The Bhagavad Gita: A Biography

Book: The Bhagavad Gita: A Biography
Author: Richard H. Davis

The Mahabharata is the preeminent epic of India, and one grows up with the stories of the Pandavas and Kauravas, and the adventures of Arjuna and Bhima. While dating the Mahabharata is close to impossible, the oldest layers are thought to capture memories of the Vedic people from the Kuru-Panchala period. The Gita appears first in this epic just before the cousins engage in an all-out war of extermination. Over the course of 18 chapters, Krishna synthesizes diverse religious paths, reveals himself to be an avatar of God, shakes Arjuna from his psychological stupor, and - my favorite bit - ends by saying now that Krishna has said what has to be said, Arjuna is free to do as he pleases.

Richard Davis’s book traces the publication and reception history of the Gita as a stand-alone text outside of the Mahabharata. The medieval period is represented by the commentaries of Shankara, Ramanuja, and the Marathi translation by Jnanadeva. Since there is a wealth of material about the Gita translations in European languages from the late eighteenth century, it's no surprise that this is where the book comes into its own, at least with respect to how the Gita was received. A volume dedicated to both reception and contested interpretations from the medieval era is still warranted, though. I know Edwin Bryant has been working on it for a while, and it really can't come sooner.

Indian texts have a long history of being accompanied by detailed commentaries, century upon century of exegesis. My occasional forays into the Gita without such guides have left me feeling lost. Richard Davis's book just brings home the point that if you want to make this text a part of your life, at a minimum, you need commentarial assistance. That’s my takeaway, not his. Davis’ recommendations for starting with the Gita include a free verse translation by Stephen Mitchell and S. Radhakrishnan’s translation and commentary.

Ambedkar has denounced the Gita’s values in favor of Buddha’s dhamma, Gandhi has used it for spiritual succor and religious endorsement of satyagraha, E. Sreedharan has distributed it among his staff as a management gospel. Aldous Huxley considered it as the most systemic statement of a perennial philosophy. People in the end see what they want to see in it, and I prefer the charitable - and hence traditional - reading of this work, as an eminently practical and useful book.

Pairs well with Fruits of Our Desiring.