Bhagavad Gita

The Bhagavad Gita (; |lit=God's song|translit=bhagavad-gītā|translit-std=IAST}}),}} often referred to as the Gita (), is a Hindu scripture, dated to the second or first century BCE,}} which forms part of the epic poem Mahabharata. The Gita is a synthesis of various strands of Indian religious thought, including the Vedic concept of ''dharma'' (duty, rightful action); samkhya-based ''yoga'' and ''jnana'' (knowledge); and ''bhakti'' (devotion). Among the Hindu traditions, the text holds a unique pan-Hindu influence as the most prominent sacred text and is a central text in Vedanta and the Vaishnava Hindu tradition.

While traditionally attributed to the sage Veda Vyasa, the Gita is historiographically regarded as a composite work by multiple authors. Incorporating teachings from the Upanishads and the samkhya yoga philosophy, the Gita is set in a narrative framework of dialogue between the pandava prince Arjuna and his charioteer guide Krishna, an avatar of Vishnu, at the onset of the Kurukshetra War.

Though the Gita praises the benefits of yoga in releasing man's inner essence from the bounds of desire and the wheel of rebirth, the text propagates the Brahmanic idea of living according to one's duty or ''dharma'', in contrast to the ascetic ideal of seeking liberation by avoiding all ''karma''. Facing the perils of war, Arjuna hesitates to perform his duty (''dharma'') as a warrior. Krishna persuades him to commence in battle, arguing that while following one's dharma, one should not consider oneself to be the agent of action, but attribute all of one's actions to God (''bhakti'').

The Gita posits the existence of an individual self (''mind/ego'') and the higher Godself (Krishna, Atman/Brahman) in every being; the Krishna–Arjuna dialogue has been interpreted as a metaphor for an everlasting dialogue between the two. Numerous classical and modern thinkers have written commentaries on the Gita with differing views on its essence and the relation between the individual self (''jivatman'') and God (Krishna) or the supreme self (Atman/Brahman). In the Gita's Chapter XIII, verses 24–25, four pathways to self-realization are described, which later became known as the four yogas: meditation (raja yoga), insight and intuition (jnana yoga), righteous action (karma yoga), and loving devotion (bhakti yoga). This influential classification gained widespread recognition through Swami Vivekananda's teachings in the 1890s. The setting of the text in a battlefield has been interpreted by several modern Indian writers as an allegory for the struggles and vagaries of human life.

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