1. O Bhagavan,
the Supreme Lord! How can unflinching devotion arise in him who is
immersed in
his Prarabdha Karmas (worldly life), O Lord?
Sri
Vishnuruvaacha:
Praarabdham
bhujyamaano hi geetaabhyaasaratah sadaa;
Sa muktah sa
sukhee loke karmanaa nopalipyate.
Lord Vishnu
said:
2. Though
engaged in the performance of worldly duties, one who is regular in the study
of
the Gita
becomes free. He is the happy man in this world. He is not bound by Karma.
Mahaapaapaadipaapaani
geetaadhyaanam karoti chet;
Kwachit
sparsham na kurvanti nalineedalam ambuvat.
3. Just as
the water stains not the lotus leaf, even so sins do not taint him who is
regular in the
recitation
of the Gita.
Geetaayaah
pustakam yatra yatra paathah pravartate;
Tatra
sarvaani teerthaani prayaagaadeeni tatra vai.
4. All the
sacred centres of pilgrimage, like Prayag and other places, dwell in that place
where the
Gita is kept, and where the Gita is read.
Sarve
devaashcha rishayo yoginahpannagaashcha ye;
Gopaalaa
gopikaa vaapi naaradoddhava paarshadaih.
5. All the
gods, sages, Yogins, divine serpents, Gopalas, Gopikas (friends and devotees of
Lord
Krishna), Narada, Uddhava and others (dwell here).
Sahaayo
jaayate sheeghram yatra geetaa pravartate;
Yatra
geetaavichaarashcha pathanam paathanam shrutam;
Tatraaham
nishchitam prithvi nivasaami sadaiva hi.
BHAGAVAD
GITA
6. Help
comes quickly where the Gita is recited and, O Earth, I ever dwell where it is
read,
heard,
taught and contemplated upon!
Geetaashraye’ham
tishthaami geetaa me chottamam griham;
Geetaajnaanam
upaashritya treen Uokaan paalayaamyaham.
7. I take
refuge in the Gita, and the Gita is My best abode. I protect the three worlds
with the
knowledge of
the Gita.
Geetaa me
paramaa vidyaa brahmaroopaa na samshayah;
Ardhamaatraaksharaa
nityaa swaanirvaachyapadaatmikaa.
8. The Gita
is My highest science, which is doubtless of the form of Brahman, the Eternal,
the
Ardhamatra (of the Pranava Om), the ineffable splendour of the Self.
Chidaanandena
krishnena proktaa swamukhato’rjuna;
Vedatrayee
paraanandaa tatwaarthajnaanasamyutaa.
9. It was
spoken by the blessed Lord Krishna, the all-knowing, through His own mouth, to
Arjuna. It
contains the essence of the Vedas—the knowledge of the Reality. It is full of
supreme
bliss.
COMMENTARY:
The Gita contains the cream of the Vedas and Upanishads. Hence it is a
universal
scripture suited for people of all temperaments and for all ages.
Yoashtaadasha
japen nityam naro nishchalamaanasah;
Jnaanasiddhim
sa labhate tato yaati param padam.
10. He who
recites the eighteen chapters of the Bhagavad Gita daily, with a pure and
unshaken
mind, attains perfection in knowledge, and reaches the highest state or supreme
goal.
Paathe’asamarthah
sampoornam tato’rdham paathamaacharet;
Tadaa
godaanajam punyam labhate naatra samshayah.
11. If a
complete reading is not possible, even if only half is read, he attains the
benefit of
giving a cow
as a gift. There is no doubt about this.
Tribhaagam
pathamaanastu gangaasnaanaphalam labhet;
Shadamsham
japamaanastu somayaagaphalam labhet.
12. He who
recites one-third part of it achieves the merit of a bath in the sacred river
Ganges; and
who recites one-sixth of it attains the merit of performing a Soma sacrifice (a
kind of
ritual).
Ekaadhyaayam
tu yo nityam pathate bhaktisamyutah;
Rudralokam
avaapnoti gano bhootwaa vasecchiram.
GITA
MAHATMYA
13. That
person who reads one discourse with supreme faith and devotion attains to the
world of
Rudra and, having become a Gana (an attendant of Lord Shiva), lives there for
many years.
Adhyaayam shlokapaadam
vaa nityam yah pathate narah;
Sa yaati
narataam yaavanmanwantaram vasundhare.
14. If one
reads a discourse or even a part of a verse daily he, O Earth, retains a human
body
till the end
of a Manvantara (71 Mahayugas or 308,448,000 years).
Geetaayaah
shloka dashakam sapta pancha chatushtayam;
Dwautreenekam
tadardhamvaa shlokaanaam yah pathennarah.
Chandralokam
avaapnoti varshaanaam ayutam dhruvam;
Geetaapaathasamaayukto
mrito maanushataam vrajet.
15-16. He
who repeats ten, seven, five, four, three, two verses or even one or half of
it,
attains the
region of the moon and lives there for 10,000 years. Accustomed to the daily
study of the
Gita, a
dying man comes back to life again as a human being.
Geetaabhyaasam
punah kritwaa labhate muktim uttamaam;
Geetetyucchaarasamyukto
mriyamaano gatim labhet.
17. By
repeated study of the Gita, he attains liberation. Uttering the word Gita at
the time of
death, a
person attains liberation.
Geetaarthashravanaasakto
mahaapaapayuto’pi vaa;
Vaikuntham
samavaapnoti vishnunaa saha modate.
18. Though
full of sins, one who is ever intent on hearing the meaning of the Gita, goes
to
the kingdom
of God and rejoices with Lord Vishnu.
Geetaartham
dhyaayate nityam kritwaa karmaani bhoorishah;
Jeevanmuktah
sa vijneyo dehaante paramam padam.
19. He who
meditates on the meaning of the Gita, having performed many virtuous actions,
attains the
supreme goal after death. Such an individual should be considered a true
Jivanmukta.
COMMENTARY:
A Jivanmukta is one who has attained liberation while living.
Geetaam
aashritya bahavo bhoobhujo janakaadayah;
Nirdhootakalmashaa
loke geetaa yaataah param padam.
20. In this
world, taking refuge in the Gita, many kings like Janaka and others reached the
highest
state or goal, purified of all sins.
Geetaayaah
pathanam kritwaa maahaatmyam naiva yah pathet;
Vrithaa
paatho bhavet tasya shrama eva hyudaahritah.
BHAGAVAD
GITA
21. He who
fails to read this “Glory of the Gita” after having read the Gita, loses the
benefit
thereby, and
the effort alone remains.
COMMENTARY:
This is to test and confirm the faith of the reader in the Bhagavad Gita,
which is not
a mere philosophical book but the word of God and should therefore be studied
with
great faith
and devotion. The Gita Mahatmya generates this devotion in one’s heart.
Etanmaahaatmyasamyuktam
geetaabhyaasam karoti yah;
Sa
tatphalamavaapnoti durlabhaam gatim aapnuyaat.
22. One who
studies the Gita, together with this “Glory of the Gita”, attains the fruits
mentioned
above, and reaches the state which is otherwise very difficult to be attained.
Suta
Uvaacha:
Maahaatmyam
etad geetaayaah mayaa proktam sanaatanam;
Geetaante
cha pathedyastu yaduktam tatphalam labhet.
Suta said:
23. This
greatness or “Glory of the Gita”, which is eternal, as narrated by me, should
be read
at the end
of the study of the Gita, and the fruits mentioned therein will be obtained.
Iti
srivaraahapuraane srigeetaamaahaatmyam sampoornam.
Thus ends
the “Glory of the Gita” contained in the Varaha Purana.
Om Shanti,
Shanti, Shanti!
GITA MAHATMYA
GITA DHYANAM
MEDITATION
ON THE GITA
Om
paarthaaya pratibodhitaam bhagavataa naaraayanenaswayam,
Vyaasena
grathitaam puraanamuninaa madhye mahaabhaaratam;
Advaitaamritavarshineem
bhagavateem ashtaadashaa dhyaayineem,
Amba twaam
anusandadhaami bhagavadgeete bhavadweshineem.
1. Om. O
Bhagavad Gita, with which Partha was illumined by Lord Narayana Himself, and
which was
composed within the Mahabharata by the ancient sage, Vyasa, O Divine Mother,
the
destroyer of
rebirth, the showerer of the nectar of Advaita, and consisting of eighteen
discourses—upon
Thee, O Gita, O affectionate Mother, I meditate!
Namostu te
vyaasa vishaalabuddhe phullaaravindaayatapatranetra;
Yena twayaa
bhaaratatailapoornah prajwaalito jnaanamayah pradeepah.
2.
Salutations unto thee, O Vyasa, of broad intellect and with eyes like the
petals of a
full-blown
lotus, by whom the lamp of knowledge, filled with the oil of the Mahabharata,
has been
lighted!
Prapannapaarijaataaya
totravetraikapaanaye;
Jnaanamudraaya
krishnaaya geetaamritaduhe namah.
3.
Salutations to Lord Krishna, the Parijata or the Kalpataru or the bestower of
all desires for
those who
take refuge in Him, the holder of the whip in one hand, the holder of the
symbol of divine
knowledge
and the milker of the divine nectar of the Bhagavad Gita!
Sarvopanishado
gaavo dogdhaa gopaalanandanah;
Paartho
vatsah sudheer bhoktaa dugdham geetaamritam mahat.
4. All the
Upanishads are the cows; the milker is Krishna; the cowherd boy, Partha
(Arjuna), is
the calf; men of purified intellect are the drinkers; the milk is the great
nectar of the
Gita.
Vasudevasutam
devam kamsachaanooramardanam;
Devakeeparamaanandam
krishnam vande jagadgurum.
5. I salute
Sri Krishna, the world-teacher, son of Vasudeva, the destroyer of Kamsa and
Chanura, the
supreme bliss of Devaki!
Bheeshmadronatataa
jayadrathajalaa gaandhaaraneelotpalaa;
Shalyagraahavatee
kripena vahanee karnena velaakulaa;
Ashwatthaama-vikarna-ghora-makaraa
duryodhanaavartinee;
Sotteernaa
khalu paandavai rananadee kaivartakah keshavah.
BHAGAVAD
GITA
6. With
Kesava as the helmsman, verily was crossed by the Pandavas the battle-river,
whose
banks were
Bhishma and Drona, whose water was Jayadratha, whose blue lotus was the king of
Gandhara,
whose crocodile was Salya, whose current was Kripa, whose billow was Karna,
whose
terrible
alligators were Vikarna and Asvatthama, whose whirlpool was Duryodhana.
Paaraasharya
vachah sarojamamalam geetaarthagandhotkatam;
Naanaakhyaanakakesaram
harikathaa sambodhanaabodhitam;
Loke sajjana
shatpadairaharahah pepeeyamaanam mudaa;
Bhooyaadbhaaratapankajam
kalimala pradhwamsinah shreyase.
7. May this
lotus of the Mahabharata, born in the lake of the words of Vyasa, sweet with
the
fragrance of
the meaning of the Gita, with many stories as its stamens, fully opened by the
discourses
of Hari, the destroyer of the sins of Kali, and drunk joyously by the bees of
good men in
the world,
become day by day the bestower of good to us!
Mookam
karoti vaachaalam pangum langhayate girim;
Yatkripaa
tamaham vande paramaanandamaadhavam.
8. I salute
that Madhava, the source of supreme bliss, whose Grace makes the dumb
eloquent and
the cripple cross mountains!
Yam brahmaa
varunendrarudramarutah stunwanti divyaih stavaih,
Vedaih
saangapadakramopanishadair gaayanti yam saamagaah,
Dhyaanaavasthitatadgatena
manasaa pashyanti yam yogino,
Yasyaantam
na viduh suraasuraganaa devaaya tasmai namah.
9.
Salutations to that God whom Brahma, Indra, Varuna, Rudra and the Maruts praise
with
divine
hymns, of whom the Sama-chanters sing by the Vedas and their Angas (in the Pada
and
Krama
methods), and by the Upanishads; whom the Yogis see with their minds absorbed
in Him
through
meditation, and whose ends the hosts of Devas and Asuras know not!
GITA DHYANAM
I
THE YOGA OF
THE DESPONDENCY OF ARJUNA
Summary of
First Discourse
The great
Mahabharata war between the Pandavas and the Kauravas took place on the holy
plain of
Kurukshetra. After the failure of Lord Krishna’s peace mission, when He Himself
went to
Hastinapura
as the emissary of the Pandavas, there was no other alternative for the
Pandavas but to
engage in
war for their rightful share of the kingdom.
All the
famous warriors from both sides had assembled on the battlefield. Tents and
wagons,
weapons and machines, chariots and animals covered the vast plain.
Lord Krishna
arrived on the scene in amagnificent chariot yoked by white horses. He was to
act as the
charioteer of Arjuna, one of the Pandava princes.
The din of
hundreds of conches, blaring forth suddenly, announced the commencement of
the battle.
Arjuna blew his conch “Devadatta”, while Bhima, his brother, sounded the
“Paundra”.
All the
other great warriors blew their respective conches.
As the two
armies were arrayed, ready for battle, Arjuna requested Krishna to place his
chariot
between them so that he might survey his opponents. He was bewildered by the
scene before
him, for he
beheld on both sides, fathers and grandfathers, teachers and uncles,
fathers-in-law,
grandsons,
relatives and comrades.
Confusion
reigned in Arjuna’s mind. Should he participate in this terrible carnage? Was
it
proper to
destroy one’s relatives for the sake of a kingdom and some pleasures? Would it
not be
much better
for him to surrender everything in favour of his enemies and retire in peace?
As these
thoughts
rushed into his mind, a feeling of despondency overtook Arjuna. He had no
enthusiasm to
engage in
this battle. Letting his bow slip from his hands, Arjuna could do nothing but
turn to Lord
Krishna for
guidance and enlightenment.
Dhritaraashtra
Uvaacha:
Dharmakshetre
kurukshetre samavetaa yuyutsavah;
Maamakaah
paandavaashchaiva kim akurvata sanjaya.
Dhritarashtra
said:
1. What did
the sons of Pandu and also my people do when they had assembled together,
eager for
battle on the holy plain of Kurukshetra, O Sanjaya?
Sanjaya
Uvaacha:
Drishtwaa tu
paandavaaneekam vyudham duryodhanastadaa;
Read next part
