The Bhagavad Gita : A Biography / Richard H. Davis.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Davis, Richard H., author.

Series:

Lives of great religious books.

Lives of Great Religious Books ; 23

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Bhagavadgītā--Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Bhagavadgītā.

Bhagavadgītā--History.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (256 p.)

Place of Publication:

Princeton, NJ : Princeton University Press, [2014]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The Bhagavad Gita, perhaps the most famous of all Indian scriptures, is universally regarded as one of the world's spiritual and literary masterpieces. Richard Davis tells the story of this venerable and enduring book, from its origins in ancient India to its reception today as a spiritual classic that has been translated into more than seventy-five languages. The Gita opens on the eve of a mighty battle, when the warrior Arjuna is overwhelmed by despair and refuses to fight. He turns to his charioteer, Krishna, who counsels him on why he must. In the dialogue that follows, Arjuna comes to realize that the true battle is for his own soul.Davis highlights the place of this legendary dialogue in classical Indian culture, and then examines how it has lived on in diverse settings and contexts. He looks at the medieval devotional traditions surrounding the divine character of Krishna and traces how the Gita traveled from India to the West, where it found admirers in such figures as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, J. Robert Oppenheimer, and Aldous Huxley. Davis explores how Indian nationalists like Mahatma Gandhi and Swami Vivekananda used the Gita in their fight against colonial rule, and how contemporary interpreters reanimate and perform this classical work for audiences today.An essential biography of a timeless masterpiece, this book is an ideal introduction to the Gita and its insights into the struggle for self-mastery that we all must wage.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Illustrations

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1. The Bhagavad Gita in the Time of Its Composition

2. Krishna and His Gita in Medieval India

3. Passages from India

4. Krishna, the Gita, and the Indian Nation

5. Modern Gitas: Translations

6. The Gita in Our Time: Performances

Epilogue. The Bhagavad Gita in Great Time

Notes

Glossary of Sanskrit Terms

Select English Translations of the Bhagavad Gita

Further Readings

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 23. Mai 2019)

ISBN:

9781785399916

1785399918

9781400851973

1400851971

OCLC:

891445849