CORRECT ENGLISH SPELLING OF THE BHAGAVAD GITA
 

The first English translation of the Bhagavad Gita by Charles Wilkins spelled it as

BHӐGVӐT - GĒĒTᾹ

with a solid line above the two E's.

My question is what is the proper spelling of the name for this document?


The first chapter and verse reads in Sanskrit as:

धृतराष्ट्र उवाच |
धर्मक्षेत्रे कुरुक्षेत्रे समवेता युयुत्सवः |
मामकाः पाण्डवाश्चैव किमकुर्वत सञ्जय ||1||

Why are there different translations of this verse?

Namaste.

The first shloka from the Bhagavad Gita sets the tone and gives the whole background story for the unfolding of events IN the context they are about to be related to the reader.

The Bhagavad Gita forms a small part of the larger narrative which is the Mahabharata and it essentially is a dialogue between the blind king of the Kauravas called Dritarashtra and his scribe, Sanjaya.

Now, due to Dritarashtra's blindness - which some would argue that it was not a physical blindness but one of being Spirituality blind or ignorant of the truth, he couldn't see what was going on right in front of him and why the battle was occuring in the first place..

So, Dritarashtra spoke to Sanjaya:

Dritarashtra Uacha (Uacha is the verb of Vacham - to speak).

Dharmakshetra, Kurukshetra, samaveda yuyudsawah.
Maamaka Pandavaschaiva, kim acurywat O' Sanjaya?

Which means, on this holy battlefield of Kurukshetra, what happened between the Pandavas and the Kauravas which has now led to this battle? Tell me, Sanjaya.

The translation is pretty much straight forward.

The word Geet or Gita or Geeta...no matter how it is spelled simply means "song" as the Sanskrit language is meant to be sung and not spoken..that is basically how that is.

Now, I realise that I am not interacting with you and I also realise you had asked me not to reply to your posts and threads anymore...however, when it comes to the correct translations of Hindu holy books from the original Sanskrit, that does not apply. LOL

Aum Namah Shivaya

Why are there different translations of this verse?

Sanskrit is a highly inflected language with completely free-form construction of sentences. It is also one of the only languages with such an inordinately high number of synonyms, and complicated sandhi (word joining) rules. Therefore it can either be crystal clear or unbelievably ambiguous, needing the context to clarify the writing or speech. Hence, so many different translations. Not to mention the translator's personal biases, agenda, intentions.

Bhagavad Gītā भगवद् गीता is pronounced (as closely as possible given English phonology) bh-ug-uh-vud gee-taa. The a's in Bhagavad are short, pronounced like the a in about. The G is like get. the i is long, like ee, the a is long like in father.

धृतराष्ट्र उवाच |
धर्मक्षेत्रे कुरुक्षेत्रे समवेता युयुत्सवः |
मामकाः पाण्डवाश्चैव किमकुर्वत सञ्जय ||1||

dhṛitarāśhtra uvācha
dharma-kṣhetre kuru-kṣhetre samavetā yuyutsavaḥ
māmakāḥ pāṇḍavāśhchaiva kimakurvata sañjaya

Word for word:
dhṛitarāśhtraḥ uvācha—Dhritarashtra said; dharma-kṣhetre—the land/place/field of dharma (righteousness/law/duty); kuru-kṣhetre—at Kurukshetra (place/field/land of the Kuru clan); samavetāḥ—having gathered; yuyutsavaḥ—desiring to fight; māmakāḥ—my sons; pāṇḍavāḥ—the sons of Pandu; cha—and; eva—certainly/indeed/truly; kim—what; akurvata—did they do; sañjaya—Sanjay

Dhṛitarāśhtraḥ said "Having gathered at the place of righteousness [this becomes clear later in the epic], Kurukshetra (actually a geographical name), desiring to fight (wage war), what did my sons and the sons of Pandu (Dhritarashtra's brother) indeed do?" i.e., what happened then, did they fight?

A Hindu always feels duty-bound to either explain, expound, expand, augment or correct anything about scriptures. :biggrin:

EXACTLY! :hug3:

I couldn't have said it better myself!

Also, there are certain words in Sanskrit which have no exact correlation in English, so translation comes with a small amount of "poetic license" and individual biases can get in the way of it...which is why I love the language so much!

Most translations of the scriptures are just alternative ways of saying exactly the same thing anyway. There is never any contradiction...just different ways of looking at exactly the same thing, with different ways of describing it which is essentially the same anyway...think of it as an exercise in similes and metaphors.

Maybe if Big John would like to provide three or four examples he is referring to for our perusal and comparison so I can see what he is talking about. :rolleyes:

Yes, I know...it is almost like a subconscious compulsion which is very intriguing.

Aum Namah Shivaya

Thanks, both very interesting ,

Jl

No problem my dear....so, wanna hear a tale?

A long time ago, there was a wise and pious sage called Veda Vyasa who had two wives (their names escape me right now).

When the time came to conceive a child from each wife, one wife closed her eyes and turned away from Veda Vyasa....so the child they conceived was born blind...his name, Dritarashtra.

The other wife went very pale when the saint approached her, so the child they conceived was born pure white, with skin like milk and his name....Pandu.

Eventually, each son went on to father a dynasty....even though Pandu was cursed never to be able to sleep with a woman (I forget exactly why at this point)...however, essentially, and for all intents and purposes, the sons of Dritarashtra (Kauravas) and the sons of Pandu (Pandavas) were cousins (but not blood cousins) because the Pandavas were said to be fathered by all of the Nature Devas...but I am digressing.

These guys were cousins, had many teachers in common...pretty much got on well otherwise..with many territorial spats of course....so Dritarashtra was asking "what is happening here?" basically..

Well, apparently the leader of the Kauravas, Duryodhana invited the leader of the Pandavas, Yudhisthira to a rigged game of dice...and Yudhisthira was a compulsive and impulsive gambler.

Eventually Yudhisthira forfeited the whole kingdom and all residents in it (including his 4 brothers and their shared wife, Draupadi... don't ask me how that works) to Duryodhana... Yudhisthira lost everything..he bet his crown...and lost.

After Draupadi put up a good argument that humans cannot be treated like cattle and it goes against free will to barter with human lives, her and the 4 brothers (including Arjuna) accompanied Yudhisthira into exile..never to set foot in the kingdom again ..

Then the Pandavas found out that Duryodhana was cheating and had planned it all along...it was a trap and they fell right into it.

That is when Krishna came to them and told the Sons of Pandu they needed to restore their honor and dignity for the sake of the subjects who still love them...and for themselves..

Arjuna was very kind and soft hearted and did not want to fight his "cousins" who had the same grandfather..the same teachers and upbringing etc

So, that is when Sri Krishna imparted the lessons in the Bhagavad Gita, which was witnessed by Sanjaya and then recounted to Dritarashtra.

Thus the Hindu teachings became codified.

If anyone has Netflix there is an Indian tv show from 2014-2015 called Dharmakshetra. It is a fantasy; it’s not canon inasmuch as this court never happened. It’s about all the characters facing Lord Chitragupta in his court (his dharmakshetra assembly) to accuse, defend, exonerate, account for, all their deeds before, during and after the war. Lots of finger pointing. Obviously they’re all dead and in the afterlife. But they are recounting the real war. I’m almost finished with it, 24-26 episodes I’ve been binge watching.

I don't have Netflix, it sounds like a great series to watch anyway. Last Indian series I saw was Devon ke Dev Mahadev and I have seen the shorts for Dharmakshetra...it does look interesting..

Such a tangled web of tales running through the Mahabharata...that is what makes it so readable.

Aum Namah Shivaya

Also, I was just recalling where I learned all this....after considering the fact I am not doing too badly for a Shaiva recounting Vaishnava doctrine. :tongue:

When I was growing up, we did not have Netflix or even TV for that matter...I mean, rich people had TV, but this was way before any devotional offerings from Bollywood made it onto the small screen.

I remember I saw the film Sanyasi when it first came out in Malaysia..I loved the soundtrack...Lata Mangeshkar is awesome...but I am digressing.

Where I learned the whole thing was from watching shadow puppet plays in the villages of Bali, Indonesia....I also used to go and binge watch these...known as the Wayang Kulit.

Traditional storytelling at its finest.

I just started Ramayan on Netflix. I'd like to see Devon Ke Dev Mahadev too. :wink:

In the next few days, I will becoming out with more information on this subject.

It is a good thing I decided not to hold my breath isn't it?

I cannot take it anymore.

There is a lot of evil and darkness on this whole forum...it has been compromised and infiltrated by negative energy parasites looking to get their hooks into me...I am really understanding what is going on now and I pray for the Light and ask for protection against this and also send up a prayer for those poor lost and trapped souls caught in the middle.

Hmmm???

What makes you say that?

I haven't really noticed it, though to be fair, my participation these days is minimal. There are rarely any topics or discussions that hold my interest any more.

Oh you know, just more of the usual "belief bashing" and changing the subject whenever "God" is mentioned and pretending not to understand anything just to avoid discussion on a forum designed for that purpose and promising to reveal sources to give further information which never happens and suspending the only member who could lift my spirits through showing kindness...and those who want me to teach them Hinduism without using any Indian words (even if a translation is given) because they say they are "Western and not Indian" but for others, they say that calling another "Western" is being racist, but it isn't racist if people refer to themselves as being "Western"....and then we have those who type during periods of "blackout" and when I quote them directly, they go "I didn't write that...you must be seeing things" even if the quote is taken directly from a post they made which has their name on it.. they will swear they didn't write it.

All of this leads me to believe that there are demonic entities involved and I should be petitioning the the Archangels and surrounding myself with white light before I log on now.

Yeah, there aren't any topics I am interested in replying to either and I am also aware that even if I were to contribute, it would just fly over everyone's head like it usually does. People just ask questions they don't want to get any answers to..."cannot understand one word I use in reply, so therefore you cannot understand anything I have to say forevermore?"

https://lmgtfy.com/

Yep, it's like that.

Well yes, it's the Kali Yuga, most people are demonic and enveloped in spiritual darkness, but then you already knew that, so why act so surprised?

As for the person you are referring to, he made some pretty pointed comments, even attacked people on the Coronavirus thread, that is probably why he was suspended. I guess it is possible he will be re-suspended eventually, but better ask the mods about that.

I share your pain about people's general inability or unwillingness to share or even see the theistic perspective, God has pretty much become a swearword in our Atheistic society, and when it is mentioned, it is in the context of some sort of fundamentalistic belief system.

Also, some people might be possessed or may be suffering from some variation of dissociation (DID) or Psychosis, so the phenomena you describe above is not terribly surprising. Like I said, it is pretty clear to me that some people, especially here, are either demonically possessed or mentally ill in some way.

Spirituality seems to attract people like that in general. Unfortunately that is simply the hallmark of the dark age we live in, but I see signs that this may be coming to an end and in the meanwhile, those of us who can, must provide light and guidance to those that are suffering in darkness. Even a few simple, soothing words and just showing kindness and compassion can provide relief and in some cases, help lift them from the mud and into the light.

I just don't have the strength to provide Light and Guidance anymore...I am spiritually "burnt out" having to battle the forces of darkness day in and day out...if God wants it done, why doesn't God do it himself and give the poor Messengers a break? I just feel like I didn't sign up for this when I signed up..even knowing it is Kali Yuga and all that...but I am in full agreement with you, Spirituality tends to attract these types of mentally unstable people which is why it is ridiculed by the mainstream...and whatever baby is in the bathwater just gets tossed out as well...I need to do Vipassana and learn to be the embodiment of "eff the world" for those times when patience and compassion for the idiocy and lunacy is in short supply.

I still miss Janielee...she was so loving and kind to me...I wish her well and thank her for being a positive influence in my life...only underdogs can appreciate underdogs..

It is an interesting question, but it seems to me that God doesn't necessarily have the ability to directly intervene in the lower realms. Puts a damper on any talk of omnipotence, but I believe it to be true. That is why God(s) need intermediaries or in extreme cases, avatars. Why would they need to incarnate in a human(oid) body, if they could intervene directly?

There are probably natural laws (physical ones) that stop higher dimensional beings from directly intervening in lower dimensions.


I thought she was a he? These forum pseudonyms are confusing...

not physical laws..But spiritual laws.
Spiritual laws govern the entire one & only spiritual universe, of which the Earth resides within.

Higher beings of love, can only assist in a loving manner that does not harm the free will of any other being "good or evil"

God will not intervene in any part of the one & only spiritual universe. because for god to intervene, in order to stop any being, good or evil, from doing what a being chooses to do. would mean that God the creator Christ entity would be breaking his own laws of love, that the Christ entity put in play.

Nor would any christed being intervene in an evil minded person's free will that chooses to harm any other being.
If a Christed being stopped an evil minded being from harming another being. Then that christed being would reap punishment.

God sends his holy spiritual essence, to those that are in accord with gods laws of love. And Gods holy spiritual essence can only enter a person when a person desires for it, & in the moment of desire, is in harmony with gods pure holy loving laws of love.
The spiritual holy essence stops flowing, when the person ceases to be in harmony with the Fathers loving way.

The Holy spiritual essence of the Heavenly Father Christ entity transforms a person, & that person is clothed in the full armour of Christ essence for ever more.

And this is the way that the Christ entity deemed it to be. That all beings of the Earth, from the first parents on, should become transformed, from naturally born persons, into christed beings. & every Earthling would then be impervious to all evil & unloving acts.

If a pregnant female, is herself a Christed being, then the un born being within the female, would be protected from any evil "spiritual beings". The foetus would literally fall under the umbrella of the Heavenly Father Christ entity.

The above is for any persons considerations only.

Yes, I see what you mean. When I say physical laws, I literally mean laws of physics, but wasn't sure how to make an adjective out of that.

I suspect that the same way we cannot directly intervene in 2D reality, beings of a higher dimension (that is, they exist in multi-dimensional spacetime extending far beyond our own slice of reality) cannot directly intervene in lower (3-4D) realities due to physical (meaning, of physics) constraints, because they are constructed in a way that allows them to exist in higher-dimensional spacetime only. When they can intervene, it is done through intermediaries (prophets, seers, clairvoyants, mystics, saints, gurus, etc...) or when direct intervention is warranted, it is done through incarnations (avatars). Btw, some sects believe that Jesus Christ was actually an incarnation of Archangel Michael, which I'm inclined to believe.

Another note, is that Christ means "Anointed One" in Greek, so when you speak about Christed ones, what you're actually saying is "anointed ones". The anointment comes by way of the holy spirit, which Christ referred to as the Baptism of fire.