Fw: Translation series - Gita Bhashya - Introduction 2/3

[Vidyasankar Sundaresan]

Second of a scheduled three-part set on the introductory chapter in the
Gita commentary.

Posted on August 11, 2002, 6:50 pm, Pacific Standard Time
Vidyasankar

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sa cha bhagavaan.h GYAnaishvaryashaktibalaviiryatejobhiH sadaa sampannaH
triguNaatmikaaM vaiShNaviiM svaaM maayaaM muulaprakR^itiM vashiikR^itya
ajaH avyayaH bhuutaanaaM iishvaraH nityashuddhabuddhamuktasvabhaavo.api
san.h svamaayayaa dehavaan.h iva jaataH iva cha lokaanugrahaM kurvan.h
laxyate .

This venerable Lord of all beings is always endowed with knowledge, lordliness,
power, strength, vitality and splendour, is unborn and not subject to change,
and is eternal, pure, enlightened and ever-liberated in nature. He controls the
root material nature (muulaprakR^iti), which is His own power of illusion (maayaa),
consisting of the three qualities (triguNa). By means of this power, He appears
in this world, as if He were embodied and as if he were born, and blesses it.

svaprayojanaabhaave.api bhuutaanujighR^ixayaa vaidikaM dharmadvayaM
arjunaaya shokamohamahodadhau nimagnaaya upadidesha . guNaadhikaiH
hi gR^ihiitaH anuShThiiyamaanashcha dharmaH prachayaM gamiShyatiiti .
taM dharmaM bhagavataa yathopadiShTaM vedavyaasaH sarvaGYaH
bhagavaan.h giitaakhyaiH saptabhiH shlokashataiH upanibabandha .

With no personal profit in it, but due to a desire to promote the welfare of all
beings, He imparted the two-fold Vedic Dharma to Arjuna, who was drowning
in a great ocean of sorrow and delusion. This is because only if the Law is
grasped and practised properly by people of excellent virtues will it flourish in
the world. The revered sage, the omniscient Vedavyasa, wrote down this
Dharma, as taught by the Lord, in seven hundred verses, called the
Songs (Gita).

tat.h idam.h giitaashaastraM samastavedaarthasaarasaN^grahabhuutaH
durviGYeyaarthaM tadarthaaviShkaraNaaya anekaiH vivR^itapadapadaartha-
vaakyaarthanyaayam.h api atyantaviruddhaanekaarthatvena laukikaiH
gR^ihyamaaNaM upalabhya ahaM vivekataH arthanirdhaaraNaarthaM
sa.nxepataH vivaraNaM kariShyAmi ..

The teaching of the Gita, which is the essence of the meaning of all the
Vedas, is difficult to comprehend. Even though many have expressed each
verse-quatrain (pada) and its meaning in sentences, it is noticed that people
in general hold many mutually contradictory ideas about it. Therefore, I will
briefly explain the text, in order to elucidate its proper meaning.Get more from the Web.  FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com
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