Gita of 70 Shlokas  (English, Hardcover, Mahendra Arya)

The preamble of Gita is that when Pandav Prince Arjun refused to fight the war against the Kauravas, his charioteer and counsellor Krishn counselled him, advising him about his duty at that moment. Hence, the narrative of Gita is set in a framework of a dialogue between Arjun and Krishn. In the present form of Gita, which consists of 700 shlokas, the subjects covered are very wide. The talk between Krishn and Arjun could not have been so long and diversified on the battlefield and also in a poetic framework; they must have spoken to each other in simple colloquial Sanskrit or any other prevalent language of that era. That implies that Maharshi Ved Vyas narrated the conversation by applying his poetic ability in Bhishm Parv of the Mahabharat. A very ancient copy of the Gita was recovered from the island of Bali. That had only 70 shlokas. Those 70 shlokas have been used in 700 shlokas either fragmented or in full. This is understandable as the original Mahabharat, which consisted of only 4400 shlokas, got elongated to more than one lakh shlokas over a long period of time. Naturally, the same kind of changes must have happened in Bhishm Parv, hence the Gita. This book is a gentle attempt to present the original 70 shlokas with their meanings along with commentary.