Another Bhadrabahu (c. sixth century) was
the author of the Shvetambara work KALPA SUTRA.
Further reading: Paul Dundas, The Jains (New York:
Routledge, 1992); P. S. Jaini, Jaina Path of Purification
(Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1973).
Bhagavad Gita
Bhagavad Gita means “Song about God.” It is a
segment, dating from around 200 B.C.E., of the
MAHABHARATA, the classic Sanskrit epic tradition-
ally ascribed to VYA S A. It has 18 chapters totaling
approximately 700 verses. In the framework of a
legendary battle, the poem presents a philosophy
of life and states principles guiding the practices
of YOGA.
The framework story begins when the hero,
ARJUNA, asks his charioteer, KRISHNA, to pull the
chariot up between the two battling armies. On
one side are his own PANDAVAS who have the right-
ful claim to the kingship. On the other side are
their cousins, the KAURAVAS, who now are usurp-
ers. Seeing that he is about to go into battle with
his own guru DRONA; his grandfather, BHISHMA;
and many of his cousins, Arjuna’s will fails and he
sits down, not wanting to fight.
Krishna scolds Arjuna and insists that he go
to battle; he then begins a lecture on the nature
of reality. Krishna, it eventually becomes clear, is
God himself, though he has taken a role here as
charioteer. He outlines several yogas that will help
Arjuna fight the battle of existence.
The first of the yogas is that of knowledge
(JNANA), which involves insight into the Truth of
Ultimate Reality, BRAHMAN. This practice involves
meditative focus on the Ultimate as beyond all
forms and categories. Next is the yoga of devotion
(BHAKTI), which involves focus on God—Krishna
himself, in this case—in a steady, yogic poise of
consciousness involving surrender to the Divinity,
the being that oversees the universe. The third
yoga is that of action (KARMA). Krishna explains
how one can act in the world yogically without
regard to the fruits of one’s actions. Underlying
all the three yogas is the fourth yoga, rajayoga, or
the yoga of MEDITATION (dhyana), which must be
practiced in order to do any of the others.
The Gita generally favors action in the world
and opposes leaving the world to become a renun-
ciant. In the Gita, renunciation is redefined as giv-
ing up the fruits of actions, not leaving the world
to try to be actionless. The Gita also emphasizes
devotion to the iconic divinity with form and char-
acteristics, although it does not deny that some
might pursue the path of realizing the transcendent
brahman that is beyond characteristics and action.
The Gita often cites the importance of devel-
oping what is called “steady mind,” which will
prevent perturbation of mind and wrong conduct
whatever course we choose to take. It must be
emphasized that though the Gita unfolds against
a backdrop of war, it is not to be considered a
prowar tract. All its commentators from earliest
times interpret the text metaphorically; it refers
to anyone’s battle against karma and for liberation
from the cycle of birth and rebirth.
The Bhagavad Gita was the favorite text of
Mohandas Karamchand GANDHI, the foremost
proponent of nonviolence. Today the Gita is
memorized and chanted as an aid to the realiza-
tion of the essence of the yogas detailed therein.
Ideally, the entire text is committed to memory
and chanted daily.Further reading: Sri Aurobindo, Essays on the Gita
(Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1993); Swami
Chinmayananda, trans., The Holy Geeta (Bombay: Cen-
tral Chinmaya Mission Trust, 1968); S. N. Dasgupta, The
History of Indian Philosophy, Vol. 2 (Delhi: Motilal Banar-
sidas, 1975); Suryakumari Dwarakadas and C. S. Sunda-
ram, Bhagavadgita Bibliography (Chennai: Kuppuswami
Sastri Research Institute, 2000); Eknath Easwaran,
trans., The Bhagavad Gita for Daily Living (Petaluma,
Calif.: Nilgiri Press, 1984); S. Radhakrishnan, trans.,
The Bhagavadgita (London: Aquarian, 1995); Robert N.
Minor, Bhagavad-Gita: An Exegetical Commentary (New
Delhi: Heritage, 1982); ———, Modern Indian Interpret-Bhagavad Gita 73 J