he Bhagavad Gita is one of the most revered of Indian scriptures. Though it is much later than the Vedas, and does not constitute part of the revealed literature of the Hindus, it occupies a distinct and in some respects unrivaled place in Indian philosophical and religious literature. While it is almost conventional to view it is a separate text, it is in fact a part of the Mahabharata, and relays the teachings of Krishna to Arjuna. The occasion for these teachings was furnished by the great war between the Kauravas and the Pandavas, who are also related to each other. As the battle is about to begin, Arjuna, one of the five Pandava princes, throws down his bow and arrow, and confesses his inability to kill hishumble charioteer of Arjuna, the Pandava prince must be brought to the realization that he is in the presence of the Lord himself. Krishna consequently reveals to Arjuna his cosmic form, and Arjuna is dazzled by the vision of the Supreme Deity.

There are hundreds of commentaries on the Gita, and in modern times no great Hindu figure has failed to leave behind an interpretive work on this philosophical poem. The earliest, and still most moving, of the commentaries is the twelfth-century work by Jnaneshvar, a Marathi poet-saint, called the Jnaneshvari. From the purely literary and devotional standpoint, this work is without comparison. In the late nineteenth century, the Gita was put to different use. Bal Gangadhar Tilak, in his magisterial interpretation, the Gita-Rahasya, suggested that the Gita urges