The Bhagavad Gita (Penguin Classics)

The Bhagavad Gita is the world's most translated scripture. The task for a Gita translator is to effectively take the poetic multilayer Sanskrit original and translate it into English preserving it's flavor allowing it to stand alone without commentary. Few have succeeded. I have read multiple editions of the Gita and,in my Sanskrit studies, read the original in Sanskrit.

While I haven't read all the English translations, Mascaro's translation is the best I have read. It takes the reader to the heart of the Gita, to their own heart and to that of Lord Krishna with practical real instructions on how we should live to be aligned with God. It is a practical nitty gritty instruction manual on how we are to construct and conduct ourselves in our own "life battle".

Gandhi read the Gita as his daily practice; it sustained him. I have found the same experience when I have picked up this volume during my own times of crisis.

If one wants to plumb the depths of the Gita, then I would suggest getting Winthrop Sargent's Bhagavad Gita with the Sanskrit and Sanskrit translation. It is excellent, but a few of the translations are off, and it is dry compared to Mascaro.

There are many commentaries and at present I don't have a favorite one to recommend.

If one wants to explore both the flavor and the depth of the Gita, I would recommend undertaking Sanskrit studies with Vyaas Houston www.americansanskrit.com . He gives weekend trainings to begin to learn Sanskrit as well as immersions into the Gita.
I can assure you, you won't be disappointed.

If you don't have the time or money, Mascaro's translation is a gold mine.

The BHAGAVAD GITA is one of the most important of the scriptures of Hinduism, and one of the highest points of all literature in Sanskrit. It is actually a brief extract from the Mahabharata, India's huge epic, which describes a war between two halves of a family for the throne. The BHAGAVAD GITA tells of how, as the two armies are squared off on the battle field, the divine manifestation Krishna appears to the noble warrior Arjuna, to calm his doubts and show him a path of righteousness.

The work begins with an ironic turn for one expecting a passive and pacifist work. Arjuna does not wish to kill, and would rather withdraw from the slaughter about to ensue. Krishna, however, tells him that it is okay to kill, because the soul is in any event indestructible and his enemies will be reborn. Instead of abstaining from one's work for moral reasons, says Krishna, it would be better to do it and dedicate it, whatever it might be, to the divine. "Action is greater than inaction" is the moral of the first part of the book. From there, the work begins to emphasise Krishna as the way to salvation and recommends love to him.

I found Juan Mascaro's translation disappointing. While his language is generally quite clear and readable, he uses "thou" which I feel only makes the result feel archaic instead of like a living text. A great problem is that, Mascaro actually believes in the next, as is immediately apparently from his rather jumbled and confused introduction (which seems more concerned with the Vedas than the Bhagavad Gita). He speaks for pages about its "truth" which we must all follow, and how its insights are not only compatible with other religions such Christianity, but must be combined with them. I feel this sentiment could have greatly biased his translation; better to get a translation from a neutral, dispassionate scholar of Sanskrit. I would also have liked to know more about how Mascaro was qualified to translate the text, but Penguin's biography unhelpfully neglects to tell us much, except that he studied Sanskrit at some unknown level and lived for a brief time in Sri-Lanka.

The BHAGAVAD GITA is a classic of literature, whatever one might think about its religious truth. And it also helps to shed light on the many new religious movements of the last hundred years which have based their thought on the text. I'd wholeheartedly recommend reading it, though ideally in a translation done by a more neutral party.

...but I feel compelled to comment on the book itself, especially in comparison to the myths of judeo-christian society. The stories, conflicts, and personalities involved are so incredibly strong, colorful, and heart-wrenching when compared to the old and new testaments that I wonder what's wrong with our societies when we have to choose the most lifeless creator myths around to build our superstitions around. They're all superstitions, make no mistake, but at least in the Bhagavad-gita you can imagine people acting the way they do, and feel that the characters are majestic, and possibly worth inspiring superstitions. I in no way advocate building your life around these stories (I would hardly tell you to do so with the bible or the koran) but in any case you can see the richness of imagination present in the ancient societies of the Indian subcontinent. And in comparison, the creation myths of the middle east are sorely lacking.

all i want to say is that if you want to interprete gita in its fullest then don't go for any translations.first study sanskrit and then read gita in its original form.that would be the right path for knowing the truth.

no words!!just read it!!my words are nothing comparing to Bahagavad Gita!!read it whoever you are!Thanx