is ever 
 contained within the ether,^ know that thus all beings are 
 contained in Me. 
 
 ^ Rdjavidyd. Raja, prince or king, or active energy of Brahma, and is 
 
 here means chief, supreme. sometimes represented as his wife. 
 
 ^ Dharmyam, according to law or * Referring to the twofold nature 
 
 right. Dharma often expresses a of Brahma, They do not dwell in 
 
 religious duty, but has here its most his higher spiritual nature, 
 
 ancient meaning. ^ Akdsd, the ether, sometimes 
 
 ^ Prahriti, or primordial matter, is rendered " space." It is the subtle 
 
 here affirmed to be a part of Brahma, fluid which pervades all space. 
 
 In the Puranas, Prakriti is the 4aktl, Sometimes it seems to denote the 
 
CHAP. IX.] BHAGAVAD GItA. 103 
 
 At the end of a kalpa} all things, son of Kunti ! go 
 into my material nature ; at the beginning of a kalpa, I 
 send them forth again. 
 
 Eesting on my material nature (6) (Prakriti), I send 
 forth again and again all this mass of beings, without their ^ 
 will, by the power of Prakriti. 
 
 And these works, destroyer of foes ! bind not Me,^ who 
 sit apart as a stranger and in these works am unattached. 
 10 isTature {Prakriti), under my surveillance, gives birth to 
 everything, moving or fixed (animate or inanimate), and 
 by this means, son of KuntI ! the world revolves. 
 
 Fools disregard Me when invested with a human body, 
 not knowing my higher nature, the Supreme Lord of all. ^ 
 
 Vain in hope, vain in action, vain in knowledge, and 
 devoid of sense, these partake of the deluding (c) nature 
 of Eakshasas and Asuras.^ 
 
 But the great-souled men, son of Pritha ! who partake 
 
 absolute idea of space, but not in the Institutes of Manu (iii. 25) they 
 the Bhagavad Gita. are connected with Pisachas, a low 
 1 Cf. chap. viii. p. 97. order of demons. In the oldest parts 
 ^ All works, except works of de- of the Rig-Veda, however, Asura is 
 votion, bind the doer, i.e., they con- the name of the Supreme Spirit, the 
 nect him with bodily conditions, as Ahura of the system of Zoroaster. In 
 their result, in a future life. The the Puranas, the Asuras are repre- 
 works of Brahma are not followed sented as warring against the goda 
 by any consequences, because they and sometimes overcoming them, 
 are done without "attachment." So The name was probably given to 
 a perfect Yogin may act, and then the gods of the aboriginal tribes 
 attain to nin-dna (cf. chap. iii. 19). (see Sans. T. iv. 154, 155). The 
 ^ Asuras, giants or demons, ene- Rakshasas are fierce demons, who 
 mies of the gods ; their residence is giaard the treasures of Kuvera, 
 in Patala, below the earth. The the god of wealth. Their name is 
 dark mode or constituent of Pra- derived from ra^sA, to guard. There 
 kriti {tamo-guna) prevails in them, is a dreadful account of one in the 
 In the third book of the Mahabharata Ramayana (iii. 2, 4), who was "like 
 they are placed between gods and a mountain-peak, a man-eater, loud- 
 men : " From Manu all creation, voiced, hollow-eyed, huge, horrible, 
 gods, Asuras, men, must be pro- . . . bearing three lions, four tigers, 
 duced" (Ind. Wisd., p. 395). In two wolves, ten deer, and the head 
 
I04 
 
 BHAGAVAD GIT A, 
 
 [chap. IX. 
 
 of the divine nature,^ worship Me with hearts resting on 
 no other (God), knowing Me as the eternal source of all 
 things. 
 
 Evermore glorifying Me, earnestly striving (after Me),^ 
 steadfast in vows and doing Me reverence, they worship 
 ]\Ie with a constant devotion {d). 
 I ^ Others also, sacrificing with the sacrifice of knowledge,^ 
 worship Me, everywhere present in many forms by my 
 oneness and my divisible nature. 
 
 I am the offering ; I am the sacrifice ; * I am the offer- 
 ing to forefathers ; ^ I am the sacred herb ; ^ I am the 
 holy hymn ^ and the sacrificial butter ; ^ I am the fire ; I 
 am the burnt-offerins:.^ 
 
 of an elephant on the point of an 
 iron pike." The Yakshas were de- 
 mons of «, similar kind, but placed 
 by Manu (xii. 47) above the E.ak- 
 shasas. He calls them " the servants 
 and companions of Kuvera." 
 
 ^ In the gods the element [gufia) 
 of Nature, called "goodness," pre- 
 vails. Sankara connects it with calm- 
 ness, restraint, compassion, and faith. 
 
 2 Striving to gain a true know- 
 ledge of Brahma (Madhasudana), 
 For restraint (of the senses), for 
 calmness, self-control, &c. (Sankara). 
 
 ' Mr, Thomson explains the sacri- 
 fice of knowledge to mean the recog- 
 nising of Brahma in every act of 
 worship, but the true Yogin rose 
 above all pious acts except that of 
 devout meditation. Sridhara says 
 that by the knowledge which they 
 gain of Vasudeva being the All they 
 offer an acceptable sacrifice. San- 
 kara says it is by those, " who know 
 that I am the Lord (/swai'a)." 
 
 * Kratu and Yajna. Sankara 
 and other Hinda scholiasts say that 
 
 hratu is a sacrifice enjoined by the 
 Vedas {sruti), and yajna one re- 
 quired by tradition (smriti). But 
 this distinction is not supported by 
 the common use of the words. Kratu 
 seems to denote sacrifice strictly ; 
 yajna, worship in general, of which 
 sacrifice was a chief part. In the 
 Sakuntala, Indra is called S'ata- 
 h'atu, he of the hundred sacrifices 
 (p. 268, Williams's ed.) 
 
 ^ Swadhd, the offering of food to 
 the manes of deceased ancestors. 
 
 * Aushadka, vegetable food or 
 medicine (Sridliara) ; food produced 
 by herbs (Sankara^ ; a medicinal 
 herb, in the Hitopadesa and in Nala. 
 
 ^ Mantra, a religious song. The 
 mantras are the hymns of the Vedas 
 and the commentaries are Brah- 
 
 * Ajyam, the purified butter used 
 in sacrifice. 
 
 ' Huta, that which is offered, the 
 victim. Lassen and Thomson trans- 
 late it by "incense." There is no 
 authority, I believe, for this transla- 
 
CHAP. IX.] 
 
 BHAGAVAD GIT A, 
 
 lo: 
 
 I am the father, mother/ sustainer, and grandsire ^ of 
 this universe. I am the object of knowledge, the lustra- 
 tion, the syllable OM ; ^ I am, too, the Rig-, Sama-, and 
 the Yajur-Yeda.* 
 
 I am the way,^ the sustainer, the Lord, the witness,^ the 
 dwelling, refuge, and friend, the source and the destroyer 
 (of life), the place, the depository,^ and the eternal seed. 
 
 I cause heat ; I withhold and I send forth the rain ; I 
 am also immortality and death, Arjuna ! I am sat (formal 
 existence) and asat (abstract, undeveloped being).* 
 20 They who follow the three Vedas, who drink the soma- 
 
 tion. The Peters. Diet, translates 
 it by "das Geopferte." Cf. Manu 
 (iii. 74) : '^Ahuta is japa (a low ut 
 terance of sacred words) ; huta is 
 oblation by fire (homa) ; prahuta is 
 food offered to demons {Bhutas).^^ 
 
 ^ Cf . Plato in the " Timaeus " (s. 24^ : 
 " For the present then we must con- 
 ceive three kinds of things : that 
 which is made, that in which it is 
 made, and that after the likeness of 
 which it is made ; and of these we 
 may liken the recipient (the matter) 
 to the Mother : that after which it is 
 made to the Father ; and that pro- 
 duced between the two to the off- 
 spring." (Cf. also B. G., 0. xiv. 3.) 
 
 ^ Thegrandsire asthe source of Pra- 
 Jcriti, from whom all things emanate. 
 
 3 For the mystic syllable OM, 
 Bee i. I. 
 
 * The names of the three older 
 Vedas, the Atharva-Veda being of 
 later origin. The Saman is some- 
 times put first, probably because it 
 is a ritual of religious rites or offices, 
 much used by the Brahma-is. 
 
 ^ The way to final deliverance 
 from matter in nirvana. 
 
 ^ As the observer of all things. 
 
 ^ The depository or treasure- 
 house, for all things are contained 
 in him. 
 
 ^ Mr. Thomson explains these 
 words as spirit and matter. They 
 mean the world of visible things 
 {sat), and the invisible, undeveloped 
 Prakriii {asat). See Sankhya Karika, 
 p. 27. Cf. Rig- Veda, x. 72, 2 : 
 " Devanam purvye yuge asatah sada- 
 jayata " — in the first age of the gods 
 the Manifested {sat) was born from 
 the Unmanifested (asrt^)." In the 
 same Veda (i. 96, 7), Agni is called 
 satas gopa, the guardian of the exis- 
 tent world. The phraseology is 
 much like Hegel's: (i) Das Abso- 
 lute is das Seyn ; (2) das Absolute 
 ist das Nichts . . . Das reine Seyn 
 ist nun die reine Abstraction, damit 
 das absolut-negative, welches gleich- 
 falls unmittelbar genommen, das 
 Nichts ist " (Die Lehre v. Seyn, s. 
 99). The explanations of the Hindu 
 commentators are here, as so often 
 elsewhere, unsatisfactory. One sup- 
 poses that sat means gross matter, 
 and asat the subtler form from whicli 
 it was developed ; another explains 
 them as " effects " and " causes." 
 
lo5 BHAGAVAD GItA. [chap. ix. 
 
 juice 1 and are purified from sin, who offer sacrifices, ask 
 of me a passage to heaven. These attain to the holy 
 world of Indra and eat in heaven the divine food of the 
 gods. 
 
 These men, when they have enjoyed this vast heavenly 
 world and their merit is exhausted, return to this world of 
 death. Following the three holy books (the Vedas) and 
 desiring the objects of the senses, they obtain that which 
 comes and goes. 
 
 A full assurance (e) (of blessedness) I bring to those 
 who worship Me and never seek refuge in another (god), 
 who are ever united (to Me) in devotion. 
 
 Even those who worship other gods and are endowed 
 with faith sacrifice to Me, son of KuntI ! when they 
 sacrifice, but not according to ancient rule ; ^ 
 
 For I am the enjoyer and the Lord also of all sacrifices, 
 but these men know Me not in truth, and therefore they 
 falL3 
 5 They who are devoted by vows to gods, go to gods;* they 
 who devote themselves to Pitris (ancestral manes), go to 
 Pitris ; they who sacrifice to Bhiitas (malignant goblins), 
 go to Bhiitas ; ^ they who worship Me alone, come to Me. 
 
 When any one offers to me in devotion a leaf, a flower, 
 fruit, or water, I accept this pious offering of one who is 
 devout in mind. 
 
 1 The juice of the Asclepiaa acida, ancestors, to whom a high place is 
 
 much used in Hindu rites. given in Hindu rites. Cf. Manu 
 
 '■^ Sankara says that the sacrifice (iii. 203) : "An oblation offered by 
 
 is one of ignorance, not according to Brahmans to ancestors surpasses the 
 
 ancient knowledge. oblation of the gods." 
 
 ^ They fall from heaven and are ^ The Bhutas are a foul kind of 
 
 born again on earth. demons, supposed to dwell in grave* 
 
 * To Indra and other gods. The yards. 
 Pitris are the manes of deceased 
 
l^ 
 
 CHAP. IX.] BHAGAVAD GITA. 107 
 
 Whatever thou doest, whatever thou eatest, whatever 
 thou ofiferest in sacrifice or givest (to others), whatever 
 austerity thou practisest, do it as an offering to Me. 
 
 Thus shalt thou be free from the bonds of works pro- 
 ducing good or evil fortune ; united to Me in soul by devo- 
 tion and renunciation (of worldly good), thou, when freed 
 (from the body), shalt come to Me. 
 
 I am the same to all beings ; to Me none is hateful and y^ 
 none is dear ; but they who worship Me devoutly are in 
 Mq and I also am in them.^ 
 30 Even if one of evil life worships Me with exclusive 
 worship, he must be accounted as a good man, for he has 
 judged rightly. 
 
 Soon he becomes a pious man and attains to eternal 
 peace. Be well assured, son of Kunti! that he who 
 worships Me does not perish. 
 
 Tor they who find refuge in Me, son of Pritha ! 
 though they have been conceived in sin,^ women too, 
 Vaisyas, and even Sudras, these go to the highest way. 
 Howmuch more, then, holy Brahmans and pious Eajarshis?^ 
 
 ^ Sankara says the union is by Hindu doctrine. Women alone 
 
 possessing his nature {swabhdva). cannot perform any religious rite 
 
 Sridhara, less correctly : "They are (Manu v. 155), nor may they repeat 
 
 in Me by devotion {hhaktyd), and I the mantras (hymns) of the Vedas 
 
 in them by giving them blessing or (ix. 18). They may, however, rise 
 
 salvation." to heaven. I have not noticed in 
 
 ^ Those who are born of unlawful any other passage that they might 
 
 connections. The Vaisyas are the attain to nirvana. It is singular, 
 
 mercantile and agricultural caste, as Mr. Thomson has pointed out. 
 
 The Sudras are the lowest caste, that the Vaisyas should rank so 
 
 placed by Manu (xii. 43) in the same low, and this must be regarded as 
 
 rank with lions, tigers, and boars, a sign of the comparatively late date 
 
 Even these, and women also, might of the poem. 
 
 attain to the state of Brahma, i.€., * The Rajarshis (royal Rishis) 
 
 might be absorbed into his being, united the characters of king and 
 
 This goes beyond the prevalent saint. 
 
1 08 BHA GA VA D GIT A. [c hap. ix. 
 
 Since thou hast come into this fleeting and unhappy world, 
 worship Me. 
 
 Fix thy heart {manas) on Me ; worship Me ; offer to Me 
 sacrifice ; bow down before Me ; united thus in soul (to 
 Me), making Me the supreme object, thou shalt come to 
 Me. 
 
 Thus the Bhagavad Gita, Eeading the Ninth, whose 
 title is 
 
 " Devotion through the Eoyal Knowledge and the 
 KoYAL Mystery." 
 
 -: PHILOLOGICAL NOTES. 
 
 (a) Yogam aiswaram, " Mysterium meum augustum " 
 (Lassen) ; " Tel est le mystere de la supreme union " (Bur- 
 nouf). Dr. Lorinser's version is, "Heine Herrschvertiefung 
 schau," and explains it to mean that Krishna here speaks of 
 his union with existences, which befits him as their Lord 
 i^swara). Yoga seems here to mean the mysterious power 
 which a perfect Yogin might exercise, and hence all power 
 beyond ordinary human skill. K. T. Telang translates the 
 passage by " See my power divine." Ananda explains yoga 
 by " His proper form ; a joyous and twofold nature." S'an- 
 kara interprets yoga by yuktiy conjunction (a sovereign union 
 of soul with matter ?), showing the sovereign majesty of the 
 Lord. 
 
 (6) Prahriiim swdjnavastabhya. " Naturae meae innixus *' 
 (Lassen) ; " Supported by my material essence " (Thomson) ; 
 " Immuable dans ma puissance creatice " (Burnouf) ; " I plant 
 myself on my own nature " (Wilkins). (Cf. c. xvi. 9. Utdm 
 
CHAP. IX.] BHAGAVAD GirA. 109 
 
 drishtimavastahhya. "In hacopinionedefixi," Lassen.) Telang 
 translates it, " By means of the power of Nature, taking its 
 control myself." The meaning will be more correctly ex- 
 pressed by rendering the passage, "Supported by," or "en- 
 abled by means of " my material nature. This is the inferior 
 part of Brahma's dual nature. The verb is found in the Hari- 
 vansa (8515). Dandamavastahhya, leaning upon or supported 
 by a staff. S'ridhara explains the word by "commanding," 
 " directing." 
 
 (c) Mohinirrij deluding, not deluded, as Mr. Thomson trans- 
 lates the word. " Naturam fraudulentam sectantes" (Lassen). 
 
 (d) Bhdkti, adoration, is interpreted by the Hindu scholiasts, 
 according to K. T. Telang, as "supreme love." S'ridhara says 
 they adore by praise and other means. 
 
 {e) Togakshema. See dnte^ ii. 45. 
 
( no ) 
 
 EEADINa THE TENTH. 
 
 The Holy One spohe. 
 
 Hear further still, large-armed one ! my all-important 
 works which I will speak to thee, who hast a delight 
 therein (a), from a desire for thy good. 
 
 The hosts of Suras ^ know not any origin of Me, nor the 
 great Eishis ; ^ for I am the primal source of all the gods 
 and the great Eishis. 
 
 He who knows Me, as unborn and without beginning, 
 the mighty Lord of the world, he of mortals is nndeluded, 
 he is freed from all sin. 
 
 Mind, knowledge, absence of illusion, patience, truth, 
 self-restraint, tranquillity, pleasure, pain, birth, death, fear, 
 and courage also; 
 5 Innocence, evenness of mind, contentment, religious 
 austerity, beneficence, glory and shame, these are the 
 qualities of beings severally appointed by Me. 
 
 The seven great Eishis, the four ancient (Fathers),^ and 
 
 ^ Suras, a class of inferior gods, tya, Pulaha, and Kratu " (Sans. T. 
 
 connected, it seems, with the sun i, 122). In another book they are 
 
 (Surya). In the Mahabharata they raised to seven by the addition of 
 
 war against the Asuras, the gods of Vasishtha (Santi p. 7570). The 
 
 an aboriginal non -Aryan race. Vaya Purana makes the list eight 
 
 2 The Rishis were ancient sages, in number by adding Brighu ; the 
 
 According to the Mahabharata, i. Vishnu Purana adds a ninth, Daksha. 
 
 2518, "Six great Rishis are known ^ The four mind-bom sons of 
 
 as the mind-bom sons of Brahma, Brahma — SanatkuUiira, Sanaka, Sa- 
 
 viz., Marichi, Atri, Angiras, Pulas- natana, and Sanandana or Sananda. 
 
CHAP. X.] BHA GA VA D GIT A. in 
 
 the Manus,^ partaking of my nature, were born from 
 my mind : from them the races of mankind have 
 sprung. 
 
 He who knows in truth that pre-eminence (&) and 
 mystic power of mine is united (to Me) by unfailing 
 devotion : of that there is no doubt. 
 
 I am the source of all things ; the whole (universe) pro- 
 ceeds from Me: thinking thus, the wise who share my 
 nature (c) worship Me. 
 
 Thinking on Me, having their life absorbed in Me (cQ, 
 instructing each other and ever glorifying Me, they are 
 contented and happy. 
 10 To these, constantly devout, who worship with the 
 service of love, I give that mental devotion by which 
 they come to Me. 
 
 In them I destroy from compassion, dwelling in their 
 souls (e), the darkness which is born of ignorance, by the 
 ^ bright lamp of knowledge. 
 
 Aejuna s'polze. 
 
 Thou art the Supreme Brahma, the supreme abode,^ the 
 best purification, the Eternal Creator, Divine, First of 
 Gods, Unborn, the Lord ! 
 
 Thus all the Eishis proclaim thee, and also the divine 
 Eishi, Narada;^ thus too Asita, Devala, and Vyasa:* 
 thus thou declarest thyself to me. 
 
 ^ The Manus are fourteen in the ten progenitors of mankind who 
 
 number, each presiding during a came forth from Brahma, 
 
 period, called Manwantara {manu- ^ Asita is mentioned in the Lalita 
 
 antara), over the world. Each Vistara (a legendary life of Buddha) 
 
 period contains 4,320,000 years. as a Eishi who dwelt near the Hima- 
 
 ^ Because all things dwell in him. layan range, and was informed super- 
 
 ^ Narada is a mythical person naturally of the birth of Buddha, 
 
 mentioned in Manu i. 35, as one of In the Vishnu Purana, Devala is 
 
1 1 2 BHA GA VAD GIT A. [chap. x. 
 
 I believe that all wliicli thou say est is true, Ke^ava ! 
 for neither gods nor Danavas ^ understand thy manifesta- 
 tion (/) (in bodily form), Holy One ! 
 15 Thou alone knovvest thyself by thyself, best of 
 beings ! Creator of all things. Lord of all, the God of gods, 
 Kuler of the Universe ! 
 
 It is meet for thee to declare fully thy divine perfec- 
 tions, by which these worlds are constantly pervaded by 
 thee {g). 
 
 How shall I, by ever meditating, know thee, Mystic 
 One ? In what forms of being mayst thou, mighty 
 Lord ! be comprehended by me ? 
 
 Declare to me again and fully thy mystic nature and 
 thy perfections (vibhuti), conqueror of men ! for I am 
 never sated in hearing thy immortal (ambrosial) words. 
 
 The Holy One spoke. 
 
 Well ! I will declare to thee my divine perfections by 
 means of the chief of them (only), best of Kurus ! for 
 there is no end of my greatness. 
 20 I am the soul, Gudake^u! seated in the heart of 
 
 said to have been one of the sons of in his illustrations of the Nirukta, 
 
 Viswamitra, who by his austerities p. 150: "Seven is an indefinite 
 
 and knowledge became one of the number, applied to the demons of 
 
 seven Rishis. the air and clouds, who appear under 
 
 Vyasa is a representative person, the manifold names of Namuchi, 
 
 to whom is ascribed the composition Kuyava . . . the Danus or Danavas, 
 
 or compilation of many works, in- to whom a mother called Danu is 
 
 eluding the Mahabharata. assigned." Danu was said to be the 
 
 ^ The descendants of Danu, fabled mother of Vritra (lit. cloud), and 
 
 to be demons of the air, who made both were slain by Indra (R. V. i. 
 
 war upon the gods. In the Rig- Veda 32, 9). In the Ramayana (i. 14, 14) 
 
 they are said to be seven in number, they are placed between gods and 
 
 * He cleaves by his force the seven Yakshas, a class of malicious demons 
 
 Danus" (x. 120, 6). Roth remarks (S. T. iv. 166). 
 
CHAP. X.] 
 
 BHAGAVAD GITA. 
 
 113 
 
 every creature.^ I am the beginning and the middle and 
 the end of all things. 
 
 Among the Adityas^ I am Vishnu; among luminous 
 things the resplendent Sun. I am Marlchis among the 
 Maruts and the Moon among the constellations.* 
 
 I am the Sama ^ (Yeda) of the Vedas, I am Vasava ^ of 
 the gods. Of the senses I am the manas ; ^ I am the in- 
 tellect in living beings. 
 
 Of the Eudras I am Sankara,^ and Vitte^a^ of the 
 Yakshas and Eakshasas. Of the Yasus^^ I am Pavaka 
 (fire) ; of the mountain-peaks I am Meru.^^ 
 
 ^ The heart, or the region of the 
 chest, is supposed by the Hindus to 
 be the seat of the soul. There is 
 here an approach to the Vedantist 
 doctrine that each soul is a part of 
 the Universal Spirit. It is a sepa- 
 rate individuality in both the San- 
 kyha and the Yoga systems. 
 
 2 The Adityas were at first six in 
 number, and Varuna was their chief ; 
 but afterwards they were twelve, 
 corresponding to the months of the 
 year. They became personifications 
 of the Sun in his various positions, 
 and Vishnu is here declared to be 
 the chief. 
 
 ■^ Marichi, the chief of the Maruts 
 or storm -gods. In Manu (i. 35) he 
 is one of the ten progenitors of gods 
 and men whom Viraj created through 
 Manu. 
 
 ^ Nakshatras, the twenty-seven 
 asterisms or lunar mansions tra- 
 versed by the Moon. 
 
 5 The Rig- Veda is the oldest of 
 the Vedas. The Sama-Veda was 
 especially honoured by some of the 
 Brahmans because its hymns were 
 arranged for chanting in religious 
 rites. 
 
 6 Vasava is a name of Indra. 
 
 "^ Tor an explanation of manas 
 and luddhi, see p. 13. 
 
 ^ Sankara is a name of 6iva, 
 called at an early period Rudra, who 
 was the father of eleven Rudras, 
 who represented probably violent 
 destructive storms. 
 
 ^ Vittesa, a name of Kuvera, the 
 Hindu god of wealth, dwelling in 
 the regions of darkness, correspond- 
 ing to the Pluto of Western mytho- 
 logy. He is chief of the demons 
 called Yakshas and Rakshasas, who 
 guard his treasures. 
 
 ^" The Vasus, eight in number, 
 were a class of inferior gods, the 
 attendants of Indra in the older 
 mythology. Trom their names, A'pa 
 (water), Anila (wind). Soma (moon), 
 Anala (fire), &c., they are evidently 
 nature-gods, personifications of na- 
 tural objects. 
 
 ^^ Meru, the fabulous mountain 
 in the centre of the Jambu-dwipa, 
 the central continent of the seven 
 which form the world. "In the 
 centre of all these continents is 
 Jambu-dwipa. ... In the centre of 
 Jambu-dwipa is the golden moun- 
 11 
 
114 
 
 BHAGAVAD GITA. 
 
 [chap. X. 
 
 Know, son of Pritha! that I am Yrihaspati,^ the 
 chief of household priests; of the chiefs in war I am 
 Skanda,2 and of waters I am the Ocean. 
 25 Of the great Eishis I am Bhrigu,^ and of words the 
 syllable (OM). Of offerings I am the /a^^a- offering,* of 
 mountains the Himalaya (range). 
 
 Of all trees I am the sacred fig-tree (aSwattha ^), and of 
 divine Eishis Narada.^ Of the Gandharvas^ I am Chitra- 
 ratha ; of the perfect ones the recluse (muni) Kapila.^ 
 
 Know that I am of horses Uchchaih^ravas,^ born of 
 the amrita (water of immortality) ; of elephants, Airavata,^^ 
 and among men I am the king. 
 
 Of weapons of war I am the thunderbolt, and of cows 
 the Kamaduk.^^ I am the progenitor Kandarpa,^^ ^mj Qf 
 serpeifts I am Vasuki.^^ 
 
 tain Meru, 84,ocx) yojanas high, and 
 crowned by the great city of Brahma" 
 (Vish. P., Wilson, ii. 1 10, 1 18). The 
 yojana varied from four to eight 
 krosas, the krosa being about two 
 geographical miles. 
 
 1 The priest of the family of gods, 
 and hence the prototype of the 
 priestly order. The planet .Jupiter 
 is so called, and he is the lord or 
 regent of it. , 
 
 2 The Hindu god of war, and alfeo 
 the planet Mars. 
 
 3 Mentioned by Manu (i. 35) as 
 one of the great Rishis {maharshis), 
 who were the progenitors of man- 
 kind. 
 
 * Repeating or muttering prayers 
 and sacred hymns to one's self. • 
 
 ° The Ficus religiosa, or sacred fig- 
 tree of India. 
 
 ^ The devarshis (divine Rishis) 
 were a class of Rishis who became 
 demigods. 
 
 ^ The musicians of the gods, 
 dwelling in Indra's heaven. Chitra- 
 ratha is their chief. 
 
 8 Kapila, the author of the San- 
 kyha system of philosophy. 
 
 ^ The name of the horse which 
 was created when the gods churned 
 the ocean to procure the amrita, the 
 water of immortality. He became 
 the horse of Indra. 
 
 ^° The elephant on which Indra 
 rides. 
 
 ^^ The cow, produced at the churn- 
 ing of the ocean, which grants all 
 desires. Probably an ancient type 
 of the earth. 
 
 ^^ A name of Kama, the Hinda. 
 Cupid, lord of the Apsarasas or 
 heavenly nymphs ; represented as a 
 beautiful youth bearing a bow, and 
 armed with five arrows which strike 
 the five senses. 
 
 ^^ Vasuki, the king of the nagas or 
 serpents in Patala (Hell). He was 
 
CHAP. X.] 
 
 BHAGAVAD GlTA. 
 
 115 
 
 Of the snakes I am Ananta/ and among beings of the 
 "Waters, Yaruna.^ Of the Pitris (ancestral manes) I am 
 Aryama,^ and of judges I am Yama> 
 O Of the Daityas^ I am Prahlada, and of things that 
 measure (h) I am Time. Of wild beasts I am the Tiger,^ 
 and Vainateya ^ of birds. 
 
 Of purifiers I am the wind, and of those who bear 
 weapons Eama,^ Of fishes I am the Makara,^ and of 
 rivers I am the Ganges. 
 
 Of emanations (creations) (^) I am the beginning and 
 the end, and I am also the middle, Arjuna! Of the 
 kinds of knowledge I am the knowledge of the Supreme 
 Spirit (Adhyatman) ; of those who speak I am the 
 Speech. 
 
 I am the letter A among letters, the dwandwa'^^ in 
 
 coiled round the mountain Mandara 
 by the gods and Asuras at the 
 churning of the ocean. 
 
 ^ Ananta, the thousand - headed 
 snake on which Vishnu rests. He is 
 mentioned in the Vishnu Purana as 
 the king of the mythological snakes 
 who have the face of a man. 
 
 2 Varuna was at an early period 
 one of the chief gods of the Hindu 
 Pantheon ; a personification of the 
 sky as all-embracing, the maker of 
 heaven and earth. At a later period 
 he ranked only as chief of the Adit- 
 yas, and now is considered as lord 
 of the waters. His sign is a fish. 
 
 2 The chief of the ancient fathers 
 (pitris), whose heaven is next below 
 Brahma's. 
 
 * Yama, the judge of the dead, 
 the Hindu Minos. 
 
 ^ The Daityas are represented as 
 a demoniac and impious race, pro- 
 bably the aborigines of Northern 
 
 India, opposed to the Aryans and 
 their gods. Prahlada was a king 
 among them, and from his pious 
 austerities he attained to much ve- 
 pute. He is said to have become a 
 worshipper of Vishnu. 
 
 ^ The Indra (king) of the beasts 
 of chase ; referred to both the lion 
 and the tiger. 
 
 ^ Vainateya is the sacred bird on 
 which Vishnu rides. In the Rama- 
 yana he is called a god. "The snake- 
 devouring god, the strong Vainateya, 
 he will deliver you from the dreadful 
 bonds of the serpents " (Sans. T. iv. 
 
 453). 
 
 ^ Rama, the hero of the epic poem 
 the Ramayana, supposed to be the 
 seventh avatdra (incarnation) of 
 Vishnu. 
 
 * A marine monster on which 
 Varuna rides. At present the Hindu 
 name for the shark. 
 
 ^^ The aggregative form of San- 
 
ii6 BHAGAVAD GITA. [chap. x. 
 
 compound words (/) ; I am also Eternal Time ; I am the 
 Sustainer whose presence is on every side. 
 
 I am Death that seizes all, and the Source of all that 
 are to come. Of feminine words I am Fame, Fortune, and 
 Speech, Memory, Intelligence, Constancy, and Patience. 
 35 Among the songs of the Sama-Veda I am the Vrihat- 
 saman,! and the Gayatrl^ among metrical forms. Of 
 months I am the Marga^irsha,^ and of seasons the flowery 
 Spring. 
 
 1 am the Dice-play of the fraudulent and the Splendour 
 of the splendid. I am Victory, I am Enterprise (^), I am 
 the Goodness of the good. 
 
 Of the sons of Vrishni I am Vasudeva,* of the Pandavas 
 the Subduer of wealth (Arjuna). Of the munis I am 
 Vyasa',^ and of sages U^ana ^ the wise. 
 
 Of things that subdue I am the Eod, and the Polity 
 of those who seek to conquer. Of secret things I am 
 Silence,^ and the Knowledge of those who know. 
 
 skrit compounds. Such a compound from that of his father, Vasudeva, 
 
 as sea-shore is — shore of the sea ; as one of the sons of Sura, a chief of 
 
 a dwandwa compound = the sea and an Aryan tribe called Yadhavas, 
 
 the shore. The dwandwa is selected, and father to Krishna in his human 
 
 says Sridhara, because all the parts form, 
 are co-ordinate with each other. ^ See supra, L 26. 
 
 ^ A part of the Sama-Veda sup- ^ TJsana is described as a teacher 
 
 posed to have a peculiar sanctity. of the Asuras or demons, who were 
 
 2 Gayatri, a kind of metre, con- the aboriginal races of India. In 
 sisting .of three divisions of eight the Bhag. Purana he is called " chief 
 syllables each. It has the place of of the wise," and is said to be the 
 honour because the holiest of all the tutor of Bali, a king of the Asuras 
 verses of the Vedas (R. V. iii. 62, 10), (Muir iv. 143). 
 
 daily repeated by the Brahmans, is ^ Meaning either that silence is 
 
 written in this metre. one of the most mysterious things, 
 
 * Part of November and Decem- or (as seems preferable) that it de- 
 lier ; called also Agrahdyana (summit notes what cannot be expressed in 
 of the year). words, but must be meditated on in 
 
 * Vasudeva, a name of Krishna, silence, as the Supreme Brahma. 
 
CHAP. X.] BHA GA VAD GIT A. 1 1 7 
 
 And whatever is of living things the seed, I am That, 
 Arjuna! There is nothing, whether moving or fixed, that 
 can exist without Me. 
 40 There is no end of my divine perfections, slayer of 
 foes 1 but this recital of my glory has been uttered by 
 Me by way of instances thereof. 
 
 Whatever thing is pre-eminent, glorious, or strong, 
 know that all is the issue of a part of my power. 
 
 But what hast thou to do with this vast extent of 
 knowledge, Arjuna? I have established in continuance 
 all this universe by one part of myself.^ 
 
 ^' This is the conclusion of the Rajendra-lala, " the absorption of 
 
 whole matter. The Supreme is not the Infinite in the Finite, of God in 
 
 these things, but he is the animating Nature, but of the Finite in the In- 
 
 Soul which gives to each its power finite, of Nature in God " (Introd. 
 
 or excellence. " It is not," says Chhand. Upanishad). 
 
 Thus the Bhagavad Gita, Eeading the Tenth, whose 
 title is 
 
 "Devotion by the Divine Perfections." 
 
 PHILOLOGICAL NOTES. 
 
 {a) Triyamdndya. "Tibi amanti" (Lassen); "whom I 
 love" (Thomson). The word is translated *'freundlich" in 
 the Peters. Diet. Of. vdclid priyamdiiayd, by a friendly dis- 
 course (Ramayana iii. 20, 2). Ananda glosses the word by 
 jyrltikurvat, causing joy or affection. 
 
 (6) Vibhtiti, excellence, pre-eminence ; here used for the 
 manifestation of the divine nature in some form of power or 
 grandeur. S'ridhara's gloss is aiswaryalahhanam^ sign of 
 sovereignty. Telang has "emanations," but incorrectly. 
 
ii8 BHAGAVAD GITA. [chap. x. 
 
 (c) Bhdvasamanwitds. " Contemplandi facultate prsediti'* 
 (Lassen); "Participants de I'essence supreme" (Burnouf). 
 Dr. Lorinser, following the Peters. Diet., translates it by 
 "Die mir Liebe weihen," and this rendering Telang adopts. 
 In the absence of any conclusive example of such an usage, I 
 prefer BurnouPs version. S'l idhara's explanation is prltiyukiali, 
 joined or devoted by love. Ananda says, "They whose 
 nature is wholly Brahma." S'ankara has, "United together 
 {samyuhtd) by inclination to the truth that relates to the 
 Supreme." 
 
 (d) Madgataprdnd. " Me quasi spirantes " (Lassen) ; 
 "Dead in me" (Thomson); "Offering their lives to me" 
 (Telang). Gata, with a noun, often expresses the absence or 
 destruction of what is denoted by the noun, but sometimes it 
 is used in the sense of "devoted to," as in the episode of 
 Nala, Tfidm gatasankalpd, " with resolves or purposes fixed on 
 me." S'ankara says, "Whose acts or whose life is absorbed 
 in me," i.e., by yoga. 
 
 (e) Atmabhdvastho. " Sans sortir de mon unit^ " (Burnouf). 
 Lassen's version is similar : " In mea ipsius conditione per- 
 manens," which Thomson, as usual, follows. The passage is 
 translated by Galanos, " Being seated in their hearts," with 
 which Telang agrees. S'ridhara's gloss is, "Being placed in 
 the office or function (vriui) of the intellect." S'ankara says, 
 " Resting in the inner sense (antahkaraTm) of the being of the 
 souL" 
 
 (/) Vyaktinij manifestation, act of becoming visible ; here, 
 as Telang translates it, "incarnation." 
 
 (g) Vydpya iishthasi. " Permeans consistis " (Lassen). The 
 verb sthd (to stand), when joined to an indefinite participle, 
 has generally, as Mr. Thomson has stated, the meaning of 
 persistency or continuance. Cf. yd sthitd vydpya vikoam^ that 
 which perpetually pervades all space (ether) (Sakuntala, L 2). 
 
CHAP. X.] BHAGAVAD GITA. 119 
 
 (A) Kalayatdm. "Of those things that make account or 
 reckoning " (S'ankara). The verb means to number, count, 
 regard, measure. Lassen's version is, "numeros modulan- 
 tium." 
 
 {i) Sargdndm, of emanations. "Naturarum" (Lassen) 
 *'Dans les choses cr^ees" (Burnouf). Every creation is an 
 emanation in Hindu systems of cosmogony. S'ankara says 
 that the term hhutanam (v. 20) applies only to animate beings, 
 but sargdndm to everything. 
 
 (J) Dwandwah sdmdsikasyaf the dwandwa form of com 
 pound words. "Copulatio inter verba composita" (Lassen), 
 as if it implied only the union of words ; but no doubt the 
 Hindu scholiasts are right in regarding it as the particular 
 kind of composite words called dwandwa. 
 
 (k) Vyavasdya. "Perseverantia" (Lassen) ; " conseil " (Bur- 
 nouf); "industry" (Telang). It means efifort and plan or 
 design; hence we may translate it, "Action directed by 
 thought or purpose." S'ridhara explains it as the action of 
 those who toil or make effort. 
 
( I20 ) 
 
 BEADING THE ELEVENTH. 
 
 Aejuna spoke. 
 
 This discourse of the supreme mystery, called Adhyat- 
 man, which thou hast uttered for my welfare, has taken 
 away my delusion. 
 
 For I have heard from thee at large of the birth and 
 death of beings, lotus-eyed ! ^ and of thy eternal great- 
 ness (a). 
 / Even so as thou hast declared thyself to be, supreme 
 I Lord! I desire to see thy sovereign form, greatest of 
 \ beings!^. 
 
 \ If thou judgest that I am able to behold it, Euler I 
 / show to me thy eternal self, Lord of devotion ! 
 
 The Holy One spoke. 
 
 5 See then, O son of Pritha ! my forms, by hundreds and 
 by thousands, various, celestial, diverse in colour and 
 shape. 
 
 See the Adityas,^ Vasus, Eudras, the two A^wins,^ and 
 the Maruts * also. See, son of Bharata ! many marvels 
 never seen before. 
 
 See here the whole universe, whether animate or inani- 
 
 ^ Long and oval eyes are consid- ^ The twin Abwins (Aswinau) are 
 
 ered to be an element of beauty. Yu- the sons of the Sky or Sun ; pro- 
 
 dishthira, the Hindu ideal of manly bably at first personifications of the 
 
 beauty, is called the "lotus-eyed." morning and evening twilight. 
 
 2 The Adityas are twelve Solar * The Maruts are the "storm 
 
 deities, or personifications of the Sun gods," the brothers of Indra ; some- 
 
 for the twelve months of the year, times said to be created by him. 
 For Vasus and Rudras, see p. 113. 
 
CHAP. XI.] BHAGAVAD GITA. 121 
 
 mate, fixed in One in my person (body), Gudakesa! 
 and whatever else thou desirest to see. 
 
 But thou, art not able to look on Me with this eye of 
 thine. I give thee an eye divine. See my sovereign 
 mystic nature ! 
 
 Sanjaya sjpdke. 
 
 Then having spoken thus, King ! Hari,^ the mighty 
 Lord of devotion {yoga), revealed to the son of Pritha his 
 supreme and royal form. 
 10 Having many mouths and eyes, presenting many won- 
 drous aspects, decked with many celestial ornaments, and 
 bearing many celestial weapons : 
 
 Wearing celestial garlands and vestments, anointed with 
 celestial perfumes; that all- wonderful (form), resplendent, 
 boundless, whose face is turned on every side. 
 
 If the light of a thousand suns were to burst forth at 
 once in the sky, that would be like the splendour of that 
 mighty One. 
 
 There the son of Pandu beheld the whole universe 
 seated in One, and divided into many parts in the body 
 of the God of gods. 
 
 Then the conqueror of wealth, filled with amazement, 
 with his hair standing on end, bowing down his head 
 with uplifted hands thus addressed the god. 
 
 Aejuna sjpohe, 
 
 I God ! in thy body I see all the gods. 
 And all the varied hosts of living things, 
 
 ^ A name of Vishnu. "Becom- four faces, effected the creation" 
 
 ing next pervaded with the quality (Vish. Pur. i. 4). He had been pre- 
 
 of passion, that divine being, Hari, viously addressed as Vishnu (Sans, 
 
 assuming the form of Brahma, with T. i. 51). 
 
122 BHAGAVAD GITA. [chap. xr. 
 
 And sovereign Brahma on his lotus-throne,^ 
 
 And all the Kishis and the snakes ^ divine. 
 
 I see thee with unnumbered arms and breasts 
 
 And eyes and faces, infinite in form. 
 
 I see not either source or mean or end 
 
 Of thee, the universal Form and Lord, 
 
 Bearing thy diadem,^ thy club and disc. 
 
 I see thee glowing as a mass of light 
 
 In every region, hard to look upon, 
 
 Bright as the blaze of burning fire and sun. 
 
 On every side, and vast beyond all bound. 
 
 The Undivided thou, the highest point 
 
 Of human thought, and seat (J) supreme of all.* 
 
 Eternal law's undying Guardian thou ; 
 
 The everlasting Cause (c) thou seem'st to me. 
 
 I see not thy beginning, mean, or end ; 
 
 Thy strength, thy arms are infinite alike. 
 
 And unto thee the sun and moon are eyes. 
 
 I see thy face that glows as sacred fire. 
 
 And with its radiance heats the universe ; 
 
 For all the heavenly regions and the space 
 
 'Twixt earth and heaven are filled by Thee alone/ 
 
 When thy mysterious awful form is seen. 
 
 The triple worlds ^ then tremble. Soul supreme ! 
 
 These hosts of Suras ^ come to thee, God ! 
 
 * Brahma is said to have sprung na. The discus is a weapon like a 
 
 from a lotus which expanded from quoit, formerly used in war. Vishnu 
 
 the navel of Iswara (the supreme' bears a club, a discus, a conch-shell, 
 
 Lord), i.e., of Vishnu, according to and a lotus, 
 the Vaishnavas. Hence he is called * See p. 105. 
 Kanja-ja (lotus-bom). See Moor's ^ Heaven, earth, and hell. 
 Hindu Pantheon, p. 7. ^ Gods of an inferior class. In the 
 
 ^ Seep. 115. later mythology, Indra was their 
 
 ^ These are the insignia of Krish- chief. " He and the other Suras 
 
CHAP. XI.] 
 
 BHAGAV4D Gil A. 
 
 12' 
 
 Some mutter in their fear and lift their hands. 
 Great Eishis, Siddhas/ all cry " Hail to thee !" 
 And thee they celebrate with songs sublime (d). 
 Adityas, Eudras, Yasus, Sadhyas ^ too, 
 The Viswas, Aswins, Maruts, Ushmapas,^ 
 Gandharvas, Yakshas, Siddhas, Asuras, 
 In crowds behold thee, and are all amazed. 
 Thy mighty form, with many mouths and eyes, 
 Arms, thighs, and feet, and loins, and fearful tusks, 
 The worlds behold with fear, and I with them. 
 
 were for ever engaged in hostilities 
 with their half-brothers, the demons 
 called Asuras or Daityas, the giants 
 or Titans of Hindu mythology, who 
 were the children of Kasyapa by 
 Diti, as the Suras were by Aditi " 
 (Sakuntala, Mon. Williams, n., p. 
 86). Sridhara says they enter the 
 Supreme as a refuge ; but this is not 
 indicated by the text, for they adore 
 as other deities. 
 
 ^ Deified mortals learned in the 
 Vedas, said to be 88,ocx) in number 
 and to OQCupy that part of the hea- 
 vens which lies between Nagavithi 
 (Aries and Taurus)' and Saptarshi 
 (Ursa Major). They are mentioned 
 in the Ramayana (i. 14). "The 
 gods, with the Gandharvas, Siddhas, 
 and Munis, had previously come 
 thither to receive their portions (of 
 the sacrifice). Brahma, lord of the 
 deities, Sthanu (Mahadeva), the lord 
 Narayana (Vishnu), and the divine 
 Indra in visible presence, surrounded 
 by the host of Maruts" (Sans. T. 
 iv. 16). 
 
 ^ The Sadhyas were an order of 
 inferior gods mentioned in the Rig- 
 Veda, X. 90, 16 : "They (the gods) 
 come with great pomp to the sky. 
 
 where are the ancient Sadhyas, 
 gods." Sayana calls them karma- 
 devds, work-gods, and " performers 
 of sacrifices," &c., explained by Prof. 
 Wilson to mean divinities presiding 
 over or giving effect to religious 
 acts. Mahidhara on Vaj. S. (31, 17) 
 gives a different explanation. He 
 says that there are two kinds of gods : 
 karma-devds, who have attained to 
 this state by their works, and djdna- 
 devds, gods by birth, who were 
 created by Brahma. See Mr. Muir, 
 On the Interp. of the Veda, R,.A.S., 
 1866, p. 394. In the Institutes of 
 Manu (iii. 195^ they are said to be 
 the descendants of the Somasads, 
 who sprang from Viraj. They are 
 classed between the Viswadevas and 
 the Rishis (xi. 29). In the Hari- 
 van^a they are spoken of as wor- 
 shippers of the gods. " For the 
 completion of sacrifice, he (Brahma) 
 formed the Rich, Yajush, and Saman 
 verses ; with these the Sadhyas wor- 
 shipped the gods, as we have heard." 
 In the Puranas they are the sons of 
 Dharma and Sadhya, daughter of 
 Daksha. , 
 
 * A class of Manes, or the spirits 
 of ancient fathers {Pitris). 
 
124 BIIAGAVAD GITA, [chap. xi. 
 
 I see thee touch the skies, and brightly shine 
 
 With varied hues. I see thy open mouth, 
 
 Thy vast and glittering eyes ; and now my soul, 
 
 My inmost soul is troubled, and I lose 
 
 My courage, Vishnu ! and my peace of mind. 
 
 When I behold thy teeth outspread, and mouths 
 
 Eesembling (in their flames) Time's final fire,^ 
 
 I know not aught around and have no joy. 
 
 Have mercy. Lord of gods ! the world's great Seat ! 
 
 The sons of Dricarashtra and the host 
 
 Of earth's great rulers, Bhishma, Drona too, 
 
 And Karna,2 with the flower of all our host, 
 
 Enter in haste thy fearful large-toothed mouths, 
 
 And some are seen to rest, with heads all crushed, 
 
 Within the gaps that lie between thy teeth.^ 
 
 As many streams in rapid torrents flow 
 
 Direct to ocean, so these chiefs of men 
 
 Enter in haste within thy flaming mouths. 
 
 As moths towards a lighted taper rush. 
 
 With still-increasing speed, to perish there, 
 
 So come these multitudes within thy mouths, 
 
 With still-increasing speed, to perish there. 
 
 Devouring all mankind from every side, 
 
 Thou lappest them with thy flame-bearing lips. 
 
 Thou fillest all the universe with light. 
 
 And fiercely, Vishnu ! burn thy fiery rays. 
 
 ^ The world, at the end of a Iccdpa, Surya, the Sun, before her marriage 
 
 is destroyed by fire which the ser- with Pandu. His foster-father was 
 
 pent Ananta casts from his mouth. Nandana, the Suta of Dhritarashtra ; 
 
 2 Lit. the son of a Suta (chario- hence he was assumed to be the son 
 
 teer). Kama is meant, a king of of a Sida. 
 
 the Anga country (Bengal), He ^ This is spoken in anticipation 
 
 was fabled, to be a son of Pritha by of their approaching death in battle. 
 
CHAP. XI.] BHAGAVAD CITA. 125 
 
 Then tell me who thou art, with form so dire. 
 To thee I bow. Be gracious, God supreme ! 
 I ask to know thy primal life, for this. 
 Thy form evolved (e), I cannot understand. 
 
 The Holy One spoke. 
 Lo ! I am old and world-destroying Time (/), 
 Here manifest to slay the race of m'en. 
 Of all these warriors, formed in hostile ranks, 
 Except thyself, there shall not one survive. 
 Wherefore, arise ! gain glory for thyself. 
 Subdue thy foes and gain an ample sway ! 
 My arm already hath destroyed them all. 
 Be but my instrument, left-handed one ! 
 Strike thou at Bhishma, Drona, Karna too, 
 At Jayadratha,^ and the warriors all, 
 For they are slain by Me. Be not dismayed, 
 right ! thou shalt conquer in the field thy foes. 
 
 Saxjaya spoke. 
 
 3 5 Having heard these words of Ke^ava,^ he who bears a 
 tiara,^ lifting up his hands, making salutations and trem- 
 bling, again spoke thus to Krishna, bowing down and 
 stammering, overwhelmed with fear. 
 
 Aejuna spoke. 
 
 The world, Krishna ! justly hath delight 
 In thy great glory and obeys thy law. 
 
 ^ King of the Sindhavas, who a desperate conflict, after the fall of 
 dwelt in the country of the Indus. Bhishma. 
 
 He was finally killed by Arjuna in ^ The hairy one, i.e., Krishna. 
 
 * Arjuna. 
 
126 BHAGAVAD GITA. [chap. xi. 
 
 The Eakshas flee on every side through fear. 
 And troops of Siddhas all bow down to thee. 
 Why should they not adore thee, Soul supreme ? 
 More reverend e'en than Brahma,^ primal Cause, 
 infinite Lord of Gods ! the world's abode,^ 
 Thou undivided art, and life in forms 
 And formless life thou art {g), o'er all supreme. 
 Thou art the First of gods, the ancient Sire, 
 The treasure-house supreme of all the worlds. 
 The Knowing and the Known, the highest seat. 
 From thee the All has sprung, boundless Form ! 
 Varuna, Vayu, Agin, Yama thou,^ 
 The Moon ; the Sire (A), and Grandsire too of men. 
 All hail to thee, a thousand times all hail ! 
 Again and yet again, all hail to thee ! 
 AH hail to thee before, all hail behind ; 
 All hail on every side, mighty All ! 
 The Infinite in power, of boundless force. 
 The All thou dost embrace ; then thou art AU. 
 If thinking thee my friend, I cried aloud, 
 
 Yadava ! ^ Krishna ! or Friend ! 
 Not knowing this thy wondrous majesty, 
 From carelessness, or even in my love ; 
 
 • If I dishonoured thee at times in mirth, 
 When sporting, lying, sitting, or at meals, 
 Alone, Holy One I or with an host, 
 
 1 pray thee pardon it. Eternal Lord ! 
 Father of all this fixed and moving world, 
 
 ^ Brahma proceeded from the and the judge of the lower regions 
 
 Supreme Bramhti, whom Krishna respectively, 
 
 represents. ^ So called because in his human 
 
 2 Because all things dwell in him. nature he belonged to the tribe of 
 
 ^ The gods of ocean, air, and fire, Yadu. 
 
CHAP. XL] BHAGAVAD GITA. 127 
 
 Of weightier honour than the Guru {%) bears,^ 
 
 None is thine equal. Who in all the worlds 
 
 Surpasses thee, thou of boundless power ? 
 
 Wherefore, saluting thee and bending low, 
 
 I ask thy grace, Lord, whose praise is meet. 
 
 Be gracious then, God ! as sire to son. 
 
 As friend to friend, as lover to the loved. 
 
 This marvel having seen, ne'er seen before. 
 
 My heart rejoiees, yet is moved by fear. 
 
 Show me that other form alone, God ! 
 
 Be gracious. Lord of gods ! the world's great seat ! 
 
 I would behold thee, as of old, arrayed 
 
 With diadem and club, and disk in hand. 
 
 Take to thyself again thy four-armed form, 
 
 Thou of the thousand arms and endless forms ! 
 
 The Holy One s-polze. 
 
 By favour, through my mystic form divine (/), 
 Arjuna ! thou my form supreme hast seen, 
 Eesplendent, universal, infinite. 
 Primeval, seen before by none but thee. 
 Yet not by Vedas, nor by sacrifice, 
 By study,2 alms, good works, or rites austere, 
 Can this my form be seen by mortal man, 
 Prince of Kurus ! but by thee alone. 
 
 ^ A spiritual teacher, extrava- ^ gankara and Sridhara connect 
 gantly honoured. " By reverencing adhyayana (reading or study) with 
 his mother, one gains this world ; by the words "Veda and sacrifice, ex- 
 reverencing his father, the interme- plaining the passage as if the study 
 diate world; and by constant atten- of these things was here meant, and 
 tion to his guru, the world of also not a right study of them, [My 
 Brahma " (Manu ii. 233). The copy of Sridhara's Commentary has 
 world of Brahma is the highest atirekena; Telang has vyatirekenal 
 heaven. 
 
128 BHAGAVAD GItA. [chap. xi. 
 
 Be not afraid or in thy mind distressed 
 From having seen this awful form of mine, 
 But, freed from fear and with a joyful heart, 
 See now that other form of mine again. 
 
 Sanjaya sipoke. 
 
 50 Yasudeva, having thus addressed Arjuna, caused his 
 proper form to appear again, and the great Spirit, becom- 
 ing once more of a gentle form, consoled him that had 
 been affrighted. 
 
 Arjuna s:p6ke. 
 
 Having seen this thy gentle human form, destroyer 
 of foes ! I have now become composed in mind and have 
 returned to (my proper) nature. 
 
 The Holy One sjgdke. 
 
 This form of me that thou hast seen is one hard to see. 
 Even the gods constantly desire to see this form. 
 
 Not by Vedas, nor by austerities, nor by gifts, nor by 
 sacrifice, can I be seen as thou hast seen me now. 
 
 But by exclusive worship may I thus be known and 
 seen in truth and be obtained (entered), slayer of foes ! 
 55 He who does everything for Me, whose supreme object 
 I am, who worships Me, being free from attachment and 
 without hatred to any creature, this man, Arjuna ! comes 
 to Me. 
 
 Thus the Bhagavad Gita, Reading the Eleventh, whose 
 title is 
 
 " The IMaxifestation of the Univeesal Foem." 
 
CHAP. XL] BHAGAVAD GItA. 129 
 
 PHILOLOGICAL NOTES. 
 
 (a) Mdhdtmyam. " Magnanimitas " (Lassen and Burnouf); 
 *' greatness " (Thomson) ; "majestat" (Lorinser). The refe- 
 rence is certainly to the instances of greatness or excellence 
 in the preceding chapter. 
 
 (6) Nidhana, treasure or treasury. S'ankara explains it by 
 paramdsraya^ chief asylum or receptacle. 
 
 (c) Purusha, literally the Male, as the divine generator 
 of all. 
 
 {<!) Pushkaldhhlh, *'Hymnis perpulcris" (Lassen). S'ankara 
 explains the word as meaning complete, full (sampurna). The 
 word means complete, but also great, excellent, distinguished. 
 Burnouf has " dans de sublimes cantiques." 
 
 (e) Pravrittim, lit. going forth, either in action or being. 
 Lassen's translation is *' Hand presagio equidem quidnam 
 pares." Telang's, " Thy deeds I understand not." S'ridhara 
 and S'ankara interpret it by ceshta, movement, action. I think 
 it means here the developed being by which the god was 
 made manifest. 
 
 (/) Kdla, time, and sometimes death. Lassen and Burnouf 
 accept the former, and Thomson the latter meaning. In the 
 Atharva-Veda, Kdla is accounted a god, and hymns are 
 addressed to it. In the Vishnu Purana (v. 6), Time is a por- 
 tion of Hari (Vishnu). " Afterwards that which is described 
 as the part of Hari, which has the nature of Time, infused 
 into those beings direful sin " (Sans. T. i. 62). Ananda 
 seems to accept the meaning, " death," for he says that the 
 meaning is, '' I am Kdla^ because I destroy the lives of all." 
 S'ridhara has a similar explanation. 
 
 {g) Sadasat tat param yat. "Enti et non-enti quod subest" 
 
I30 BHAGAVAD GIT A, [chap. xi. 
 
 (Lassen) ; " The existing and non-existing, that which is 
 
 supreme " (Thomson). Telang has 
 
 " That which is, 
 That which is not, and that which lies beyond.** 
 
 By mi rs meant formal existence ; by asat, unformed primal 
 existence. See Sankhya Karika, p. 135. S'ridhara says that 
 sat is the Manifested (Developed) life ; asat^ the Unmanifested 
 {Tralcriti). 
 
 {h) Prajd;pati. "Animantium sator" (Lassen). The word is 
 often used to denote Brahma as Creator. " This universe 
 was formerly water. On it Prajapati, becoming wind, moved. 
 . . . He created gods, Vasus, Eudras, and Adityas" (Taitt. 
 Sanh. vii. i, 5; Sans. T. i. 52). Cf, Gen. i. 2. Ananda 
 explains it by *' the great father of all the world." 
 
 {i) Gurorgurlydn. The Calcutta ed., the text of Madhu- 
 sudana, and (I may add) three MSS. in my possession, read 
 gurur. The translation will then be, " Thou art the vene- 
 rable and very weighty Guru (religious teacher) of this 
 (world)." Mr. Thomson would connect asya with guros, and 
 translate, *' than that Guru himself," meaning Brahma ; but 
 the comp. form requires an ablative after it ; asmdt, not asya. 
 In my copy of S'ridhara's Commentary the reading i^.guro?^ 
 but in the text gurnr. The explanation is gurutaraj^THOXQ 
 venerable. He adds, *' Thus there is no other in the three 
 worlds who is equal to thee in greatness." In th^ Bhagavata 
 ^ Puraim, the guru is said to be the same as deity. (See Eel. 
 JSectsdf the Hindus, p. 63.) « ^ 
 
 {j) Atmayogdt, by my mystic virtue. See c. vii. 25, supra. 
 Dr. Lorinser would retain the meaning "union," referring 
 to Krishna's union with men by his incarnation. 
 
( 131 ) 
 
 READING THE TWELFTH. 
 
 Arjuna s;pohe. 
 
 Of those who, ever devoutly worshipping, do thee 
 service,^ and those who serve the Imperishable and the 
 Umanifested, which of these (classes) is best acquainted 
 with Yoga ? 
 
 The Holy One spoke. 
 
 They who have stayed their hearts on Me, and do Me 
 service with a constant devotion, being endowed with 
 perfect faith, these I deem to be the most devout {yukta- 
 tamds). 
 
 But they who serve the Imperishable, Unseen, Un- 
 manifested One, All-pervading and Incomprehensible, 
 who dwelleth on high (a), the Immutable and Eternal ; 
 
 Who, subduing all the senses, are equal-minded to all 
 around and rejoice in the good of all, these attain to Me. 
 5 The trouble of those whose minds are fixed on the Un- 
 manifested is the greater, because the unseen path^ is 
 hard to be gained by those who are embodied (h) ; 
 
 ^ Those who worship Brahma, glosses the word " Imperishable " 
 
 manifested in some material form, by Brahma. 
 
 as Krishna, or those who worship ^ T^e way to the Invisible or 
 
 him in his higher spiritual nature. Unmanifested Brahma. Telang 
 
 In the first form he is vyakta, mani- translates gati (way) by " goal." 1 1 
 
 fested ; in the other, avyakta, un- sometimes means place or seat, 
 
 manifested. The spiritual worship Sridhara's gloss is nishtha, place or 
 
 is the higher, but it is too diflScult condition, 
 for the mass of mankind. Sridhara 
 
132 BHAGAVAD GITA. [chap. xir. 
 
 But they who renounce all works in Me, whose chief 
 object I am, who, meditating on Me, serve with an ex- 
 clusive devotion ; 
 
 These I raise from the ocean of this mortal world without 
 delay, son of Pritha ! their minds being stayed on Me. 
 Fix thy heart (manas) on Me alone; let thy mind (huddhi) 
 be stayed on Me ; then hereafter thou shalt dwell in Me 
 on high : of that there is no doubt. 
 
 But if thou art not able to fix thy thoughts constantly 
 
 on Me, then by frequent ^devotion seek to gain Me, 
 
 subduer of wealth ! 
 
 lo If thou art not equal to frequency (of devotion), be thou 
 
 intent on doing works for Me (c) ; if thou doest works for 
 
 / Me alone, thou shalt attain the perfect state. 
 
 If this also thou art not able to do, then, having found 
 refuge with Me in devotion, renounce thus the fruit of 
 \ works with soul subdued ; 
 
 \ For knowledge is better than diligence, meditation is 
 / better than knowledge, and renouncing of the fruit of works 
 ' than meditation; to renunciation peace is very nigh(c?). 
 He who hates no single being, is friendly and com- 
 passionate, free from self-regard and vanity, the same in 
 good and evil, patient ; 
 
 Contented, ever devout, subdued in soul, firm in pur- 
 pose, fixed on Me in heart and mind, and who worships 
 Me, is dear to Me. 
 5 He whom the world troubles not, and who troubles not 
 the world, who is free from the emotions of joy, wrath, and 
 fear, is dear to Me. 
 
 The man who has no selfish bias (e), is pure, upright, 
 unconcerned, free from distress of mind, who renounces 
 every enterprise (/) and worships Me, is dear to Me. 
 
CHAP. XII.] BHAGAVAD GITA. 133 
 
 He who has neither delight nor aversion, who neither 
 mourns nor desires, who renounces good and evil fortune, 
 and worships Me, is dear to Me. 
 
 He who is the same to friend and foe, and also in 
 honour and dishonour, who is the same in cold and heat, 
 pleasure and pain, who is wholly free from attachment ; 
 
 To whom praise and blame are equal, who is silent, 
 content with every fortune, home-renouncing,^ steadfast in 
 mind, and worships Me, that man is dear to Me. 
 20 But they who sit at (the banquet of) that sacred nec- 
 tar (^), which has been described before, endowed with 
 faith, making Me their highest aim and worshipping (Me), 
 these are the most dear to Me.^ 
 
 ^ Abandoning home to devote - The amrita or nectar of the gods 
 himself to the life of a recluse. Tliis is mentioned by Arjuna (c. x. iS), 
 is enjoined in Manu, especially in Mr. Thomson thinks there is a re- 
 old age. " Departing from his house ference to a knowledge of Brahma 
 . . . keeping silence, not regarding in his various manifestations. The 
 the objects of desire that are brought reference seems to be rather to those 
 into contact with him, let the muni more spiritual worshippers who were 
 live as an ascetic" (vi. 41). Minute intent, by meditation, upon the Su- 
 directions are given for his future preme as a pure spirit. See dist. 
 conduct (43-82). 2-5 in this chapter. 
 
 Thus the Bhagavad Gita, Beading the Twelfth, whose 
 title is 
 
 " The Devotion of Worship." 
 
134 BHAGAVAD GItA. [chap, xii- 
 
 PHILOLOGICAL NOTES. 
 
 {a) Kutastham, raised on high, sublime ; see p. 83 supra. 
 S'ridhara says that by kuta is meant his development in the 
 illusive material worid {mdyd). 
 
 (h) Deliavadhhis, by those who possess bodies. The body, 
 in Hindu opinion, is never a help to the soul, except as a 
 means of deliverance from matter. 
 
 (c) Matkarmaparamo bhava. *' Mihi gratis operibus intentus 
 esto " (Lassen) ; " Be intent on the performance of actions for 
 me " (Thomson). The reference is not to the kind of work, 
 but the purpose or intention with which it is done. S'ridhara's 
 gloss is, ''Works done from love to Me.". S'ankara says, 
 "For my sake." 
 
 {d) Tj/dgdch chhdntir anantaram. "A renuntiatione tran- 
 quillitas proxime distat" (Lassen). Sdnti seems to mean 
 liere, as Mr. Thomson suggests, final repose in nirvana. 
 Biirnouf translates it by "beatitude." S'ridhara's gloss is, 
 " By my favour there is immediately a rest from, or cessation 
 of, worldly or earthly existence" {sansdrdsdiiti), implying a 
 cessation of birth by nirvdna. 
 
 (e) Anapekska, lit. "he who looks not about." "Nulla ex- 
 pectatione suspensus" (Lassen); "He who has no worldly 
 expectations " (Thomson) ; " L'homme sans arrifere pens^e " 
 (Burnouf). It is the man who has no other than a true, 
 direct purpose. "Unworldly" seems the nearest English 
 equivalent. Ananda says it means " free from all desire," 
 and S'ridhara has the same explanation. Telang translates it 
 " unconcerned." The corresponding Pali word, anapekJd, has 
 this meaning. S'ankara says " one who has no regard for 
 objects of sense." 
 
 (f) Sarvardmhhaparityagi. "Omnibus inceptis qui renun- 
 tiavit " (Lassen). This is hardly definite enough. Arambha 
 
CHAP. XII.] BHAGAVAD GITA. 135 
 
 means effort, enterprise ; and the character here denoted is 
 the man who rejects all enterprise, because it is opposed to 
 that absolute repose which is the Hindu ideal of excellence. 
 Mr. Thomson has mistaken the meaning of the passage. He 
 translates the word by " free from any interest in his under- 
 takincs." It is the undertakin^-s themselves that he renounces. 
 S'ridhara's gloss is "to renounce active labour" {udyama), 
 Telang's translation is *' who doth renounce all acts for fruit ; " 
 but there is no limit in the text. 
 
 {g) Dharmydmritam. Ainrita, the immortal, corresponds to 
 the ambrosia of the Greeks. In the later Hindu mythology 
 it denoted chiefly the water of immortality which the gods 
 gained by the churning of the ocean; but it was used to 
 express things offered in sacrifice, chiefly the soma. Here it 
 is used to denote the blessedness of a mental union with 
 Brahma, by which at length nirvana is gained. 
 
( 136 ) 
 
 EEADING THE THIETEENTH.i 
 
 The Holy One spoke. 
 
 These (a) bodies, son of KuntI ! are called hshetra 
 (matter) (&). That which knows it is called by the wise 
 kshetrajna (matter-knowing = Soul). 
 
 Know that I am the soul (kshetrajna) in all forms of 
 /inatter, son of Bharata ! This knowledge of soul and 
 \ matter I deem to be knowledge (indeed). 
 
 "What this matter is, what its qualities, what are its 
 changes and whence it comes, and what that is (soul) and 
 what its greatness (c), hear now briefly from Me. 
 
 All this has been sung separately,^ in many ways by 
 Eishis, in various songs (d), and in well-thought-out verses 
 of Brahma-sutras (e), that treat of the causes (of things). 
 5 The gross elements, egoism, intellect, and also the un- 
 manifested (Prakriti or Nature), the ten senses, the one 
 (organ, the maiias), and the five objects (or domains) of sense; 
 
 Desire, hatred, pleasure, pain, collective form (organised 
 body), thought, resolve,^ these are briefly described as 
 matter in its modified forms. 
 
 ^ Here the third part of the poem ^ The Hindu commentators ex- 
 begins, treating, in part, of the phy- plain this word {pritak) as " vari- 
 sical theory of the Sankhya system, onsly," referring it to Brahma in his 
 This part of Kapila's teaching has various forms as Vishnu, &c. 
 largely affected the whole course of ^ Because they belong to the 
 Hindu thought or speculation on huddhi and manas of man's com- 
 physical matters, even in schools pound nature, and these are only 
 widely differing from his on other subtle forms of matter, 
 subjects. 
 
CHAP. XIII.] BHAGA VAD GITA. 137 
 
 Modesty, sincerity, innocence, patience, uprightness, 
 service done to a preceptor, purity, constancy, self-control; 
 
 Absence of desire for things of sense and of vanity, per- 
 ception of the evil of birth, death, old age, sickness, and 
 pain ; 
 
 Freedom from attachment, absence of affection for son, 
 wife, home, and the rest, and constant equanimity in desired 
 and undesired events ; 
 10 With constant worship of Me in exclusive devotion, 
 frequenting of lonely places and distaste for the society 
 of men ; 
 
 Perseverance in (seeking to gain) the knowledge of the 
 Supreme Spirit (Adhyatman),^ and perception of the gain 
 that comes from knowledge of the truth : this is called 
 knowledge : all that is contrary to this is ignorance. 
 
 1 will declare that which must be known, by the know- 
 ledge of which immortality is gained; the Supreme 
 Brahma, without beginning, who is called neither sat nor 
 asat ; ^ 
 
 Whose hands and feet are everywhere, everywhere his 
 eyes and heads and faces ; hearing everywhere, he dwells 
 in the world encompassing all things. 
 
 Eesplendent in the faculties of all the senses, yet devoid 
 
 ^ See c. viii. i, supra. that which is not perceived by the 
 
 2 Neither sat, thing, reality, but senses. The earlier philosophic 
 here formal being, in opposition to meanings of sat and asat were lost 
 asat, unformed, primal matter. San- in course of time, but the true sense 
 kara, quoted by Telang, gives another was manifest to some who were com- 
 explanation. He says that these paratively modern commentators, 
 words indicate a class, a quality, an Raghavendra says that sat means 
 action, or a relation, but as none the Vyakta (Manifested) produced 
 of these is possible in the case of as an effect, and asat is the Avyakta 
 Brahma, neither word can be applied (Unmanifested), which is the cause 
 to him. Srldhara explains sat by of it, i.e., Prakriti (Telang). 
 lishaya, object of sense, asat being 
 
138 BHAGAVAD GITA. [chap. xiir. 
 
 of all the senses ; ^ unattached (/) and yet sustaining all 
 things; without the modes (of Nature) (^), yet the pos- 
 sessor (enjoyer) of the modes.^ 
 r 5 He is without and within all beings ; motionless and 
 yet moving; not discerned because of his subtlety; near 
 and yet remote ; 
 
 Not distributed in beings, yet constantly distributed in 
 them ; he is to be known as the sustainer of all ; he de- 
 vours ^ and he creates. 
 
 The light of all things luminous, he is declared to be 
 above (all) darkness. He is knowledge, its object, and its 
 end Qi), seated in the hearts of all. 
 
 Thus matter, knowledge, and that which must be 
 known, have been briefly set forth. He who worships 
 ]\Ie and discerns this (Supreme Spirit) is fitted to become 
 one with Me (i). 
 
 Know that Nature and Spirit are both without begin- 
 ning. Know, too, that variations (of material forms) and 
 the modes (y) spring from Nature. 
 20 In the activity of the organs of action {h) Nature * is 
 called the cause: in the sensation of pleasure and pain 
 spirit is called the cause. 
 
 Por spirit seated in Nature possesses (makes use of) the 
 modes that spring from Nature and the connection of this 
 with modes is the cause of birth in good or evil wombs.^ 
 
 1 Possessing all that the senses ' At the end of a Tcail'pa or day of 
 
 can give, as seeing, &c., but without Brahma (see c. viii. i6), all existent 
 
 any bodily conditions. things are absorbed in Prakriti, and 
 
 - From the dual nature of Brahma, are sent forth again into actual for- 
 
 who, as involving Prakriti in his mal life at the beginning of another 
 
 lower nature, possesses the modes kalpa, by the command of BrahmJl. 
 
 or constituent elements of the latter, * Prakriti or primordial matter, 
 
 but in his higher spiritual nature, ^ The action of the modes causes 
 
 which is truly himself, he has no a new birth and is never absolutely 
 
 connection with any form of matter, good. The sumrtium bonum or ab- 
 
CHAP. XIII.] BHAGAVAD CIjA. 159 
 
 Surveyor, director, supporter, possessor (/), the mighty 
 
 Lord, thus is the Supreme Spirit called; the supreme 
 
 1 jpicrusJia (male creative power) in this body.^ 
 
 I \ He who knows this creative power {purusJia) and 
 
 f ) Nature with its modes, in whatever state he may be, is 
 
 '' / never born again. 
 
 Some by meditation perceive the soul in themselves by 
 themselves, others by devotion (yoga) in the Sankhya^ 
 (system), and others by devotion in works ; 
 25 But others, who know it not, hear of it from others and 
 worship, and these, too, devoted to the sacred doctrine, 
 pass over death. 
 
 •/ When any existence whatever, animate or inanimate, is 
 Woduced, know, son of Bharata ! that it exists by this 
 Ainion of matter and spirit. 
 
 He who sees the Supreme Lord dwelling alike in 
 all beings, the Imperishable in things that perish, sees 
 indeed; 
 
 V For seeing the Lord as the same, everywhere present, 
 he destroys not himself by himself, and thus he goes to 
 the supreme seat. 
 
 ' But he who sees that works are wrought in every case 
 by Nature {Prahriti), and that therefore the soul is not an 
 agent, sees indeed. 
 30 When he sees that the separate natures of things are 
 seated in One and issue from it alone, then he attains to 
 Brahma. 
 
 sorption into Brahma can only be ship, cannot properly be applied to 
 
 gained by an absolute freedom from the system of Kapila, for by it know- 
 
 the influence of the modes by the ledge, i.e., the knowledge of philo- 
 
 practice of devout meditation. sophy, was set far above the ritual 
 
 1 In the person of Krishna, who of the Vedas, and above all religious 
 
 is identified with Brahma. .practices. 
 
 - The term yoga, devotion or wor- 
 
I40 BHAGAVAD GITA. [chap. xiil. 
 
 This eternal Supreme Spirit, without heginning, devoid 
 of modes, works not and is not stained, son of Kunti ! 
 even when it is embodied. 
 
 As the ether that pervades all things is not stained 
 through its subtlety, so the soul everywhere seated in 
 bodies (w) is not stained. 
 
 As one sun alone illumines all this world, so the soul 
 illumines the whole of matter, son of Bharata ! 
 
 They who see, by the eye of knowledge, this difference 
 between matter (kshetra) and spirit (kshetrajna, matter- 
 knowing), and the deliverance of beings from Nature^ 
 {PraJcriti), these go to the Supreme. 
 
 ^ By the soul becoming free from all contact with matter in niridna. 
 
 Thus the Bhagavad Gita, Reading the Thirteenth, whose 
 title is 
 
 " Devotion by the Separation of Matter and Spirit." 
 
CHAP. XIII.] BHAGAVAD CItA. %/^i 
 
 PHILOLOaiCAL NOTES. 
 
 (a) In MS. (D) in the Eoyal Library at Paris, in two MSS. 
 of London, in the Calcutta ed. of the Mahabharata, and in 
 three MSS. in my possession, the following distich is found 
 at the beginning of the chapter. It is probably of late intro- 
 duction : — 
 
 " Arjuna spoke. I desire to learn Nature and spirit-life 
 (piirusha), matter and the matter-knowing (soul), science and 
 its objects, O Kesava ! " 
 
 (b) Kshetra, prim, a plain, a field; and hence matter, as 
 that which is objective to the soul. 
 
 {c) Frabhdva. " Its incomprehensible sovereignty " (S'rid- 
 hara). " Qualium capax " (Lassen and others). Primarily 
 *' birth," its secondary meanings are good family, high rank, 
 power, authority. 
 
 {d) Ghhandohhis. Chhandas is either metre or a chanted 
 hymn. " Haud dubie," says Lassen, *' indicatur pars qusedam 
 Vedorum." S'lidhara says, " By Vasishtha (a Vedic poet) and 
 the rest." '' By the Rig-Veda and the other Yedas " (Ananda). 
 So say the Hindu scholiasts. This is possible, for our author 
 does not discard the Vedas, though their ritual he held to be 
 inferior in effect to pious meditation {yoga). 
 
 {e) Brahmasutrapadais. Pada (foot) is here = metre or verse. 
 The sutras (threads) are the poetical distichs in which many 
 of the Hindu philosophic works are composed. There is a 
 work by Badarayana called " Brahma-sutras," but the refer- 
 ence is probably to any hymns in honour of Brahma. S'an- 
 kara says they were siitras for the making known of Brahma* 
 
 (/) Asahtam, " unattached ; " see p. 55. " Afi'ectu immune " 
 (Lassen). 
 
 {g) Gunahhohtri. " Qualitatibus fruens" (Lassen); "II 
 perfoit tons les modes" (Burnouf). The root hhuj^ to eat, 
 
142 • BHAGAVAD GiTA. [chap. xiii. 
 
 means also to possess, to enjoy. The meaning is that 
 Brahma can use the modes of Prakriti, though they are not 
 in him. 
 
 (A) Jhdiiam, jfieyam^ jTidnagamyam. Burnouf has, I 
 think, correctly translated these words : " Science, objet de 
 la science, but de la science." Mr. Thomson's translation is : 
 "It is spiritual knowledge itself, the object of that knowledge 
 to be obtained by spiritual knowledge," and, thinking the 
 first part expresses a very forced idea, would read jndnaj- 
 neyam. But all the MSS. read jndnam. The aim of all true 
 knowledge is absorption into the Divine nature, according to 
 Patanjali. 
 
 (^) Upapadyate. " Is conformed to my nature " (Thomson). 
 Lassen and Burnouf, more correctly, ** Comes to my nature," 
 i.e., is absorbed in it. S'ridhara's explanation is, " He is fit 
 for union with Brahma." 
 
 {J) Vilcdrdns cha gundns cha. " Passions and the (three) 
 qualities" (Thomson); but all passion is from the qualities 
 or modes. The meaning is that all the varieties of existent 
 things and the modes, too, from which they spring, are from 
 Prakriti (Nature). S'ridhara's gloss is : " Changes or modifi- 
 cations (parindma) of the modes, pleasure, pain, &c., which 
 spring from Prakriti." Telang translates vikara by " emana- 
 tion ; " but this is not the meaning of the word. 
 
 {k) Kdryahdraiiahartritwe. Burnouf has kdya (body), but all 
 the MSS., I believe, have hdrya (effect, or thing to be done). 
 The Hindu scholiasts and Lassen refer, however, the word to 
 the body : " In actione ministerii corporalis." The meaning 
 seems to be : " In the activity or actual working of means 
 and end (cause and effect), Nature is called the cause ; " both 
 means and end being material. (See Lassen's note, p. 232.) 
 
 {I) Bhoktd. "Perceptor" (Lassen) ; "enjoyer" (Thomson). 
 Brahma is a usufruct of material things by offerings, &c. 
 S'ridhara explains the word by pdlaka (guardian). 
 
CHAP. XIII.] BHAGAVAD GITA. 143 
 
 {m) Sarvatrdvasthito dehe. " Ubicunque cum corpore con- 
 gressus (spiritus) " (Lassen) ; " Present in every (kind of) 
 body " (Thomson). Dr. Lorinser thinks the meaning is that 
 the soul is in every part of the body, but the reference is to 
 soul in the abstract, as everywhere enclosed in bodies. S'rid- 
 hara says that the soul everywhere placed is not soiled ; it is 
 not connected with the bodily faults of the modes (guna). The 
 soul then has no guilt or pollution of sin upon it. 
 
( 144 ) 
 
 BEADIXa THE FOURTEENTH. 
 
 The Holy One spoke. 
 
 Now I will further declare that sublime science, the 
 chief of the sciences, by which all the munis have passed 
 from this world to the highest perfection {nirvana). 
 
 Having devoted themselves to this science, and having 
 entered into my nature, they are not born again even in a 
 new creation, and in the dissolution (of the world) they 
 are not disturbed ^ (a). 
 
 The mighty Brahma is my womb ; therein I place the 
 living germ,2 and from this comes the birth of all things 
 that exist, son of Bharata ! 
 
 1 When a Jcalpa begins and ends ; 
 see c. viii. They are born no more 
 tinder any circumstances, 
 
 2 There is a diflSculty here. Brah- 
 mS,, the One Universal Spirit, is said 
 to be the fertilising womb in which 
 all things are formed. Mr. Thom- 
 son's explanation is that " as Brah- 
 ma [Brahmii as Creator] is the mytho- 
 logical personification of a Vedic or 
 semi-mythological Supreme Being, 
 so is BrahmS, here the philosophical 
 type of the creative principle of the 
 philosophical Supreme Being." But 
 the only philosophy we have to con- 
 sider here is the Hindu philosophy, 
 and Brahma is not, in any Hindu 
 sj'stem, the direct source of material 
 forms. The true explanation seems 
 to be that Krishna, as the repre- 
 
 sentative of Vishnu or Brahma, is 
 the material source of created things, 
 as containing Prakriti or Nature, of 
 which they are the development, 
 and Brahma is the animating, vivi- 
 fying power. Krishna then may be 
 considered as the material, and Brah- 
 mS, the efi&cient, cause of creation. 
 Humboldt offers nearly the same 
 explanation : " Krishna is the same 
 as Brahma, is the highest Brahmi 
 himself. But we must not reverse 
 the proposition, and herein lies the 
 difference. Brahma is the divine 
 original power (w^ra/i), but reposing 
 in his eternity ; as God, here Krishna, 
 the divine personality {personlich- 
 l-eit), comes forth" (Essay on the 
 B. G,, p. 2i). As Brahma, Krishna 
 gives the material germ {garbka) 
 
CHAP. XIV.] 
 
 BHAGAVAD GItA. 
 
 145 
 
 In whatever wombs mortals are born, son of KuntI ! 
 Brahma is their mighty womb, and I the seed-giving Sire. 
 5 " Goodness," " Passion," and " Darkness ; " thus are 
 named the modes ^ {gitnas) which spring from ISTature 
 (Prakriti), and bind down the eternal, embodied (soul) in 
 the body,2 large-armed one ! 
 
 Of these, '' goodness," being lustrous and pure from its 
 unsullied nature, binds (the soul), sinless one ! by the 
 attachment (bond) of happiness and of knowledge. 
 
 Know that " passion," having the nature of desire, and 
 '^ being the source of attachment and craving, binds the 
 embodied (soul), son of Kunti ! by the attachment of 
 work. 
 
 But know that " darkness," born of ignorance, whicli 
 bewilders all embodied (souls), binds them, son of 
 Bharata ! by stupidity, idleness, and sleep. 
 
 which is vitalised by the spiritual 
 BrahmS, the animating principle 
 jlvdtman). (Cf. c. xv. 12-17.) In 
 the Vishnu Purana the Brahma is 
 spoken of as the material cause of 
 all things, and is addressed by the 
 goddess Earth as Vishnu [i.e., Krish- 
 na]. In the Institutes of Manu it 
 is stated that the Supreme Omni- 
 present Intelligence is the sovereign 
 Lord of all the gods ; that some ad- 
 mire him as transcendently present 
 in elementary fire, others as the 
 most High Eternal Spirit. It is 
 he who, pervading all things, . , . 
 causes them, by the gradations of 
 birth, growth, and dissolution, to 
 revolve in this world like the wheels 
 of a car" (xii. 122-124). Sridhara 
 says that Brahma is Prakriti (Na- 
 ture), "the womb of Me, the supreme 
 Lord ; " but this, I think, is a mis- 
 
 take. The following quotations are 
 against this explanation : — " Before 
 the mundane egg existed the holy 
 Brahma, Hiranyagarbha, the bodily 
 form [murttirupa) of Brahmii, who 
 is the seat of the holy Vishnu " 
 (Vishnu Purana, iv. i, 4). *'This 
 knowledge of soul . . . was declared 
 by Brahma, Hiranyagarbha, or by 
 the Supreme Lord {'paramem-ara) 
 through his agency" (Sankara's Com- 
 mentary on the Chhand. Up. viii. 
 15, I ; Sans. T. iii. 285). 
 
 1 See Introd., p. 10, and Sankhya 
 Karika, p. 36. 
 
 ^ They bind it io bodily conditions 
 in a new birth, preventing it from 
 attaining nirvdiut. They do not 
 " influence " the soul, as Mr. Thom- 
 son translates the word. They bind 
 or imprison it in a bodily form. 
 
146 BHAGAVAD GITA. [chap. xiv. 
 
 " Goodness " binds (the soul to matter) by pleasure ; 
 " passion," son of Bharata ! by works ; but " darkness," 
 having veiled knowledge, binds by stupid folly. 
 10 When one has subdued " passion " and " darkness," then 
 "goodness" (alone) exists, son of Bharata! When 
 " passion " and " goodness," then " darkness " exists ; 
 and "passion" when "darkness" and "goodness" (are 
 subdued). 
 
 When in this body, at all its gates, the bright light of 
 knowledge is produced, then one may know that " good- 
 ness" is there matured. 
 
 Avarice, activity, the undertaking of works, unrest, and 
 desire, — these are produced, chief of Bharatas ! when 
 " passion " is matured. 
 
 Darkness, inertness, and also stupidity and bewilder- 
 ment, — these are produced, son of Kuru ! when " dark- 
 ness " is matured. 
 
 If, moreover, a mortal goes to dissolution, when " good- 
 ness" is matured (in him), then he goes to the spotless 
 regiofis ^ of those who are supremely wise ih). 
 15 If he go to dissolution when " passion " prevails, he is 
 born among those who are attached to works ; if he depart 
 when " darkness " prevails, he is born in the wombs of the 
 stupid.2 
 
 The fruit of a good action is said (to have the property 
 of) "goodness," and to be unsullied; but the fruit of "pas- 
 sion " is pain, and the fruit of " darkness " is ignorance. 
 
 Knowledge is produced from " goodness," avarice from 
 " passion ; " stupidity, delusion, and ignorance also, from 
 " darkness." 
 
 1 The heaven of Indra or Brah- ^ ^g g, beast, a reptile, or even as 
 ma, not to the Supreme Brahmd,. inorganic matter. 
 
CHAP. XIV.] BHAGA VAD GITA. 147 
 
 They who are established in " goodness " go on high ; 
 they whose nature is of "passion" dwell in the middle 
 place ; but the " dark," who abide in a state of vile quali- 
 ties, go below. 
 
 When the observer recognises no other agent than the 
 modes (of Nature)/ and knows That which is above the 
 modes, he comes to my being. 
 20 When the embodied (soul) has passed beyond the three 
 modes,2 from which all bodies (c) have sprung, then, freed 
 from birth, death, old age, and pain, it eats immortal food 
 {amrita). 
 
 Akjuna spolce. 
 
 What marks are those, Lord! of the man who has 
 passed beyond the three modes ? What is his manner of 
 life, and how does he pass beyond these three modes ? 
 
 The Holy One spohe. 
 
 He who has no aversion, son of Pandu ! for bright- 
 ness, activity, and even delusion,^ when they are present, 
 nor desires them when they are absent ; 
 
 Who, seated as a stranger,* is not moved by the modes, 
 who stands apart and wavers not, saying, " The modes are 
 now in action ; " 
 
 To whom pleasure and pain are the same, who is self- 
 possessed ; to whom a clod, a stone, and gold are the same ; 
 who holds as equal things loved and unloved; who is 
 steadfast ; to whom praise and blame are equal ; 
 
 1 See c. iii. 28. modes, which are described by their 
 
 2 Becoming separated, when the effects, 
 soul attains to knowledge, from all * That is, the soul, which is not 
 the modes or elemental forms of formed from the modes of Nature, 
 Nature (Prakriti). and is superior to them, is a stranger 
 
 ^ These are the names of the three in the world of action. 
 
148 BHAGAVAD GITA. [chap. xiv. 
 
 2pr And equal, too, honour and dishonour; who regards 
 friend and foe alike ; who renounces all enterprise, — he is 
 called a "surmounter of the modes." 
 
 And he who worships Me by an exclusive devotion in 
 yoga, he having passed beyond the modes, is conformed to 
 the nature of Brahma. 
 
 For I am the seat {d) of Brahma, of the imperishable 
 ambrosia, of eternal law, and of happiness complete. 
 
 Thus the Bhagavad Gita, Beading the Fourteenth, whose 
 
 title is, 
 
 " Devotion by Separation from the Three Modes." 
 
 PHILOLOGICAL NOTES. 
 
 {a) Na vyathanti. "Non percelluntur " (Lassen); "La 
 dissolution des choses ne les atteint pas " (Burnouf). Telang's 
 version is, " They do not suffer pain," i.e., the pain of a repeti- 
 tion of births. Vyath means to stagger, to reel, to be moved 
 or disturbed. The doctrine of our author is, that they remain 
 unchanged when the world is dissolved, being absorbed in 
 Brahma. 
 
 (6) Uitamaviddm. " Qui summum norunt " (Lassen) ; " who 
 obtain the highest place " (Thomson) ; " les clairvoyants " 
 (Burnouf). S'ankara explains the word as denoting those 
 who have a knowledge of the subtler forms of matter, as 
 huddhi (intellect). I have translated the word by " supremely 
 wise," because the wise, if under the influence of the mode 
 (element of Nature) called " goodness," may attain to a high 
 heavenly seat ; but they who know Brahma as devotees receive 
 nirvana, or absorption in him. S'ridhara says they go to the 
 
CHAP. XIV.] BHAGAVAD GITA. 149 
 
 worlds of Hiranyagarbha (Brahma the Creator), and other 
 gods. 
 
 (c) Dehasamudhhavdn. " E corpore genitis" (Lassen). Thom- 
 son, more correctly, I think, translates it by " who co-originate 
 with the body," or rather "with body;" both bodily forms 
 and the modes or elements of Nature being from Prakriti 
 (Nature or primal matter). S'ridhara's gloss is "producing 
 bodies which are modifications of them." 
 
 (d) Pratishthd. "Instar numinis" (Lassen); "representa- 
 tive " (Thomson). I prefer Biirnouf s version, " La demeure 
 de Dieu." Brahma dwelt in Krishna, was incarnated in him. 
 In the Petersburg Dictionary it is interpreted as " standort,' 
 "grund," " ort des Anhalts." Ananda's gloss is, " The highest 
 in the outer form which adjoins his proper spiritual form." 
 
( 150 ) 
 
 EEADING THE FIFTEENTH. 
 
 The Holy One sjpoke. 
 
 Men say that the sacred fig-tree (aswattha), that has its 
 roots above and its branches downward, is eternal: its 
 leaves are metrical hymns : he who knows it knows the 
 Vedas.^ 
 
 Down and on liigh its branches are extended, enlarged 
 by the modes (of Nature) : its buddings (a) are the objects 
 of the senses; and downward its roots are drawn — the 
 bonds of action ^ in the world of men. 
 
 Here below its form cannot be known, nor its end, nor 
 its beginning, nor its whole nature or constitution (6). 
 When one has cut down this large-rooted Aswattha by the 
 solid weapon of indifference, 
 
 Then that seat may be sought for,^ from which they 
 who have reached it never return : to that primeval Sire 
 I refer, from whom the ancient emanation (c) (of the uni- 
 verse) flowed. 
 5 The men who are free from pride and delusion, in whom 
 the evil of attachment is conquered, who are devoted to 
 the Supreme Spirit, who have abandoned desire, — these, 
 
 ^ In this obscure episode there is is the Ficus religiosa, here used as a 
 
 certainly an attack on the authority type of the Vedic system. 
 
 of the Vedas. A passive state of ^ Binding men to subsequent 
 
 indifference to all worldly interests births, as roots bind a ti-ee to the 
 
 is superior to the observance of the soil. 
 
 Vedic rites. The fig-tree [Aswattha) ^ The Supreme Brahma. 
 
CHAP. XV.] BHAGAVAD GITA, 151 
 
 freed from tlie pairs of opposites known as pleasure and 
 pain, go, undeluded, to the eternal seat. 
 
 That (seat) no sun enlightens, nor moon, nor fire ; they 
 who reach it return no more : that is my supreme abode. 
 
 An eternal portion of Me having become a separate 
 existence id), (an individual soul) in the world of life 
 draws to itself the five senses and the manas} which are 
 seated in Nature {Prahriti). 
 
 When the sovereign (spirit) obtains a body, and when he 
 quits it, these he seizes and accompanies, as the wind 
 (takes) odours (of flowers) from their bed. 
 
 Presiding over the ear, the eye, over touch, taste, and 
 smelling, and also over the manas, he connects himself 
 with the objects of sense. 
 10 They whose minds are confused see him not when he 
 departs or when he abides, nor when, connected with the 
 modes, he enjoys : but they see who have the eyes of 
 knowledge. 
 
 Devout men {yogins) who are intent (thereon) see this 
 (spirit) seated in themselves; but the senseless, whose 
 minds are unformed, see it not, even though intent (on 
 seeing it). 
 
 Know that the splendour which is seated in the sun 
 and illumines the whole universe, that which is in the 
 moon and in fire, is from Me.^ 
 
 Entering into the earth, I sustain all things by my 
 vital force, and becoming a savoury juice,^ I nourish all 
 herbs. 
 
 ^ The soul which is bound to mat- 2 jTroin Prakriti, the Nature form 
 
 ter in the linya (subtle body), and of Brahma, here represented by 
 
 mediately to the gross body. The Krishna. See c. ix. 7, 8. 
 
 linga goes with the soul in its migra- ^ goma, translated by Telang, who 
 
 tions. (Sank. Kar. p. 76.) follows the Hindu commentators, 
 
152 BHAGAVAD GITA. [chap. xv. 
 
 I become fire (heat), an-d enter into the bodies of all 
 that breathe, and (then) being united with the inward 
 and outward breath, I digest (cook) the four kinds of 
 food.i 
 1 5 [And I am seated in the hearts of all : from Me come 
 memory, knowledge, and the power of reason. I am also 
 » that which is to be known in all the Yedas. I form the 
 Yedanta,^ and I am one who knows the Vedas.] 
 
 In this world there are two existences, the Perishable 
 and the Imperishable:^ the Perishable consists of all 
 living things, the Imperishable is called " The Lord on 
 high "(e). 
 
 But there is another, the highest existence, called the 
 Supreme Spirit, who, as the eternal Lord {Iswara), per- 
 vades the three worlds and sustains them. 
 
 Wherefore, since I surpass the Perishable, and am higher 
 than even the Imperishable, I am celebrated among men 
 (in the world) and in the Vedas as the Supreme Existence 
 {Purushottama). 
 
 He \^ho is not deluded and knows me as this Supreme 
 
 " the watery moon ; " but this gives Uttara Mimansa, is of later date 
 
 an unintelligible application to the than the Bhagavad Gita. 
 
 passage. It is not the moon which '^ The first is Nature in her mani- 
 
 is here referred to, but the sap which fold forms, the second is the vivify- 
 
 is the life of all plants. Soma is the ing Brahma, the third is the Supreme 
 
 sacred juice of the Asdepias acida. Spirit, the one Eternal God. (Of. 
 
 1 The four kinds are said by Hindu Manu i. 6-9,) "Then the self- 
 commentators to be :( i ) what is bro- existing Power, himself unmani- 
 ken by the teeth ; (2) what is drunk ; fested, . . . willed to produce various 
 (3) what is licked by the tongue; beings from his own divine sub- 
 and (4) what is sucked by the lips, stance, first with a thought created 
 or eaten without being chewed. the waters, and placed in them a 
 
 - The passage enclosed in brackets productive seed, which became an 
 
 is certainly an interpolation. The e^g bright as gold, and in that egg 
 
 Vedanta, or system of Vedic inter- he was born as Brahma." 
 pretation, commonly limited to the 
 
CHAP. XV.] BHAGAVAD CItA. 153 
 
 Existence, he, knowing all, son of Bharata! worships 
 Me with his whole nature.^ 
 20 Thus this most mysterious doctrine has been declared 
 by me, sinless one ! By knowing this a man may 
 become wise, and one, son of Bharata ! who has com- 
 pleted every work (/). 
 
 ^ Sridhara's gloss is, " in every way or mode " {pralcdra). Ananda's 
 is, " by putting forth the whole soul." 
 
 Thus the Bhagavad Gita, Eeading the Fifteenth, whose 
 title is 
 
 " Devotion m Attaining to the Highest Being." 
 
 PHILOLOGICAL NOTES. 
 
 {a) Prdbdlds. " Tendrils " (Thomson) ; " bourgeons " (Bur- 
 nouf), more correctly. 
 
 {h) Sampratishthd. " Constitutio " (Lassen). S'ridhara ex- 
 plains it by sthiti^ place, or order. The reference seems to be 
 to the complex ritual of the Vedic worship, which few, if any, 
 knew completely. 
 
 {c) Pravritti piudni, " Vortex ille antiquus " (Lassen) ; 
 " from whom the eternal stream of life emanates" (Thomson). 
 Pravritti is the Hindu scholastic term for the flowinsr forth of 
 all existent things at the command of Brahma, as nivritti is 
 for the return or absorption of all things in him. But it 
 is not an eternal stream. This idea is not in accordance with 
 any Hindu theory of creation. It is the ancient emanation, 
 referring to a definite past time. 
 
 {(I) Jivahhuta, '• Vitalis " (Lassen) ; " having assumed life " 
 (Thomson). The soul, however, never assumes life : it always 
 
154 BHACAVAD CirA. [chap. xv. 
 
 existed in Brahma. It becomes a separate existence, an indi- 
 vidualised soul, when invt sted with bodily forms, and thus 
 made a part of the existent world. 
 
 (e) Kutastlio. See p. ^i^^- In the Petersburg Dictionary 
 this word is explained by "an der Spitze stehend," "die 
 hochste Stelle einnehmend," and also by " ewig," " unverand- 
 derlich." S'ridhara interprets it as " standing unchangeable 
 or immovable like a mountain." 
 
 (/) Kritakrityas. Mr. Thomson translates this compound 
 by " he will do his duty," and K. T. Telang by " to his duty 
 true." Lassen is nearer the real meaning : " omni negotio 
 defunctus." The meaning is, that the devotee, having obtained 
 fully spiritual knowledge, has risen beyond the need or the 
 practice of any religious duty. Cf. Mahabharata (Vana-par- 
 van, 12,485): kritakritydh punar varna yadi vrittam na vid- 
 yate ; " The castes would then have completed their work, if 
 no function or definite office exists." The commentator says 
 that in this event all the three upper castes would become as 
 S'tidras, who cannot take part in any rites of purification ; or, 
 in other words, their proper work or function would cease 
 (Sans/T. i. 138). 
 
( 155 ) 
 
 EEADING THE SIXTEENTH. 
 
 The Holy One spoke. 
 
 Fearlessness, purity of heart, continuance in the devo- 
 tion of knowledge, almsgiving, self-restraint and sacrifice, 
 solitary reading {a), penance, uprightness ; 
 
 Innocence, truth, freedom from anger, renunciation, 
 tranquillity, goodwill,^ compassion for all, absence of 
 desire or emotion,2 gentleness, modesty, gravity ; 
 
 Vigour, patience, firmness, chastity, absence of vindic- 
 tiveness and of vanity, — these are the conditions, son 
 of Bharata ! of a man who is born for a divine (h) lot.^ 
 
 Deceit, pride, and self-conceit, wrath, rudeness, and 
 ignorance, are the conditions of him, son of Pritha! 
 who is born for the lot of the Asuras. 
 
 The divine lot is deemed to be for deliverance (from 
 matter *), that of the Asuras for bondage. Grieve not, 
 son of Bharata ! thou wast born for a divine lot. 
 
 ^ Apaisunam, not playing the spy, sometimes praise {lob, preis, Peters, 
 
 from pisuna, a spy ; not prying into Diet.) 
 
 the faults of others. It may be ^ This refers to the doctrine of 
 
 translated " kindliness." metempsychosis, or the migration of 
 
 ' Alolatwam, absence of desire, the soul to other bodies, so often 
 
 according to Srldhara^ as of praise (?) alluded to in the Bhagavad Gita. 
 
 (varna) or children. Sankara says The good go after death to one of 
 
 that it means an unaffected state of the heavens of the gods, the bad to 
 
 the senses when brought into con- the abode of Asuras (demons) or to 
 
 tact with the objects of sense. Lola vile forms of life, 
 
 means tremulous, emotional, desi- ■* Freedom from all connection 
 
 rous, and alolatwam denotes a pas- with matter or material forms in 
 
 sive, unruffled state of mind. Varna nirvana. An Asura lot is the re- 
 
 generally means colour or caste, but verse. 
 
156 BHAGAVAD GlTA. [chap. xvi. 
 
 There are two kinds of creatures in this world — one 
 / divine, the other that of the Asuras. The divine has been 
 ^ described at large ; hear now from Me, son of Pritha ! 
 the Asura kind. 
 
 The men who are like Asuras know neither creation (c) 
 {pravritti) nor its end (by return to Brahma) : no purity 
 or good conduct or truth is found in them. 
 
 " The universe," say they, " has in it neither truth, nor 
 order, nor a ruler (d)} is not produced by a succession (of 
 causes) {e), and is only designed for lusts." 
 
 Fixed in this view, these ruined souls, small in intellect 
 and cruel in deeds, prevail as foes for the ruin of the world. 
 10 Giving themselves up to insatiable lusts, full of deceit, 
 vanity, and folly, they hold false notions through delu- 
 sion, and in their lives are devoted to impurity. 
 
 They cherish immoderate thoughts, ending in death (/), 
 accounting the enjoyment of their lusts the chief (good), 
 persuaded that " that is all." 
 
 Bound by a hundred bands of hope, devoted to lust and 
 wratlf, they strive to gain hoards of wealth by unjust 
 means for the enjoyment of their liists. 
 
 " This," say they, " I have gained to-day : that desire 
 of my heart I shall obtain. This possession is now mine, 
 and that also shall be mine hereafter. 
 
 ^ Men who are atheists, or at least one source of knowledge, our sense- 
 practically deny a divine origin or perceptions, and therefore refused to 
 superintendence of the world, admit the truth or reality of any 
 Atheists of a coarse, sensuous type person or thing that is not cognisable 
 seem to be chiefly assailed ; for by the senses, are here denounced. 
 Kapila certainly did not admit a The author of the Bhagavad Gita 
 personal deity into his system, and strenuously maintains the existence 
 yet he is spoken of in the Bhagavad of an Eternal Supreme Spirit, whom 
 Gita with respect. Materialists like the senses cannot discern, 
 the Charvakas, who admitted only 
 
CHAP. XVI.] BHAGAVAD GiTA. 157 
 
 " This foe lias been slain by me, and I shall slay the 
 others also. I am a lord : I enjoy delights : I am success- 
 ful,^ powerful, happy. 
 15 "I am rich, I am of noble birth: what other man 
 is like to me? I will sacrifice and give largesse. I 
 Avill be merry." Thus (they speak), deluded by ignor- 
 ance. 
 
 Tossed to and fro by many thoughts, enveloped in the 
 meshes of delusion, devoted to the enjoyment of their 
 lust, they fall down to the foul Naraka (hell). 
 
 Self-conceited, stubborn, filled with the pride and the 
 intoxication of wealth, they offer with hypocrisy {g) vain 
 sacrifices (lit. name-sacrifices), which are not according to 
 ancient rule. 
 
 Devoted to egotism, violence, pride, lust, and wrath, 
 these revilers are adverse to me in their own bodies and 
 in (those of) others ; 
 
 These men, haters (of Me), cruel, the vilest of mankind, 
 these unholy men I cast down perpetually into the wombs 
 of Asuras. 
 20 Having reached an Asura-womb, befooled from birth to 
 birth, they never attain to Me, son of KuntI ! and thus 
 they go down the lowest way. 
 
 This threefold gate of hell — lust, wrath, and avarice 
 — is the ruin of the soul ; wherefore let every man re- 
 nounce these three. 
 
 A man who has become free from these three gates of 
 darkness (A), son of KuntI ! works out the salvation of 
 his soul, and thus he goes to the highest way. 
 
 [He who has abandoned the ordinances of sacred 
 
 ^ By the possession of children, The word {siddha) means here, I 
 cattle, &c., according to Ananda. think, "perfectly successful." 
 
\ 
 
 158 BHAGAVAD GITA. [chap. xvi. 
 
 "books,^ and acts only as he lusts, attains not to perfection, 
 happiness, or the highest way.^ 
 
 Wherefore let the^ sacred books be thy rule in deter- 
 mining what is to be done or left undone. When thou 
 hast learned what is the work enjoined by the rules of 
 holy books, so oughtest thou to act.] 
 
 ^ Books of devotion or religious divine nature through constant me- 
 
 teaching, of whatever kind. ditation. Blessedness is the heaven 
 
 2 By perfection is meant the of one of the gods, as Indra. The 
 highest earthly state, which Kapila highest way or goal is nirvana. 
 asserted to be a state of perfect Sridhara glosses them as " the know- 
 knowledge, i.e., of the true nature ledge of truth, repose, and (final) 
 of soul and matter ; and Patau jali, deliverance." These two distichs 
 the founder of the Yoga system, to are, I think, doubtful, 
 be a state of mystic union with the 
 
 Thus the Bhagavad Gita, Eeading the Sixteenth, whose 
 title is, 
 
 "Devotion (Meditation) with Eegaed to the 
 Separate State of Gods and Asueas." 
 
CHAP. XVI.] BHAGAVAD GITA. 159 
 
 PHILOLOGICAL NOTES. 
 
 (a) Swadhyaya. "Pia meditatio" (Lassen); "study" 
 (Thomson). It means reading to ones' self in a low tone the 
 sacred books, especially the Vedas. 
 
 (6) Sampadam daivim. " Qui divina sorte nascitur " (Las- 
 sen) ; " N^ dans une condition divine" (Burnouf) ; "Born to 
 heavenly endowments" (Telang). Sampad means state or 
 condition, whether good or bad. A divine lot, according to 
 Ananda, is " a fearless, true, and pure state." 
 
 (c) Pravrlttim cha nivrittim. These words are often em- 
 ployed to denote the development of created things and their 
 ceasing to be on returning to Brahma at the end of a kalpa. 
 Cf. c. xviii. 46, yatah pravrittw hhuldndm, "From whom is the 
 creation (flowing forth) of things." Burnouf s translation is, 
 " L'emanation et le retour." But S'ankara, S'ridhara, and all 
 the translators except Burnouf, interpret the words as mean- 
 ing "action" and "inaction." 
 
 (tZ) Asatyam apradshtham, anUwaram. The Hindu scholiasts 
 expla n the first term (untrue, unreal) to mean that there is 
 nothing to be accepted as true, such as Vedas, Puranas, &c. 
 " They deny the truth of the creation and preservation of the 
 world as taught by the Vedas or the schools of philosophy" 
 (Thomson). Perhaps we may rather say that they do not 
 believe that the world is a real creation, but only a fortuitous 
 concourse of atoms. 
 
 Apratishtham. They deny that it is "really constituted" 
 (Thomson). The Hindu scholiasts explain the word to mean 
 that they affirm the non-existence of any fixed principle, 
 based on virtue or vice, according to which the world is 
 governed. This seems to be the true meaning. They deny 
 that there is any moral government of the world, and there- 
 fore that it has a Supreme Lord. 
 
i6o BHAGAVAD GITA. [chap. xvi. 
 
 (e) Aparasparasmnhliutam. " Non ex certa causarum suc- 
 cessione" (Lassen). Burnouf translates it, rather widely, 
 "Que le monde est compose de ph^nomenes se poussant Tun 
 I'autre." Lassen has shown that afparaspara means "Not 
 proceeding from one to another by way of succession." They 
 deny such a succession in the order of development or creation 
 as the Sankhya or Yoga system tauglit. Ananda and S'rid- 
 hara say that they assign the creation of the world to an 
 union of male and female, meaning probably that the world 
 was supposed to be formed purely from natural causes. 
 
 (y) Chintdm pralaydntdm. Lassen translates the passage, 
 "Leto omnia finire," and with him Burnouf and Thomson 
 agree. Lorinser and Telang interpret it as meaning that 
 their thoughts end with death. The words do not seem to 
 express any speculative opinion of such persons on the exist- 
 ence or non-existence of a future life, but that they think 
 only of the present. They ignore everything beyond death, 
 caring only for the enjoyments of the present world. S'rid- 
 hara says, "that of which death is the end or limit." 
 
 {g) Dambhena. Bamhlia means deceit, hypocrisy, and also 
 pride* presumption. Telang's translation is "merely for 
 show ; " " Ad simulationem sanctitatis " (Lassen). S'ridhara 
 says, " without faith." 
 
 (/t) Darkness is a name for Naraka or Patala, the infernal 
 
C i6i ) 
 
 EEADING THE SEYENTEENTH.i 
 
 Abjuna spohe. 
 
 What is the state, Krishna ! of those who offer sacri- 
 fice and are endowed with faith, but yet forsake the 
 ordinances of sacred books? Is it one of "goodness," 
 " passion," or " darkness " (the modes or elements of 
 Nature) ? 
 
 The Holy One spoke. 
 
 The faith of embodied (natures) is of three kinds, and 
 arises from the individual nature of each.^ It is " good," 
 " passionate," or " dark " in kind. Hear now these 
 (kinds). 
 
 The faith of every one, son of Bharata ! is conformed 
 to his real nature. That which is the (object of) faith for 
 the man who believes, even such is he. 
 
 "Good" men worship the Devas; men of "passion," 
 the Yakshas and Eakshasas ; ^ others, men of " darkness," 
 the hosts of Pretas and Bhtitas.* 
 
 ^ In chap. xiv. the nature and action preceding life. Sankara's gloss, in 
 
 of the three modes, which are the the next distich, is " endowed with 
 
 constituent elements of Nature {Pra- a distinguishing formation or faculty 
 
 kriti), have been described. Here {sanskdra). 
 
 their action is shown upon the faith ^ j^^^j, ^n explanation of these 
 
 of mankind and their religious and words — Yakshas and Rakshasas — 
 
 other works. see p. 103. 
 
 2 It is according to the swahhdva, ^ Pretas and Bhutas are a foul 
 or individual nature of the man, de- kind of demons, who haunt grave- 
 termined, as the Hindu commenta- yards. Their worship is a low, de- 
 tors assert, by the actions of the grading kind of fetichism. 
 
 L 
 
i62 BHAQAVAD GITA. [chap. xvii. 
 
 5 The men who practise austerities of a severe kind not 
 ordained by sacred books/ being wholly given up to dis- 
 simulation and self-conceit ; full of lust, passion, and 
 violence ; 
 
 Torturing — the fools ! — the mass of elements seated in 
 the body, and Me also who dwell within it ; ^ know that 
 these have the resolves of Asuras. 
 
 But the food which is pleasant to each (kind) is also 
 threefold : so also are sacrifice, penance, and almsgiving. 
 Hear now the distinctions of these. 
 
 The foods which give an increase to life, substance, 
 strength, health, well-being, and joy (a); which are 
 savoury, fat, substantial, and cordial, are the foods which 
 are pleasant to the " good." 
 
 Foods that are strong in savour, sour, salted, overhot, 
 pungent, harsh, and inflaming, which produce pain, grief, 
 and disease, are the foods desired by men endowed with 
 " passion." 
 lo And that which is stale (h), which has lost savour, is 
 stinking and corrupt, which is even refuse and filthy, is 
 the food dear to men of " darkness." 
 
 A sacrifice which is offered without desire for gain and 
 
 ^ Mr. Thomson thinks the Vedas austerities practised by the lower 
 
 are not alluded to here in the word class of devotees. 
 
 klstras but only the Yoga-sutras, 2 cf. chap. xvi. 18. The individual 
 
 attributed to Patanjali. The Vedas soul, proceeding from the Supreme 
 
 were, however, not formally rejected Brahma, is spoken of as being that 
 
 by the author of the Bhagavad Gita, Spirit himself, and here the poem 
 
 though practically ignored by the has a Vedantist tinge. Both Kapila 
 
 perfect devotee. We may assume that and Patanjali taught that each soul 
 
 a wider range is given to the word is a separate entity, and perhaps our 
 
 than Mr. Thomson suggests. ' It is author meant only to assert that 
 
 interesting to observe that our author each soul is an emanation from 
 
 could protest against the foolish Brahma. 
 
CHAP. XVII.] BHAGAVAD GirA. 163 
 
 according to rule, in saying, " Sacrifice must be done," 
 with a resolved miud, is " good." 
 
 But the sacrifice which is offered for the obtaining of 
 reward and for ostentation, know, best of Bharatas ! 
 that this is of the nature of " passion." 
 
 The sacrifice which is offered against the rules,^ without 
 giving of food, without holy hymns- and Brahman-fees,^ 
 and devoid of faith, is declared to be " dark." 
 
 Eeverence given to gods, Brahmans, spiritual guides, 
 and the wise, with purity, uprightness, a Brahmacharin's 
 vow,* and innocence, are called the penance of the body. 
 
 Speech that causes no agitation,^ is truthful, pleasant, 
 and good, with diligence in solitary readings, these are 
 called the penance of speech. 
 
 Serenity of heart, equanimity, silence, self-control, and 
 purity of nature, these are called the penance of the heart 
 {liifianai). 
 
 This threefold penance, practised in perfect faith by 
 devout men, who seek no gain therein, is declared to be 
 "good." 
 
 ^ Without the prescribed ceremo- some degree, dependent on these 
 
 nial. (See Asiat. Res, vol. v. p. 345.) gifts and proportioned to them. It 
 
 Here the same spirit of compromise is is said in Manu xi. 40 : " The organs 
 
 manifest that we find in other parts of sense and action, reputation, a 
 
 of the poem. The perfect Yogin is celestial abode, life, renown (after 
 
 indeed above all outward acts of de- death), children, and cattle, are all 
 
 votion (seep. 137) ; but such acts are destroyed by a sacrifice offered with 
 
 allowable as a means of gaining the trifling gifts : let no man therefore 
 
 higher state of the true devotee, or sacrifice without liberal donations." 
 for those who cannot rise to a state ^ A young Brahman under tuition, 
 
 of pure mental devotion {yoga). who has taken a vow of chastity. 
 
 2 The mantras are the Vedic ° Neither irritating nor indecent ; 
 
 hymns. not causing any excitement of anger 
 
 ^ The daksMnd, or fee given to the or lust. K. T. Telang translates 
 
 officiating Brahmau. The efficacy udvega by " sorrow," but this mean- 
 
 of the rite was supposed to be, in ing is too limited. 
 
[64 
 
 BHAGAVAD GIT A. 
 
 [chap. XVII. 
 
 The penance that is done in order to gain a good 
 reception, honour, and reverence (c), and is done also in 
 hypocrisy, is called " passion-born ; " it is unstable and 
 transient. 
 
 The penance that is done from a foolish purpose {d), for 
 the torture of one's self or to cause the ruin of another,^ 
 that is called " dark." 
 10 The gift of alms ^yhich is made in saying, " This must 
 be given," to one who cannot return it, in a proper place 
 and time and to a worthy object (e), is called " good." ^ 
 
 But that which is given for the sake of return or on 
 account of gain hereafter,^ or is given reluctantly, that is 
 regarded as " passion-born." 
 
 The gift which is given ungraciously or with disdain, 
 at an improper place and time or to unworthy objects, is 
 called " dark." 
 
 \0M, Tat, Sat,^ thus has been handed down the three- 
 
 ^ Severe austerities were supposed 
 to give supernatural power, which a 
 Yogin will use, or affect to use, 
 against any who may offend him, 
 Cf. Manu xi. 239 : " Whatever is 
 hard to be surmounted or obtained, 
 or reached or effected, is all to be 
 accomplished through religious aus- 
 terities {tapas), of which the power 
 can hardly be surpassed." 
 
 2 The Hindu commentators ex- 
 plain this passage in accordance witii 
 their own religious tendencies. A 
 proper place is a holy place such as 
 Benares : a proper time is during an 
 eclipse, or at the full moon, the 
 eleventh day of the moon, or the 
 morning (Lorinser). 
 
 ^ That is, in the hope of heaven 
 and the rest (Sridhara). He also 
 
 explains pariMishtam (reluctantly), 
 by " with trouble of mind." 
 
 4 0M. See chap. i. I. Tat {Tha.t) is 
 used in the common religious phrase. 
 Tat ticam asi, Thou art that, i.e., the 
 whole universe, as it is usually ex- 
 plained ; but more strictly it denotes 
 the absolute existence of all things 
 in him. Sridhara says it means 
 Brahma and the other gods of reve- 
 lation {h-uti). Sankara says that 
 these words have been handed 
 down in the Vedantas. Sjt is used 
 by Manu to denote the Supreme 
 Being. " He who is sat (' that which 
 is,' Sir W. Jones), Cause, Unmani- 
 fested, . . . produced the creative 
 Power (Purusha = male), celebrated 
 in the world as Brahma" (i. 2)._ 
 This is the Vedantist use of the 
 
CHAP. XVII.] BHAGAVAD CITA. 165 
 
 fold designation of Bralima. By liiin Brahmans, the Vedas, 
 and sacrifices were ordained of old. 
 
 Wherefore OM is always uttered by those who know 
 Brahma, when the acts of sacrifice, alms, and penance 
 begin that are ordained by rule. 
 25 Tat is said when the various kinds of sacrifice, penance, 
 and alms are done, without regard to gain, by those who 
 desire (final) deliverance. 
 
 &at is the word employed to denote truth and goodness. 
 The word is also used, son of I^ritha ! in (the doing of) 
 ia laudable act.^ 
 
 Continuance (/) in sacrifice, penance, and alms is also 
 called sat^ and an act, too, done in behalf of these things 
 is called sat. 
 
 Whatever sacrifice, penance, or alms is performed, and 
 whatever act is done, without faith, that is called asat^ 
 son of Pritha ! and is of no account in this life or after 
 death.] ^ 
 
 word, iinpl3'ing that he is the only ^ That is, " marriage {vivaha) and 
 
 Being ; " that which is," to the ex- such like," say the Hindu commen- 
 
 clusion of any other Being. The tators. 
 
 philosophic meaning of sat is, the ^ ^^at, meaning here (i) unreal 
 
 sum of existent things, represented and (2) bad. 
 
 as effects, (See Sankhya Karika, ^ The distichs from distich 23 to 
 
 p. 135.) the end seem to be doubtful. 
 
 Thus the Bhag^avad Gita, Eeadinjz the Seventeentl 
 
 whose title is 
 
 " Devotion by the Threefold Kinds of Faith." 
 
i66 BHAGAVAD GiTA. [chap. xvii. 
 
 PHILOLOGICAL NOTES. 
 
 {a) Arogya-suhha-prili. " Sanitatem, voluptatem, hilarita- 
 tem augentes" (Lassen); *'la sant^, le bien-etre et la joie" 
 (Burnouf ) ; *' health, happiness, and relish " (Telang). S'rld- 
 hara interprets suTcha as meaning peace of mind, and prlti 
 as joy. A-rogya means freedom from disease ; sukha is well 
 represented by the French hien-etre ; prlti (love, joy) denotes 
 the pleasant sensations of a body well nourished and in per- 
 fect health. 
 
 (h) Ydtaydman, that has remained over the watches of a 
 night. The night is divided into three watches of four hours 
 each. In India, food so kept is often unwholesome. 
 
 (c) Satkdramdnapujdrtham. " Honorem, dignitatem et re- 
 verentiam sibi comparandi gratia" (Lassen). Satkdra means 
 a gracious and hospitable reception. It is used in the Nala 
 to denote hospitality. Mdnas implies respect or esteem, and 
 2mja outward deference or homage. Burnouf translates by 
 "I'honneur, le respect et les hommages;" but the first word 
 is not represented with sufficient accuracy. 
 
 {d) ' Mudhagrdhena. " Ex inepto commento " (Lassen) ; 
 " from an erroneous view (of the nature of mortification) " 
 (Thomson); "nee d'une imagination egarde" (Burnouf). 
 S'ridhara's explanation is " done without discrimination." 
 Grdha is interpreted in the Petersburg Dictionary by unter- 
 nehmen with reference to this passage. 
 
 (e) Pdtre. Pdtra means a vessel or receptacle; here a 
 proper receptacle or receiver. S'lldhara says that the locative 
 case is here put for the dative, but unnecessarily, for a gift is 
 placed in the hands of a recipient. He says also that a good 
 gift is one given to a Brahman well practised in austerities 
 and in the sacred books. Lassen has a different version : 
 " Equidem dixerim, pdtre h.l. non de persona esse intelligen- 
 
CHAP. XVII.] BHAGAVAD GITA. 167 
 
 dum, sed interpretandum esse, data justa occasione ;" but this 
 seems to be included in the former part of the passage, and 
 'putra (the Gr. 'zottis) cannot well be translated by " occasio." 
 
 (/) Sthiti. "Certa consuetudo" (Lassen); " la perseverance" 
 (Burnouf ). Mr. Thomson translates the word by " a quies- 
 cent state of sacrifice," &c., and explains the passage as mean- 
 ing the doing of such acts in the mind alone, offering up 
 sacrifice mentally performed. This would be in accordance 
 with our author's views ; but the word denotes " continu- 
 ance," " constancy." S'ridhara's interpretation is " abiding 
 (therein) by means of application or devotedness." S'ankara 
 refers the word mt to things done on behalf of the Iswara or 
 Lord (Brahma). 
 
( i68 
 
 J 
 
 EEADING THE EIGHTEENTH.^ 
 
 Aejuna spoJce. 
 
 I desire to know, large-armed one ! the true nature 
 of abstention (sannydsa), Hrishlke^a! and of renuncia- 
 tion (tydga), slayer of Ke^in ! 
 
 The Holy One s2)oJce. 
 
 The wise understand by "Abstention" the abandon- 
 ment of all works connected with desire,^ and the discern- 
 ing call the forsaking of the fruit of works " Eenunciation." 
 
 Some wise men affirm that (all) work should be aban- 
 doned as an evil,^ others that works of sacrifice, alms- 
 giving, and penance are not to be given up. 
 
 Hear now my decree about renunciation, best of 
 Bharatas ! for it is set forth as of three kinds, valiant 
 one! 
 5 Works of sacrifice, alms, and penance must not be given 
 
 I In this chapter the author as- that a state of complete isolation of 
 serts again some of the leading doc- the soul from matter is its perfect 
 trines of the Yoga school. state. Sridhara decides that work 
 ■^ See chap, iv, 19, 20. binds the soul (to matter) by inju- 
 ^ The first opinion is referred by riousness, violence, and evil con- 
 Mr. Thomson to Kapila and his dis- nected with it. The Mimansa school 
 ciples, and the second to the followers made no such limitations to work as 
 of the Mimansa (Vedantist) school ; the second doctrine teaches. The 
 but Kapila has not left any record of dispute probably lay between differ- 
 Buch an opinion : he only maintains ent sections of the Yoga school. 
 
CHAP. XVIII.] BHAGAVAD GITA. 169 
 
 up ; these must indeed be done. Sacrifice, alms, and pen- 
 ance are the purifications of the wise. 
 
 But even these works must be done in renouncinc' 
 attachment and the fruit (of works) : this, son of Pritha ! 
 is my supreme and fixed decree. 
 
 Abstention from a work of obligation is not fitting ; the 
 abandonment of this (kind of work) is from delusion, and 
 is declared to be " dark." ^ 
 
 He who abandons a work {a) through fear of bodily 
 distress, saying, " It is painful," practises a renunciation 
 that has the nature of " passion," and will receive no gain 
 thereby. 
 
 The renunciation of him who does a work of obligation, 
 saying, " This must be done," Arjuna ! renouncing attach- 
 ment and fruit, is deemed to be " good." 
 10 He who has no aversion for an unprosperous work (5) and 
 for a prosperous work has no attachment,^ who is thought- 
 ful and whose doubts are destroyed, is a "renouncer" 
 endowed with " goodness." 
 
 For it is not possible for an embodied person to abstain 
 from work absolutely, but he who abandons the fruit of 
 work is regarded as a *' renouncer." 
 
 The fruit of work after death for those who do not 
 renounce is of a threefold kind — desired, undesired, and 
 mixed ; but there is none whatever for those who abandon 
 it (the fruit of work). 
 
 Learn from me, large-armed one ! these five condi- 
 
 ^ Referring to the three modes "fruit" or reward, for this cannot 
 
 {rjunas), which form all material procure nirvana, but only one of the 
 
 things, including the heart (manas) heavens of the gods. Those who 
 
 and the intellect {huddhi). seek no reward in action desire to 
 
 '^ If free from attachment to the be absorbed for ever in Brahma, 
 objects of sense and the desire of 
 
 i 
 
I70 BHAGAVAD GIlA. [chap, xviii. 
 
 tions, declared in the Sankhya^ (system) as necessary for 
 the completion of every act. 
 
 Seat (of action) the agent, the instrument in each sepa- 
 rate kind; the various efforts in their several kinds, and 
 also, as fifth, the divine part.^ 
 I ^ The work which a man undertakes by his body, speech, 
 and mind, whether just or the contrary, is caused by these 
 five (conditions). 
 
 This being so, he who regards himself as being solely 
 the agent,3 through an unformed intellect, he, being dull 
 in mind, sees not at all. 
 
 The man whose nature is free from egotism, and whose 
 intellect is not sullied (obscured), slays not and is not 
 bound,* though he should slay (all) these peoples. 
 
 Knowledge, that which is to be known, and the know- 
 ing (soul) from the threefold impulse of action. The 
 instrument, the act, the doer, these are the threefold com- 
 plements of work. 
 
 Knowledge, work, and agent are said to be of three 
 kinds, distinguished by their different qualities ; hear now 
 what they are according to the qualities.^ 
 
 1 Sankara strangely refers this tarydmin). He interprets adhish- 
 
 word to the Vedanta-sastra, written thdna (place, domain) as the subject 
 
 many centuries after the time of body or matter of an action — that 
 
 Kapila. which can be acted upon. My copy 
 
 - The fifth condition would be has adhinamsai-iram; read adhlnani- 
 
 admitted only by the theistic branch sariram. 
 
 of the Sankhya school. Kapila's ^ Because there are other condi- 
 
 system does not recognise any divine tions of action beside himself. See 
 
 interposition. The soul gains its c. iii. 27. 
 
 final deliverance by its own powers. ■* His acts do not bind him to a 
 
 Sankara refers this part to the favour future birth. He has risen beyond 
 
 of the Adityas and the rest. Srid- the power of actions thus to bind 
 
 hara refers the last cause to the him. 
 
 assistance or favour {anugraha) of ^ The qualities or constituent ele- 
 
 the gods, and to the action of the ments of Nature (Prakriti) in the 
 
 internal controller or conscience {an- system of Kapila (Introd., p. 10). 
 
CHAP. XVIII.] BHAGAVAD GItA. 171 
 
 20 Know that the knowledge by which One Eternal Es- 
 sence is seen in all creatures, undivided in the divided, 
 is " good." 
 
 Know that the knowledge is of "passion" which sees in 
 all things, by reason of their separateness, (only) many 
 existences severally divided. 
 
 But that which attaches itself to each single object as if 
 it were the whole, being without reason (c), devoid of 
 truth and mean, that is called " dark." 
 
 An action which is necessary, free from attachment, 
 which is done without desire or aversion, and by one who 
 desires no gain therein, is called " good." ^ 
 
 But the action which is done by one who seeks to gain 
 his desires, or from self-conceit, or is attended with great 
 effort, is declared to be of " passion." 
 25 If one undertakes a work from delusion, without re- 
 garding consequences, or loss or injury (to others), and 
 also one's own power, that is called " dark." 
 
 The agent who is free from attachment and egotism, 
 who is endowed with constancy and energy, and is un- 
 moved by good and evil fortune, is called " good." 
 
 The agent who is impassioned, who seeks the fruit of 
 works, who is greedy, injurious, and impure, who feels joy 
 or sorrow, is said to be of "passion." 
 
 The agent who is inattentive, vulgar {d), obstinate, 
 deceitful, negligent, slothful, desponding, and dilatory, is 
 called '•' dark." 
 
 Hear now the threefold division of intellect (hiiddJii) 
 
 and of constancy, conqueror of wealth ! declared fully 
 
 and in their separate divisions, according to their qualities. 
 
 30 The intellect which knows action and inaction, what 
 
 ^ See chap. iv. 20-22. 
 
172 BHAGAVAD GITA, [char xviii. 
 
 ought to be done and what ought not to be done, fear 
 and fearlessness,^ and which knows deliverance and 
 bondage, that, son of Pritha ! is " good." 
 
 The intellect by which one understands right and 
 wrong, what ought to be done and what ought not to be done 
 but imperfectly (e), that, son of Pritha ! is of " passion." 
 
 That which regards right as wrong, being enveloped in 
 darkness, and sees all things in an inverted form, that 
 intellect, son of Pritha I is " dark." 
 
 The constancy by which one controls the actions of the 
 heart, the breath, and the senses,^ with an unswerving 
 devotion,^ that, son of Pritha I is " good." 
 
 But the constancy by which one holds to duty,* desires, 
 and wealth, through attachment, desiring fruit, that is of 
 " passion," son of Pritha ! 
 3^ The stupid constancy by which one abandons not som- 
 nolence, fear, sorrow, despondency, and folly, that, son 
 of Pritha ! is " dark." 
 
 Hear now from me, chief of Bharatas ! the threefold 
 kinds 'of pleasure. That which causes gladness by usage 
 and brings an end to pain ; 
 
 Which is as poison in the beginning, but is like nectar 
 in the end ; that is declared to be " good " pleasure, born 
 from the serenity of one's own mind. 
 
 That which is like nectar in the beojinninof from the 
 
 1 What ought to cause fear or not practice of pious meditation ; " Srid- 
 to cause it. Bondage is being con- hara says by "an inner withholding 
 fined in some form of matter, and from the objects of sense." 
 deliverance is absorption into Brah- ■* Even religious acts [dharma], 
 ma {nirvana). Sankara explains if done with any feeling of desire, 
 pravritti (action) of objects that are do not lead to nirvana : they are 
 attained by sacred books [sdstras). " bad," as leading to new material 
 
 2 See chap. iv. 29. conditions. See chap, xi v. 15. 
 ^ Sankara says by " the constant 
 
CHAP. XVIII.] BHAGAVAD GITA. 173 
 
 connection of sense-objects with the senses, but is as 
 poison in the end, is held to be of " passion." 
 
 That pleasure which in the beginning and in the results 
 is the bewilderment of the soul and springs from sleep, 
 idleness, and stupidity, is called " dark." 
 40 There is nothing here in earth, nor yet among the gods 
 in heaven, which is free from the three modes which are 
 born of Nature {Prahriti)} 
 
 The offices (works) of Brahmans, Kshatriyas, Vai^yas, 
 and of Siidras, have been apportioned, slayer of foes ! 
 from the modes that prevail in their separate natures. 
 
 The office (work) of a Brahman, arising from his proper 
 nature, is sedateness, self-restraint, religious austerities 
 (tapas), purity, patience, rectitude, spiritual knowledge, 
 learning, and (the rites of) faith (religion) (/). 
 
 The office of a Kshatriya, born of his proper nature, 
 is heroism, energy, firmness, skill, resolution in battle, 
 liberality, and a ruler's bearing. 
 
 The office of a Vai^ya, born of his proper nature, is 
 agriculture, tending of cattle, and commerce. The essential 
 office of a Siidra, born of his proper nature, is servitude. 
 45 The man who is content with his own work, whatever 
 it may be, attains to perfection. Learn now how the 
 man attains perfection who is cuntent with his own 
 work. 2 
 
 In giving honour, by his proper work, to Him who is the 
 source of all things that exist and by whom this whole 
 (universe) was spread out, a man obtains perfection. 
 Better is one's own work, though faulty, than another's 
 
 1 See Introduction, p. 10. ledge, i.e., spiritual knowledge, the 
 
 2 >S'a??sJc/d7i?',perfection,is explained knowledge of Brahma. See distich 
 by Sankara and Sridhara as imply- 50 infra. 
 
 ing aptitude for the state of know- 
 
174 BHAGAVAD GITA. [chap, xviii. 
 
 work well done. He who does the work imposed upoa 
 him by his own nature incurs no sin. 
 
 No one may abandon his natural work, even though 
 evilji son of KuntI ! for every enterprise is surrounded 
 by evil, as fire by smoke. 
 
 He whose mind is unattached, self-subdued in every 
 part, in whom desire is dead, attains to the supreme per- 
 fection of freedom from all work by renunciation.^ 
 50 Learn from me in brief, O son of KuntI ! how one who 
 has obtained perfection attains to Brahma, the supreme 
 seat of knowledge. 
 
 He who is devoted (Tjukta) by means of a purified mind, 
 who has subdued himself by resolution, has renounced 
 sound and other objects of sense, and has cast out desire 
 and hatred ; ^ 
 
 Who dwells in a lonely spot, eats but little, restrains 
 ,' speech, body, and heart (manas), is constantly intent on 
 ^ devotion by meditation, and has attained to freedom from 
 passion ; 
 
 Wht> is freed from self-conceit, violence, pride, lust, 
 wrath, and all surroundings (g) ; who is without selfish- 
 ness and is tranquil in mind, — he is formed to be one with 
 Brahma. 
 
 Being one with Brahma,* calm in spirit, he neither 
 mourns nor desires ; being the same to all things, he 
 attains to supreme devotion to Me. 
 
 ^ In the conflict of duties, our pro- ^ See chap. iv. 26. 
 per work, i.e., the work assigned to •* To be one with Brahma means 
 
 us by caste, must be held as supreme, here to be united with him by a 
 
 2 By rest from work may be meant fixed concentration of the soul in 
 
 work done without attachment, for devotion (see chap. vii. 29). It is 
 
 such actions are not properly our to be *' entirely fixed in Brahma " 
 
 own; they are wrought by the modes (Sridhara) ; "who has attained to 
 
 of Nature {Prakriti). See chap. iv. 19. Brahma " (Sankara). 
 
r 
 
 CHAP. XVIII.] BHAGAVAD GITA. 175 
 
 55 By (this) worsliip he knows Me truly ; what I am and 
 liow great (I am) ; then, having known Me truly, he enters 
 into Me immediately. 
 
 Though he may do all works constantly, yet having 
 found refuge in Me, he obtains, by my grace, the eternal, 
 imperishable seat.^ 
 
 Eenouncing all works in Me by meditation, devoted to 
 Me, given up to the devotion of the mind (A), fix thy 
 thoughts constantly on Me. 
 
 Thinking on Me, thou wilt surmount, by my grace, 
 every difficulty; but if, from self-conceit, thou wilt not 
 listen, thou wilt utterly perish. 
 
 If, taking refuge in self-conceit, thou shalt think, " I 
 will not fight," thy resolution is vain ; nature will com- 
 pel thee. 
 60 Bound by thine office,^ which springs from thy own 
 nature, son of Kunti ! that which thou dost not wish 
 to do through delusion, thou wilt do even against thy 
 will. 
 
 The Lord, who dwells in the hearts of all,^ Arjuna ! 
 ever makes all things, as if mounted on a machine, re- 
 volve by his illusive power. 
 
 Seek refuge in him with all thy soul (i), son of 
 Bharata ! (then) shalt thou obtain, by his grace, supreme 
 repose, the eternal seat. 
 
 Thus a doctrine, more mysterious than any (other) 
 mystery, has been declared to thee by Me j having medi- 
 tated thereon fully, do as thou wilt. 
 
 ^ i.e., the Supreme Brahma. centre of all vital activity. In the 
 ^ By his duty as a Kshatriya opinion of the Hindus it is especially 
 (warrior), for which his nature had the habitation of the soul, and there- 
 been formed. fore of Brahma, from whom it haa 
 3 The heart is supposed to be the emanated. 
 
176 BHAGAVAD GITA. [chap, xviii. 
 
 Hear now again my supreme words, most mysterious of 
 all : Thou art greatly beloved by Me, therefore I will de- 
 clare what is for thy good. 
 65 Devote thy heart to Me, worship Me, sacrifice to Me, 
 bow down before Me ; so shalt thou come to Me. I pro- 
 mise thee truly (for) thou art dear to Me. 
 
 Forsaking all religious duties {j) {dharma), come to Me 
 as the only refuge. I will release thee from all thy sins ; 1 
 grieve not. 
 
 This (doctrine) is not to be declared to him who prac- 
 tises not austere rites, or who never worships, or who 
 wishes not to hear, nor to one who reviles Me.^ 
 
 He who shall teach this supreme mystery to those who 
 worship Me, he, offering to Me this highest (act of) wor- 
 ship, shall doubtless come to Me. 
 
 Nor is there any one among mankind who can do Me 
 better service than he, nor shall any other on earth be 
 more dear to Me than he. 
 yo And by him who shall read this holy converse held by 
 us I may be sought through this sacrifice of knowledge. 
 This is my decree. 
 
 ^ In the Sankhya system, as a strong rivalry has always existed, 
 
 taught by Kapila, the deliverance of But they are not the only persons 
 
 the soul can only be obtained by who would revile this doctrine, 
 
 knowledge. In the system of Patau- There were many who cared little 
 
 jali, the soul, by pious meditation, for either Vishnu or Siva, for they 
 
 emancipates itself. This divine desired only such physical enjoy- 
 
 agency in the deliverance of the ments as this world offers. See 
 
 soul is a doctrine peculiar to the chap. xvi. 8. This (doctrine) de- 
 
 Bhagavad Gita. notes the whole of the system un- 
 
 - There is here probably a refer- folded in the Gita. 
 
 ence, as Mr. Thomscm suggests, to By not practising austere rites is, 
 
 the Saivyas, who worship Siva as according to Sridhara, to be " with- 
 
 the Supreme Being ; for between out the practice of religious duties " 
 
 them and the Vaishnavas, or wor- [dlmrma). 
 shippers of Vishnu, as the Supreme, 
 
CHAP. XVIII.] BHAGAVAD GItA. 177 
 
 And the man who may hear it in faith, without reviling, 
 shall attain, when freed (from the body), to the happy 
 regions of the just. 
 
 Has this been heard, son of Pritha 1 with thy mind 
 fixed on one (object) ? Has thy trouble of mind, born of 
 ignorance, been destroyed, subduer of wealth ? 
 
 Aejuna s^olze. 
 My trouble is destroyed. By thy favour, sinless one ! 
 the holy doctrine has been received by me (Q. I am now 
 firm (in resolve) ; my doubt has gone, and I will act 
 according to thy word. 
 
 Sanjaya s'po'ke. 
 
 Thus I heard this wonderful converse of Yasudeva and- 
 
 the high-minded son of Pritha, and my hair stood up on end. 
 
 75 By the favour of Yyasa I heard this supreme mystery, 
 
 (this doctrine of) yoga, tgiught by Krishna himself, the 
 
 Lord of yoga, in person. 
 
 Eemembering, king ! again and again this wonderful 
 holy converse of Ke^ava (Krishna) and Arjuna, I rejoice 
 without ceasing. 
 
 And remembering again and again that most wonderful 
 form of Hari, my astonishment is great and I rejoice ever- 
 more. 
 
 Wherever are Krishna, the Lord of yoga, and the archer 
 son of Pritha, there prosperity, victory, and greatness ^ are 
 certain. Thus I judge. 
 
 ^ The first is interpreted by Srid- sion {ahhivriddhi) or greatness. San- 
 hara as a royal prosperity, and the kara's gloss agrees with this, 
 last {bhuti) as an increasing expan- 
 
 Thus the Bhagavad GiLa, Eeading the Eighteenth, 
 whose title is 
 
 " Devotion ix Deliverance and Kenunciation." 
 
 M 
 
178 BHAGAVAD GITA. [chap, xviii. 
 
 PHILOLOGICAL NOTES. 
 
 (a) Yat harma . . . tyajet. The construction is somewhat 
 difficult, but not, as Mr. Thomson calls it, " ungrammatical." 
 Lassen says, ''Lenior foret orationis structura si scriptum 
 esset, ya karma, sed habet lectio recepta quo se tueatur. 
 Verbo in modo potestativo posito subintelligitur turn conjunc- 
 tio conditionalis, tum pronomen indefinitum ; si quis omittat 
 opus quidpiam . . . is," &c. There seems to be only an in- 
 definite pronoun to be supplied, and we may translate the 
 passage, " Whatever work (one) may renounce." 
 
 (5) Akusalam karma. Lassen translates the words by 
 " minus prosperum opus." S'ridhara explains Tcusala to mean 
 pleasant or causing pleasure, as a bath at mid-day in summer, 
 and such-like things. Telang follows this explanation. In 
 the Peters. Diet, the word is translated by " Sich in gutem 
 Gustande, in der gehorigen ordnung befindend." Lassen's 
 translation seems to be the true one. 
 
 (c) Ahaitiikam. ''Does not recognise the true cause (of 
 existence), i.e., final emancipation from matter" (Thomson); 
 " qui principiis caret" (Lassen). S'ridhara's comment is "not 
 acknowledging creation, not devoted to truth, and not resting 
 in the Supreme." Hetu means cause, and also reason, judg- 
 ment. The meaning seems to be, as Lassen interprets the 
 passage, that their knowledge or science is not based on 
 reason, or any sound principle of judgment. " Science sans 
 principes " (Burnouf). 
 
 {<£) Frakrita. " Vilis " (Lassen) ; " without discrimination, 
 Le., adopting a common mode of action, not varying with the 
 nature of the thing to be done" (Thomson); "who has no 
 application" (Telang). The word means common, in the 
 sense of vulgar, and thus Prakrit is the name of a dialectic 
 or vulvar form of Sanskrit. 
 
 (e) Ayathdvat. Lassen interprets the word by " incongrue ;" 
 Brunouf by " confusement ; " Thomson, "by which one takes 
 
CHAP. XVIII.] BHAGAVAD GITA. 179 
 
 a wrong view." Dr. Lorinser translates it by "nicht wie's 
 geziemend ist," and this, I think, is the true meaning. 
 Yathdvat corresponds to the French "comme il faiit." 
 
 (/) Atwahuddhiprasddajam. " E mentis ipsius serenitate 
 nata" (Lassen, whom Thomson follows); "It flows from 
 knowledge of the soul free from obscurity " (Telang), and this 
 is the interpretation commonly given by Hindu commentators. 
 
 {g) Astikyam. "Fides in rebus divinis " (Lassen) ; " belief 
 in another world" (Thomson) ; "la connaissance des choses 
 divines " (Burnouf). The word asti - Gr. ian, and the deri- 
 vative implies that something essentially or eternally exists, 
 referring, according to Hindu commentators, to Brahma and 
 a future world. The negative nastika is found in Manu (ii. 11), 
 where it is said that if one shall despise revelation (sruti) and 
 tradition (smriti), he must be cast out by the virtuous as a 
 sceptic {iiastika). Sir W. Jones translates the word " atheist." 
 Lassen's version seems to be most correct, but S'ridhara confines 
 the expression to belief in another world. The belief, how- 
 ever, in another world would imply also other beliefs. 
 
 (A) Parigraha. Lassen translates this word by "fastus," 
 Thomson by "avarice," Burnouf by "cortege." Telang has 
 *'all belongings." The word means whatever a man may 
 gather round him, as attendants or possessions. The recluse 
 must put away what is external to himself, that his soul may 
 be devoted exclusively to pious meditation. 
 
 {%) Buddhiyogam upasritya. "Mentis devotione fretus" 
 (Lassen) ; "Practise devotion with the faculty of fixed resolu- 
 tion" (Telang) j here, as elsewhere, translating huddhi by 
 "resolve." This, I think, is a mistake, huddhi means intellect, 
 intelligence, and also purpose, intention (absicht, vorsatz, 
 Peters. Diet.), but not resolve in the sense of resoluteness. 
 Moreover, the compound form will hardly bear this inter- 
 pretation. The Hindu commentators, however, support it. 
 S'ridhara speaks of the application of the intellect, but 
 
1 8o BHA GA VA D GIT A. [chap, xvi i i. 
 
 he adds, " In the practice of work there must be an offering 
 to Brahma." 
 
 (j) Sarvdbhdvena. The Hindu commentators explain this 
 word to mean with all thy soul or self {atman having both 
 meanings). Madhusudhana says, with the same impression, 
 "by heart and voice and deed." Lassen's version is *' omni 
 reverentia;" Thomson's, " in every state of life," which is inad- 
 missible. Burnouf has, I think correctly, *' de toute ton ame." 
 
 (k) Sarvadharman parityajya. " Cunctis religionibus 
 dimissis" (Lassen). Telang has "forsaking all thy duties," 
 i.e.^ religious duties or offices chiefly. Here our author is in 
 direct opposition to the Vedantist system. The perfect Yogin 
 abandons all external or bodily acts of worship for a pure 
 worship of devout meditation. Burnouf and Lorinser add 
 '* other "to "duties," as if the injunction was for a Vishnu 
 cult alone; but there is no good ground for this addition. 
 S'ridhara says, " All these duties will be done in the worship 
 {hhakti) of Me." 
 
 (J) Smritir lahdha. There is a wide difference in the trans- 
 lation of these words. The Hindu commentators explain them 
 as meaning that he had regained his proper form, or, as we 
 say, he had recovered himself. Telang translates them by 
 " I recollect myself." Smriti means (i) memory, and (2) the 
 system of doctrines received by tradition, as that which was 
 handed down by memory from pious sages, in contrast with 
 that which had been heard from the gods {sruti, revelation). 
 Lassen's version is *'recordatio est accepta a me." But I 
 question whether smriti ever means self-possession, and 
 Arjuna had not recovered his memory^ for he had forgotten 
 nothing. The meaning seems to be that he had received the 
 holy doctrine which is expounded in the preceding chapters, 
 and, accepting it, he was ready to do as Krishna desired, i.e., 
 to fight. Burnouf's version is " J'ai re9u la sainte tradition, 
 and this interpretation Lorinser and Galanos accept. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 I. 
 
 On the Date at which the Bhagavad Gita was probably 
 Written, and on the Theory that it was Written 
 UNDER AN Influence derived from a Knowledge of 
 Christian Doctrines. 
 
 In a German translation of the poem by Dr. Lorinser, pub- 
 lished at Breslau in 1869, it is maintained that the author of 
 the Bhagavad Gita must have been acquainted with the doc- 
 trines of the Christian faith, and that an influence was super- 
 imposed on his Brahmanic training from this source. The 
 evidence brought forward in support of this theory is chiefly 
 an assumed or real resemblance of some passages in the poem 
 to corresponding passages in the Christian sacred books. On 
 the other hand, K. T. Telang, a Hindu advocate of Bombay, 
 has prefixed a long dissertation on this subject to an English 
 translation of the work, in which he controverts Dr. Lorinser's 
 theory, and claims an antiquity for the Bhagavad Gita ex- 
 tending so far back as the fourth century B.C., or even to an 
 earlier date. If this could be proved, then Dr. Lorinser's 
 theory is at once destroyed. Each of these writers has ap- 
 proached the subject under the influence of an evident bias, 
 and each is disposed to attach more weight to his arguments 
 or illustrations than they are able to bear. 
 
 It must be admitted, I think, that Dr. Lorinser finds re- 
 
'i82 APPENDIX. 
 
 semblances in passages that have little in common, or may be 
 explained as representing thoughts or expressions that may 
 be found in any cultured race; but K. T. Telang gains nothing 
 in support of his theory by assuming that the Bhagnri Tika, 
 alluded to in Patanjali's Mahabhashya, was very probably a 
 commentary on a work of Brihaspati, who is assumed to be 
 the founder of the Lokayatika sect, probably referred to in 
 chap, xvi., and that Patanjali's date may be taken to be 
 prior to the beginning of the first century B.C. He admits 
 that the argument is based, " in very great measure, not on 
 ascertained facts, but on mere presumptions." From the 
 absence of historical data in Hindu literature generally, we 
 cannot determine with certainty when Brihaspati or Patanjali 
 lived. Of the age of the former we have, I believe, no certain 
 knowledge ; for the latter, we can determine the limits, with 
 liigh probability, within which his date may be fixed. Ram 
 Krishna Bhandarkar says that " he probably wrote the third 
 chapter of his Bhashya (Commentary on Panini's Grammar) 
 between 144 and 142 B.C." Professor Weber, however, 
 assigns 25 A.C. as his probable date. It may be assumed, 
 then, fliat he flourished some time between these dates; and 
 when it is considered that the Yoga system attributed to him 
 had been existent long enough to fall into a corrupt state on 
 the part of some of its disciples,^ and to become the basis of 
 the new eclectic system maintained in the Bhagavad Git a, it 
 is evident that the latter work must have been composed at 
 a much later time, probably some centuries later, than the 
 date of Patanjali. We may compare this modification of the 
 Yosra doctrines with the Neo-Platonism of the Alexandrian 
 school, which arose fully four centuries after the great master 
 
 1 It is even said in the Bhagavad length of time." It was probably 
 
 Gita (iv. 2) that the Yoga system revived in its proper form by the 
 
 (tlie meditative devotional system of author of this book, 
 Patanjali) had been "lost through 
 
APPENDIX, 183 
 
 had charmed the Athenians by bis eloquent discourse. It 
 wouhi not be safe to assume that the course of thought was 
 more rapid among .the Hindus fifteen . hu-ndred years ago 
 than among the more lively and enterprising Greeks. This 
 adaptation of the Yoga doctrines into a new system is a valid 
 argument in favour of the opinion of Professors Weber and 
 Lassen, that the Bhagavad Gita was not written before the 
 third century A.C. 
 
 K. T. Telang is not more successful in arguing that' it was 
 written before the time of Buddha because no mention is 
 made in it of Buddha or his doctrines. Its purpose is to 
 establish a school of philosophic religion, and for this end it 
 modifies the teaching of the Sankyha and Yoga systems, 
 forming, with an infusion of a Yedantist element, a new 
 system, in which Buddhism could find no place. Nor was it 
 necessarily so opposed to the doctrines of Buddha that an 
 attack on the latter would seem unavoidable. It does, how- 
 ever, attack and denounce a certain class of men who reviled 
 every form of religion — the Pyrrhonists of India, who denied 
 the existence of any certain truth, and devoted themselves 
 exclusively to the enjoyments of the present life. These men 
 may not then have formed a distinct school, with teachers 
 and an organisation such as we find at a later period, bearing 
 the name of Lokayatikas^ or Worldlings, but they were 
 numerous enough to attract attention and rebuke. It is 
 certain that there was some free-thinking in India about the 
 Vedas at an early period ; but a school of free-thinkers, 
 openly avowing such atheistic and materialist doctrines as 
 those of Brihaspati and the denounced class in the Bhagavad 
 Ghlta, does not appear until a comparatively late date. This 
 class is described in the Yishnu Purana, but this work is cer- 
 tainly later than the sixth century A.C. : — "In a very short 
 
 ^ From Sans, lolca, the present world, because they denied or ignored 
 any other. 
 
1 84 APPENDIX, 
 
 time these Asuras (demoniac men, as in the Bhagavad Glta), 
 deluded by the deceiver, abandoned the entire system founded 
 on the ordinances of the triple Veda. Some reviled the 
 Vedas, others the gods, others the ceremonial of sacrifice, and 
 others the Brahmans. This (they said) is a doctrine that will 
 not bear discussion. (To say that) oblations of butter con- 
 sumed in the fire produce any future reward is the assertion 
 of a child" (iii. i8). 
 
 It will seem strange to an impartial reader of the Bhagavad 
 Glta that K. T. Telang can say " that the way in which the 
 Vedas are spoken of in more than one passage of the Glta 
 shows that the composition of the work must be referred to 
 a time when no attack had as yet been made on their autho- 
 rity " (p. vi.), or that it is " the work of one who was himself 
 thoroughly orthodox" {id.) The Vedas are not absolutely 
 rejected by the author of the Gita. They may have many 
 uses for a prudent Brahman (chap. ii. 46), but the perfect 
 Yogin or devotee rises above all ritual worship by the prac- 
 tice of constant meditation (iv. 37). Works, i.e.^ religious 
 acts, may have some use as a means to attain to yoga, but 
 when at4;ained, the soul needs only repose (c. vi. 3). The 
 Vedas are even sneered at as *' flowery speech," which the 
 ignorant, who are charmed by them, were wont to repeat, 
 thinking in their ignorance that there is nothing but this 
 (ii. 42). They are compared to the sacred fig-tree, " whose 
 leaves are sacred (Vedic) hymns : he who knows it knows 
 the Veda." This fig-tree must be cut down by the strong axe 
 of indifference, i.e., by the soul becoming indifferent to all 
 outward things by inward devotion (xv. i, 3). Devotion 
 {yoga) is the true lustral water : he who is perfect in devotion 
 finds spiritual knowledge in himself, and having obtained it, 
 he enters into supreme repose (in nirvana) without delay. The 
 Yogin (devotee) o'erpasses the holy reward promised in the Vedas 
 in sacrifices, in austerities, and in almsgiving, and attains the 
 
APPENDIX. 185 
 
 highest primeval seat (Brahma) (c. viii. 28). If this is the 
 language of one who is thoroughly orthodox, then Western 
 scholars must give up the ideas they have formerly held about 
 Hindu orthodoxy. It seems that a man may be a true Yedan- 
 tist though he mocks the Yedas and would set them aside, or 
 at least make them inferior to his own system in the obtaining 
 of final deliverance. It might be said with equal truth that a 
 man was an orthodox Christian who admitted that the Bible 
 contained some good moral precepts, but who sneered at it as 
 a whole, and wished it to be set aside for a system of pure 
 thought, such as that of Mons. Comte or Herbert Spencer. 
 S'ankara, who is held to be a high authority on Hindu ortho- 
 doxy, differs in opinion from K. T. Telang. In his commen- 
 tary on the Brahma-sutras (ii. i. i), he speaks of the systems 
 of Kapila and others. He lays down as a certain principle 
 that the authority of the Yedas is supreme, and that therefore 
 *'it forms no objection to a doctrine that it sets aside a Smriti 
 (a traditional doctrine) on a point which is contrary to the 
 Yeda " (Muir, S. T. iii. 185-190). The author of the Bhagavad 
 Gita and S'ankara are here opposed to each other, for the 
 former did not admit such an authority as vested in the Yedas, 
 and he set his own system far above the Yedic ritual in gain- 
 ing for its devotee the final blessing of nirvana. 
 
 If this writer has failed — and I think he has failed entirely 
 — in his attempt to establish so early a date as the fourth cen- 
 tury B.C. for the Bhagavad Gita, he has been more successful in 
 meeting the argument which Dr. Lorinser has advanced in 
 support of liis theory. The theory may be true, but the 
 evidence which has been brought forward in its support is 
 not sufficient. His argument is, that an examination of 
 parallel passages in the Bhagavad Gita and the New Testa- 
 ment shows that the former was written by one who had a 
 knowledge ofChristian doctrines, and must have been written 
 therefore some considerable time after the bea;innin;:: of the 
 
iS6 APPENDIX. 
 
 Christian era. Dr. Lorinser has arranged the passages whicli 
 he quotes in three divisions : (i) Those which vary in expres- 
 sion but agree in meaning; (2) Those in which a characteristic 
 expression of the New Testament is found but with a different 
 sense; (3) Those in which expression and meaning agree. It 
 must be admitted that the passages compared in parts (i) and 
 (2) do not establish Dr. Lorinser's proposition. There is no 
 necessary, or even probable, borrowing from St. Paul's words, 
 *'The fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is ; ... if 
 any man's be burned, he shall suffer loss " (i Cor. iii. 13, 15), 
 in the words of Krishna, "As a fire, when kindled, burns 
 fuel into ashes, so the fire of knowledge burns work into 
 ashes." The expressions are such as would naturally arise 
 from the conditions of thought and purpose in the several 
 writers without any contact of one with the other. 
 
 In the third class there are some passages which seem to 
 favour Dr. Lorinser's theory, but the similarity is not such as 
 to compel an absolute assent to the inference of a Christian 
 origin for the Hindu ideas. They are mainly these : — 
 
 . Bhagavad Gltd. New Testament. 
 
 I am exceedingly dear to the He that loveth me shall be loved 
 
 wise man ; lie also is dear to me of my Father, and I will love him 
 
 (vii. 17). (John xiv. 21). 
 
 I am the way, supporter, lord, I am the way, the truth, and the 
 
 witness, abode, refuge, friend (ix. life (John xiv. 6). I am the first 
 
 18). and the last (Rev. i. 17). 
 
 I never depart from him (the He dwelleth in me and I in him 
 
 true Yogin), he never departs (John vi. 57). 
 from me (vi. 30), 
 
 They who worship me with true I in them and thou in me, that 
 
 devotion {hhaktyd) are in me and they may be made perfect ill one 
 
 I in them (vi. 29). (John xvii. 23). 
 
 Be assured that he who wor- He that beheveth in me shall 
 
 ships me perishes not (ix. 31). never perish, but shall have eter- 
 nal life (John iii. 5). 
 
 I am the beginning and the I am Alpha and Omega, the 
 
 middle and the end of existent beginning and the ending (Rev. 
 
 tilings (x. 20). i. 8). 
 
APPENDIX. iSy 
 
 Jjha:/avad Gltd. New Testament. 
 
 I Avill deliver thee from all sin : Son, be of good cheer ; thy sins 
 
 do not grieve (xviii. 66). be forgiven thee (Matt. ix. 2). 
 
 He who knows me as unborn This is the life eternal, that 
 
 and without beginning, the mighty they might know thee, the only 
 
 Lord of the world, he among mor- true God, and Jesus Christ, whom 
 
 tals is undelnded, he is delivered thou hast sent (John xvii. 3). 
 from all sins (x, 3). 
 
 What sacrifice, almsgiving, or Whatsoever is not of faith is 
 
 ansterity is done without faith is sin (Rom. xiv. 23). 
 evil {asat) (xvii. 28). 
 
 That man obtains the perfect Whatsoever therefore ye eat or 
 
 state who honours by his proper drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all 
 
 work him from whom all things to the glory of God (i Cor. x. 31). 
 liave issued, and by whom this 
 All was spread out (xviii. 46). 
 
 These coincidences of thought and expression, though not 
 decisive of the question, naturally draw attention to the sub- 
 ject. They will be estimated differently by different minds, 
 according to their knowledge of Hindu literature and the 
 modes of thought and expression used by other writers on 
 religious subjects, whether within or without the Christian 
 pale. The author was a Brahman, and he retained a degree 
 of respect, or rather of toleration, for the Yedic doctrines and 
 ritual, but he subordinates them entirely to the duty and 
 happiness of pious meditation. They were of no efficacy to 
 the perfect Yogin. In man's highest state, even in this world, 
 they are left behind as inferior things. It is not necessary to 
 discuss the question whether there was a translation of the 
 New Testament into the native lancjuaire or lansruacres of India 
 before the third century A.C. Assuming, for the present, that 
 the Christian doctrine was preached there and Christian com- 
 munities formed before that time, some knowledge of both 
 would spread among, at least, the cultured classes, and insen- 
 sibly mould the existing form of Hindii thought. This has 
 been the result in our own time. Many Hindiis, especially 
 of the educated class, have heard of the Christian faith; and 
 
188 APPENDIX, 
 
 though some have never read the New Testament or any- 
 Christian book, yet the knowledge of Christianity which has 
 been obtained from other sources has permeated the whole 
 of this class, and has affected the whole atmosphere of Hindu 
 
 thought on religious subjects. It may be certainly affirmed 
 that if any one, after reading the Puranas or other popular 
 religious books of the Hindus, should then turn for the first 
 time to the study of the Bhagavad Gita, he must be conscious 
 of having come to a new country where nearly everything is 
 changed. The thoughts, the sentiments, and the methods of 
 expression have another stamp. He feels that he has come 
 to a higher region, where the air is much more pure and invi- 
 gorating, and where the prospect has a wider range. He has 
 come from a system which gives honour to gods who are 
 stained by cruelty and lust to a spiritual system which recog- 
 nises only one God, who, if not set forth in such terms as a 
 Christian would utter, is yet a spiritual being, the source and 
 maintainer of all life, and is to be worshipped with a purely 
 spiritual worship. How did he rise to this higher state? 
 Certainly not by the common Hindu teaching or practice, nor 
 yet from the Yoga-sutras, for in the forms of thought or 
 expression in which he seems to come near to the Christian 
 system he has not drawn from this source. Dr. Muir, who is 
 opposed to Dr. Lorinser's theory, remarks that we meet in 
 the Rig- Veda with " a variety of expressions in which the 
 worshipper's trust in, and regard for, the god Indra are indi- 
 cated : his friendship and guidance are said to be sweet: he 
 is spoken of as a father and the most fatherly of fathers, and 
 as being both a father and a mother : he is the helper of the 
 poor, and has a love for mortals." But Indra is not repre- 
 sented as the only God or as a spiritual Essence. Earthly 
 blessings, such as abundant harvests, children, or victory over 
 foes, are sought for b}^ prayer and sacrifice ; but Indra him- 
 self is not sought for as the chief good, nor do his worshippers 
 
APPENDIX, 189 
 
 approach him in a spiritual communion or fellowship. ^The 
 natural course of all systems of idolatry has been to a lower 
 state. In India the popular worship has descended even to 
 the foul worship of Kali, the wife of the god S'iva, who is 
 represented as *' having a black skin, a hideous countenance 
 dripping with blood, encircled with snakes, hung round with 
 skulls and human heads, and in all respects resembling a fury 
 rather than a goddess." Thuggism or organised murder was 
 the natural result of such a form of religion. But the author 
 of the Bhagavad Gita rose above any form of the Hindu 
 mythology of which we have any knowledge, and if this 
 higher state was not due to some contact with a more spiritual 
 system of belief, he must be regarded as on-e of those who by 
 virtue of a higher nature have risen far above their contem- 
 poraries in the conception of spiritual truths. We cannot at 
 present attain to absolute certainty on this subject, but the 
 weight of probability lies, I think, on the supposition that he 
 was affected, though imperfectly and obscurely, by the influ- 
 ence of a purer system than that which then prevailed in his 
 native country. 
 
 As this~ evidence is not decisive, we may turn again to the 
 work itself to see if it contains other indications of the time 
 when it was written. There are some indications of this 
 kind, and these are : (i) The Krishna cult; (2) The similarity 
 of its mythological forms with those of the Puranas ; and (3) 
 The style or language of the poem. 
 
 The evidence in favour of the late date of the Krishna cult, in 
 its full development, has been accepted by all European scholars 
 as decisive, though Mr. Thomson affirmed too much in saying 
 that " Krishna cannot be said to belong to the Epic age, but 
 almost exclusively to the Puranic." K. T. Telang very justly 
 objects to the question being decided by mere authority, 
 though it may be as high as that of Professors Weber or Las- 
 sen. The opinions of Hindu scholars in questions of their own 
 
190 APPENDIX. 
 
 literature are worthy of a careful atteution, but they too need 
 to be reminded that the question is one of fact. When we 
 are told by K. T. Telang, as a proof of the early date of the 
 Krishna cult, that Kalidasa speaks of '' Vishnu in the form of 
 a cowherd" (i.e., Krishna), he is attempting to prove igno- 
 turn jyer ignotius. We do not know at what time Kalidasa 
 lived. He was one of the "nine gems" of the court of King 
 Vikramaditya at UjjayinT. The late Professor Wilson sup- 
 posed that this was the king of that name whose era begins 
 in the year 57 B.C., but Dr. Bhau DajT has attempted to prove 
 that the king referred to was Harsha Vikramaditya, who lived 
 in the middle of the sixth century A.C. This, I think, is the 
 more probable opinion, but it has not been fully proved. K. 
 T. Telang would assign his period to "two or three centuries 
 before the sixth century A.C." Even if this earlier date could 
 be proved, the rejection of such a date for the Gita as the 
 fourth century B.C. would follow at once; for it may be 
 affirmed, from the mythological forms and the language of 
 Kalidasa's finest work, the Sakuntala, that the time between 
 this work and the Glia cannot have been great. It has been 
 urged in favour of the early development of the Krishna 
 worship that he appears as a god in other parts of the 
 Mahabharata; but certainly not as the Supreme Being, for 
 he offers worship to Mahadeva (S'iva) as the Supreme God. 
 In the book called "Drona-parvan," Krishna and Arjuna recite 
 a hymn in honour of Mahadeva as "the soul of all things, the 
 creator of all, and the pervader of all." It is also said in the 
 same book that " the righteous Vasudeva (Krishna), together 
 with the son of Pritha (Arjuna), bowed his head to the ground, 
 beholding him, the source of the worlds, . . . the Supreme 
 Brahma." It is added that " Krishna reverenced him (Brahma) 
 with voice, heart (manas), mind (buddhi), and action." ^ But 
 
 1 Muir iv. 185. The word is in worship, and (2) to praise, to cele- 
 vaiande irom vand, {1) to how down brate. In another book of the 
 
APPENDIX. 191 
 
 his rank as a deity of any degree was not accepted by all. In 
 the Sahha-parvan, S'isupala denies his right to such a claim, 
 charging him as a transgressor of the sacred law {smriti), say- 
 ing that he was inferior, for this and other reasons, to other 
 chiefs present, and that he was not even a king, his father, 
 Vasudeva, being still alive. ^ Blilshma then defends the claim 
 of Krishna to this honour, but S'isupala evidently represents 
 the judgment of some contemporaneous class on the subject. 
 The Vaishnavas promoted his claim, but it was affirmed by 
 many that he was only a man; for in the Bhishma-parvan it 
 is said, *' Whoever says that he (Krishna) was a mere man is 
 of dull intellect {manda-dldJi).'^ ^ If in some few passages he 
 is represented as being the origin of all things, these are so 
 contrary to the general tone of the poem on this subject, that, 
 with Dr. Muir, we are compelled to assume that they are late 
 interpolations.^ It is not until we come to the Puranas that 
 he appears as the Supreme Deity beyond all doubt or cavil, 
 and the earliest of these books, the Vayu Puiana, has, by 
 general consent, no higher antiquity than the sixth century 
 A.C. 
 
 In the Bhagavata Purana, which is devoted to the honour 
 of Bhagavat (Krishna), it is said : " When a man hears this 
 (work), devotion to Krishna the Supreme Purusha (Spirit) is 
 l^roduced, destroying grief, delusion, and fear." In the Bha- 
 gavad Gita he is called the Supreme Brahma (param BraJima), 
 and the Eishis name him Eternal Spirit {jourusham sdswatam) 
 (x. 12). The devotion offered to Krishna is also denoted by 
 the same word, hhaJcti, in both. This word is also found in 
 
 Mahabharata (the Santi-parvan) the a late interpolation. In this great 
 
 worship of Mahadeva is explained epic Krishna appears mainly as a 
 
 as being offered only as an example deified hero. 
 
 to others, and that really it was 1 Muir 206. 
 
 offered to himself, Mahadeva being ^ ibid. 236. 
 
 one of his manifestations (Muir iv. ^ Jbjd, 20S n. 
 
 185 n.) J but this must have been 
 
192 APPENDIX. 
 
 the Nalopakhyauam, or story of Nala, but the Krishna divi- 
 sion of the Vaishnavas gave to it a deeper meaning. With 
 them it denoted an implicit faith, with incessant devotion and 
 love. The Chaitanyas, Avho -worship Krishna as the Paramat- 
 man (Supreme Spirit),^ assign to it five degrees: {i) Santa, 
 repose or quietism; (2) Ddsya, service; (3) Sdkya, personal 
 regard or friendship ; (4) Batsalya, tender affection, as of a 
 parent for children ; and (5) Madhurya, passionate attachment. 
 
 In the Brahma Parana, also, Krishna is declared to be the 
 Supreme Spirit {paramdtman), and to be the source of all 
 things, as in the Gita. He gave origin to a female form, his 
 sakti or energy, endowed with the three gunas (the elements 
 of Prakriti or Nature), w^hich form the whole material crea- 
 tion. In the Gita, Prakriti is the lower nature of the Supreme 
 Being (Krishna), and this he sends forth in the creation of 
 gods and men. Hence he is called both the father and 
 mother of the world (ix. 17), and the origin of all things 
 (xiv. 3).2 
 
 The same subject is discussed in the Patala section of the 
 Padma Purana and the sixth part of the Vishnu Purana. In 
 fact, it- is impossible to read the Bhagavad Gita and the 
 Puranas without feeling that we are treading upon the same 
 ground. The Krishna cult was probably developed in its 
 highest form before the earliest of the Puranas was written, 
 but it would be unreasonable to suppose that it had existed 
 as a popular worship more than two or three centuries before 
 it entered into the literature of the countr3\ 
 
 We are also brought near to the Puranic age as the date 
 of the Bhagavad Gita by the fact that all the mythological 
 signs and attendants of the gods are found in it. They are 
 referred to only as instances of the glory of the one Supreme 
 Being, but they existed at the time as parts of the fully de- 
 
 1 Prof. Wilson's Rel. Sects of theHindus, p. 100. 
 
 2 Ibid. p. 76. 
 
APPENDIX. 193 
 
 veloped mythological system. The horse Uchchaih-sravas, 
 the white horse of Indra, produced at the churning of the 
 ocean, when gods and Daityas whirled the serpent Vasuki 
 round the mountain Mandara in the sea of milk, and the 
 amrita (the nectar of immortality) was won ; the Makara, the 
 monster fish on which Varuna rides upon the ocean, and 
 which Kama, the Hindu Cupid, bears on his banner ; Airavata, 
 the elephant on which Indra rides, and which guards the 
 eastern quarter of the sky ; Vainateya, the bird which carries 
 the god Vishnu, formerly called Garuda, but named, accord- 
 ing to the Puranas, from his mother, Yinata, a daughter of 
 Daksha, — all are recorded and must have been well known 
 among all classes. Varuna, who in the story of Nala is the 
 god of the sea, is only the chief of aquatic animals in the Gita 
 
 (X. 2^y 
 
 The worship of Bhutas, too, was then common. These are 
 malignant spirits which haunt churchyards and eat human 
 flesh. They are described in the Vishnu Purana, and are 
 said to have been created when Brahma was angry. In the 
 Vayu Purana it is said that their mother was Krodha (Anger). 
 
 The preference is given to the Sama-Veda over the others, 
 not because it is the most important, but from its use by the 
 priests in chanting at the sacrificial rites (x. 22). The pre- 
 ference given to the Sama-Veda is not an absolute indication 
 of time, but it shows that the chanting of hymns on the occa- 
 sion of a sacrifice by Brahmans was fully established when 
 the Gita was written. In Manu the Sama-Veda is said to 
 have the pitris (ancestral manes) for its object, and therefore 
 *' its sound is impure ; " but the commentator, Kulluka, states 
 that the Sama-Veda was not really impure ; it only seems to 
 be S0.2 The time when Kulluka lived is not known, but it 
 
 1 In the Atharva-Veda Varuna the forgiveness of sins is prayed for. 
 is addressed as " Lord of all, both of (Muller's Sanskrit Lit., pp. 534, 541.) 
 heaven and earth," and from him ^ Muir, S. T., iii. 26. 
 
 N 
 
194. APPENDIX. 
 
 may be assumed to be some centuries after the beginning of 
 the Christian era. 
 
 The argument may be extended to the words used in the 
 Gita. Kalpa, in the sense of a definite number of ages, is a 
 Puranic word. It is not found in any of the Brahmanas. 
 Manwantara, as Manu-period; Dwandwa, as a pair of oppo- 
 sites ; Bhdshd, as a mark or sign (used in this sense in the 
 Bhag. Parana) ; Yoga and Vihhuti, as denoting supernatural 
 power ; and Maya, in the sense of an illusive external world, 
 all belong to a late period. 
 
 The question of date cannot be settled with absolute cer- 
 tainty, but all the evidence we have points to a time not 
 earlier than the third century A.C. 
 
 If we may assume this as the proximate date of the Bha- 
 gavad Gita, the question arises whether we have evidence of 
 the Christian faith having been preached in India before that 
 time. In answer to this question we may note : (i.) That the 
 intercourse between India and the principal cities of Africa 
 and Europe, even before the beginning of the Christian era, 
 was very great; and (2.) That we have direct evidence of 
 the pfeaching of the Christian faith there before the third 
 century A.C. 
 
 (i.) From the time of Alexander's conquest of the North of 
 India there was a constant intercourse between Greeks and 
 Hindus. Even in the time of Chandragupta gold coins were 
 struck, according to Mr. Prinsep, which were undoubtedly in 
 weight and design of Grecian origin. ^ At a later period, 
 coins of Hindu kings have been found with Greek inscriptions 
 on one side and Sanskrit on the other. It was quite possible, 
 therefore, for Panini, who mentions the Yavananl (lipi) (the 
 Greek writing), to be familiar at least with the Greek alphabet. 2 
 Such was the fame of Augustus, and so well known was 
 
 * Max Miiller's Sanskrit Lit., p. 245 n. - Ibid. p. 520. 
 
APPENDIX, 195 
 
 tlie route to Europe, that he received at Samos an embassy 
 from India, to which Horace seems to refer ^ with national 
 pride. Florus states that the ambassadors brought as presents 
 elephants, pearls, and precious stones. There was a second 
 embassy from India sent to the Emperor Claudius, of which 
 Pliny gives an account. He received from the ambassadors, 
 who were four in number, the information about Ceylon 
 which he has embodied in his *' Natural History." 2 Two 
 other embassies from Hindu princes to Eome were sent before 
 the third century A.C. — one to Trajan (107 A.C.) and another 
 to Antoninus Pius. They continued as late as the time of 
 Justinian (530 A.c.) 
 
 But apart from this' occasional intercourse, a constant trade 
 was carried on between Alexandria and Western India.^ 
 There was also an overland trade through Palmyra. Ptolemy 
 (138 A.C.) met some Hindus at Alexandria, and received in- 
 formation of a large inland sea, which he calls Hippados, 
 probably, as Wilford suggests, the Sans, ahdhi^ a general term 
 for the sea.* This commerce seems to have been at its height 
 in the reign of Commodus, for a vessel was found in the last 
 century among the ruins of a Hindu temple near Vellore, 
 containing gold denarii of the Emperors Trajan and Hadrian. 
 Some had been perforated and worn as ornaments, according 
 to the custom of Hindu women, but others had apparently 
 been used in the ordinary course of commerce.^ 
 
 ^ Bk. iv. 14; bk, i. 12. Kome itself were supplied with the 
 
 " Nat. Hist., vi. 24. products of India." — "Life in Wes- 
 
 3 " We are assured on undisputed tern India" (Guthrie), from Tod's 
 
 authority that the Romans remitted "Western India," p. 221. 
 
 annually to India a sum equivalent ^ Asiat. Researches, iii. 53. 
 
 tO;{^400,ooo to pay for their invest- ^ Asiat. Researches, ii. 332. In 
 
 ments, and that in the i-eign of the 1S42 an earthen pot containing 522 
 
 Ptolemies 125 sail of Indian shipping Roman denarii was dug up at Vella- 
 
 were at one time lying in the ports lar, near Koimbatur. They were 
 
 of Mysus, Hormus, and Berenice, chiefly coins of Augustus and Tibe- 
 
 the ports whence Egypt, Syria, and rius, with some of Caligula and 
 
196 APPENDIX. 
 
 There was ample knowledge at this time, probably through 
 the channels of trade, of the religious systems of India. 
 Clemens Alexandrinns (192-217 A.C.) mentions Brahmans 
 and Buddhists. He describes the monastic life of the latter, 
 and mentions some doctrines and usages of the former. ^ He 
 obtained his information from some Hindus who resided in 
 Alexandria, and Dion Cassius states that Hindus were often 
 found there. At that time Philostratus and ^lian wrote 
 about India, and Bardasanes, as we learn from the extracts 
 preserved by Porphyry, published his "Indica," for which he 
 obtained materials from one Dandaas or Sandamines, whom 
 he met at Babylon in the reign of Elogabalus. He gives a 
 full account of Brahmanic customs, and speaks of ascetics who 
 forsook their wives and children to devote themselves to the 
 study of divine things. ^ 
 
 AYe have evidence of the fact that the traders to India 
 brought back a knowledge of its religious systems in the 
 history of Scythianus. He was a cotemporary of the Apostles, 
 and was engaged as a merchant in the Indian trade. In the 
 course of his traffic he often visited India, and made himself 
 acquainted with Hindu philosophy. Having amassed a con- 
 siderable fortune, he settled at length in Alexandria, and 
 here, according to Epiphanius and Cyril, he wrote a book in 
 four parts, which they affirm to be the source from which the 
 Manichaean doctrines were derived. Whether this be true or 
 not, it is evident that Hindu ideas were brought to Europe 
 by some who traded with India. This name is sometimes 
 
 Claudius, In 1856 sixty -three gold (probably about the end of the third 
 
 coins of the early Roman emperors century A.C.) the river Ganges was 
 
 were found near the boundary of the well known, and was frequented by 
 
 Madura and Koimbatur districts. Western traders. He had not reached 
 
 (Indian Antiquary, August 1876.) it himself, but many others had done 
 
 ^ Strom I. XV. iil 7. Joum. As. so, 
 
 Soc. xix. 277, oi)5' eTTt Vay^riv 
 
 - Joum. Asiat. Soc. xix. 280. In ^pxcfiai, ola re iroWol. — 709 v. 
 the time of Dionysius Periegetes 
 
APPENDIX. 197 
 
 given to Southern Arabia, but the Hindu philosophy could 
 have been brought only from India proper.^ 
 
 If a knowledge of Hindu systems was brought to Europe 
 by traders, we might reasonably infer that Christian traders 
 carried the doctrines of their faith to India. But we have 
 positive evidence that a knowledge of Christianity existed there 
 before the third century A.c, whether by tliis channel or other- 
 wise. Syrian merchants laid the foundation from which the set- 
 tlements of the St. Thome Christians arose, and it was probably 
 from them that a request was made, as St. Jerome asserts,^ to 
 Demetrius, Bishop of Alexandria, that he would send out a 
 Christian teacher to India. He sent Pantaenus, who went 
 forth, according to the same authority, to instruct the Brah- 
 mans. It has been assumed that the St. Thom^ Christians 
 were Nestorians who fled from Syria when this sect was per- 
 secuted by Tlieodosius IT. ; but Nestorius was condemned by 
 the Council of Epbesus (a.C. 431), and we learn from St. 
 Jerome (born 340 A.c.) that St. Thomas, the apostle of India, 
 was famous in his time.^ Maffei and Orosius state that when 
 Don Alfonso Souza was the Viceroy of John III., King of 
 Portugal, the St. Thome Christians brought before him some 
 ancient brass tablets, containing a record of a grant of land 
 made to their founder by the king who reigned there at that 
 time, and an inscription preserved in St. Thomas's Church at 
 Malipur which recorded the fact that he came to India during 
 the reign of King Sagamo.* In a list of kings inserted in 
 the "Journal of the London Asiatic Society," a king named 
 Sangha appears, who reigned from 150 to 168 A.C.^ This 
 
 1 Jr. Asiat. Soc. xx. 269. Though ^ Epis. ad Marcellum. 
 apparently of Scythian descent, he ^ Cave's Lives of the Apostles, p. 
 was born in Palestine. He is said 187. He refers to Maff., Hist. In- 
 to have been well acquainted with dica, lib. 2, p. 85, and to Osorius, De 
 the Greek language and literature. Kebus Emman., lib. 3, p. 1 20. 
 
 2 De Scrip. Illust. c. 36, and ^ y^i^ jy p J22, New Series, 
 Epis. 83. 
 
198 APPENDTa. 
 
 name seems to be a variation of Sagliana, which in the Pali, 
 or common speech, would be pronounced Saghano. No other 
 name appears in the list approaching this form. Unfortu- 
 nately the fierce Portuguese bigot, Archbishop De Menezes, 
 destroyed all the records of these Churches, and we must 
 rely on the reports of Maffei and Orosius concerning these 
 documents. 
 
 In the third and fourth centuries A.c. the Christian com- 
 munities in India were numerous. Mr. Priaulx observes that 
 " of Eastern travellers in the fourth or fifth centuries many 
 were priests, as we may surmise from the number of Christian 
 Churches in India." ^ In the sixth century Cosmas Indi- 
 copheustes wrote of India, and from him we learn that there 
 was a Christian church even in Ceylon : there was a bishop's 
 see at Calliena, and probably many others. He was accom- 
 panied on one occasion by Thomas of Edessa, afterwards 
 Metropolitan of Persia, and Patricius, a monk, whose journeys 
 were on behalf of the Christian population. The cause of 
 Christianity declined in India after the sixth century ; but in 
 the third and fourth centuries the Christians in India seem 
 to have"borne as large a proportion to the whole of the Hindu 
 population as in the present century. We may reasonably 
 assume that the New Testament was translated into their 
 vernacular tongue, though probably not in any authorised 
 version, and that therefore St. Chrysostom was justified in 
 saying that " the Syrians, and the Egyptians, and the Indians, 
 and the Persians, and the Ethiopians, and countless other 
 nations, having the doctrines promulgated by him (St. John) 
 translated into their own languages, have learned, though 
 barbarians, to philosophise." ^ 
 
 Professor Weber maintains that in another part of the 
 Mahabharata (xii. 12, 776 ff.) there is a reference to Christian 
 
 ^ Journ. Asiat. Soc. xx. 297. 
 
 ^ Horn, on St. John's Gospel, i. c. i. 
 
APPENDIX. 199 
 
 doctrines and usages. The passage referred to is certainly 
 coloured by the glow of an Oriental imagination, but it seems 
 to have a groundwork of fact. It relates the voyage of 
 three pilgrims, Ekata, Dvita, and Trita, to the Svetadwipa 
 (White Country). Its inhabitants are said to be worshippers 
 of the Divine Unity : " Go there, Munis ; there my true 
 nature is revealed ; " and the narrative proceeds : " At the 
 end of the time we beheld glistering men, white, appearing 
 like the moon, adorned with all auspicious marks, with their 
 palms ever joined in supplication, praying to the Supreme 
 Being with their faces turned to the east : the prayer which 
 is offered by these great-hearted men is called the mental 
 prayer." They heard a loud sound of those " who were offer- 
 ing an oblation to the god," but they did not see him. " We 
 only heard a loud cry uttered, ' Thou art victorious, O lotus- 
 eyed one. Hail to thee, Creator of the universe ! Hail to 
 thee, the eldest son of the Supreme Soul ! ' Such was the 
 sound heard by us, accompanied by teaching. In the mean- 
 while a pure wind, laden with all perfumes, brouglit heavenly 
 flowers and healino: druojs." The reference to the Son of God 
 and the act of worshipping towards the east are significant. 
 The writer of an article in the " Calcutta Review" (January 
 1876) says: " It is scarcely too daring a conjecture to suppose 
 that the passage contains a description of the effect produced 
 upon some Indian pilgrims by witnessing a Christian service. 
 The burning of incense and the celebration of the Eucharist 
 are sufficiently clearly indicated." 
 
 Professor Weber also maintains that the Krishna legend, 
 in its latest development, was affected by the knowledge of the 
 facts recorded in the Gospels. He refers to the statements 
 of the Vishnu Purana, that *' Nanda, the foster-father of 
 Krishna, went with his pregnant wife, Yashoda, to Mathura 
 to pay taxes at the time when Krishna was born \ " that he 
 is represented as lying in the cow-stall, which corresponds to 
 
200 APPENDIX, 
 
 the manger, and that shepherds and shepherdesses stood 
 around him. A fiery meteor also appeared at his birth,^ and 
 Kansa, the king of the country, was informed by the prophet 
 Narada that this child would kill him and overthrow his king- 
 dom, and in consequence he ordered all the male children 
 of the country to be put to death. Prof. Weber refers also 
 to the wonderful deeds of the child, the healing virtue of the 
 water in which he was washed, to the account given in the 
 Jaimini Bharata of his raising to life the dead son of Duhsala, 
 of the cure of Kubja and of her pouring a vessel of ointment 
 over him, of the power of his look to take away sin, and other 
 statements of the same kind as being of Christian origin. He 
 also maintains that " the later exclusively monotheistic direc- 
 tion of the Indian sects, who honour a personal god, pray for his 
 grace, and believe in him, has been influenced by the acquaint- 
 ance which the Indians had with the corresponding doctrines 
 of Christianity." 2 The assumption that in all these respects 
 the Christian writers borrowed from the Krishna legend and 
 Hindu religious works does not need a reply. There is no 
 ground whatever for such an assertion or supposition. The 
 writers pf the Christian Gospels certainly knew nothing of 
 Hindu myths or the Krishna legend. 
 
 AVe cannot attain to perfect certainty on the questions 
 which have been here discussed, but all the evidence we have 
 is in favour of the following propositions : (i) That some 
 Hindu writings were affected, after the second or third cen- 
 tury A.C., by the Christian faith and ritual; (2) that the doc- 
 trines of the Christian faith had been preached and Christian 
 communities formed in India during those centuries; and (3) 
 that the Bhagavad Gita cannot probably be referred to an 
 earlier period than the third century A.C. From a long study 
 of the work, I infer that its author lived at or near the time 
 of Kalidasa, who is supposed by Professor Lassen to have 
 ^ Asiat. Res. v. 276. ^ Calcutta Review, January 1876. 
 
APPENDIX. "^^ST^ - 20I 
 
 lived about the middle of the third century after Christ. For- 
 merly he was assigned to the first half of the century before 
 Christ, but this opinion is not now generally maintained. 
 We require more evidence on the subject than we have at 
 present before the question can be finally answered. We 
 must say with Professor Weber on this subject, as well as on 
 our author's acquaintance with Christian doctrines, " the 
 question is still suhjudice." 
 
202 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 II. 
 
 The Traditionary Line of Descent of the Lunar 
 Dynasty. 
 
 Atri, one of the fishis (ancient sages).^ 
 
 Soma (or Chandra), the Moon. 
 
 I 
 Budha + Ha or Ida, d. of Ikshvvaku.^ 
 
 Pururavas (or Aila) + the nymph Urvasi.^ 
 
 Ayus. 
 
 Devajanl + Yayati + Sarmishtha. 
 
 I 
 Yadu (the eldest son).'* 
 
 Vrishni. 
 
 I 
 Devarata. 
 
 Puru, king of Pratishthana (the 
 
 1 youngest son). 
 
 Dushyanta + Sakuntala.^ 
 
 Bharata.^ 
 
 Andaka. Hastin (built Hastinapura). 
 
 , I I 
 
 Sura. Kuru. 
 
 Vasudeva, b. of KuntI (Pritha). Santanu + Satyavatl. 
 
 \ I 
 
 Balarama, Krishna, 
 (contemporaries with the sons 
 of Pandu). 
 
 Chitrangada. 
 
 Vichitra-virya, 
 died s.p. 
 
 Vyasa,^ Kripa, 
 
 married the two an adopted son. 
 widows of Vichitra. 
 
 Ambika + Vyasa + Ambalika. 
 I l_ 
 
 I I 
 
 Dhritarashtra + Gandhari. KuntI + Pandu + 
 
 ■ _1 I I I 
 
 I 
 
 Madri. 
 
 Duryodhana, Kama.^ Yudisthira. Arjuna.^ Bhima. Nakula. Sahadeva. 
 and ninety-nine | 
 
 other sons. Abhimanyu. 
 
 Parikshit. 
 
 Janamejaya. 
 
APPENDIX. 203 
 
 The line down to Saiitanu has many omissions. The full 
 line is given in Professor Dowson's " Classical Dictionary of 
 Hindu Mythology," s.v. Chandra-vansa. Bhishma was a son 
 of Santanu by a former wife, the goddess Ganga, whence he 
 is sometimes called Gangeya. Another name, Sdfanava, is 
 from his father, S'antanu. 
 
 ^ They are usually numbered as 
 seven, and are represented by the 
 seven stars of the Great Bear (Ursa 
 Major). The hymns of the Vedas 
 were revealed to them. 
 
 - Sonof theManu Vaivasvat, who 
 was the son of Vivaswat, the Sun. 
 rounder of the Solar dynasty. 
 
 "* A celestial nymph mentioned in 
 the Rig- Veda. The loves of Pura- 
 ravas and Urvasi are the subject of 
 the Vikramorvasi, a drama by Kali- 
 dasa. 
 
 •* From Yadu, Krishna is called 
 Yadava, as being a descendant. 
 
 ^ The heroine of Kalidasa's drama 
 of that name. 
 
 ^ From him India is sometimes 
 called Bharata-varsha, the kingdom 
 of Bharata. 
 
 ^ Vyasa was the son of SatyavatI, 
 but not of Santanu. His father was 
 the sage Parasara : he was therefore 
 the half-brother of Vichitravirya. 
 
 ^ Kama was the son of KuntI, 
 also called Pritha, by Surya, the Sun, 
 before her marriage with Pandu. 
 
 ^ Arjuna visited Krishna at Dwa- 
 raka, and there he married Subhadra, 
 the sister of Kfishna. Abhimanyii 
 was her son from this marriage. He 
 was killed in the great contest of 
 the rival princes, but the kingdom of 
 Hastinapura descended to his son 
 Parikshit. The city of Hastinapura 
 was about fifty-seven miles N.E. of 
 Delhi, on the banks of an old bed of 
 the Ganges. It is now in ruins. 
 
204 
 
 APPENDIX, 
 
 III. 
 Collation of Two MSS. in my Possession with the Bonn 
 Edition of the Bhagavad Gita, and the Readings of 
 OTHER Editions and MSS. 
 
 The MS. marked a is a well- written copy, with gold borders on 
 each page, and seventeen miniature paintings illustrating the work. 
 It is dated Samvat, 1869 (a.d. 1812). The other MS., marked 6, 
 is a small copy, 5 in. by 3, evidently intended for popular use. It 
 is dated Samvat, 181 1 (A.D. 1754). 
 
 Calc. B.G., Calcutta ed. of Bhagavad Gita; Calc. M., Calcutta 
 ed. of Mahabharata ; P.C., Paris Codex; L.C., London do. 
 
 Bonn Edition. 
 
 c. i. d. 8. saumadattista- 
 
 thaiva 
 c. i. d. 37. sabandhavan 
 
 c. iii. d, 12. apradaya 
 c. iii. d. 23. varteya 
 
 c. iii. d. 28. vartanta 
 c. iii. d. 39. dushpurena 
 
 c. iv. d. 23. muktasya 
 
 c. V. d. 26. yatlnam 
 c. V. d. 21. yaC sukham 
 c. vi. d. 39. etam me 
 
 c. vii. d. 23. chetasam 
 
 c. vii d. 29. jaramarana 
 c. viii. d. 8. chetasananya- 
 glmina. P. Codd. (Las- 
 sen) 
 c. viii. d. 10 
 
 c. ix. d. 7. mamakim 
 
 c. ix. d. 10. mayadhyak- 
 
 shena 
 c. ix. d. 21. evam trayid- 
 
 harmam 
 c. ix. d. 33. bhakta 
 
 (P. Codd. B.C. 5 L. 
 
 Codd.) 
 
 MSS. a and h. 
 
 saumadattastathaiva, a 
 saumadattistathaiva, h 
 swabandhavan, a and h 
 
 a and h, id. 
 varteyam, a and 6 
 
 a and J, id. 
 dushpurena, a 
 du(h)purena, 6 
 a and 6, id. 
 
 a and h, id. 
 a and h, id. 
 etanme, a and 6 
 
 medhasain, a and 6 
 
 a and h, id. 
 
 chetasananyagamina, a 
 chetasananyagamina, h 
 
 a and h have the same 
 syllable in excess that 
 is found in other MSS. 
 
 mamikam, a and b 
 
 a and 6, id. 
 a and h, id. 
 a and &, id. 
 
 Other Readings. 
 
 saumadattirjayadrathah, 
 
 Calc. M. 
 swabandhavan, Calc. B.G. 
 
 and 5 L. codices 
 na pradaya, Calc. B.G. 
 varteyam, Ca!j. B.G., 
 
 Calc. M., L. MSS. 
 vartante, Codd. (Lassen) 
 du(h)purena, Calc. B.G. 
 
 yuktasya (Thomson, as 
 
 an emendation), 
 yatinam, Calc. B.G. 
 ya(h)sukham (Thomson) 
 etanme, Calc. B.G., 
 
 Calc. M. 
 medhasam, Calc. M. and 
 
 scholiasts, 
 janmamarana (Thomson) 
 chetasananyagamina, 
 
 Calc. M., 4 L. Codd. 
 
 mamikam, P. Codd. B.D., 
 
 5 L. Codd., Calc. M. 
 mayadhyakshyena, Calc. 
 
 BG. 
 evam hi traidharmyam, 
 
 Madhusudana 
 bhaktya, Calc. B.G., P. 
 
 Codd. D., Berlin MS. 
 
APPENDIX, 
 
 205 
 
 Boftm, Edition. 
 c. X. d. 41. urjitam 
 
 ex. d. 42. jnanena 
 
 c. xi. d. 2. bhavavyayan 
 
 c. xi. d. 7. ihaikastham 
 
 jagat 
 c. xi. d. 8. sakshyase 
 c. xi. d. II. diptam 
 c. xi. d. 12. bhah 
 c. xi. d. 16. viswanipa 
 
 c. xi. d. 28. abhivijvalanti 
 c. xi. d. 41. tavemain 
 
 c. xi. d. 43. guror 
 
 c. xii. d. 20. dharmyamri- 
 
 tam 
 c. xiii. ... 
 
 c. xiii. d. I. kshetrajnamiti 
 
 c. xiii. d. 17. dhishtitam 
 
 c. xiv. d. 23. nengate 
 
 c. XV. d. 3. tathopalabhy- 
 
 ate 
 c. XV. d. 7. manahshash- 
 
 thani 
 
 c. xvi. d. 2. alolatwam 
 
 c. xvi. d. 3. natimanita 
 
 c. xvi. d. 4. abhimanascha 
 
 c. xvi. d. II. upasritah 
 c. xvi. d. 13. labdhamimam 
 
 c. xvii. d. 2. tam 
 
 c. xvii. d. 6. karsayantali 
 
 c. xvii. d. II. yashtavyam 
 c. xvii. d. 13. asrishtannam 
 
 c. xvii. d. 15. abhyasanam 
 
 c. xvii. d. 17. tat 
 c. xviii. d. 12. tyaginam 
 c. xviii. d. 13. panchemani 
 c. xviii. i. 15. nyayyam j 
 
 MSS. a and b. 
 
 urjitam, a 
 urjjitam, b 
 a and b, id. 
 bhavapyayan, a and b 
 
 a and b, id. 
 
 sakyase, a and b 
 devam, a and b 
 bhah, a and b 
 viswarupam, a and 6 
 
 a and b, id. 
 tavedam, a and b 
 
 gnrur, a and 6 
 dharmyamritam, a 
 dharmmamritam, b 
 a and b have the distich 
 mentioned by Lassen 
 kshetrajnamiti, a 
 kshetrajna iti, b 
 a and b, id. 
 a and b, id. 
 
 a and b, id. 
 a and b, id. 
 
 manahshashtani, a and b 
 
 chaushadih, a and b 
 
 alolutwam, a and 6 
 
 a and b, id. 
 
 a and b, id. 
 
 a and b, id. 
 labdhamidam, a 
 labdhamimam, b 
 a and b, id. 
 
 karshayantah, a and b 
 
 a and b, id. 
 a and b, id. 
 
 abhyasanam, a and b 
 
 a and b, id. 
 a and b, id. 
 panchaitani, a and b 
 nyayam, a and 6 
 
 Other Headings. 
 varjitam, Calc. B.G. 
 
 jnatena, Calc. B.G. 
 bhavapyayan, Calc. M., 
 
 and both scholiasts, 
 ihaikam yajjagat, Calc. 
 
 B.G. 
 sakyase (libri omnes L. ) 
 devam (omnes Codd.) 
 bha (Lassen, ist ed.) 
 viswarupam, Calc. M., 
 
 Calc. B.G. 
 abhitoh valanti (Sridhara) 
 tavedam, Calc. M., 3 L. 
 
 Codd. 
 gurur, Calc. B.G. and M. 
 dharmamritam (Madhu- 
 
 sudana) 
 
 kshetrajna iti, P. Codd. 
 
 C. and D. 
 nishtitam (ist ed. L.) 
 anutishtati (Madhusuda- 
 
 na) 
 nengati (Sridhara) 
 upalabhyam (ist ed. Las.) 
 
 manahshashtan i, alii 
 Codd, (Lassen) 
 
 chaushadih, Calc. M. and 
 Madhusudana 
 
 alolutwam, Calc. B.G. and 
 scholiasts 
 
 nabhimanita, Cod. Got- 
 ting. (Lassen) 
 
 atimanascha (Madhusu- 
 dana) 
 
 apasritah (Madhusudana) 
 
 labdhamidam, P. Cod. C. 
 
 labdhvam, Calc. B.G. 
 
 tah, Cod. Gotting. (Las- 
 sen) 
 
 karshayantah, Calc. B. G. 
 and M. 
 
 yashtavya, Cod. Gotting. 
 
 amrishtannam, Cod. Got- 
 ting. 
 
 abhyasanam, Calc. B.G. 
 and M. 
 
 tu. Cod. Gotting. 
 
 tyaginam, Calc. B.G. 
 
 panchaitani, Calc. B.G. 
 
 uyayam, P. Codd. B.C.D. 
 
2o6 
 
 APPENDIX, 
 
 Bonn Edition. 
 
 c. xviii. d. 22. ahaitiikam 
 c. xviii. d. 28. naishkriti- 
 
 kah 
 c. xviii. d. 35. vimunchati 
 c. xviii. d. 43. kshatram 
 
 karma 
 
 c. xviii. d. 44. gorakshya 
 
 c. xviii. d. 64. dridhamatis- 
 tato 
 
 c. xviii. d. 66. mochayish- 
 
 yami 
 c. xviii. d. 67. natapaskaya 
 
 c. xviii. d. 71. muktah su- 
 bhallokan 
 
 c. xviii. d. 75. etadguhya- 
 
 maham param 
 c. xviii. d. 78. bhutirdru- 
 
 vaniti matir 
 
 MSS. a and b. 
 
 a and b, id. 
 naikritikah, a and b 
 
 a and b, id. 
 a and 6, id. 
 
 a and b, id. 
 dridhamitistato, a. 
 dridhamatitato, 6 
 mokshayishyami, a and 6 
 a and b, id. 
 a and 6, id. 
 
 a and h, id. 
 
 bhutirdruvanitirmatir, a 
 bhutirdruvanitimatir, b ^ 
 
 Other Readings. 
 
 ahetukam(Madhusudana) 
 naikritikah, Calc. M. and 
 
 scholiasts 
 vimunchanti, Calc. B.G. 
 kshatrakarma, P. Cod. D. 
 
 kshatrakarma, P. Cod. B. 
 
 gaurakshya (Madhusu- 
 dana) 
 
 dridhamatitato, P. Cod. 
 B.D. 
 
 dridhastamitito, Calc. 
 B.G. 
 
 mokshayishyami, Calc. 
 B.G. and M. 
 
 atapasyaya (ist ed. Las- 
 sen) 
 
 mukto'subhallokan 
 
 (Thomson, as an emen- 
 dation). 
 
 etad guhvatamam param, 
 Calc. M. 
 
 bhutirdruvanitirmatir, 
 Calc B. G. and all the 
 P. Codices. 
 
 1 This is undoubtedly the true read- 
 ing, but the other is found in all MSS. , 
 I think, except the one marked b. If 
 nitir were the true reading, then we 
 must divide the sentence into dhruvd 
 
 nitih j matir mama, and translate nUi as 
 " good conduct ; " but iti certainly be- 
 longs to matir. Lassen says he would 
 not accept any other arrangement if 600 
 MSS. were against it. 
 
APPENDIX. 207 
 
 NOTE. 
 
 "While tliis work was going through the press, the translation of 
 the Bhagavad Gita which K. T. Telang has prepared for Max 
 Miiller's "Sacred Books of the East" came into my hands. It is 
 much superior, I think, to the translation which he published in 
 Bombay (1875), but it is based on a principle which will not be 
 accepted by European scholars. "My aim has been," he writes, 
 "to make the translation as close and literal a rendering as possible 
 of the Gita, as interpreted by the commentators Sankaracharya, 
 Sridharasvamin, and Madhustidana SarasvatT. ... In some 
 places these commentators differ among themselves, and then I 
 have made my own choice " (Introd., p. 35). I, too, have consulted 
 Hindu commentators largely, but have found them deficient in 
 critical insight, and more intent on finding or forming Vedantist 
 doctrines in every part than in giving the true sense of the author. 
 I have examined their explanations with the freedom of inquiry 
 that is common to Western habits of thought, and thus, while I 
 have sometimes followed their guidance, I have been often obliged 
 to reject their comments as misrepresenting the doctrines of the 
 author. I append some instances of this kind, that my readers may 
 be able to form their own judgment. 
 
 (i.) "When your mind, confounded by what you liam heard, will 
 Btand firm and steady in contemplation" (ii. 53). Here the refer- 
 ence is to iruti^ which means (i) hearing, (2) revelation, the sacred 
 books. Hindi! commentators say that the meaning is, what you 
 have heard about the means of obtaining desirable things ; assuming 
 as a certain proposition that the Vedas could not be attacked. The 
 doctrine of the Bhagavad Gita is, however, that the devotee (yogin), 
 when fixed in meditation, lays aside the Vedas and Vedic ritual. 
 Lassen's version is, "Sententiis theologicis antea distracta quando 
 mens," &c. 
 
 (2.) "Others perform the sacrifice ... of Vedic study ^^ (iv. 28). 
 The word is swddhydyaj reading to one's self. There is no mention of 
 the Vedas, and the author of the Bhagavad Gita would probably 
 have preferred the Yoga-siitra of Patanjali. 
 
2o8 APPENDIX. 
 
 (3.) " Although he only wishes to learn devotion, he rises above 
 the (fruits of action laid down in the) divine word " (vi. 44). This 
 is the interpretation of Hindi! commentators, but the words included 
 between brackets are not in the text. This has only, "He rises 
 above (or passes beyond) the Brahma-word," which here means the 
 Vedas. " li transgresse la doctrine brahmaiiique " (Burnouf). 
 
 (4.) " The offering (of an oblation to any divinity) which is the 
 cause of the production and development of all things is named 
 action" (viii. 3). The word translated "offering," and explained as 
 the offering of an oblation to a god, is visarga, which means the 
 divine emanation into the varied forms of life, i.e., the creation of 
 the world, according to Hindu ideas. There is no reference to a 
 gift, whether to gods or men. The interpretation given to the word 
 in the Peters, Diet, is this : " Neben sarga (der primitiven Schop- 
 fung durch Brahman) so v. a. secundare Schopfung, die Schopfung 
 im einselnen durch Purusha," and reference is made to the Bhaga- 
 vata Purapa, ii. 10, i, 3. 
 
 (5.) " Entering the earth, I by my power support all things, and 
 becoming the juici/ moon^ I nourish all herbs" (xv. 13). The words 
 translated "juicy moon" are in the original so7na (bhutwa) rasdt- 
 onakanij (having become) savoury juice. " Con versus in succum, qui 
 saporem lis impertit" (Lassen). There is no reason for supposing 
 that the author of the Bhagavad Gita believed the moon to be juicy, 
 or that it liad anything to do with the vegetation of plants. Brahma 
 is said to nourish them by entering in the form of the sap, which is 
 their life. Soma very seldom denotes the moon ; it is generally 
 (i) sap, (2) the sacred juice of the Asclejnas acida. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 A. 
 
 Achdrya, tutor, 20 n. 
 
 Achyuta, epithet of Krishna, 29. 
 
 Action^ what, 61. 
 
 Adhibhuta, title of Brahma, 94 n. 
 
 Adhidaiva, title of Brahma, 3, 94 n. 
 
 Adhiyajna, title of Brahma, 4, 94 n., 
 
 99. 
 Adhydtman, the Supreme Spirit, 3, 
 
 56,94, 115, 137. 
 Aditya, name of the sun, 58, 112, 120. 
 Adyayana, meaning of, 127 n. 
 Adwaita, non-dualism, 6. 
 Agni, god of fire, 126. 
 Ahankara, self - consciousness, 12, 
 
 13. 14, 56. 
 Ahura, Zend form of Asura, 103 n. 
 Airavata, the elephant of Indra, 114, 
 
 193- 
 Ajyam, what, 104 n. 
 Akdda, the ether, 12, 102. 
 Akshara, the Indivisible, 4. 
 Alexandria, a city where Hindus 
 
 were met, 195. 
 AU-sustainer, title of Brahma, 95. 
 Alms, when good or bad, 164. 
 Ambrosial, remains of sacrifices, 63. 
 Amrita, nectar of the gods, 133 n., 
 
 135, 147. 
 Anala, one of the Vasus, II3 n. 
 Ananda, referred to, 50 n., 61 n., 
 
 94 n., 100, 108, 149, 153, 157. 
 Ananta, the serpent on which Vishnu 
 
 rests, 115, 124. 
 AniLa, one of the Vasus, I13 n. 
 Anupeksha, meaning of, 134. 
 Apa, one of the Vasus, 113 n. 
 Apdna, downward breath, 15. 
 Arjuna, son of Indra, the third 
 
 Pandu prince, i, 2, 20. 
 
 Arh, the ship in which Manu was 
 
 saved during the deluge, 58 n. 
 Aryama,, chief of the Pitris (fathers), 
 
 "5. 
 Asakta, meaning of, 55. 
 Asannyasta-sankalpa, meaning of, 82. 
 Asat, what, 137 n., 165. 
 Asita, a rishi, iii. 
 Asuras, referred to, 17 n., 88, 103 n., 
 
 155, 162. 
 Aswathdman, one of the Pandu 
 
 chiefs, 21. 
 Aiwattha, the sacred fig-tree, 114, 
 
 150. 
 Aswins, the twin, what, 120 n. 
 Atatdyinas, what, 30. 
 Atharva- Veda, quoted, 193 n. 
 AtmMbodhay quoted, 8, 14 n. 
 Atman, the soul, 13. 
 Atynrtham, meaning of, 91. 
 Auskadha, meaning of, 104 n. 
 Avarta, Avartin, meaning of, 100. 
 Avasa, meaning of, i(X). 
 Avyakta, the Unmanifested, 7, 12, 
 
 89, 97 n., 131 n. 
 
 B. 
 
 Bali, the dwarf, 25 n. 
 
 Bardasanes, referred to, 196. 
 
 Bdtsalya, meaning of, 192. 
 
 Bhdgavata Purdnd, quoted, ^^^ 
 96 n., 116 n., 191. 
 
 Bhaktas, who they are, 89 n. 
 
 Bhakti, meaning of, 109. 
 
 Bhdshd, meaning of, 46, 194. 
 
 Bhdva, explanation of, 14. 
 
 Bhavdn, explanation of, 21 n. 
 
 Bklma, second son of Pandu, as- 
 signed to the god Vayu, i, 20. 
 
 BhUhma, uncle of Pandu, 2, 21, 124. 
 O 
 
2IO 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Bhislima Parvan, sixth book of the 
 
 Mahabharata, i. 
 BhoJctd, meaning of, 142. 
 Bhutas, demons, 106, 161. 
 Bonds of action, what, 37 n., 48. 
 Bossuet, quoted, 35 n. 
 Brahma, the Supreme Spirit, 5, II, 
 
 94, 110, III ; may be known, 71; 
 
 may be seen everywhere, 79 ; has 
 
 no manifest form, 89. 
 Brahma, the Supreme Spirit, as 
 
 Creator, 95 n., 103 n., iii, 126 ; 
 
 world of, 127 n. 
 Brahmacarin, religious student, 77 
 
 n., 96, 163. 
 Brahman, one of the first caste, 60 n. 
 Brahma- Purdna, quoted, 192. 
 Brahma Sutras, referred to, 141. 
 Brigu, chief of the rishis, 114. 
 Brihadardnyaka, quoted, 43 n. 
 Buddha, referred to, ill. 
 Buddhi, explanation of, 12, 13, 14 ; 
 
 threefold division of, 171. 
 Buddhi- samyoga, meaning of, 84. 
 Buddhi-yoga, mental devotion, 10. 
 Burnouf, Prof., referred to, 16, 53 
 
 n., 66, S3, 84, 118. 
 
 C. 
 
 Calcutta Review, quoted, 199. 
 Castes, four, 60. 
 
 Chandragupta, referred to, 194. 
 Chdrvdhas, a very low class, mate- 
 rialists, 156 ; fall down to Naraka, 
 
 157. 
 CheTcitana, one of the Pandu chiefs, 
 
 20. 
 Chhandas, meaning of, 141. 
 Chhdndogna Upanishad, quoted, 6. 
 Childers' Pali Dictionary, referred 
 
 to, 69 n. 
 Chitraratha, chief of the Gan- 
 
 dharvas, 114. 
 Christianity, introduced early into 
 
 India, 194, 197. 
 C'lrysostom, St., quoted, 198. 
 City of nine gates, what, 70. 
 
 Claudius, embassy from India in 
 
 time of, 195. 
 Clemens Alexandrinus, referred to, 
 
 196. 
 Clifford, Prof., referred to, 12. 
 Colebrooke, quoted, 26 n., 77 n. 
 Commodus, commerce with India in 
 
 time of, 195. 
 Conditions of one born to a divine 
 
 lot, 155. 
 Constancy, threefold division of, 172. 
 Cosmos Indicopleustes, referred to, 
 
 198. _ 
 Cow, object of veneration, 70. 
 Cowherd, Krishna brought up as, 
 
 25 n. 
 Custom, makes unpleasant things 
 
 pleasant, 172. 
 
 D. 
 
 Daityas, an impious race, 115. 
 
 Dakshind, meaning of, 163 n. 
 
 Damhha, meaning of, 160. 
 
 Ddnavas, demons of the air, 112. 
 
 Ddsya, meaning of, 192. 
 
 Ddthavania, reference to, 29. 
 
 Davy, Sir H., quoted, 14 n. 
 
 Day of Brahma, 97 n. 
 
 Daytime, dying in, efifect of, 98. 
 
 Denarii, found near Vellore, 195. 
 
 Desire, in living things, from Brah- 
 ma, 87. 
 
 Devala, a rishi, iii. 
 
 Devas, the gods, 161. 
 
 Dharma, meaning of, 53 n., 176. 
 
 Difference of matter and spirit, 140. 
 
 Dion Cassius, reference to, 196, 
 
 Dog, object of contempt, 70. 
 
 Draupadl, wife of Yudishthira, 2. 
 
 Draupadi, daughter of Drupada, 2. 
 
 Dristaketu, one of the Pandu chiefs, 
 20. 
 
 DritardsJitra, son of Vyasa, i. 
 
 Drona, one of the Kuru chiefs, 32, 
 124. 
 
 Drupada, one of the Pandu chiefs, 
 20. 
 
 Durasadam, meaning of, 57. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 2i: 
 
 Duryodhana, son of Gandharl, i, 19. 
 Duty, one's own, better than any 
 
 other's, 53. 
 Dwandway meaning of, 39 n., 90 n., 
 
 115. 194- 
 Dwdpara-ijoga, third age of the 
 world, 59 n. 
 
 E. 
 
 Fating much, not the sign of a 
 Yogin, 77. 
 
 £gg, the abode of Brahma, 49 n. 
 
 Emanation, the Hindu term for crea- 
 tion, 150. 
 
 Internal seed, a title of Brahma, 87. 
 
 ^YAer (Alcasa), pervades all things, 
 140. 
 
 LvU, every enterprise surrounded 
 
 by, 174. 
 
 Faith in Brahma necessary, 133 ; 
 
 is according to our nature, 161 ; 
 
 is threefold, 16 1. 
 Fasting excessively, not the sign of 
 
 a Yogin, 77. 
 Fichte, reference to, 4. 
 Fig-tree, sacred, 150. See Aswattha. 
 Floras, reference to, 195. 
 Food, four kinds of, 152. 
 Freedom, what it is, 72. 
 Frequency of devotion, commended, 
 
 132. 
 Frequenting lonely places, 137. 
 Friend, each one of himself, 75. 
 Fruit of work in after life, threefold, 
 
 169. 
 
 G. 
 
 Gandhari, daughter of Subala, i. 
 
 Gandharva-loha, what, 72 n. 
 
 Gandiva, name of Arjuna's bow, 25. 
 
 Garuda, the bird of Vishnu, 193. 
 
 God, not responsible for works, 70 ; 
 revealed by knowledge, 70 ; the 
 mighty Lord, 72 ; friend of all, 
 72. 
 
 Gods, nourished by sacrifice, 49 ; 
 
 created beings, 89 n. ; they who 
 
 go to, go to them, 89. 
 Govinda, name of Krishna, 33. 
 Gudalcaia, name of Arjuna, 24, 30. 
 Guna, meaning of, 12, 15, 145. 
 Guru, spiritual guide, 33 n., 127. 
 Guyon, Madame, reference to, 10 n. 
 
 H. 
 
 Ilari, name of Vishnu, 121, 177. 
 
 Harivansa, quoted, 123 n. 
 
 Bastindpura, capital of the Kuru 
 region, i. 
 
 Havis, meaning of, 62 n. 
 
 Heart of man, wavering and un- 
 steady, 78, 79. 
 
 Hegel, quoted, 105 n. 
 
 Himalaya, range of mountains, 114. 
 
 Himuvat, name of mountain, 59 u. 
 
 Hindu commentators, referred to, 
 98 n., 105 n., 136 n., 165 n. 
 
 Hrid, meaning of, 100 ; supposed 
 to be the seat of the soul, 1 75 n. 
 
 Hrishlkesa^ name of Krishna, 22, 
 29. 
 
 Humboldt, Prof. Von, referred to, 
 17, 144. 
 
 Huta, meaning of, 104 n. 
 
 I. 
 
 IkshwaTcu, son of Manu, 58 n. 
 
 Inaction, what, 61. 
 
 Indica of Bardasanes, reference to, 
 196. 
 
 Indifference to all things, mark of 
 a Yogin, 76, 77 ; restrains the 
 heart ; surmounts the Modes 
 {gunas), 145 n. 
 
 Indra, heaven of, 10, 106 ; father 
 of Arjuna, 23 n. 
 
 Indraprastha, name of a city, I n. 
 
 Indriya, explanation of, 13. 
 
 Jswara, the Supreme Spirit (Brah- 
 ma), 79 n. 
 
 J. 
 
 Janibu-dw'jya, what, 113 n. 
 Janaka, an ancient rishi, 50 n. 
 
212 
 
 INDEX, 
 
 Jandrdana, name of Krishna, 25, 
 
 30. 
 Japa-offering, what, 1 14 n. 
 Jati-dharma, meaning of, 31. 
 Jayadratha, king of the Sindhavas, 
 
 125. 
 Jivabhuta, meaning of, 4, 7> 153' 
 Jndna, meaning of, 57, 65, 76. 
 Jones, Sir William, quoted, 164 n. 
 Joy, boundless, known to the true 
 
 Yogin, 78. 
 Justinian, embassy from India in 
 
 time of, 195. 
 
 Kald, meaning of, 129. 
 Kali, wife of Siva, 1 89. 
 Kdliddsa, referred to, 190, 200. 
 Kali-yuga, the present age, 59 n. 
 Kalhin, name of the next avatdra 
 
 of Vishnu, 59 n. 
 Kalpa, explanation of, 3, 15, 38 n., 
 
 96 n., 103, 138, 194. 
 Kdma, the Hindu Cupid, 193. 
 Kdmaduk, meaning of, 49 n., 55, 
 
 114. 
 Kandarpa, name of Kama, 1 14. 
 Kanja-ja, name of Vishnu, 122. 
 Kapi-dwaja, epithet of Arjuna, 
 
 230- 
 
 Kapila, referred to, 3, 6, il, 1 14, 
 162 n. 
 
 Kai'ma, what, 94. 
 
 Karma-yoga, meaning of, lo. 
 
 Karna, one of the Kuru chiefs, 21, 
 124. 
 
 Ka^i, name of Benares, 21. 
 
 Katha-Upanishad, quoted, 72 n. 
 
 Kavayas, meaning of, 65. 
 
 Kesava, name of Krishna, 30, 112, 
 125, 177. 
 
 Kinds of creatures, two, 1 56. 
 
 Knowledge, an ascetic rite, 60 ; ex- 
 cellence of, 63, 64 ; threefold 
 division of, 171. 
 
 Kosa, explanation of, 14. 
 
 Kratu, meaning of, 104 n. 
 
 Kripa, one of the Kuru chiefs, 21. 
 
 Krishna, 3, 7, loi, 177 ; legend of, 
 
 199. 
 Kritakritya, meaning of, 154. 
 Krita-yuga, first age of the world, 
 
 59". 
 
 Kshara, the Divisible, 4, 99. 
 
 Kshatriya, name of the warrior- 
 caste, 60 n. ; work of, 173. 
 
 Kshetra, meaning of, 
 
 141. 
 
 Kshetra-jna, a term for the soul, 
 136. 
 
 Kula-dharma, meaning of, 31. 
 
 Kullaha, reference to, 193. 
 
 Kunti, mother of Yudishthira, 23. 
 
 Kuntibhoja, one of the Pandu 
 chiefs, 
 
 Kuru, the ancestor of the contend- 
 ing parties, i. 
 
 KuruJcshetra, the Kuru region, 19 n. 
 
 Kuia grass, 76. 
 
 KUtastha, meaning of, %T), 134, 154. 
 
 Kuvera, the Hindu god of wealth, 
 103 n. 
 
 L. 
 
 Lalita Vastara, reference to, ill. 
 Lamp, sheltered, Yogin compared 
 
 to, 78. 
 Lassen, Prof., referred to, 16, 49 
 
 n., 53 n., 66, 92, 100, 104 n., 108, 
 
 134. 
 Law, eternal, seat of, 148. 
 Linga, explanation of, 5, 13. 
 Linga-sarira, what, 14 n. 
 Livy, quoted, 26 n. 
 LoTcayatihas, doctrines of, 183. 
 Lola, meaning of, 155 n. 
 Lorinser, Dr., referred to, 64 n., 
 
 80 n., 92, 142, 181. 
 Lotus-leaf, comparison of, 69. 
 
 M. 
 
 Mddhava, name of Krishna, 22 n. 
 Madhusudana, quoted, 58 n. 
 Mddkurya, meaning of, 192. 
 Mddrl, second wife of Pandu, 2. 
 Maffei, reference to, 197. 
 MaJidbhdrata, quoted, I, 30, 50 n., 
 
INDEX. 
 
 213 
 
 $7 n., 88 n., 93, 103 n., no n., 
 
 154, 190, 198, 199. 
 Mahabhdshya of Patanjali, reference 
 
 to, 182. 
 Mahabhuta, gross element, 12. 
 Mahdyvga, what, 15. 
 MaTcara, a fabulous sea-monster, 
 
 iiS»i93- 
 
 Manas, explanation of, 13, 100. 
 
 Mandara, a fabulous mountain, 115. 
 
 Manomaya, what, 14 n. 
 
 Mantra, meaning of, 124. 
 
 Mana, Institutes of, quoted, 13, 
 193 n., 26 n., 35 n., 49 n., 50 n., 
 51 n., 60 n., 62 n., 63 n., 77 n., 
 79 n., 85, 95 n., 103 n., 105 n., 
 106 n., 107 n., Ill n., 113 n., 
 127 n., 145, 152 n., 163 n., 193. 
 
 Manu, progenitor of mankind, 58 n. 
 
 Manwantara, what, in n. 
 
 Margasirsha, one of the months of 
 the year, 116. 
 
 Marici, chief of the Maruts, 113. 
 
 Maruts, the storm-gods, 120. 
 
 Mdtra, meaning of 34 n. 
 
 Maya, illusion, 7, 35 n., ^^, 89. 
 
 Meditation on Brahma, effect of, 
 
 97. 
 Meru, a fabulous mountain, 113. 
 Metempsychosis, what, 6, 34, 88, 
 
 155 n. 
 Mlmdnsd, the Vedantist doctrines, 
 
 6, 168. 
 Modes, action of, 138 ; threefold 
 
 nature, 12, 145. 
 Modified forms of matter, 136. 
 Mohin, meaning of, 109. 
 Mokska, deliverance, 9. 
 Molinos, reference to, 10 n. 
 Moon, heaven of the, 72 n. 
 Moor^s Hindu Pantheon, reference 
 
 to, 122. 
 Muir's Sanskrit Texts, referred to, 
 
 29 n., 51 n., 59 n., 88 n., 123 n., 
 
 188. 
 Mukta, meaning of, 66. 
 Miiller's Sanskrit Literature, re- 
 ferred to, 59 n. 
 
 Muni, a recluse, 9, li. 
 Mystery, supreme, what, 176. 
 
 N. 
 
 NaTcshatras, the twenty-seven lunar 
 mansions, 113. 
 
 Nahila, son of Madri, 2, 23. 
 
 NaZa, references to, 91, 192. 
 
 Ndrada, a rishi, in. 
 
 NaraTca, the Hindu hell, 80 n. 
 
 Nature {Prakriti), without begin- 
 ning, 138. 
 
 Nectar, banquet of, 133. 
 
 Nidhdna, meaning of, 129, 
 
 Nimittani, explanation of, 30. 
 
 Nirasrayas, meaning of, 65. 
 
 Nirukta, reference to the, 112 n. 
 
 Nirvana, explanation of, 17 n., 71, 
 43 n-. 60 n. 
 
 Northern solstice, dying in, 98. 
 
 O. 
 
 Odour, in earth, is a part of Brahma, 
 
 114. 
 One with Brahma is the Yogin, 78. 
 Om, meaning and use of, 28, 96. 
 Organs of action, what, 48. 
 Orosius, reference to, 196. 
 Oval eyes, beautiful, 120. 
 
 Padma Purdna, reference to, 192. 
 Pairs of opposites, what, 62. 
 Panchajanya^ name of trumpet, 22. 
 Pdndavas, followers of Panda, 2. 
 Pantcenus, sent by Demetrius, Bishop 
 
 of Alexandria, to instruct the 
 
 Brahmans, 97. 
 Para, meaning of, 97 n. 
 Param, meaning of, 55. 
 Paramdtman, the Supreme Spirit, 
 
 7, 82. 
 Parigraha, meaning of, 83, 179. 
 Pdtdla, section of Padma Purana, 
 
 192. 
 Patanjali, referred to, 3, 8, 47 n., 81 
 
 n., 86 n., 94 n., 162 n., 1 76 n., 182. 
 Pdtra, meaning of, 166. 
 
214 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 PdvaJca, one of the Vasus, 113. 
 Petersburgh Dictionary, quoted, 30, 
 
 66, 74, 2>Z, 105 n., 149. 
 Phala, meaning of, 10. 
 Pisdckas, demons, 72 n. 
 Pitris, heaven of, 27 n., 72 n., 106, 
 
 no. 
 Plato, quoted, 42 n., 43 n., 6^ n., 
 
 81 n., 105 n. 
 Pleasure, threefold division of, 172. 
 Pleasures born of worldly contacts, 
 
 what, 71. 
 Pliny, referred to, 195. 
 Prahdla, meaning of, 153. 
 PraWidva, meaning of, 141. 
 PraJdada, chief of the Daityas, 
 
 115- 
 Prajdpati, title of Brahma, 55, 
 
 130. 
 Prakrita, meaning of, 178. 
 Prakriti, explanation of, 6, II, 13, 
 
 15» 34 n., 52, 65, 102, 103, 138, 
 
 144. 
 Prdna, breathing, 15, 66. 
 Pranava, expression for OM, 91. 
 Prdndyana, meaning of, 63 n. 
 Pravritti, meaning of, 129, 153, 156. 
 Pretas, a foul kind of demons, 161. 
 Priaulx, Mr., quoted, 198. 
 Prithd, wife of Pandu, I. 
 /*m'anas, referred to, 13, 188. 
 Purujit, one of the Pandu chiefs, 21. 
 Purusha, explanation of, 4, 7, 95 n., 
 
 129. 
 Pyrrhonists of India, who, 183. 
 
 R 
 
 Pdghavendra, quoted, 79 n., 137 n. 
 Rajas, the second guna or mode, 12. 
 Rajarslds, royal rishis, 107 n. 
 Rajendra-lala, quoted, 117. 
 Jtakshasas, demons, 72 n., 103 n., 
 
 161. 
 Jldmdyana, references to, 25 n., 
 
 103 n., 112 n., 115. 
 Ram Krishna Bandarker, reference 
 
 to, 182. 
 Rtnunciation of works, 63. 
 
 Repose, perfect, gained by Yogin, 78. 
 
 Reven-ence to gods and Brahmans en- 
 joined, 163. 
 
 Rig-Veda, quoted, 29, 95 n., 103 n., 
 105 n., 112 n., 116 n., 123 n. 
 
 Rishis referred to, 71, no. 
 
 Roth, Prof., reference to, 60 n. 
 
 Row of pearls, a metaphor of Brahma, 
 87. 
 
 Rudras, storm-gods, 120. 
 
 S'aivya, one of the Pandu chiefs, 21. 
 
 S'akuni, skilful dice-player, 2. 
 
 S'akuntald, reference to, 30. 
 
 S'ankara, commentary of, quoted, 
 17, 50 n., 53 n., 55, 63 n., 66, 
 80 n. , 94 n. , 97 n. , 104 n. , 106 n., 
 107 n., 108, 127 n., 134, 14S, 
 155 n., 160, 164, 167, 170 n., 
 173 n., 174 n., 177, 185. 
 
 S'iva, the god, 53 n., 81 n. 
 
 S'loka, explanation of, 16. 
 
 S'rdddha, meaning of, 26 n., 64 n. 
 
 S'rldhara, commentary of, quoted, 
 17, 48 n., 52 n., 63 n., 66, 83, 84, 
 91, 92, 97 n., 100, loi, 104 n., 
 107 n., 119, 127 n., 134, 142, 149, 
 153, 155 n., 160, 164, 167, 170, 
 173, 174 n., 177, 178. 
 
 S'rimat, meaning of, 80 n. 
 
 S'ruti, meaning of, 40 n., 94 n. 
 
 Sudra, name of the lowest caste, 
 60 n., 107 n. 
 
 S'ukla, meaning of, 100. 
 
 S'wapdka, a degraded class, 70. 
 
 S'wetdswatara Upanishad, quoted, 
 
 59 n. 
 
 S. 
 
 Sacrifice, by various means, 62 ; of 
 knowledge, 104 j what kind is 
 vain, 157, 162. 
 
 Sddhyas, an order of inferior gods, 
 123. 
 
 Sagamo, a Hindu king, 197. 
 
 Sage, ancient, epithet of Brahma, 95. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 215 
 
 Sahadcra, son of the second wife of 
 
 Pandu, 2, 23. 
 Sdkya, meaning of, 192. 
 Samdna, collective breath, 15. 
 Sama Veda, references to, 113, 193. 
 SanaJca, one of the mind-born sons 
 
 of Brahma, no n. 
 Sananda, do, 
 
 Sanatana, do. 
 
 Sanatkumara, do. 
 Sanga, meaning of, 10, 46. 
 Sannydsa, true, what is, 11, 168. 
 Sansiddhi, meaning of, 173 n. 
 Santa, meaning of, 192. 
 Saptarshi, the constellation Ursa 
 
 Major, 123. 
 Sarasvati, name of a river, 19. 
 Sat, meaning of, 105, 137 n. ; when 
 
 used, 165. 
 Satasgopa, epithet of Agni, 105 n. 
 Sattwa, one of the gunas or modes, 
 
 12. 
 Saumadatti, one of the Kuru chiefs, 
 
 21. 
 ScTdegel, quoted, 30. 
 Scythianus, history of, 196. 
 Siddhas, deified mortals, 123. 
 Skanda, god of war, 114. 
 Smriti, meaning of, 40 n., 94 n., 
 
 180. 
 Soma, the moon, 113 n. 
 Soul, immortality of, 5, 34 ; never 
 
 acts, 52 ; each a part of Brahma^ 
 
 151- 
 
 Southern solstice, time of, bad time 
 to die in, 98. 
 
 Speech, threefold division of, 163. 
 
 Stithi, meaning of, 167. 
 
 Suhala, king of Gandhara, i. 
 
 Supreme Being, one, 4 ; not wor- 
 shipped, 72 n. ; represented by 
 Vishnu or Krishna, 72 n. ; soul 
 may be one with, 71. 
 
 Sura, father of Pritha, I. 
 
 Suras, a class of inferior gods, no, 
 122 n. 
 
 Surya, the sun, 140 n. 
 
 Swabhdva, explanation of, 3, 99. 
 
 Swadhd, meaning of, 104 n. 
 Swddhydya, meaning of, 159. 
 
 T. 
 
 Tamas, one of the gunas or modes, 
 
 12. 
 Tanmdtra, subtle element, 12. 
 Tanu, use of the word, 92. 
 Tapas, meaning of, 60 n., 65, 91, 162. 
 Tat, when used, 165. 
 Tatparya Bodhinl, referred to, 17. 
 Telang, references to, 50 n., 57, 
 
 61 n., 6"], 79 n,, 91, 100, 142, 181. 
 Thomson, Mr., references to, 14 n., 
 
 16 n., 49 n., 50 n., 69 n., 75 n., 
 
 S3, 92, 97 n-. 100, 104 n., 108, 
 
 119, 142. 
 Thought to be restrained, 78. 
 Threefold gate of hell, 157. 
 Traders bring information from 
 
 India, 196. 
 Trajan, embassy from India in time 
 
 of, 195- 
 Treta-yuga, second age of the world, 
 
 59 n. 
 
 Tyaga, meaning of, ii, 168. 
 
 U. 
 
 U6chihsravas, the horse of Indra, 
 
 114, 193. 
 Uddna, meaning of, 15. 
 Union of matter and spirit, 139. 
 Unmanifested, The, 131 n. 
 Unseen path, hard to gain, 131. 
 Usana, teacher of the Asuras, 116. 
 Ushmapas, a class oi pitris, 123. 
 Uttamnnjas, one of the Pandu chiefs, 
 
 21. 
 Uttamavid, meaning of, 148. 
 
 V. 
 
 Vainateya, the bird of Vishnu, 115. 
 Vaisya, name of the third caste, 
 
 60 n., 107 n. ; work of, 173. 
 Valhalla, reference to, 32 n. 
 Varshneya, name of Krishna, 26. 
 Vai-una, as god of waters, 115, 126, 
 
 193- 
 
2l6 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Vdsava, a name of Indra, 113. 
 Vdsudeva, a name of Krishna, 88 n. 
 Vdsuki, king of serpents in PdtaZa, 
 
 114. 
 Vasus, a class of inferior gods, 113, 
 
 120. 
 Vaya Purdna, reference to, in n. 
 Vdyu (air), one of the gross elements, 
 
 12. 
 Vedanta, referred to, 152. 
 Vedas, referred to, 96 ; holy books, 
 
 106 ; ordained by Brahma, 165. 
 Via Lactea, path of departed spirits, 
 
 27 n. 
 Vibhaga, meaning of, 52 n. 
 ViJbhu, the mighty Lord, 5. 
 Vibhuti, meaning of, 117, 194. 
 Videha (incorporeal), a state of ab- 
 straction, 9. 
 Viguna, meaning of, 56. 
 Vijndna, meaning of, 57, 76. 
 Vijndna-Maya, what, 14. 
 Vikdra, meaning of, 142. 
 Vikama, one of the Kuru chiefs, 21. 
 Virdta, one of the Pandu chiefs, 20. 
 Visarga, meaning of, 94 n. 
 Vishama, explanation of, 44. 
 Vishnu, the god next to Brahma in 
 
 the Hinda triad, 25 n. 
 Vishnu Purdna, references to, 32 n., 
 89 n., 96 n.. Ill n., Ii4n., 115 n., 
 145 n., 183. 
 Vittesa, a name of Kuvera, the god 
 
 of wealth, 113. 
 Vivdha (marriage) laudable, 165 n. 
 Vivaswat, a name of the sun, 58. 
 Vrihaspati, chief of household 
 
 priests, 114. 
 Vrihatsdman, a hymn of the Sama 
 
 Veda, 116. 
 Vritra, son of Danu, 112 n. 
 Vyalta, the Manifested, 12, 131 n. 
 Vyakti, meaning of, Ii8. 
 Vydsa, a representative person, to 
 whom is ascribed the composition 
 or compilation of many books, 
 including the Mahabharata, i. 
 
 W. 
 
 Waning moon, dying in time of, 98. 
 Wavering, fate of the, 80. 
 Waxing moon, dying in time of, 98. 
 Ways, two, of light and darkness, 98. 
 Weber, Prof., referred to, 182, 198, 
 
 199 ; compares the Krishna legend 
 
 with life of Christ, 199, 200. 
 Wise man is part of Brahma, 88. 
 Women cannot perform any religious 
 
 rite, 107 n. 
 WorJc, when a right means, 75 ; 
 
 not to be given up wholly, 169 ; 
 
 divine part of, 170. 
 Works, fruit of, not to be sought, 
 
 39, 132 ; done for Brahma lead 
 
 to nirvdna, 132 ; not wrought by 
 
 Brahma, 70. 
 World conquered, by whom, 70. 
 Worlds, the three, 25 ; eight upper 
 
 worlds, 72 ; all return again to 
 
 Brahma at the end of a kalpa, 96. 
 
 Yddava, name of Krishna, 126. 
 Yakshas, demons, 72 n., 161. 
 Yajna, meaning of, 48 n., 104 n. 
 Yama, judge of the dead, 115, 126. 
 Yamund, former name of the river 
 
 Jumna, in., 19 n. 
 Yavandnl, meaning of, 194 n. 
 Yoga, explanation of, 3, 34 n., 78, 
 
 139 n., 177, 194. 
 Yogakshema, meaning of, 46. 
 Yogin, devotee, 10, 75, 76, 78 ; 
 
 position of, 77 ; rises above Vedic 
 
 rites, 85, 187. 
 Yudhdmanyu, one of the Pandu 
 
 chiefs, 21. 
 Yudishthira, eldest of the sons of 
 
 KuntI, I, 23. 
 Yuga, meaning of, 96 n. 
 Yukta-, meaning of, 77. 
 Yuvardja, what, I. 
 Yuyudhdna, one of the Pandu 
 
 chiefs, 20. 
 
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