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Jim Banes
06 December 2006, 06:57 PM
I hope to get some advice/opinions from the group regarding several English translations of the Bhagavad Gita. The ones I am currently comparing are:

Eknath Easwaran
Swami Nikhilananda
Shri Purohit Swami
Gandhi
Ranchor Prime
Edwin Arnold
Prabhupada
Mohini Chatterji
Roy Eugene Davis

How would you rank each of them as far as accuracy and scholarship? Are there any of these with a particularly poor reputation? Is there a better translation that I have overlooked?

Thanks,
Jim Banes

yajvan
07 December 2006, 04:47 PM
Hari Om
~~~~~


I hope to get some advice/opinions from the group regarding several English translations of the Bhagavad Gita. The ones I am currently comparing are:

Eknath Easwaran
Swami Nikhilananda
Shri Purohit Swami
Gandhi
Ranchor Prime
Edwin Arnold
Prabhupada
Mohini Chatterji
Roy Eugene Davis

How would you rank each of them as far as accuracy and scholarship?Jim Banes

Hello Jim,
Good Question... I have been fortunate to read several versions of the gita. Getting multiple points of view is key ( I believe) to round out ones understanding. I found Srila Prabhupada's good work. One I did not see on your list is Maharishi Mahesh Yogi - one of the best, yet Maharishi has only did the first 6 chapters ( as some see this great work in 3's; 1 to 6, 7-12 and 13 to 18 chapters). Another is by S. Radhakrishnan and one that many do not have in their sights is by Sri Jnanadeva, only on this planet for 20 years his work is most insightful. If you look for it it goes by Bhavatha Dipika, and called Jnaneshwari ( Samata Books in Madras, India carries this publication).
Now, as I have learned - look to the author that is insightful and for me, does not see Arjuna as down trodden and lost.. he is the sisya of the Lord and friend. He asks profound questions and takes on the role as the student as he surrenders to Sri Keshava ( one one beautiful hair).
He at times talks of his internal turmoil of the battle, family, angst, yet is brilliant as he pays close attention to the Lord's words and instuctions.
And in the end ( last chapter) clearly points out " I remember" - what does he remember? His universal status of Being.

Also look to Swami Krishnanada's commentry on this body of work as he too brings out the brillance and relevence of the teaching. This can be found on line at the Divine Life Web site or Googling on Swami Krishnanada.

The Gita is a profond work and can be read by various sadhu's at different levels of thier spiritual progress and brings a level of learning and appreciation of the integration of life - of the material and spiritual.

Hope this helps...

Jim Banes
09 December 2006, 08:37 AM
I can't thank you enough for pointing me to the Divine Life Web site! Their collection on-line books will keep me occupied for quite a while!

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's Gita was one I had initially considered including, but I decided not to since it was, as you pointed out, incomplete.

Many thanks,
Jim Banes

saidevo
09 December 2006, 09:59 AM
Swami Krishnananda's Website is at:
http://www.swami-krishnananda.org

The Divine Life Society's Websites are at:
http://www.sivanandadlshq.org
http://sivanandaonline.org/

The International Gita Society Website is at:
http://www.gita-society.com/

mirabai
31 March 2007, 10:36 AM
Swami Krishnananda's Website is at:
http://www.swami-krishnananda.org

The Divine Life Society's Websites are at:
http://www.sivanandadlshq.org
http://sivanandaonline.org/

The International Gita Society Website is at:
http://www.gita-society.com/

Thank you for posting the links. The International Gita Society's site is espeically helpful for me because it offers different study levels and study plans to match the level of experience, or the frequency of time one can devote to it. Or you can read it or hear it in audio. Very nice.
Many other features at the site also, but these are most helpful to me.

dharma66
22 August 2007, 01:16 PM
My personal favorite translation (though I have by no means read all of those on your list) is by Juan Mascaro.

santosh
04 January 2009, 04:04 PM
Hare Krishna Jim Barnes,

I would recommend you "Bhagavad Gita As It Is" by Srila Prabhupada.
You can read online http://vedabase.net/bg/

Also another great is "Gita Bhushan" by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhushan.
You can get it from http://www.krishnaculture.com.

Santosh

Brahmanyan
04 January 2009, 10:41 PM
I would like you to add the following to the list of Books on Bhagavad Gita :

BHAGAVAD GITA BHASYA OF SRI SANKARACARYA: With Text in Devanagiri & English Translation. A.G. Krishna Warrier.
BHAGAVAD GITA BHASYA OR SRI MADHVACARYA. B.N.K. Sharma.
BHAGAVAD GITA. Swami Chidbhavananda

Regards,
Brahmanyan

kd gupta
07 September 2009, 09:27 AM
Gita can not be understood by mere translation . Its detailed knowledge is explained by Vedastra: Vedastras (http://vedastra.blogspot.com/2009/08/vedastras.html)

The only inference of Gita is contentment, which teaches the reader to be attentive and impartial. For example, I take the first chapter named as Vishadyog . The word Vishad does not mean plain lamentation .See vishad is used in Ramcharitmanas..
When Sitaji came from Ravna’s Ashoka vatika, lord Rama used some tough words..

Tehi karan Raghunayak kahe kachhuk durvad,
Sunat jatudhani sab lagi Karen Vishad .

Now see that those lady demons who were trying to kill Sitaji , here are showing the grief, so this grief is only false lamentation .
Similarly Arjun was showing the grief due to hallucination and Krsn understood it, therefore Krsn called the Arjun klaibya or impotent…Klaibyam ma sm gamah parth..
Can anybody think a chariot driver to call the warrior ,klaibya, till he is not right enough. Krsn not only said it but made a mockery [ smiling is not correct ]of Arjun. ..prahasanah+iva
Now again see the beauty of Gita, Arjun says to Krsn that there is no way , which could remove my grief of drying senses .Gita uses here, the word Govinda…Govindam+uktwa. Who is Govinda…the giver the right pleasure to senses .

DavidC
15 November 2009, 12:26 AM
Another translator was William Q. Judge, a Theosophist.

Also do not forget the Anu-gita, which is the rest of it and more Yoga teaching from Krishna to Arjuna.

I like to see the commentary of great philosophers, but I would like to know if there is an edition with no commentary--so it is portable to carry around with other books.

chandu_69
15 November 2009, 01:45 AM
I would recommend translation by Ramanand prasad
link: http://eawc.evansville.edu/anthology/gita.htm

Also the four translations at http://www.gita-society.com/hare_krishna.htm

Ramanand prasad along with PROFESSOR S. RADHAKRISHNAN's translation(given in second link) are adequate, atleast in the initial study.

DavidC
07 March 2010, 07:48 AM
Did not Swami Paramhamsa Yogananda do a translation? Which translations do you think are most accurate and esoteric, and do any pull it off without excess commentary?

Ekanta
07 March 2010, 08:49 AM
Gita Supersite
http://www.gitasupersite.iitk.ac.in/
or:
Gita Supersite 2.0 (Beta)
http://202.3.77.102/acquia/?q=node/69

My personal favorite is Sivanandas version. It has very nice commentary so you can understand how the words are used in context and tradition. You wont find Sivanandas complete commentary in other places (its just small parts of it).

Skull
02 July 2010, 04:09 PM
For just the root text, with no comments, I always have liked Swami Paramananda's Srimad Bhagavad Gita; published by Vedanta Centre, Cohasset, Mass.

Riverwolf
02 July 2010, 05:25 PM
Did not Swami Paramhamsa Yogananda do a translation? Which translations do you think are most accurate and esoteric, and do any pull it off without excess commentary?

Well, Paramahamsa Yogananda didn't succeed without excess commentary; the commentary on the first verse is 50 pages long! (The entire translation is two volumes long.)

My personal favorite thus far is the one by Swami Tapasyananda. The only commentaries in it are brief introductions before each chapter, and some footnotes afterwards; there's no mid-chapter commentaries, which I like.

Skull
02 July 2010, 05:36 PM
SRF now has a one volume Gita, with excerpts from the two-volume work. I do not know if every verse is commented on or not. It does have Yogananda's entire translation, without commentary also.

http://bookstore.yogananda-srf.org/c6/c12/The-Yoga-of-the-Bhagavad-Gita-p202.html

Ekanta
10 July 2010, 10:58 PM
Anyone see something odd with this translation?

"That supreme abode of Mine is not illumined by the sun or moon, nor by fire or electricity."

(from: Bhagavad-gītā As It Is 15.6)

atanu
10 July 2010, 11:13 PM
Anyone see something odd with this translation?

"That supreme abode of Mine is not illumined by the sun or moon, nor by fire or electricity."

(from: Bhagavad-gītā As It Is 15.6)

Is it? :o

Braja Bhushan das
20 August 2010, 07:54 AM
It is interesting that noone here has mentioned Srimad Bhagavad Gita with the Gloss of Sridhara Swami, translated by Swami Vireswarananda.

It is a Bhagavad Gita with high quality English translation, accompanied by a commentary by Sridhara Swami, the famous medieval saint who comments word by word every verse with a lot of devotion despite formally belonging to Sankara school. It is a new way to see how our acaryas commented the scriptures, especially if you are used to lengthy commentaries by modern day gurus. Sridhara Swami´s authenticity has been corroborated by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu Himself so this commentary is certainly of great use to Gaudiya Vaishnava sadhakas.

This Bhagavad Gita has had a great impact on me, because it comments the verses word by word, often giving its synonyms so that the reader understands perfectly what Krishna wants to convey. I learned a lot from Prabhupada´s Gita, but there were still many places which I simply did not comprehend or was quite unsure about. Sridhara Swami´s commentary clarified many things or misconceptions which I had, and prepared me for studying other works of GV acaryas, where it is customary to offer commentaries following the word-for-word style. Also, the translation is excellent and it has helped me a lot in the process of learning sanskrit.

You can get it here: http://www.exoticindia.es/book/details/IDG598/ or if you want the second edition, which includes also the original sanskrit commentary, see http://www.exoticindia.es/book/details/IDK748/.

Visvamitra
01 September 2010, 11:58 PM
I liked The Bhagavad Gita According to Gandhi. I can't compare translations accuracy however.

Ekanta
14 September 2010, 05:23 PM
This one can come in handy if you want to see Gita detailed word by word:
(If ISKCON is dvaita, this is more of Visishtadvaita/advaita)

http://www.bhagavadgitausa.com/MyWebsBGSans/bg01-Sans.htm

I dont know if its posted before but I just found it...