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Shri Bhagavad-Gita

With

Shri RAMANUJACHARYA'S

visishtAdvaita-commentary.

TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH

A. GOVINDACHARYA

THE DISCIPLE OF

SlOMAN YOGI S. PlRTHASARATHl AIYANGAR.

PRINTED AT THE VAIJAYANTI PRESS,

GAY HOME, MOUNT ROAD,

(A. C.) I8g8,

All RighU fletanwt.

DEDICATED

60® HR® 7I1B 60®LY.

потерявшаяся строка

[of men according to their tastes (or predilections), by]

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Subject-Matter. page*

HTltlC ••• ••• ••• ••• f*

Dedication ... ... Hi.

Contents—TABLE of ... ... ... ... v-vii.

Abbreviations—TABLE of ix.

Transliteration Scheme x.

Preface. ... ... ... ... ... ... xi-xxii.

THE FIRST DIVISION,PSYCHOCRASY,or

Soul-Communion,Lectures I to VI 1-333,

LECTURE I:—Arjuna-Vishada-Yoga, or the

Book explainingthecau.se ofArjuna's melan

choly,or his reasonsfor notengaginginaction. 3-31.

The GENEALOGICAL TREE oftheEunar

Dynasty. ... 23-34.

LECTUREII:—Sankhya-Yoga, or Inquiry into

the nature of Soul. ... 35-83.

LECTURE III:—Karma-Yoga, or the Way to

Salvation by Works(or action). ... ... 85-137*

The UPANISHAD-VIDYAs,—Table of, or

the 32 Principal Modes of Meditation, laid

down in the Vedantas,with leading sentences

ofthe same in the original 129-130.

LECTURE IV :—Jflana-Yoga, or the Way to

Salvation by Knowledge 131-167.

LECTURE V :—Karma-Sannyasa-Yoga, or the

Doctrine of what is meant by

Work-Renun

ciation.' ... 169-190.

I<ECTURE VI:—Abhyasa-Yoga,or the Method

ofpractising Concentration and Meditation,,.'191-233

SECOND DIVISION.THEOCRASY,

or God-Communion,Lectures VII to XII.... 223-392.

LECTURE VU:

—Paramahamsa-Vijfiana-Yoga,

or the Supreme Saintly Wisdom(or the ist

L^sons on Bhakti,or God-love) 225-255.

COSMOLOGY—THE TABLE OF; OR THE

CONSTITUTION OF THE KOSMOS,

by the Three Postulates, Chit, Achit,Isvara. 257-25^-

LECTURE VIII:—AKSHARA-PARA-BRAH-

MA-YOGA, or the Way to the Supreme

Immortal Spirit (Parabrahm). 259-284.

LECTUREIX:—Raja-Vidya-Raja-Guhya-Yoga,

or the Book ofKingly Wisdom. 285-316.

LECTURE X :—Vibhuti-Vistara-Yoga, or the

Book of Divine Glories 317-344-

LECTURE XI:—Visvarupa-Sandarsana-Yoga,

or the Book ofthe Kosmic Vision of God. ... 345-376.

LECTURE XII:—BHAKTI-Y.OGA,orthe Way

to Salvation by Divine(or God-)Love ... 377-392.

THE THIRD DIVISION, THEO-PHI-

LOSOPHY,Lectures XIII to XVIII,or the

MetaphysicsofSoul and God,and Teachings

Supplementary to the Divisions I and II,

andsummingup ofBhagavad-Glta-Teachings.393-574.

LECTURE.XIII:—Kshetra-Kshetrajfta-Vibhaga

-Yoga,or the Book treating ofthe Distinction

between the material and the spiritual consti

tuents of the Kosmos. 395-439-

lecture XIV:

—Guna-traya-vibhaga-Yoga,or

aDiscourseon the Three Qualities or charac-

Jeristics of Matter. 441-459.

LECTURE XV:—Purana-Purushottama-Yoga,

orthe Way to the Primal(or Ancient) Spirit

Supreme 461-480.

LECTURE XVI:—Daiv-asura-sampad-vibhaga

-Yoga,or the Book treating ofthe Godlyand

the Ungodly Natures in the world 481-497.

LECTURE XVII ?raddha-traya-Vibhaga-

Yoga or a Discourse on the Three Kinds of

Faith in all Spiritual Endeavours 499-5IS-

LECTURE XVIII:—MOKSH-OPADE$A

YOGA, or the Teachings of the Ways of

Salvation(or Final Liberation from mortalor

material toimmortalor immaterialExistence). 517-572.

SOTERIOLOGY,—THE TABLE OF; or

the Five Schemes of Salvation,as formulated

by the Visishtadvaita Saints in accordance

with the Vedanta-Teachings,. 573-574-

ABBREVIATIONS.

Anan;=Ananda Valli (Taittiriya: Upanishat.)

Aran=Aranyaka.

Ash:=Ashtaka.

Isa: Up''=Isavasya-Upanishat.

Ud: Parva=Udyoga-Parva(Mahabharata),

Up°=Upanishat.

Bh:Gi or Gl=Bhagavad-Gita.

Bh;Vish=Bhagavad-Vishayani.

Bhag=Bhagavata-Purana.

Br: Su=Brahma-Sutra (or the Vedanta-Sutras).

Bfi: Up'sBfihad-aranyaka-Upanishat.

Cp or Cf=Compare.

Chh: Up°=Chhandogya-Upanishat.

Kat or Kath: Up"=Katha-Upanishat

Ka=Kanda.

Lit:=Literally.

Maha-bha or Bha=Maha-bharata.

Mand:Up°=Mandukya-Upanishat.

Mund: Up''=Mundaka-Upanishat.

Parl: Rel=Parliament of Religions (Chicago, 1893.)

Pur-Suk=Purusha-Sukta.

Pra=Prasna.

Pras: Up°=Prasna-Upanishat.

^and-Su=^5andilya-Sutras.

Sub:Up°=Subala-Upanishat.

51=Sloka.

$5vet: Up'=$vetasvatara-Upanishat.

Tait: Up''=Taittiriya-Upanishat.

Tat-Chan=Tatparya-Chandrika.

Vish: Pur=Vishnu-Purana.

Yog: Su:=Patafljala-Yoga-Sutras.

^F^BP AGE.

|ROMPTED by the growing interestin the Vedanta-

Philosophy ofIndia,evinced throughoutthe world

in this Nineteenth Century(ofthe Christian Era),

through the efforts ofsuch distinguished scholars,

as Max Muller, Paul Deussen, George Thebaut, and

others; and through the instrumeutality of the great

movement known as the Theosophical Society,and the

upheaval caused by the eloqueut preachings of Svami

Vivekananda;andimpelled byanearnestdesiretopromul

gate through the English language,the Vedanta-doctri-

nesasexpounded by the VisishtadvaitaSage,Philosopher

and Reformer ofthe Eleventh Century(ofthe Christian

Era, T0i7)-Sri Ramanujacharya-I have humbly under

taken,assome beginning towardstheaccomplishmentof

such an end,the translation ofhis Commentaries on the

memorable work known as the Bhagavad-Glta. I have

been at this task for nearly five years. When I first put

my hand to it, I did so as an exercise, not entertaining

the least idea of publication. But as I progressed apace,

and the idea of giving out my labours for the benefit of

the public flashed ou me, I felt a great responsibility;

and the work thus became one ofstrenuousefiort,instead

ofrecreation. I had thus tostudy and revise. This neces

sarily disclosed the weak points of the first translation,

thus necessitating a careful re-study ofthe original GitA

with the help of Tatparya-chahdrika—^the large gloss,

by Vedantacharya (A. C. 1268) on RamanujVs Comr

mentary,—-under the great Saipskpt Scholar and Guru,

Sri Tiruvai-moli Tirunarayanacharya Svami of Melkota

(alias Tirunarayanapuram),—the Holy Shrine in

augurated by Rainanuja,—situated about thirty miles to

the North ofMysore. When I began to be earnest about

the publication ofthe work, I showed the Mss. to Col:

H.S. Olcott, when he was on a visit to Mysore in

March 1896. He not only encouraged me to publish it

but made favorable notice of it in the Theosophist for

1895-96(P: 225-229). I next submitted the work to Sr!

Yogis. Parthasarathi Aiyangar, B. A.,B.Jh.,ofMadras.

ThisSaint blessed it,and furnished me with ample notes

and other useful material to be utilized for the work in

the best manner I thought fit. So fortified, I wrote out

the Mss. for the press, which I found resulting as a

third revision of the original Mss. When correcting

the proof-sheets I could not again resist the temptation

of giving the work more touches. In getting lucid expla

nations ofsome difficult passages here and there,I ack

nowledge ray obligations to Pandit Venkata Krishnama-

charya ofMysore and Pandita-Ratnam Kasturi Ranga-

char of the Mysore Oriental I^ibrary. Also to Mr.

A. Mahadeva ^astri, B.A., Curator, Oriental Wbrary,

for allowing rae four palra-leaf Mss. of Ramanuja's

Commentary with which to collate my Samskfit copy.

2. In a Prospectus,I published in 1895,sketching

out the general plan ofthe work, I stated therein that

my translation would include important Introductions

and a life ofRamanuja,and that the whole work would

probably occupy about 500 Octavo Pages. But I find

that the Gita alone has encroached on more space (600

Pages) than I had allotted to it with Introductions and

^fe. As it is,the work is already bulky, and further,

the well-wishers of the work, notably Mr. Justice

C. Ramachandrierofthe Mysore ChiefCourt,dissuaded

me from making my work too voluminous^advising me

in a letter dated i8th November 1897, ^ might set

apart all my Introductions,and Biographical notices to

a separate Volume. Though unwilling at one time to

adopt this advice, I have been compelled to do so in the

end, making ampleamends however for the absence of

an Introduction, by adding copious foot-notes prepared

from various sources. The Bhagavad-Gita-student,

who will peruse these, will find himself there introduced

to a number of works extant in Southern India on

Visishtadvaita literature, and other works also outside

that pale, for purposes of useful comparison and edific

ation. Four Tables also have been added,one atend of

Lecture I, of the Genealogy of the Kuru race (adopted

from Davies); a very important one at the end of Lec

ture II,ofthe important Vidyas, or Modes of Divine

Meditation taught in the various Up'anishads; one at

the end ot Lecture VII, of Cosmology,according to the

Visishtadvajta-philosophers;and a fourth at the end of

Lecture XVIII showing at a glance, the Soteriology or

"Ways of Salvation formulated by the Ramanuja-School.

Moreover the public, I am advisedly told, would natu

rally first like to acquaint themselves with the Ancient

Commentators than the opinions of the moderns. If

therefore in publishing this First Volume, I, like Max

Muller, decided in favourof

publishing ofthe materials

rather than to the drawing of the results which those

materials supply to the student ofancient language and

ancient religion,'* I think I have done well. Besides,

my book would have become heavy and very costly.

* Page XXIX, Volz XX., Part I:Vedic Hymns, by Max Muller,(Sacred

Booksof the East).

3. But briefly, let me,however, as a Prelude to

the 2ud Volume of Introductions I have promised

jnyself to write, introduce the reader to the study of

the Bhagavad-Gita by telling him that it is a work,

which occupies itself with an exposition of the Ways of

Salvation, of which the Chieftaught therein is the Way

by God-love or Bhakti. It would require a big treatise

to enter into the details ofthis subject,butlet Ramanuja

speak for himself. His School is essentially that which

inculcates the Way of Devotion or Love as the happiest

and best means to reach God. A well merited tribute

is paid by Mrs: Annie Besant to Ramanuja,the ex

pounder of this Path, when she says;—"Here a Great

Sage has helped us—one of those Great Ancient Indian

Writers who have devoted themselves to the teaching of

the Higher Spiritual Truths—theSAGERAmANUJA.

He has dealt with the preliminary stages by which man

developes Devotion, by which he maygradually prepare

himselfto be a receptacle of real Love.'^

4. Ramnaujacharya,accordingtotradition,is no

otber than Adi ^esha himselfincarnated on earth asone

of the Spiritual Saviours of mankind,according to the

requirements of time, country and people. The tradi

tion alluded to tells us:—

Anantah prathamam rilpam, lakshmanas cha

tatah param^

Balabhadras tritiyas tu kalau kaschit bhavishyatV

I. e.y He(Ananta* or Sesha, the Symbol ofEternity)

who became Lakshmana(the brother ofSri Ramain the

TV^iite-age), who became Balabhadra(the brother of Sri

Kfishna^ in the Dvd^ara-agQ),became Sri Ramanuja in

the ITalt-age. (The VaishnavasofBengal and 1hefollow

ers of Chaitanya', will especially welcome this work of

Ramanuja now translated into English for the first time.)

5. To return. Every lecture in the Bhagavad-Gita

is called a yoga. This term literally means

union' or

that which unites man to God. Vishnu-Purana(VI-7-

31)defines the term thus:—

1. Videt Bkdgavata,X-2-5, 9;

2. Read Page 86 of Calcutta Review, No. CCXI,January 1898:

'The

Diary ofGovinda Das' says:'

Kesava Bharati, eighth in the succession of

Rimanuja,the Great Founder ofthe §rl-secl of Vaishnavas initiated him and

gave $tl Kfishna Chaitanya as his Monastic name,a name by which he has

become famous.'

The Vaish;^avas all the world over, especially the Vaishnavas ofBengal

and North India will heartily welcome the frequent references I have made in

the Foot-notestoSriBkdgavata,a remarkable work on Bhakti, a work which

is reverenced by the Hindus as almost Apocalyptic. Also the reader is here

and thereintroduced to that GreatWork,on the still Higher Stages ofLove,—

the Hermeneutic Literature known as the Bhagavad- Vishaya, or voluminous

commentaries on the Lqjp-outpourings ofthe Inspired Saint Parankusa{alias

NammalvSr). The Sapkhyas will find their Sankhya-system, the Yogis their

Yoga-system,and Buddhiststheirschemeofmoralityand asceticism in theGita.

And Christianity will really now understand what the secret of the Vaish-

tjava Faith consists in,from what Mr- F.S.GrowseC.S. I.saysin his Memoir

of Madhura: P. 1431"In short, the Hindu in his ideas ofdivine worship, of

the religious life, of the efficacy of faith and good works, of the earnest sym

pathyofthe Divine Being with human distre.ss, and His occasional miraculous

intervention for its relief, falls little, ifat all,short ol Catholic truth."

And so will find lilam or the

I.ove God

religion, particularly Sujism,

which will find its doctrine of Faaa, elaborated throughout Gita,and the

doctrine ofthe extirpation ofdesires known as Asrar. Bhaktior God-love is

the"wine"ofOmar Khayyam throughout his Quatrains.

Stanza 230 from Page 154 of E. H. Whinfield's Translation is quoted

here as a specimen;—

My true condition I may thus explain.

In two short verses, which the whole contain <

"From love to thee I now lay down my life

In hope Thy love will raise me up again«"'

I. Head I ' There is another Way, the Way of Devotion (Bhakii) that

reaches the goal attained by Way of the Intellect {/Hana), and for many of us

that way is more attractive, that road is more rea^y trodden. In that, our

meditation is directed to an Object adored and loved, and the passion of the

soul for that high Spiritual Being bums away every sheath that separates it

from the Object of its worship, until in union with Him it finds the certainty

of its own immortality ' (Annie Besant's: ' Existence ofthe Soul' p: 169,

Theosophical Review, Vol: XXIJI, Oct : 1898).

The Philosophy of Personal God in relation to the Way of Devotion

{Bhakti) is exactly what characterizes the teachings of the Vi\isht3dvaita-

Veddnta, and is what, according to Ramanuja, the Theosophy of the Bhagavad

Gita inculcates. Christianity has reasons tu joy over these conclusions ot

RamSnuja, as also Islam. Kamanuja forcibly draws attention to all the

passages of the Gita, where not an abstract, unrelated, quality-less, cold and

unfeeling God is taught, but a God who stands in relation to His creatures,

who is the real Cause (not therefore a metaphysical non-entity) of His

universe, full of perfections. Who loves and suffers for His creatures, and

Who incarnates for purposes of Salvation. Rev, Robert Jardine says: ' We

Cannot read the account of the different incarnations of Vishnu without feeling

that there is involved a deep-seated belief that human welfare is a subject

of regard and solicitude with God. P. 23t' IVhat to Belitvt.

Atma-prayatna-sdpeksh&-visishtSyd mano-gatih

Tasyd Brakmarti samyogo Yoga ity abhidhiyaie.^

meaning: ' That is called ' Yoga,' which makes the mind

to unite itself with Gk)d—that mind, the workings of

which consist (solely) of the endeavours to reaching such

a Spiritual Goal.' So that the object ofthe Bhagavad-Glta

is to teach how the mind is to be disciplined and con

trolled so as to render it fit to contemplate on God, and

finally reach Him. The best training is that by Bhakti

or Devotional Love, as taught in the Gita. The reader

is referred to the important Soteriological Table append

ed at the end of the Book, showing at one glance the

formulation, by the Visishtadvaita Saints, of the several

Ways to Salvation. The Several Ways as there shown

are Five: viz: (i) Karma (action) (2) Jildna (Intellect

or Knowledge) (3) Bhakti^ (Devotion or Love) (4) Pra-

patti(Resignation or God's Grace) and(5) Achdry-dbki-

mdna(Saviour's Grace), Bhagavad-GUd however chiefly

treats ox the former Three and hints at the latter Two.

According to the Analysis of the Gita made by Sri

Yamunacharya (A. C. 916; the Preceptor of Sri Rama-

nuja)Karma-yoga(action)is defined as:—

(1) '

Karma-yogas tapas-iirtha-ddna-yajflddi-seva-

nam\'or The Way to Salvation by Action is to perform

such acts (of righteousness)as Austerities(or mortifica

tion of the flesh by diet, fast etc), Pilgrimages to Holy

Rivers (Shrines etc), doing Charities, conducting large

Sacrifices (at much sacrifice ofwealth,time and energy)

etc., etc. {Vide\ Table:Pp:573-574)-

(2) jUdna-yogo jita-svdntaih parisuddhdtmani

sthitih-^ or the Way to Salvation by Knowledge is to

conquer the mind and the senses, and rendering it

capable of being concentratedly fixed in the contem

plation of the Pure Spirit. {Vide;Table:Pp:573-574).

(3). ^Bhakti-yogah paraikdntya-prityddhydnddishu

sthitih^ or: the Way to Salvation by Devotion (or God-

love) is the establishment of oneselfin Divine Worship

and Service such as meditating on Him(worshipping

Him with flowers etc., hymning His praises,prostrating

before Him etc.,(vide, Gitd IX-14:

Satatam kirtayanto

etc.,' and the rest ofthe Chapter), all which, a result of

the ardent Dove (or Devotion) for Parabrahm (God)

felt in the innermost recesses ofthe heart,and exclusive

ly and unflaggingly rendered to Him^.

$ri Yamunacharya winds up his Analysis by declar-

jpg:—

I. Read Foot-note i,p. 227.Also read RBmfinuja's Proem to Lectures III

and VII and Gltt VII.I7-IX-34-XVIII-65.

1. Cp: Sri Bhdgavata: III-29-J4, 15.'

Salokya-sirshti-sSmlpya sSru-

pyaikatvam ity uta, diyamanam na grih^anti jana mat-sevaiiatn vina'(14)

Sa eva Bhakti-Yogakhyah'etc.

2. Cp: the conclusions arrived at by §rl RamSnuja in his Work,the

Vedartha-Sangraha:'Ausha-jagadd-hitSnuiasana-iruti-nikara-sirasi sama-

dhigato tpam arthojiva-Paramitma-yithdtmya-jMna-purvaka.vamdsrama-

dharm-etikartavyaiika-Paramapurttsha-charana-yugala dhySn-Srchana-pra-

ndm-ddir atyartha priyas lotpripti-phalah.^

Also in his other Work Srl-Bhdshya (or Commentaries on Brahma or

Veddnta-Suiras)thus '

Nd cha ParamapttrushasSatya-saitkalpo i.tyartha'

priyamjMninam labJhvd kaddchid drariayishyali.'

Thefollowers of (Christ will delight in learning that the gist of the above

passagesis contained in the words ofone oftheir own Saints,St. Augustinet

Quid esl credere in Deum? Credendo amart, credendc diligere, credendo in

eum ire et ejui membtis incorporari,' and also delight in knowing that the

quintessence ofthe teachings ofthe Revelations of the Hindus—the Vedas—is

i.,ove to God—Love answering to the statement made by Christ Himselfi

Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,

and with all thy mind and with all thy strength'{Matthew:XXII-37;Mark\

XII-305 X.27).

Aikdnt-atyanta-ddsyaika-ratis tat-padam dpnuydt^

Tat-pradhdnam idam Sdstram iti GUdriha-Sangrahah.^

Or; the Cardinal Doctrine ofthe Gita-Science is God-

love, one-pointed, intense, and asking nothing but the

honor and delight ofserving Him.' He who acts thus

reaches the Estate of God*.

6. Bhagavad-Glta is thus a Revelation, whose

Purpose is to show mankind the Way to Salvation. As

Lord Krishna has shown Himself, by necessary figures

and symbols,to be a God of Love{Bhakti\ He has thus

shown that Love is the safest, happiest and easiest

means of reaching Him. From this Scheme of Love

none is excluded, whatever be his nation, his country,

color or grade.

7. As in the past,so in the present, mankind will

hail with satisfaction a Work in which they will find

that to the cold abstraction ofa ^^nkara's God,a Rama

nujalendsa GlowingLiving Presence;totheintellectual

ly sublime of a Sankara's ideal, a Ramanuja lends an

emotionally rapturous expression. If a Sankara offers

the stone ofan abstract idea,'aRamanujagives us* the

bread ofa Concrete Presence.' I may also further notice

thatin the very firstProem ofRamanuja, the reader will

find taught the Aspect of God as the Gracious Divine

Motherhood',' coupled with the sublime concepts of His

Fatherhood,as Immanent,Omniscient,Omnipotent,and

Omnipresent

(=Vasudeva).''I shall now passon to other

points to be noticed in this Preface.

8. I had also at first intended to print the original

51okas of the Gita, along with the Translations. But

opinions were divided among my friends, some saying

that it would be useful; others an encumbrance and un

necessarily raising the price ofthe Book. I have adopted

the middle course, however, of giving the beginningof

each verse,for ready reference.

1. Read:Foot-note 1, p.6;Foot-note 2,p:227;Foot-note 2,p:279 ^

SecretDoctrine Vol. 11, p:80(1893); Vol.II,p. 1229.On Motherhoodof God

byB.BtNagarkar,Chicago,Parl:ofRel:and p. 747,ofNeely'sHbtoryofth^

Parl;of Rel:

2. Cp. Annie Besants' Problems of Peligion,' p: 535, Vol. XXII,

Tbeosophical Review,

9. Samskrit terms, like those of Atma^ Dharmay

Karmayjfldnay Bhaktiy Samsdra,Satvaniy RajaSy TatnaSy

etc., cannot be accurately rendered into English. Even

were exact equivalents available, experience teaches

that without the Samskrit original itself, the sense of a

passage as intended by the author,is often not under

stood. Another difficulty in dealing with Samskrit is that

thesame term is often used in many senses, thus neces

sitating often the streching ofone's powers ofdivination

to get at the exact import ofa passage. I have therefore

endeavouredtoretain suchoriginaltermsasfaraspossible

and giving theirsense at the same time by the nearest

English equivalent. The retention ofthe Samskfit terms

willbe especially usefulto Indian Students,as their mere

presence will serve to elucidate a whole passage.

The term dtmd^ for exampleisetymologically renderable

as'self,' but toa WesternTheologian,'soul'or'individual

soul'—asRamanuja mostly understands by the term—

would more readily convey the sense than if dtmd were

rendered as'

self;'whereas the absenceofthe term dtmd^

and the presence of its rendering 'self to an Indian

Theologian,is apt to be understood as either meaning,

soul'{fiv-dtma)or'God' {Parm-dtma). The best tran

slation accompanies the term as far as possible,and it is

gradually omitted where the reader will have become

accustomed to understand the Sainskfit term itself, and

wherethe translation,particularly when compound words

such as atma-knowledge,atma-vision etc.,occur, would

be found cumbersome. Foot-notes are also added at such

junctures as aids to the reader to accurately understand

the passages.

10. One word isf necessary about the formation of

compound words. In no other language is the practice

ofcompound word-forming carried tosuch an extent as

in Samskfit. Byiits means, the case-endings ofa host of

terms are omitted,and brevity and terseness in expres

sion are thereby secured. Translators have been obliged

to deal with such terms by resorting to the manufacture

of hybrid adjectives suchfor example as $astraic, Vedic,

Karmic etc; but to me this seemed awkward, nor is it

necessary. For there seems no chance of understanding

less by the retention ofa compound form in the transla

tion, than by that form broken up into hybrid adjec-

lives and substantives. By a compound word like,say,

Sastra-injunction\ it is not likely that the sense will be

misunderstood as it would be understood if the word

were split up into '¦^astraic injunctions^^ or were para

phrased into Hhe injunctions ofSdstra.^ If the former

is mongrel, the latter (paraphrase! has the fault of verbo

sity. I have therefore avoided all the English ' ick' ings

of Saipskrit substantives; and the reader must be pre

pared to meet with such compound expressions as Atma-

cognition—^meaning the cognition of atma—, Veda-

injunctions—meaning the injunctions of Veda,—Moksha-

aspirant—meaning the aspirant for Mdksha, &c. The

sooner the Western public gets accustomed to such

Samskfit formations, the better will it get an insight

into the spirit of that language and the sooner will it be

initiated into the speedier comprehension of the spirit of

Samskrit when even a slight ability is acquired to read

the Original Saipskfit itself.

11. The Scheme of Transliteration adopted is

mostly that adopted by Monier Williams. I have found

this scheme the best. It is printed on a separate page (x)

for reference, as also a list of Abbreviations (ix.)

12. My bringing out a Second Volume of Introduc

tions will depend upon the success that this Volume will

meet, and the appreciation which it may receive at the

hands of all lovers ofIndian Thought.

13. The Printing alone of the work, by the Vai-

jayanti Press, Madras, by its Manager, Mr. P. Srinivasa

Charlu, B. A., has taken a year. It could not possibly be

dpne under that period, considering the difficulties of

gettting all the diacritical types required in several

founts, that the critical publication of any important

Sanskrit Treatise necessarily warrants. The matter of

the work being mine,the manner of the work is en

tirely due to the patient and earnest attention bestowed

by Mr. P. Srinivasa Charlu, of the above-mentioned

Press. He had undertaken, for the first time,a work of

this class;and now he has had experience in thisdirec

tion, I believe that no other pres-s in Madras can

undertake to edit works ofthis nature in the thorough

and workman-like manner that he has done.

A. GOVINDACHAR'YA.

Veda-Griham,

(Maisur)

Mysore^ loth December i8g8.

SRl

BHAGAVAD GITA.

THE DIVINE LAY,

WITH

SRfRAMANUJA'S COMMENTARY,

THE FIRST DIVISION

COMPRISING,

LECTURES I to VI.

PSYCHOCRASY

SOUL-COMMUNION.

Sri Ydmunacharya.

* Well-formed Wisdom in(i)thoughtand(a)deed,for mind-calm^s reach.*

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