THE BHAGAVAD GITAWITH THE COMMENTARY OF

SRI SANKARACHARYA

Translated from the original Sanskrit into English

By

ALLADI MAHADEVA SASTRY

SAMATA BOOKS MADRAS

First Published 1897. Successive editions 1901, 1918, 1947, 1961, 1972. 7th edition 1977 with the kind cooperation of Sri S. T. Ramalingam, Official Trustee administering the Vavilla Venkateswara Sastrulu Trust.

e> V. Sadanand Published by V. Sadanand The Personal Bookshop 10, Kamaraj Bhavan, Ill, Mount Roac! Madras 600 006 IndiaPrinted at AU India Press Pondicherry India

PUBLISHER'S NOTE Sl7i Sankaracharya's is the earliest extant commentary on the Bhagavad Gita. He explained the need for his commentary thus:HThis famous Gita-Sastra is an epitome of the essentials of the whole Vedic teaching; and its meaning is very difficult to unde:r;stand. ,Though, to afford a clear view of its teaching, it has been explained word by word and sentence by sentence, and its import critically examined by several commentators, still I have found that to the laity it appears to teach diverse and quite contradictory doctrines. I propose, therefore, to write a brief commentary with a view to ,determine its precise meaning." The text of the Gita as cited by Sankara has come down the centuries as the authentic text and this commentary of his has proved to be of seminal value ever since. Its translation into English by Sri Alladi Mahadeva Sastri has stood the test of time since its first publication in 1897, Jx:ing the only English translation of Sankara 's Gita Bhashya available for 80 years. The late Pandit Mahadeva Sastri was Director, Oriental Section Adyar Library, Curator, Government Oriental Library, Mysore and Fellow of the Theosophical Society. He has also translated Sankara's commentary on Taittiriya Upanishad and Amritabindu, Dakshinamurti Stotra~ Pranava Vartika and Dakshinamurti Upanishad besides editing 4 out of 5 volumes of Minor Upanishads for the Adyar Library.boo~

We consider it a privilege and a Blessing to issue this famous as our first publication.

CONTENTSINTRODUCTION.The twofold Vedic Religion .. The purpose of the DivineIncarnation ... The Gita and the Commentary ... jnana-Yoga is the means to the Supreme Bliss ... How Karma-Yoga is a means to the Supreme Bliss ... The specific subject and object of the Gi ta-Sastra. PP 1-5

First Discourse.

THE DESPONDENCY OF ARJUNA.

Sanjaya narrates the course of the war ... Duryodhana addresses Drona .. Both armies ready for battle .. Arjuna's survey of the enemy ... Arjuna's words of despondency ... Arjuna's grief at the evils of war. pp. 7-18

Second Discourse.SANKHYA YOGA ..

Arjuna's weakness condemned by the Lord .. Arjuna seeks instruction from the Lord .. Selfknowledge alone eradi cates misery ... The doctrine that knowledge should be conjoined with works ... Sankhya and Yoga distinguished . Conjunctibn inconsistent with the sequel . Some cases of apparent conjunc... tion explained ... The Self is immortal . Endurance is a condition of wisdom . The Real and the unreal. The Self is un concerned in action . Self is immutable :rhe enlightened man has to renounce worlts .. Works are meant for the unenlightened .. Knowledge of the Immutable Self is possible ... The enlightened should resort to Jnana Yoga ... How the

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CONTENTS.

Self is immutable .. No room for grief .. A warrior should fight ... Yoga ... Yoga, a safe course ... \Visdom is one ... No wisdom possible for the wordly-minded ... Advice to the Yogin .. Karma- Yoga ... The merit of Wisdom ... ResuJts of KarmaYoga ... The characteristic attributes of a. perfect Sage .. (l) Satisfaction in the Self ... (2) Equanimity in pleasure and pain ... (3) Absence of attachment, delight and aversion ... ( 4) Complete withdrawal of senses from objects .. Unrestrained senses work mischief .. (5) Devotion to the Lord .. Thought of senseobjects is the source of evil .. Sense.. cootrol leads to peace and happiness .. Sense-restraint conduces to steady kaowledge ... (6) The Universe, a mere dream to the Sage .. \Vorks are not meant for the sage . (7) Subjugation of desire and personal self . Knowledge leads to Divine Felicity pp. 1981

Third Discourse.KARMA-YOGA.

Arjuna's perplexity ... No conjunction of Knowledge and Action ... Renunciation enjoined in the scriptures ... Moksba. cannot be the effect of an action .... Conjunction is inconsistent with Arjuoa's question~ . Which is better, Knowledge or Action ... The paths of Knowledge and Action~ .. Karma-Yoga leads to freedom from action ... The ignorant are swayed by Nature ... The unenlightened should not give up KarmaYoga ... The wheel of the world should be set going .. Karma Yoga is not meant for the Selfknower .. Arjuna qualified for Karma-Yoga . The wise should set an example to the masses The wise man's action as contrasted with that of the ignorant How an aspirant for Moksba should do actions .. Influence of man's naturt: on hi~ condact Scope for man's personal exertion . Desire is the enemy of man ... Desire enshrouds wisdom The seat of desire How to kill our desire. pp. 82117

CONTENTS.

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Fourth Discourse.}NANAYOGA.

Tradition of Jnana-Yoga .. Divine Incarnations ... The purpose of Divine Incarnation ... Jnana-Yoga is the sole means to moksha ... Divine dispensation of worldly benefits and salvation .. Caste as a divinely ordered human institution ... Action without attachment does not bind the soul ... The real nature of action and inaction ... Who is a Sage P... The Sage's worldly action as an example to the masses ... The Sage's action for bodily maintenance ... The Sage's worldly action does not bind him ... Wisdomsacrifice .. Sacrifices effected by action ... Wisdom-sacrifice is superior to other sacrifices ... How and where one should seek wisdom ... Wisdom, a consumer of all sins and actions ... The surest means to wisdom ... Wisdom. the killer of doubt. PP 118-153.

Fifth Discourse.SAMNYASAYOGA.

Which is better for the ignorant, Karma-Yoga or Samnyasa P.. The question is not with .reference to the enlightened ... Karma-Yoga and Samnyasa inapplicable to the enlightened .. Karma-Yoga suits the ignorant better than Samnyasa.. Sankhya and Yoga lead to the same goal ... KarmaYoga is a means to Samnyasa ... A Sage's actions do not affect him ... A Sage's actions are really no actions ... Karma Yogin is untainted by the results of his action ... The blissful embodied life of a Sage ... Nature is the source of activity ... Wisdo_m and unwisdom ... The sage bas no more births ... The Sage sees the One in all beings .... The Sage is liberated while sjill on earth . The Sage is free from grief and rejoicing ... The Sage's infinite joy .... The path of Nirvana .. Realisation of the Lord by Dhy ana-Yoga. pp. 15 417

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CONTENTS,

Sixth Discourse.DHYANAYOGA.

DhyanaYoga is incompatible with works ... Renunciation in action .. Action is stepping-stone to DhyanaYoga ... Who is a Yogin P Directions for the practice of Yoga ... Consummati on ... Further directions concerning the practice of Yoga . The effect of Dhyana-Yoga .. Practice and Indifference are the .surest means to Yoga ... Failures in Yoga and the after-career The best of the Yogins. pp. 179-206

Seventh Discourse.VIJNANAYOGA.

Realisation of the Lord by meditation ... Evolution of the Universe out of Divine Prakriti. .. The Divine Principle penetrating the Universe ... Maya: How to overcome it .. Four classes of devotees ... The ignorant worship inferior Gods . The root of ignorance ... Divine worship leads to realisation. pp. 207221.

Eighth Discourse.ABHYASAYOGA.

The seven things to be realised by meditation ... Constant meditation of the Divine is necessary .. The Divine Being to be meditated upon .. Meditation of the Divine in the Pra1tava. No re-birth on attaining to the Divine Being ... The day and the Night of Brahma .. The Highest Goal, how reached ... The Paths of Light and Darkness... Excellence of Yoga. pp. 222237

Ninth Discourse.SOVEREIGN WISDOM AND SECRET,

Brahm a 1nana is the best Religion ... All beings rest in the Lord.-Tbe Lord is the source and the end of all beings ... The Lord is not bound by His acts ... The life of the impious .. The ways of the faithful devotees ... All worship

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goes to the Lord ... The fruits of interested acts of Vedic ritual. The Supreme watching over His devotee's interests ... Other devotees do but worship the Supreme in ignorance ... Facility in Devotion to the Supreme ... The impartiality of the Supreme ... Even the low-born attain salvation by Devotion ... The Yoga of Devotion pp. 238-258.:

Tenth Discourse.DIVINE MANIFESTATIONS.

The Lord is the source of all manifestations .. Knowledge of the Lord's Glory conduces to Yoga The Lord endows His devotees with wisdom .. Arjuna's question about the Lord's manifestations ... The Lord's enumeration of His manifestations ... Divine Glory described in brief. pp. 259276

Eleventh Discourse.THE UNIVERSAL FORM.

Arjuna's prayer for a vision of the Universal Form . Arjuna endowed With heavenly sight wherewith to see the Universal Form ... The manifestation of the Lord's Universal Form .. Vishnu is one with the Unconditioned ... The Universal Form (continued) ... The wonderfulness of the Universal Form The terribleness of the Universal Form ... Arjuna's vision of the defent of the enemy ... the splendour of the Universal Form ... The Lord's advent for destruction of worlds .... Arjuna's adoration of the Universal Form .. Arjuna's prayer for the Lord's forgiveness ... Arjuna's prayer for the Lord's resumption of His usual form ... The Lord resumes Hi~ usual form ... Devotion as the sole means to the realization of the Universal Form ... The essence of the whole teaching of the Gita. pp. 277... 301.

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CONTENTS.

Twelfth Discourse.BHAKTIYOGA.

Who are superior, the worshippers of Isvara, or the worshippers of Akshara P... The worshippers of Isvara .. The worshippers of Akshara ... Salvation by worship of Isvara Abhyasa-Yoga ... Service of the Lord ... Abandonment of the .fruits of actions ... 1...he life of the Akshara-upasakas.

pp. 302315

Thirteenth Discourse.MATTER AND SPIRIT.

The main subject of the discourse ... The body .and soul ... Identity of the soul with the Lord ... The soul is subject to evil only through ignorance .. Kshetrajna is really u~ffected by samsara ... Avidya inheres in the organ, not in the Self Scriptural injunctions apply only to the state of bondage .. Bondage and liberation are not real states of the Self Scriptural injunctions concern the unenlightened ... Learned but deluded ... The relation of the Self to samsara is a mere. illusion . The perception of the relation of avidya, etc., to the Self is due to illusion ... Summary of the Doctrine ... The Doctrine extolled ... Matter in all its forms ... Virtues conducive to Self-knowledge .. Brahman, the Knowable .. Brahman is .be yond speech and thought .. Brahman is the source of all activity ... Brahman is unconditioned ... Brahman, the basic Reality in all illusory phenomena ... Brahman, the perceiver of the gu1tas ... Brahman is all .. Brahman is comprehended only by the wise ... Brahman is the one Self in all ... Brahman is the Cause of the Universe ... Brahman is the Illuminator of The Light ~s in the heart of every one ... Seek the Light ti:trough devotion-Prakriti and Purusha are etemat ... Prakriti and Purusha as the Cause of satnsara .. Avidya and Kama. are the cause of rebirths ... Self-knowledge removes the ca.use

au ...

CONTENTS.

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of Santsara ... The four paths to Selfknowledge ... Nothing exists outside the Self ... The one Self in all ... Knowledge of the one Self leads to moksha ... Prakriti acts, not the Self .. : The Self is the source and the abode of all ... The Self is unaffected by the fruits of acts ... The Self illumines all ... The doctrine summed up. pp. 316377.

Fourteenth Discourse.THE THREE GuNAS.

The subject of the discourse ... Knowledge of the origin of the universe is necessary for salvation .. Evolution of the Universe frorn the union of Spirit and tfatter ... The gunas bind the soul ..... This nature and functions of the guttas ... The mutual action of the gunas ... How to know when a particular guna is predorninant .. Life after death as governed by the gunas ... The functions of the gu~JaS summed up ... Realisation of the Self beyond the gu1tas leads to immortal_ity .. The marks of a liberated soul. The conduct in life of a Liberated one Devotion to the Lord leads to liberation .. Unity of Atman. PP 378395

Fifteenth Discourse.THE SUPREME SPIRIT.

The Tree of Samsara .. Cut the Tree and seek the Goal The Path to the Goat ... Tbe Goal is the Lord's Glorious :Being ... Jiva is a ray of the Lord .. How Jiva dwells i'n the body and departs from it .... The Self is visible only to the eye of kaowledge ... No Self-knowledge without Yoga . Imman-ence of the Lord, (1) as the allillurnining Light of Consciousness ... (2) As the all-sustaining Life .. (3) As the Digestive Fire in all living orga.nisms .. (4) As the Self in the hearts of aU .... The Lord beyond the perishable and the imperishable universe The Glory of Selfknowledge. pp. 39641 J

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CONTENTS.

Sixteenth Discourse.SPIRITUALITY AND MATERIALISM.

Spiritual disposition ... l\1aterialistic disposition ... Results of the two dispositions ... The materialists . The materialist's view of the world .. Men's life as guided by materialism . The materialist's aspirations ... The materialist's sacrificial rites ... The materialist's neglect of Divine commandments . The materialist's fall ... The three Gates of Hell to be avoided .... Let the Law guide thy life. pp. 414426

Seventeenth Discourse.THE THREEFOLD FAITH.

The ignorant, but faithful ... The three kinds of Faitb Men of Rajasic and Tamasic Faiths ... Threefold Food, Worship and Gift .. The three kinds of Food ... The three kinds of Worship ... Physical Austerity ... Austerity in speech Mental Austerity .. The three kinds of Austerity according to Gunas. Tbe. three kinds of Gift ... How to perfect the defective acts Works without faith are fruitless ... The teaching of the discourse summed up. PP 427440

Eighteenth Discourse.CONCLUSION.

'Samoyasa' and 'Tyaga' distinguished ... Sbould the ignorant perform works or not ?. The Lord's decree 1s that tbe ignorant should perform works .. The obligatory works should be performed without attachment . Tamasic and Rajasic renunciations of works ... Renunciation in works is Sattvic .. From renunciation in- works to renunciation of all works ... Renunciation of fruits is a] one possible for the ignorant .. Effects of the two renunciations after death Factors in the production of an act . The agency of the Self is an illusion . Realisation of the non-agency of the Self leads to absolution from the effects of all works ... The Impulses to

CONTENTS.

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action .. The Impulses are threefold according to the gu,tas ... Sattvic Knowledge ... Rajasic Knowledge ... Tamasic Know ledge ... Sattvic Action .... Rajasic Action .. -Tamasic Action . Sattvic Agent ... Rajasic .Agent ... Tamasic Agent .. Intellect and firmness are threefold accordi11g to gu1zas ... Sattvic Intellect .... Rajasic Intellect ... Tarnasic Intellect ... Sattvic Firmness . Rajasic Firmness .. Tamasic Firmness .. Pleasure is threefold according to gunas ... Sattvic PleasureRajasic Pleasure .. 1""amasic Pleasure No man or god is free from gunas .. The sequel sums up the whole doctrine ... Duties of the four castes ordained according to nature ... Devotion to one's own duty leads to perfection ... One ought not to Iabandon one's own duty ... Is entire renunciation of action possible? The Sankhya, Buddhistic, and Vaiseshika -theories ... Refutation of the Vaisesbika theory ... Refutation of the Parinama-Vada... The Lord's theory of illusion ... The enlightened alone can renounce action entirely ... Perfection in Karma-Yoga leads to absolute Perfection . Absolute Perfection is the consummation of Selfknowledge .. Is Self-knowledge possible at all P... The Self reveals Himself in Pure Reason Cognition and tbe Cogniser are self-revealed ... The Path to Absolute Perfection .... The consummation of Knowledge attained by Devotion ... Renunciation of all works is necessary for Absolute Perfection . Devotion to the Lord by works enjoined ... Devotion to the Lord is the Secret of success in Karma-Yoga. ... Right Knowledge and Renunciation ... vVhat is the means to the Highest Bliss, Knowledge or Works? .. Self-Knowledge alone is the means to the Highest Bliss .... !{no\vledge cannot be conjoined with works ... Refutation of the thecry that salvation is attained by works alone ... Refutation of the theory that the Nitya. Karma leads to no future births ... The Paths of !\:nowledge and Works are meant for distinct classes of aspirants ... Action is a creature of Avidya ... The theory of Avidya does not

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CONTENTS.

militate against the authority of Karma-Kanda ... Refutation~ of the theory of the Self's agency by mere presence .. The theory of A vidya concluded , Qualification for instruction in the Gita Doctrine .. The merit of teaching the Doctrine ... The merit of hearing the Doctrine ... Tbe Lord assured by Arjuna of his grasp of the Teaching .. Sanjaya. extols the Lord and His teaching. pp. 441-522,

a:rv.r .. na 1+1 t~~ and whqse actions. have been burnt by the fire of \Visdom, him the wise call a s.a.ge. '!he object of illusory knowledge, such as action (karma.}

18-20]

JNANA YOGA.

135

The n1an who .bas realized the truth described above, whose works are all free fron1 desires and from purposes (sanl\alpa) which cause those desires, who performs mere deeds without any immediate purpose,-if he be engaged in wordly action, he does so with a view to set an example to the masses; if he has renounced wordly life, he performs deeds only for bodily maintenance,-whose actions, good and bad. are consur,ned in the fire of wisdom which consists in the realization of inaction and vice versa : him the wise who know Brahrr1an call a real sage (pandit~.

The Sage's Wor Idly Action as an Example

to th.e Masses.He who can see action in inaction and vice versa, (i.e . who has realized the true nature of action and inaction), is, by virtue of that very realization, free from action ; he renounces (i:he world) and engages in no a.ction,-on1y doing what is required for the bare existence of his body ,-even though he had been engaged in action before realizing the truth. On the other band, there may be a person who, having started with action and having since obtained the right knowledge of the Self, really abandons action with all its accessories, as he finds action of no use ; but who, finding that for some reason he cannot abandon action, may continue doing action as before, with a view to set an example to the world at large, devoid of attachment to action and its result, and therefore having no selfish end i11 view ; such a man really does nothing. His action is equivalent to inaction, since all his actions are con.. sumed in the fire of kn.owledge. To teach this, the Lord says :

13620.

(DIS. lV.

Having abandoned attachment for the fruits of action, ever content, dependent on none, though engaged in actions, nothing at all does he do.He who bas abandoned all concern for action and all attachment for its results in virtue of the knowledge of the truth explained above, who is always content, longing for no objects of senses : who seeks nothing whereby to achieve any end of his (i.e., to secure enjoyments in this birth or the next); who, for want of any selfish end in view, might give up action with its accessories ; but who finding it impracticable to get away from action. engages in action as before with a view to set an example to the world or to avoid the displeasure of the orthodox,-such a man, though engaged in actions, really does nothing at all, since he is endued with knowledge of the actionless Self.

The Sage's Action Fo.r Bodily Maintenance.He who, unlike the one Just spoken of, bas, even before engaging in action, realized his indentity with Brahman (the absolute) abiding within all as the innermost actionless Self (the Pratyagatman); who is free from des~re for objects of pleasure seen or unseen : and who, therefore, finding no use in action which is intended to secure such objects of pleasure, renounces all action with accessories, except what is necessary for the bare bodily maintenance; such a devotee, steady in his devotion to knowledge, is liberated. To teach this, the Lord ssys:

1 :;utfT{ i6