Additional Details ------------------------------ Product description: In 700 concise verses, the Bhagavad-g?t? distills India?s yoga philosophy and presents universal truths as relevant today as when the G?t? was first spoken over five thousand years ago. The Bhagavad-g?t? is a conversation between God in the form of K???a, and His warrior friend Arjuna, as Arjuna decides whether he will fight his cousins to regain a kingdom ? thereby suffering the loss of many loved ones due to the war. K???a uses Arjuna?s dilemma to help Him walk the yoga path from material perplexity to spiritual enlightenment. A.?C. Bhaktivedanta Swami?s straightforward approach and loyalty to the intended meaning of K???a?s words has made Bhagavad-g?t? As It Is the most widely read edition of the Bhagavad-g?t? in the world, with 28 million copies in print in over sixty languages. For each verse, the book includes the Devanagari script, a Latin transliteration, word-for-word Sanskrit-English meanings, and English translation. An extensive commentary by Bhaktivedanta Swami is given throughout, based on various Gaudiya Vaishnava works, including: Ramanuja Bhasya (in Sanskrit); Sarartha-varsini-tika (Sanskrit) by Visvanatha Chakravarti Thakura; Gita-bhusana-tika (Sanskrit) by Baladeva Vidyabhushana; and Bhaktivinode Thakur's Bengali commentaries. Scholarly Reviews: ?No work in all Indian literature is more quoted, because none is better loved in the West than Bhagavad-gita. Translation of such a work demands not only knowledge of Sanskrit but an inward sympathy with the theme and a verbal artistry. For the poem is a symphony in which God is seen in all things. His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada is, of course, profoundly sympathetic to the theme. He brings to it, moreover, a special interpretive insight, a powerful and persuasive presentation in the bhakti [devotional] tradition? The Swami does a real service for students by investing the beloved Indian epic with fresh meaning. Whatever our outlook may be, we should all be grateful for the labor that has led to this illuminating work.? ? Dr. Geddes MacGregor Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Philosophy University of Southern California ?Whether the reader be an adept of Indian spirituality or not, a reading of Bhagavad-gita As It Is will be extremely profitable, for it will allow him to understand the Gita as still today the majority of Hindus do. For many, this will be the first contact with the true India, the ancient India, the eternal India.? ? Dr. Francois Chenique Doctor of Religious Sciences Institute of Political Studies, Paris ?There is very little question that this edition is one of the best books available on the Gita and on devotion. Prabhupada?s translation is an ideal blend of literal accuracy and religious insight.? ? Dr. Thomas J. Hopkins Chairman, Dept. of Religious Studies Franklin and Marshall College ?The Gita can be seen as the main literary support for the great religious civilization of India, the oldest surviving culture in the world?. The present translation and commentary is another manifestation of the permanent living importance of the Gita. Swami Bhaktivedanta brings to the West a salutary reminder that our highly activistic and one-sided culture is faced with a crisis that may end in self-destruction because it lacks the inner depth of an authentic metaphysical consciousness. Without such depth, our moral and political protestations are just so much verbiage.? ? Thomas Merton Late Catholic theologian, monk, author ?In this beautiful translation, Srila Prabhupada has caught the deep devotional spirit of the Gita and has supplied the text with an elaborate commentary in the truly authentic tradition of Sri Krishna Chaitanya, one of India?s most important and influential saints.? ? Dr. J. Stillson Judah Emeritus Professor of the History of Religions and Director of the Library Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley